Global technology brand OnePlus on Thursday announced annual investment of Rs 2,000 crore in India over the next three years (till 2027) to accelerate innovations in products and services in the country.

The Rs 6,000 crore investment plan over the three years, launched under the name of ‘Project Starlight,’ is a strategic vision for the brand’s future investment in the region, the company said in a statement.

"At OnePlus, we are deeply committed to understanding and addressing the unique needs of our Indian users," said Robin Liu, CEO of OnePlus India. "The Project Starlight is a demonstration to our dedication to going beyond the surface to tackle the challenges faced by our users in their daily lives.

World’s largest cryptocurrency Bitcoin has crossed the historic milestone of $100,000 apiece, driven by favourable market dynamics, growing US regulatory clarity, and institutional adoption through Bitcoin ETFs, industry experts said on Thursday.

Bitcoin was trading at $1,03,095, after gaining 4.39 per cent. According to Vishal Sacheendran, Head of Regional Markets at Binance, the cryptocurrency market is experiencing a surge in optimism as governments and institutions worldwide begin to embrace blockchain technology, paving the way for broader adoption and investment in digital assets.

“This renewed enthusiasm reflects a maturing ecosystem poised for sustained growth,” he added.

Discussions around a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and corporate treasury integration signal a shift toward mainstream adoption.

The attorney general of the US District of Columbia sued Amazon, accusing it of violating consumer protection laws by making slower deliveries to Prime members in historically lower-income neighbourhoods.

In one of the first complaints of its kind, which was filed with the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb on Wednesday said Amazon had deliberately and secretly stopped its fastest delivery service to the nearly 50,000 Prime subscribers in certain ZIP codes that were lower-income neighbourhoods, reports news agency.

According to the lawsuit, Amazon has used third parties like United Parcel Service and the Postal Service to make Prime deliveries in those areas for the past two years. That resulted in slower deliveries than those made by Amazon's own delivery drivers, who serve other Washington residents.

Amazon "cannot covertly decide that a dollar in one ZIP code is worth less than a dollar in another," Schwalb said in a statement. "We're suing to stop this deceptive conduct and make sure District residents get what they're paying for."

Low-cost airline IndiGo on Wednesday refuted findings of a report which claimed that IndiGo has been ranked among the world's worst airlines this year.

The ‘AirHelp Score report 2024’ placed the domestic carrier near the bottom at 103rd place out of 109 analysed. The report also ranked Air India at 61st and AirAsia at 94th.

In a statement, IndiGo said that India’s aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), publishes data on airline punctuality and customer complaints monthly.

“IndiGo has consistently scored high on punctuality and has the lowest customer complaint ratio for an airline of its size and scale of operations,” said the airline.

Telecommunications giant Ericsson on Wednesday said it has been awarded a multi-billion, 4G and 5G extension deal by Bharti Airtel for its India operations.

As part of the multi-year deal for 4G and 5G RAN products and solutions, Ericsson will deploy centralised RAN and Open RAN-ready solutions for network transformation, which will help customers with wider coverage and the enhanced capacity on the network.

Ericsson will also undertake the software upgrade of its current deployed 4G radios thereby enhancing the customer experience, it said in a statement.

“This deployment will enable us to further improve the speed, reliability, and coverage of our network, ensuring an exceptional experience for our customers,” said Randeep Sekhon, CTO, Bharti Airtel.

Despite the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continue to sell equities, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) inflows are keeping the market afloat, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd (MOFSL) said in a note on Wednesday.

FIIs sold equities worth $13 billion in October and November. The correction has cooled off the valuations in large-caps, even as mid/ smallcaps trade at expensive multiples.

In November, DIIs recorded inflows of $5.3 billion. In contrast, FIIs recorded the second consecutive month of outflows at $2.2 billion.

FII outflows into Indian equities stand at $2.1 billion in CY24 year-to-date (YTD) compared to inflows of $21.4 billion in CY23. DII inflows into equities in CY24 YTD continue to be strong at $58.9 billion against $22.3 billion in CY23.

Hyundai Motor, BMW Korea and three other carmakers will voluntarily recall nearly 300,000 vehicles due to faulty components, the transport ministry here said on Wednesday.

The five companies, including Kia, Honda Korea and Mercedes-Benz Korea, are recalling a total of 298,721 units of 84 different models, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement.

The problems that prompted the recall include software problems in the integrated charging control unit of Hyundai's Ioniq 5 and Kia's EV6 all-electric models, a faulty braking system in BMW's 520i sedan and a faulty impeller of the fuel pump system in Honda's Accord sedan, according to the ministry.

Vehicle owners can check the government's homepage at www.car.go.kr or call 080-357-2500 to see if their vehicles are subject to the recall, the ministry said, reports Yonhap news agency.

Hyundai Motor Group on Tuesday announced key partnerships with the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to establish a collaborative research system in the fields of batteries and electrification, as its doubles down on the EV ecosystem in the country.

The three institutes include IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay and IIT Madras. The Hyundai Center of Excellence (CoE), which will be set up within IIT Delhi, will operate through sponsorships from Hyundai Motor Group.

The primary objective of the Hyundai CoE is to take the lead in driving advancements in batteries and electrification, specifically designed to meet the unique requirements of the Indian market, the automaker said in a statement.

Hyundai Motor Group plans to invest around $7 million over five years, from 2025 to 2029, to jointly conduct battery and electrification-related research with the four IIT universities.

India's rapid urbanisation, robust infrastructure development, and economic growth have collectively driven significant demand, boosting construction activity in the industrial and logistics sector and supply, which is projected to surpass 60 million square feet annually over the next 3-4 years, a report said on Tuesday.

According to a report by Savills India, a global real estate advisory firm, "On an average, 3.4 per cent to 6.7 per cent increase in construction costs for general manufacturing and 4.8 per cent to 6.7 per cent for grade-a warehousing were registered between H1 2020 and H1 2024."

The report further said, "Among cities, Kolkata recorded the highest escalation for General Manufacturing costs at 6.7 per cent, followed closely by Chennai (6.5 per cent). For Grade-A Warehousing, Chennai led the surge with a 6.7 per cent increase, with Bengaluru and Hyderabad each witnessing a 6 per cent rise."

India's power consumption increased by 5.14 per cent to 125.44 billion units in November this year from 119.30 billion units in the same month last year, according to official figures.

The increase in power demand reflects the higher level of commercial and industrial activity taking place in the economy.

A report by ICRA stated that while there has been a moderation in growth in the earlier months, the full-year demand growth is expected to remain reasonable at 5.5 to 6 per cent. The decline in demand was due to a high base and the adverse impact of heavy rainfall during the monsoon months.

The highest supply in a day (peak power demand met) also rose marginally to 207.42 GW in November 2024 from 204.56 GW in the year-ago period.