April 2, 2026 — Roundup of developments from India
Oracle layoffs and job losses
Thousands of Oracle employees in India have reportedly received layoff notices as part of a companywide reduction in force. Indian media and social posts on platforms such as LinkedIn put the possible number affected in the country at roughly 10,000–12,000. CNBC reported Oracle was cutting thousands of roles globally; Oracle did not comment to Reuters. The company had about 162,000 full‑time employees worldwide as of May 2025. Reports say the cuts come as Oracle increases spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure to compete with cloud rivals.
Weather: heavy rains and hail warnings
The India Meteorological Department says two western disturbances will bring rain to northwestern India, including possible thunderstorms, lightning, strong winds and temperature changes on Friday, Saturday and next Tuesday. The western Himalayan region and adjoining plains are expected to be most affected. Hailstorms are likely in Delhi and nearby parts of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana on April 3–4, and isolated heavy rainfall is forecast for the Kashmir Valley.
Airfares set to rise as jet fuel costs climb
Indian carriers are expected to raise fares after aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices increased amid the Middle East conflict. IndiGo announced revised fuel surcharges on domestic and international flights to take effect from Thursday. When ATF prices were revised, the government limited the permitted increase for domestic flights to 25%. In March, airlines introduced fuel surcharges following a sharp rise in crude since the start of the US‑Israel war with Iran. India’s aviation ministry last month suspended a price cap on airfares so carriers can adjust ticket prices as needed.
High‑level Russian visit on defence, energy ties
Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov arrived in India for a two‑day visit focused on bilateral relations, especially security and defence cooperation. He is scheduled to meet National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. India and Russia maintain long-standing defence and trade ties, and energy purchases have been central to recent diplomacy. Under a February US‑India trade framework, New Delhi agreed to halt some purchases of Russian oil; Washington later issued a temporary waiver allowing Indian refiners to resume such buys for 30 days to help ease global energy prices.
Petrochemical import duty exemptions to ease supply pressures
To relieve supply strains tied to the conflict in the Middle East, India has temporarily exempted several petrochemical products from import duty from April 2 through June 30. The list includes ammonium nitrate, methanol, styrene, acetic acid and polyvinyl chloride. The government said the measure is targeted relief to help industries that depend on petrochemical feedstocks and to lower costs for consumers of finished goods.
What this coverage covers
This roundup brings the latest on major corporate layoffs affecting tech workers, weather alerts and policy moves aimed at mitigating global energy and supply shocks.