India news: Thousands affected as Oracle cuts jobs – reports

Thanks for following our India news coverage on Thursday, April 2.

We’ll be back tomorrow with some of what India is talking about.

India’s defense spending has soared to a record of more than $4.1 billion (€3.56 billion) in the fiscal year to March 2026, showing an increase of more than 60% from the previous year, the government said on Thursday.

The Defense Ministry said exports reached 38,424 billion rupees ($4.1 billion), driven by growing global demand for Indian-made military equipment.

“India is moving forward to become the world’s defense manufacturing hub,” said Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, adding that the increase reflects growing international confidence in the country’s indigenous capabilities.

State-owned firms accounted for 55% of exports, with private companies contributing the rest.

India currently exports defense equipment, from missiles and artillery to radar systems and electronics, to more than 80 countries.

Despite growth, India remains the world’s largest arms exporter, even as it continues to expand domestic production and expand exports.

India is the world’s fifth largest military spender and the second largest arms exporter after Ukraine, according to the latest data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

A 19th-century Indian oil painter Raja Ravi Varma has sold for a record $17.9 million (€15.53 million) at an auction in Mumbai, the highest price ever paid for a modern Indian work.

The image was purchased by billionaire vaccine tycoon Cyrus Poonawalla, chairman of the Serum Institute of India.

Poonawalla said he would like to make the work available for people to see.

Poonawala said: “This national treasure deserves to be available for the public to see from time to time The Times of India newspaper.

Auction house Saffronart said the oil on canvas, Yashoda and Krishna, far exceeded its estimate of $8.6 million to $12.9 million, setting a world record for the artist.

Painted in the 1890s, the painting is considered one of Varma’s finest.

Parliament will be adjourned on Thursday and is expected to reconvene after the conclusion of the upcoming federal elections to discuss possible changes to a key law that provides reserved parliamentary seats for women, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told the upper house.

Rijiju said the government has consulted more than 80% of political parties on this proposal, and added that the opposition Congress party has suggested calling a meeting after the assembly elections, reported Akashvani News of the government.

Normally, Parliament sessions are adjourned sine die.

The law passed in 2023 states that 33% of the seats should be reserved for women.

The weather department on Thursday predicts that it will rain across northwest India, along with possible thunder, lightning, strong winds and temperature changes, under the influence of two western disturbances.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a statement that the systems are expected to bring rain and other weather events, especially in the western Himalayan region and nearby plains, on Friday, Saturday and Tuesday.

Thunderstorm is likely to occur in Delhi and adjoining areas of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana on April 3 and 4, heavy rain is expected in the Kashmir Valley, the IMD said.

The department noted that such western disturbances often lead to changes in temperature and rainfall over northern India during this period.

Air fares in India are expected to rise as airlines respond to higher jet fuel costs caused by conflicts in the Middle East.

IndiGo earlier said that revised fuel charges on domestic and international flights will come into effect from Thursday.

The move by the country’s largest carrier comes as turbine fuel (ATF) prices are being revised, and the government has capped the increase in domestic flights to 25%.

India’s petroleum ministry said on Wednesday that jet fuel prices are being raised due to higher global energy costs linked to Middle East conflicts.

In March, Indian airlines had announced a fuel surcharge for domestic and international flights, citing a sharp rise in crude oil prices since the US and Israel started their war on Iran.

Airlines are expected to update this fee in the coming days.

As a result of the Iran war, India’s aviation ministry suspended the rate hike last month to allow airlines to adjust ticket prices as needed.

Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov arrived in India on Thursday with bilateral relations, especially defense and security ties, expected to be discussed during the visit.

Manturov is scheduled to meet National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during the two-day visit, according to India’s Ministry of External Affairs.

Relations between these two countries span decades. Apart from security ties, India became a major buyer of Russian oil following Western sanctions on Moscow over its aggression in Ukraine.

Under a February trade deal with the United States, New Delhi agreed to freeze such purchases.

However, in early March, Washington granted a 30-day moratorium allowing Indian refiners to resume buying Russian oil in a bid to reduce global energy prices.

India’s double bind: Trying to undermine Russia, US

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India on Wednesday released a range of chemicals from temporary duty, according to a government announcement, as it seeks to ease supply pressure linked to the US-Israel war with Iran.

The exemptions, valid from April 2 to June 30, cover products including ammonium nitrate, methanol, styrene, acetic acid and polyvinyl chloride, the order said.

The government described the move as targeted relief, with officials saying the move is expected to help industries that rely on petrochemicals and intermediates, while helping to reduce costs for consumers of finished goods.

Thousands of Oracle employees in India have received job warnings as part of what the company described as “force reductions and other layoffs,” according to media reports on Thursday.

Indian agencies have said that between 10,000 and 12,000 workers in the country may be affected. Earlier this week, CNBC reported that the US-based technology firm was cutting thousands of jobs worldwide. Oracle declined to comment on the CNBC report, according to Reuters.

On Wednesday, social media platforms, including LinkedIn, saw an outpouring of people from Indian tech workers saying they had been laid off and were looking for new opportunities.

The tech giant had about 162,000 full-time employees worldwide as of May 2025.

The decline comes as the company ramps up spending on artificial intelligence tools to compete with cloud giants like Alphabet and Amazon.

Oracle is led by billionaire co-founder Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

In peace!

This is Shakeel from the DW studio in New Delhi, bringing you the latest news from across India.

LinkedIn today is seeing an increase in posts from Indian tech workers who have been dumped by Oracle. National news reports suggest that 10,000 to 12,000 Oracle employees in India may be affected.

We are also looking at the importance of India’s census, the world’s largest population exercise, which will see more than three million officials take part in the much-awaited data collection exercise.

Meanwhile, amid the hike in jet fuel prices, IndiGo has announced a revised fuel tariff for domestic flights.

For all this and more, stay tuned to our India live blog.