OYO has added 3,500 new corporate clients in FY25 through its business accelerator division, the global travel tech platform said on Friday. This marks a 20 per cent year-on-year growth in its corporate portfolio, reflecting a rise in business travel in India following the Covid period.
With this addition, OYO’s corporate network now includes more than 6,500 clients.
Mumbai led the growth, adding over 700 corporate clients in the last year. It was followed by Hyderabad with 400 and Pune with 350. Other key metro cities such as Chennai and Bengaluru also contributed to the increase in corporate accounts.
The company said it also saw a rise in long-duration and event-based stays among its corporate clients.
“The growth has been driven not just by large corporations but also by a diverse mix of small and medium enterprises, traditional business houses, startups, travel management companies, and even film production houses,” said Manish Kashyap, Head, OYO Business Accelerator.
The latest Business Travel Index (BTI) by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) ranks India as the fourth-largest business travel market in the Asia-Pacific region. This has been attributed to economic growth and rising demand for in-person meetings.
The expansion of small and medium enterprises across India is also contributing to the rise in regional travel demand.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission and Keir Starmer stand together, ahead of their bilateral meeting at the 6th European Political Community summit on May 16 in Tirana, Albania.
PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer was expected to sign a new agreement with the European Union at a summit in London on Monday, marking the first major step towards closer UK-EU ties since Brexit.
EU and UK negotiators reached agreement on a deal to "reset" their relations post-Brexit, diplomats said, after talks ran into Sunday night to resolve squabbling over key sticking points — with the sensitive matter of fishing rights top of the list.
EU diplomats said member states greenlit a trio of texts to be signed at the summit: a Security and Defence Partnership, a statement of EU-UK solidarity, and a Common Understanding on topics including trade, fishing and youth mobility.
The deal comes after Starmer pushed for a reset in UK-EU relations, arguing that the previous deal negotiated by the Conservative government "isn't working for anyone".
Starmer, who came to power in the July general elections, has stated he will not cross several red lines despite seeking closer cooperation with Europe. Some EU demands had remained unresolved, and the move to reset relations has been criticised by the Conservatives, who have called it a "surrender".
A source close to the talks told AFP there was a "late breakthrough last night (and) still steps to take".
The highlight of the summit between Starmer and EU leaders Ursula von der Leyen, Antonio Costa and Kaja Kallas will be the signing of a "Security and Defence Partnership".
Two other documents are also expected: a joint statement of European solidarity from the EU-UK leaders' summit and a Common Understanding on areas including trade, fishing and youth mobility.
Under the final agreement, Britain will keep its waters open for European fishermen for 12 years after the current deal expires in 2026. In return, the EU will indefinitely ease red tape on food imports from the UK, according to diplomats.
Negotiators also agreed on broad language around youth mobility, leaving detailed discussions for a later stage. The topic remains sensitive, with concerns in London that a youth mobility scheme could be seen as a step back toward freedom of movement between the UK and EU.
Shadow of Russia, Trump
The summit comes amid growing concerns about security in Europe, the threat from Russia, and uncertainty over US support if Donald Trump returns to the White House.
The new defence partnership is expected to enable more regular security discussions, UK participation in EU military missions, and potential access to a 150-billion-euro ($167-billion) EU defence fund.
However, many of the specific terms are still to be negotiated.
Granting the UK’s defence sector full access to EU programmes will require further discussions.
Britain already shares defence ties with 23 EU countries through NATO, making the defence pact one of the easier parts of the agreement to finalise.
"I think we should keep our sense of the importance of this relatively tempered," said Olivia O'Sullivan, director of the UK in the World programme at Chatham House.
"It's the next step in closer cooperation... but not a resolution of many of the outstanding questions," she told AFP.
Starmer has ruled out rejoining the EU customs union and single market, but he appears willing to align with the EU on food and agriculture standards.
Red tape, mobility
"Red tape, all the certifications that are required, we absolutely want to reduce that," said Europe Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds, the UK’s chief negotiator, in an interview with the BBC on Sunday. He said delays at borders were causing food to rot in lorries.
While Starmer has ruled out a return to freedom of movement, he is open to a youth mobility scheme allowing 18- to 30-year-olds from the UK and EU to study and work across both regions.
He is approaching the matter cautiously amid increasing support for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, which is opposed to immigration and the EU.
Thomas-Symonds said any such scheme would be "smart and controlled".
He added that the UK is seeking a faster customs lane for British nationals at EU borders.
"We want British people who are going on holiday to be able to go and enjoy their holiday, not be stuck in queues," he said.
US president Donald Trump has again said that India is ready to cut 100 per cent tariffs on American goods and that a trade deal between the two countries is expected soon.
Speaking to Fox News, Trump said he is not in a "rush" to finalise the deal.
Commenting on Trump's remarks, India's external affairs minister S Jaishankar said in New Delhi on Thursday that any trade deal between the two countries must be mutually beneficial.
Trump referred to India as "one of the highest tariff nations in the world."
"They make it almost impossible to do business. Do you know that they're willing to cut 100 per cent of their tariffs for the United States?" he said.
When asked if the deal is coming soon, Trump said, "That'll come soon. I'm in no rush. Look, everybody wants to make a deal with us."
He added, "South Korea wants to make a deal but I'm not going to make deals with everybody. I'm just going to set the limit. I'll make another some deals. Because I can't, you can't meet with that many people. I've got 150 countries that want to make deals."
Talks are currently ongoing between India and the US to finalise a trade agreement.
On Thursday, Jaishankar said that negotiations were underway.
"These are complicated negotiations. Nothing is decided till everything is. Any trade deal has to be mutually beneficial; it has to work for both countries," he said. "That would be our expectation from the trade deal."
India's commerce minister Piyush Goyal is in Washington to assess the progress of the proposed trade agreement.
He is expected to meet US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer.
India is looking for duty concessions on labour-intensive sectors including textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, oil seeds, chemicals, grapes, and bananas.
The US is seeking duty concessions in areas such as industrial goods, automobiles (especially electric vehicles), wines, petrochemical products, dairy, and agricultural items like apples and tree nuts.
(With inputs from PTI)
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Users experiencing ongoing problems have been advised to try again later
Tesco has issued an apology after a software problem caused disruptions to its website and mobile app, leaving some customers unable to manage online orders or access digital versions of their Clubcards.
The issue occurred on Friday afternoon, with users taking to social media to report problems ranging from being unable to amend their online grocery orders to difficulties accessing their Clubcard accounts. Some customers also reported being unable to use vouchers or collect points while shopping.
A Tesco spokesperson confirmed the incident had been resolved later that day. “We have fixed a software issue that temporarily impacted customers using our website and app this afternoon,” the spokesperson said. “We're sorry for the inconvenience.”
— (@)
Tesco's customer service team acknowledged the problem in responses on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), telling users the company was experiencing "intermittent system issues" and that its IT team was working to fix the situation.
Outage tracking site Downdetector reported a spike in issues with Tesco’s digital services shortly after 14:00 BST, with complaints gradually subsiding around two hours later. Some users, however, stated they had faced problems for up to four hours.
The disruption affected Tesco’s digital Clubcard system, which is used by millions of customers to access discounts and collect loyalty points. In early 2024, Tesco reported that its Clubcard scheme had over 20 million members across the UK.
Despite the timing of the outage and recent cyber attacks affecting other major UK retailers such as Marks and Spencer and the Co-op, there is no indication that Tesco’s problems were linked to a cybersecurity incident.
Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket chain, has not released further details on the nature of the software issue, but reassured customers that the matter had been addressed. Users experiencing ongoing problems have been advised to try again later or seek assistance via customer services.
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In April, Indian minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that iPhones worth £13.22 bn were exported from India in FY25. (Photo: Reuters)
APPLE has assured the Indian government that its investment and manufacturing plans in the country remain unchanged.
This comes after US president Donald Trump said he had asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to scale back manufacturing in India and focus more on the United States.
Following this, Indian officials spoke to Apple executives, who confirmed that India would continue to be a major base for manufacturing Apple products, according to government sources quoted by PTI.
"Apple has said that its investment plans in India are intact and it proposes to continue to have India as a major manufacturing base for its products," a government source told the news agency.
Earlier, Trump had said he spoke to Cook and told him he does not want Apple to manufacture in India, urging the company to increase production in the US instead.
"We have Apple, as you know, it's coming in. And I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday. I said to him, Tim, you're my friend. I treated you very well. You're coming in with $500 billion (£375.94 bn). But now I hear you're building all over India. I don't want you building in India. You can build in India if you want to take care of India," Trump said.
He said India is one of the highest tariff nations and doing business there is difficult.
"They've (India) offered us a deal where basically they're willing to literally charge us no tariff. So we go from the highest tariff. You couldn't do business in India... But I said to Tim... we treated you really good. We put up with all the plants that you built in China for years. Now you got to build us. We're not interested in you building in India. India can take care of themselves. They're doing very well. We want you to build here. And they're going to be upping their production in the United States, Apple," Trump said.
Cook has said Apple will source most iPhones sold in the US from India in the June quarter. China will produce most of the devices for other markets amid uncertainty around tariffs.
Government sources said that 15 per cent of global iPhone production currently comes from India. Foxconn, Tata Electronics, and Pegatron India (largely owned by Tata Electronics) are involved in iPhone manufacturing.
Foxconn has also begun manufacturing Apple AirPods in Telangana for export.
An analysis by S&P Global showed that iPhone sales in the US reached 75.9 million units in 2024. Exports from India in March were at 3.1 million units, indicating a need to either expand capacity or redirect phones meant for the domestic market.
"Apple's Indian exports already headed predominantly to the United States, which represented 81.9 per cent of phones exported by the firm in the three months to February 28, 2025. That increased to 97.6 per cent in March 2025 as a result of a 219 per cent jump in exports, likely reflecting the firm looking to preempt higher tariffs," the S&P Global Market Intelligence report said.
In April, Indian minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that iPhones worth £13.22 bn were exported from India in FY25.
The Apple ecosystem in India is also one of the largest job creators, with an estimated 2 lakh people employed across its vendor network.
(With inputs from PTI)
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Mittal, 74, has a net worth of more than £17.3 billion.
LAKSHMI MITTAL, executive chairman of ArcelorMittal SA and one of Britain’s richest residents, has purchased a mansion in Dubai’s Emirates Hills, known as the “Beverly Hills of Dubai”, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Baroque-style home was listed for around £150 million in 2023 and sold for roughly half that amount earlier this year, according to people with knowledge of the deal.
The residence is lavishly decorated with gold leaf, the selling agent had said. Bloomberg reported the deal is among the most expensive residential sales in Dubai.
Mittal, 74, has a net worth of more than £17.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The purchase comes as he considers leaving the UK following recent tax changes. A person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that no final decision has been made yet.
The UK recently scrapped its preferential tax regime for non-domiciled residents, prompting several wealthy individuals, including Nassef Sawiris and Bart Becht, to relocate.
Mittal has been a prominent figure in UK business and politics for over two decades.
A representative for the Mittals told Bloomberg there are no plans to move their investment firm, LK Advisers, from London. The family continues to reside at their Kensington home.