In a fillip to the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, London-based technology company Nothing on Tuesday unveiled its latest Phone (3a) series, which is designed to elevate its mid-range lineup with advanced features.

The smartphone series will be manufactured in Chennai, further underscoring Nothing’s commitment to the country.

Akis Evangelidis, Co-founder of Nothing who has recently been appointed as the President for India, has highlighted the importance of the nation in the company’s strategy.

India will play a pivotal role in the global smartphone industry in the years to come, and “we’re committed to accelerating our ‘Make in India’ initiatives and boosting domestic production,” he mentioned.

Nothing plans to accelerate its ‘Make in India’ initiatives by ramping up local production and investing more in the Indian market.

Indian stock markets closed a tad lower on Tuesday, with both the Sensex and Nifty settling in negative territory following US trade tariffs on Canada and Mexico coming into force from today.

Canada's retaliatory tariffs on US goods further dampened market sentiment.

The 30-share Sensex ended the day at 72,989.93, losing 96 points, or 0.13 per cent, from its previous close. Throughout the day, the index traded between 73,033.18 and 72,633.54.

The Nifty also ended lower, closing at 22,082.65, down by 36.65 points, or 0.17 per cent in the intra-day trade.

During the trading session, the index reached a high of 22,105.05 and a low of 21,964.60.

Tata Motors, the country’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, has launched the first-ever trials of hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks on Indian roads in line with the country’s green campaign to fight climate change.

This historic trial, which marks a significant step towards sustainable long-distance cargo transportation, was flagged off by Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari and Minister of New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi.

The trial phase will span up to 24 months and involves the deployment of 16 advanced hydrogen-powered vehicles with varying configurations and payload capacities. These trucks, equipped with new age Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engines (H2-ICE) and Fuel Cell (H2-FCEV) technologies, will be tested on India’s most prominent freight routes, including those around Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-NCR, Surat, Vadodara, Jamshedpur, and Kalinganagar.

LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo visited India as part of the company's broader strategies to seek new growth opportunities in the populous South Asian country, the company said on Tuesday.

During his four-day stay in India, Koo met with employees and business leaders to evaluate the company's competitiveness across the value chain, from research and development (R&D) to manufacturing and distribution, according to LG Group.

While touring LG Electronics Inc.'s production facilities in New Delhi and LG Soft India, LG's largest overseas software research centre in Bengaluru, Koo emphasized the importance of the Indian market in LG's long-term vision, reports news agency.

He described the country as a key player in driving the company's "second leap" in a rapidly changing era and strengthening its presence.

Shares of Reliance Industries Limited continued to slide on Tuesday, following a ruling from the Delhi High Court that reversed a previous judgment.

Amid the legal uncertainty, the company’s shares dropped by as much as 1 per cent, reaching Rs 1,159.55 per share during the intra-day trade.

This ruling concerns an arbitral award won by Reliance, along with BP Exploration (Alpha) Limited and NIKO (NECO) Limited, in a dispute with the government over alleged gas migration from ONGC’s blocks in the KG-D6 area.

In the original case, the government accused the consortium of causing gas migration, which led to a demand for compensation of $1.55 billion.

On May 9, 2023, a single-judge bench of the Delhi High Court dismissed the government's appeal, upholding the arbitral award in favour of the consortium.

India's power consumption increased to 131.54 billion units (BU) in February this year, from 127.34 BU in the same month last year, according to official figures.

The highest supply in a day to meet peak power demand also rose to 238.14 GW during the month compared to 222 GW in February 2024.

The peak power demand touched an all-time high of about 250 GW in May 2024. The previous all-time high peak power demand of 243.27 GW was recorded in September 2023.

According to government estimates, peak power demand is expected to touch 270 GW in the summer of 2025.

The power demand is expected to rise in March, which is expected to be hotter than usual, according to the latest IMD projections. February has already recorded the highest temperatures for the month since 1901.

Overseas travel by Indian citizens remains strong, which is reflected in visa application volumes in India increasing by 11 per cent year-on-year in 2024, exceeding pre-pandemic levels (2019) by 4 per cent, according to figures compiled by VFS Global.

Popular destinations for Indian travellers in 2024 included Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

"India continues to show a strong demand for international travel, and it’s clear that this robust momentum will persist in 2025," said Yummi Talwar, Chief Operating Officer - South Asia, VFS Global.

Talwar stressed that applicants should avoid counterfeit websites and fake social media pages claiming to be VFS Global.

Government-owned mining major NMDC has reported a 17.85 per cent increase in iron ore production in February this year to 4.62 million tonnes (MT) from 3.92 MT recorded in the same month of the previous year.

The cumulative iron ore production in the April-February period rose to 40.49 MT over 40.24 MT in the year-ago period, the filing said.

However, the company's iron ore sales slightly declined to 3.98 MT during the month compared to 3.99 MT in February 2024.

The sale of iron ore in February was at 3.98 MT, over 3.99 MT in the last February fiscal.

Hyderabad-headquartered NMDC is the country's largest iron ore mining company. The PSU alone caters around 20 per cent to the country's demand for the key steel-making raw material.

South Korea's financial watchdog has imposed over 60 billion won ($41 million) in fines on global and local investors over illegal short selling over the past two years, data showed on Tuesday, with the country set to lift its temporary ban on the stock trading practice at the end of this month.

According to the data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) and submitted to Rep. Lee Kang-il of the main opposition Democratic Party, the watchdog imposed a combined 63.5 billion won in fines in 58 illegal short selling cases from March 2023 to last month.

The figure may further rise as details of measures currently under review were not disclosed, reports news agency.

The FSS has been investigating 14 global investors and is planning to complete its probe before March 31, when the short selling is scheduled to resume.

The country imposed a temporary ban on the practice in November 2023 after a series of naked short selling violations involving several global investment banks were discovered.

Song Ho-sung, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Kia, on Tuesday expressed confidence in turning increasing global trade and business uncertainties for the South Korean automaker into opportunities for further growth.

In a letter to shareholders published on Kia's website, Song assessed that the globalisation trend of the past half-century was "shifting toward regionalism and nationalism," while also reshaping international trade dynamics.

Song also noted that increasing regulatory challenges, such as emissions and fuel efficiency requirements, continue to accelerate the industry's transition to eco-friendly vehicles, reports news agency.