Zomato, the popular online food delivery platform, has reportedly laid off up to 600 customer support employees, just a year after hiring them.

The reported layoffs came as the company faces challenges in its core food delivery business and rising losses in its quick commerce subsidiary, Blinkit.

According to reports, the company had hired nearly 1,500 employees last year through its Zomato Associate Accelerator Program (ZAAP) to fill customer support roles.

However, in recent weeks, many of these employees have been let go without any prior notice or opportunity to improve their performance, the report added.

The employees who were fired received one month's salary as compensation, but the layoffs were reportedly based on issues like poor performance and punctuality.

WhatsApp on Tuesday said that it has banned over 9.7 million accounts in India during February 2025, citing violations of its Terms of Service.

According to its latest monthly safety report, a significant portion of these bans, over 1.4 million accounts, were proactively removed by WhatsApp before any user complaints were even made.

The company, which has more than 500 million users in India, explained that the bans were the result of its ongoing investment in AI-driven moderation and advanced reporting tools.

"Over the years, WhatsApp has consistently invested in Artificial Intelligence and other state-of-the-art technology, data scientists and experts, and in processes, in order to keep our users safe on our platform," a WhatsApp spokesperson said in a statement.

India’s motorcycle industry witnessed strong growth in the final month of the just-concluded fiscal year 2024-25, with leading manufacturers reporting impressive sales figures.

Royal Enfield and Suzuki Motorcycle India Private Limited (SMIPL) showcased remarkable achievements in March, according to their sales data.

Royal Enfield, the world’s largest maker of middleweight motorcycles, marked a significant milestone by selling over one million units for the first time in a financial year.

In FY 2024-25, the Bullet maker sold a total of 10,09,900 units, an 11 per cent increase compared to the previous year. Of this, domestic sales stood at 9,02,757 units, while exports surged by 37 per cent, reaching 1,07,143 units, according to the company.

The Indian automakers on Tuesday reported strong sales figures for the month of March, particularly in the SUV segment, driven by increasing private consumption and a resilient economy.

Among the top performers, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Kia India showcased impressive growth in their SUV sales.

Maruti Suzuki India, the largest car manufacturer in India, saw a growth of nearly 4.5 per cent in its SUV sales in March 2025, with 61,097 units sold compared to 58,436 units during the same month last year.

The overall sales of Maruti Suzuki in March 2025 rose by 3.1 per cent year-on-year (YoY), totalling 192,984 units, up from 1,87,196 units in March 2024.

The company also posted its highest-ever annual sales of 22,34,266 units for FY25, which includes its highest-ever domestic sales of 17,95,259 units and exports of 3,32,585 units.

Hyundai Steel, South Korea's second-biggest steelmaker, said on Tuesday it has temporarily shut down one of its three domestic steel reinforcement bar (rebar) plants due to low demand.

The rebar plant in Incheon, just west of Seoul, will be suspended for the entire month of April, a company spokesperson said, adding the other two plants remain operational, reports news agency.

The company expects the plant's one-month suspension will help ease an oversupply in the market where steelmakers suffer from declining product prices amid tougher competition.

On March 14, Hyundai Steel entered an emergency management mode in response to growing challenges, including the recent imposition of steel tariffs by the Donald Trump administration and ongoing strife with unionised workers.

The daily active users (DAU) of ChatGPT, a generative artificial intelligence (AI) service developed by OpenAI, rose to a new high last month, driven by the popularity of its new image filter that transforms personal photos into famous Japanese animation-style illustrations, industry data showed on Tuesday.

ChatGPT's DAU reached a record 1.25 million as of last Thursday, up from 1.03 million on March 10 and 790,000 on March 1, according to the data from industry tracker IGAWorks.

The rapid growth came with OpenAI's new image-generation tool, which allows users to convert their photos into illustrations inspired by Studio Ghibli films, reports news agency.

French carmaker Renault Group announced on Monday that it would acquire the remaining 51 per cent stake in Renault Nissan Automotive India Private Ltd (RNAIPL), currently held by Nissan Motor Corp, to become the sole owner of the company.

However, Japanese car-maker Nissan will maintain its presence in India with a strong focus on increasing market coverage. “RNAIPL would continue to produce Nissan models, including the New Nissan Magnite, and will serve as a crucial pillar for the company's future expansion plans,” the company said in a statement.

The Chennai plant, with a capacity exceeding 400,000 units, will also help Renault Group to strengthen its presence in India, under the French carmaker's '2027 International Game Plan'. Renault plans to introduce the CMF-B platform at the Chennai plant in 2026, starting with four new models.

Nissan Motor India on Monday said it has delivered its best single year performance for FY 2024-25 in the last seven years, despite multiple headwinds faced by the domestic auto industry.

In FY25, the automaker recorded total domestic volume of over 28,000 units, led by the New Nissan Magnite introduced in October 2024.

This strong performance was delivered despite the rising consumer preference for alternate fuel vehicles in the B-SUV segment in India, said the company in a statement.

On the export front, the company expanded its operations from 20 markets to 65+ international markets and registered an unprecedented and historic export sales of 71,000+ units, further reinforcing India’s role as a growing manufacturing and export hub for Nissan globally.

The Indian specialty chemicals sector’s 7-8 per cent revenue growth next fiscal (FY26) will be largely volume-driven with realisations under pressure, according to a Crisil report.

Trade-related uncertainties stemming from US tariff actions could upend the recovery in profitability of India's specialty chemicals sector.

Companies with balanced portfolios or catering to resilient end-user sectors are likely to better absorb shocks, while those reliant on exports or commoditised segments may face increased margin risk due to price volatility, said the report.

According to Anuj Sethi, Senior Director, Crisil Ratings, domestic revenues, forming 63 per cent of the pie, are expected to grow 8–9 per cent, while exports, may see 4–5 per cent growth.

Sugar production, till March 31, 2025 in the current 2024-25 season, reached 247.61 lakh tons, with 95 factories operating currently across the country, according to data released by the Indian Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) on Monday.

Sugar production in the country continues as expected, ensuring an uninterrupted supply, the ISMA said.

Around 48 factories in Uttar Pradesh are still operational. Owing to the improved yield of plant cane, cane availability has improved and these factories are expected to remain in operation up to mid-to-late April 2025. Moreover, sugar recovery has also shown improvement in the second half of the season resulting in a higher output of sugar, according to the ISMA statement.

Some factories in south Karnataka are expected to restart operations during the special season from June/July to September 2025. Historically, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu collectively contribute around 4 lakh tons of sugar in the special season, the ISMA said.