South Korea's car exports inched up from a year earlier in March, driven by rising demand from Asian nations while shipments to the United States dropped sharply ahead of the start of US tariffs on auto imports, data showed on Tuesday.

The value of outbound shipments of automobiles came to US$6.24 billion last month, up 1.2 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, reports news agency.

It marked the second consecutive month of increase and the second-highest export value ever for any March, it added. In terms of volume, however, exports fell 2.4 percent on-year to 240,874 vehicles.

The export value of eco-friendly cars declined 3.1 percent on-year to $2.02 billion in March. In terms of volume, however, sales advanced 5.8 percent to 68,760 units.

Homegrown electric two-wheeler manufacturer Okinawa Autotech has reported a steep 87 per cent drop in revenue in FY24.

The company’s revenue from operations slipped to just Rs 182 crore in FY24 from Rs 1,144 crore in the previous financial year, according to its latest financials.

Okinawa also posted a loss of Rs 52 crore in FY24, a sharp contrast to the Rs 166 crore of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) it had recorded in FY23.

The company’s operating margins and return on capital employed (ROCE) also took a major hit, with EBITDA margin falling to (-)25.8 per cent and ROCE to (-)102 per cent.

Hyundai Mobis said on Monday it has developed a new electric vehicle (EV) battery safety technology that automatically discharges fire suppressant in the event of a battery cell ignition to prevent fires from spreading to adjacent cells.

The battery technology uses heat-resistant materials and includes a fire suppression device integrated with the battery case. Hyundai Mobis said it has filed domestic and international patents for the technology, reports news agency.

Hyundai Mobis, an auto parts unit of Hyundai Motor Group, said the technology allows the prevention of thermal runaway, a term referring to the process of uncontrollable rapid overheating, at the source, going beyond merely delaying the spread of heat and flames.

South Korean smartphone and personal computer makers are staying cautious as unpredictable US tariff policies increase uncertainty around their future production strategies.

On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration exempted smartphones, computers and some other electronic devices from country-specific reciprocal tariffs, including the 125 percent levies imposed on Chinese imports.

The move was seen as a temporary relief for U.S. tech giants like Apple Inc., which relies heavily on Chinese suppliers for its iPhones and other products, reports news agency.

In a cheer for the global electronics industry, including in India, the US government on Saturday announced to exempt smartphones and computers imported to the country from the latest tariffs.

According to a US Customs and Border Protection notice, the smartphones and computers would be excluded from US President Donald Trump's 10 per cent global tariff on most countries, and the much larger Chinese tariffs of 145 per cent.

The exemption applies to products entering the US or removed from warehouses as early as April 5, according to the notice.

The exemptions also include other electronic devices and components, including semiconductors, solar cells, and memory cards.

The move will help tech giants like Apple, which make iPhones and other products in China.

IT services major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has delayed salary hikes, as the management remained uncleared on the increment cycle amid global uncertainty arising due to US tariffs.

TCS typically revises the wages of its staff in April every year. The employee count at the end of fiscal 2025 stood at 6,07,979, as the company added 625 employees in the fourth quarter. In the entire financial year, the company hired 42,000 freshers.

The IT major now plans to make the salary revision decision based on the evolving business environment as uncertainty looms the sector.

The attrition rate in the fourth quarter for TCS increased to 13.3 per cent from 13 per cent in the last quarter.

According to Milind Lakkad, chief human resources officer at TCS, “We have onboarded 42,000 trainees in FY25 and the FY26 number will be similar or a little higher. Regarding the wage hikes, we will decide during the year, considering the uncertain business environment.”

Social media platform Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg are ‘hand in glove’ with China, and have betrayed American values, according to a whistleblower.

A former Meta executive, Sarah Wynn-Williams, has come forward as a whistleblower, accusing the social media giant of compromising US national security to establish a substantial business presence in China.

Wynn-Williams accused Meta executives of allowing the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) to access user data, including that of Americans.

She noted that Meta worked "hand in glove" with Beijing to create censorship tools that were used to silence critics of the CPC.

Wynn-Williams testified this during a congressional hearing led by Senator Josh Hawley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism.

With rising global demand for semiconductors driven by AI, 5G, EVs, internet of things (IoT) and advanced computing, India is leveraging its talent, policy push and strategic location to become a hub for semiconductor innovation and manufacturing, according to industry experts.

India is fast positioning itself as a key player in the global semiconductor ecosystem, as the industry hits a record $656 billion in 2024, growing over 21 per cent year-on-year, As per recent report released by Gartner, Nvidia leads the top 10 chip suppliers and biggest contributions is from GPU, CPU, Memory and Mobile SoC’s.

Under the government’s ‘Semicon India’ programme, a Rs 76,000 crore ($10 billion) incentive package has been launched to boost domestic chip manufacturing, advanced packaging, and semiconductor design.

“Coupled with strong participation from industry, over $20 billion in investments have already been committed by IESA member companies and global players across multiple Indian states,” said Ashok Chandak, President SEMI IESA.

Electronic permits in India reached a record 124.5 million in the month of March, a 20 per cent increase on an annual basis, showing robust factory activity.

The sharp rise in India’s goods movement, which is 11.5 per cent more than February, means the domestic economy remains resilient, showed government data.

Electronic permits or e-way bills are used to ship goods within and across states. E-way bills are mandatory for the movement of consignments worth Rs 50,000 and more. A hike in E-way bills indicates higher movement of goods.

E-way bill generation has maintained an upward trajectory for 25 months, with March setting a new record. The electronic permits are mandatory for tracking the movement of goods across the country.

The country’s automotive component production is set to grow to $145 billion by 2030, with exports tripling from $20 billion to $60 billion, while generating 2-2.5 million new employment opportunities, a NITI Aayog report projected on Friday.

This growth would lead to a trade surplus of approximately $25 billion and a significant increase in India’s share of the global automotive value chain from 3 per cent to 8 per cent, according to the report titled "Automotive Industry: Powering India’s Participation in Global Value Chains".

Additionally, this growth is expected to generate 2-2.5 million new employment opportunities, bringing the total direct employment in the sector to 3-4 million, the report mentioned.

India has emerged as the fourth-largest global producer after China, the US and Japan, with an annual production of nearly 6 million vehicles.