The housing sector in the country is expected to contribute 13 per cent to the national GDP by 2025, reflecting its resilience and potential, according to a report on Friday.

Projected to grow into a $1-trillion market by 2030, the sector is evolving in response to demographic shifts, policy reforms, and global trends, according to the report by JLL, a leading global commercial real estate and investment management company.

Tier 2 and 3 cities are emerging as pivotal growth hubs, with smaller urban centres like Jaipur, Indore and Kochi driving more than 40 per cent of new housing developments by 2025.

The urban homeownership rate is set to increase to 72 per cent by 2025, up from 65 per cent in 2020, supported by affordable financing options and a younger demographic entering the housing market.

A total of 16.15 lakh electric vehicles (EVs) have been incentivised under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India)-II scheme, the government said on Thursday.

It includes 14.27 lakh electric two-wheelers (e-2Ws), 1.59 lakh e-3Ws, 22,548 e-4Ws and 5,131 e-buses.

Additionally, 10,985 EV public charging stations (PCS) have been sanctioned, with 8,812 allocated for installation.

As of October 31, 2024, a total of Rs 8,844 crore has been spent, including Rs 6,577 crore for subsidies, Rs 2,244 crore for capital assets, and Rs 23 crore for other expenses, according to Ministry of Heavy Industries.

The scheme includes a phased manufacturing program and has supported significant policy initiatives, such as reducing GST on EVs and enabling state EV policies, contributing to India’s transition to sustainable mobility.

As 2025 begins on a note of heightened global uncertainties ahead of the US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, India continues to be in a much stronger position with high frequency indicators showing a pick up in the pace of growth in the third quarter of current fiscal (Q3 FY25), according to a report on Thursday.

GST collections, services purchasing managers' index (PMI), air passenger growth, and vehicle registrations saw a notable improvement in Q3 versus Q2, according to a Bank of Baroda (BoB) report.

On the other hand, in China, while the manufacturing sector is expanding slowly, lifting domestic consumption and reviving the real estate sector is proving to be a task for the administration.

The US economy is giving mixed signals regarding growth. While the labour market appears to be softening and manufacturing activity is weak, retail sales, pending home sales, and the service sector seem to be doing well. In Europe, manufacturing activity is unable to pick up pace so far, while the service sector is regaining ground.

The Noida International Airport (NIA) has signed a 30-year concession agreement with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) to operate fuel stations at three key locations within the airport premises.

This collaboration will ensure uninterrupted access to high-quality fuelling services at the airport, supporting the Noida International Airport's vision of a seamless and efficient aviation hub, according to a company statement issued on Thursday.

The agreement encompasses the establishment and operation of three fuel stations by the country’s biggest oil company.

These will be near the main western access road for passengers, there will be one airside fuel station for airport operations, and near the eastern cargo precinct The fuel stations will be designed to adhere to global standards of safety and operational excellence in line with NIA’s vision of creating a world-class airport for Northern India.

Driven by rising private consumption and disposable incomes, India saw vehicle retail sales increase by at least 9 per cent in 2024 (year-on-year) to cross 26 million units.

This surpasses the pre-Covid peak of 25.4 million units in a single year in 2018.

Industry experts said that the key aspects to watch out in 2025 will be government’s focus on infrastructure spend and growth in end use segments, which will augur well for the commercial vehicles industry.

“Looking ahead, we expect demand to improve in Q4 FY25 across most segments of the commercial vehicle industry,” said Girish Wagh, Executive Director, Tata Motors Ltd.

According to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (Fada), they are optimistic about 2025, especially with multiple launches lined up, and expect the electric vehicle (EV) sector to perform well.

Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) on Wednesday said it has registered highest-ever yearly domestic sales of 6,05,433 units in 2024.

The company achieved total sales of 7,64,119 units (including domestic and export) last year.

In the month of December, HMIL reported total monthly sales of 55,078 units (domestic at 42,208 units and export at 12,870 units).

According to Tarun Garg, Whole-time Director and Chief Operating Officer, HMIL, the company managed to sustain sales momentum in 2024, despite strong headwinds faced by the industry at large.

“Introduction of the innovative Hy-CNG Duo technology in 2024 resonated well with buyers, translating to the highest ever CNG contribution of 13.1 per cent to HMIL’s domestic sales in CY 2024, against 10.4 per cent in CY 2023,” Garg said.

Tata group-owned Air India becomes the first airline to offer inflight Wi-Fi Internet connectivity services on domestic flights, according to the airline's press release on Wednesday.

According to Air India, passengers can avail of Wi-Fi Internet connectivity service on domestic routes in Airbus A350, Boeing 787-9 and select Airbus A321neo aircraft.

"This makes Air India the first to offer in-flight Wi-Fi Internet connectivity on flights within India, enabling travellers – flying for leisure or business – to stay connected to the Internet during their flights, and to enjoy browsing, accessing social media, catching up on work, or texting friends and family," the airline said.

Rajesh Dogra, Chief Customer Experience Officer, Air India, “Connectivity is now an integral part of modern travel. For some, it is about the convenience and comfort of real-time sharing, while for others, it is about greater productivity and efficiency."

"Whatever be one’s purpose, we are confident that our guests will appreciate having the option of connecting to the web and enjoy the new Air India experience on board these aircraft,” he added.

The New Year welcomed a new two-wheeler (2W) EV leader in India as Bajaj Auto overtook Ola Electric in the month of December in terms of market share.

According to the data from the government’s Vahan portal, Bajaj Auto's market share in the two-wheeler EV segment increased by 3 per cent to 25 per cent in December 2024, which was 22 per cent in November.

At the same time, Ola Electric's market share declined by 5 per cent on a MoM (month-on-month) basis to 19 per cent in December. It was 24 per cent in November.

Along with Bajaj, Ather Energy's market share in the two-wheeler EV segment increased by 3 per cent to 14 per cent in December, from 11 percent in November.

The year 2024 has been a historic year for the Indian stock market as the market cap of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) increased by 21 per cent on YoY (year-on-year) basis to Rs 438.9 lakh crore ($5.13 trillion) as of December 31, 2024, from Rs 361.05 lakh crore ($ 4.34 trillion) on December 29, 2023, according to a data released by it on Tuesday.

A total of 301 companies have been listed on the NSE in 2024.

Out of these, 90 were mainboard and 178 were SME companies. At the same time, 33 companies have been directly listed.

Digitalisation initiatives could provide long-term benefits to the oil and gas industry globally, a report showed on Tuesday.

Certain technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, and virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR), are now part of the oil and gas industry

The GlobalData’s report, titled ‘Digitalisation in Oil and Gas,’ highlights the role of major oil and gas companies, such as ADNOC, BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, and TotalEnergies, in the development and adoption of digital tools to solve business problems.