New Delhi: The sales of entry-level cars are expected to record a robust double-digit growth year-on-year in the forthcoming festive season due to the GST rate cut that kicks in from Monday, according to a report by HSBC Research. “The passenger vehicle segment is now expected to grow by double digits (YoY) during the upcoming festive season compared to single digits before the GST cut announcement,” the report states.

The report is based on an interaction with more than 10 dealers across geographies in India and calls to a larger dealer. It points out that the market leader, Maruti Suzuki, has announced its new price list after the announcement of the GST cut. Consequently, enquiries have increased significantly, both online and walk-in, across segments by 15-20 per cent, and more for entry-level cars (K10, Celerio, S-presso and Wagon R) in Tier-1 cities.

The share of first-time buyers increased by 5-7 per cent in total bookings so far. The premium hatchback segment (Swift, Baleno, etc.) is also seeing a decent uptick, the report further states.

Maruti Suzuki has announced steep price cuts to the tune of 11-21 per cent on its entry-level portfolio, 9-11 per cent on premium hatchbacks and up to 8 per cent on Brezza (Exhibit 1), which is more than the GST cut of 3.5-8 per cent on these models. This should support a revival of the entry-level segment and keep Brezza competitive as well. Brezza’s cost differential with competing models such as Nexon, Venue, Sonet and 3XO had increased by 5-6 per cent following the GST cut, and now this should normalise post price cut, the report states.

WagonR continues to lead in the entry-level cars segment, though the yellow board (cabs) percentage has increased over time. WagonR is strong among personal-use vehicle customers in Tier 2 cities. Interestingly, it had started sliding in Tier 1 cities last year, but an increase in enquiries and bookings post GST cut announcement suggests a trend reversal towards growth now, the report points out.

The new Maruti SUV ‘Victoris’ is getting a good response from customers. However, there might be some cannibalisation of Grand Vitara (GV) as pricing is similar. We expect it to add 5,000-6,000 units per month net of cannibalisation. The Victoris also introduces an entry-level hybrid priced at INR 1.64m to the Maruti stable, which is available only in Toyota HyRyder and not in Grand Vitara, the report further states.

It also observes that the entry-level two-wheeler segment is seeing a healthy uptick from the rural market with a double-digit increase in enquiries. Credit-based approvals have also increased over the past 1-2 months, which is positive for overall two-wheeler retail sales.

Mumbai: The combined market valuation of seven of the country’s 10 most valued companies climbed by Rs 1,18,328.29 crore last week, with State Bank of India and Bharti Airtel emerging as the biggest gainers in an upbeat equity market.

During the week, the BSE benchmark index surged 721.53 points, or 0.88 per cent — reflecting strong investor sentiment. Among the gainers, the market value of State Bank of India jumped by Rs 35,953.25 crore to reach Rs 7,95,910 crore, while Bharti Airtel’s valuation rose by Rs 33,214.77 crore, taking it to Rs 11,18,952.64 crore.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) added Rs 12,952.75 crore, pushing its market capitalisation to Rs 11,46,879.47 crore. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) also advanced Rs 12,460.25 crore to Rs 5,65,612.92 crore, while Infosys climbed Rs 6,127.73 crore to Rs 6,39,901.03 crore.

HDFC Bank recorded a marginal rise of Rs 230.31 crore, with its valuation standing at Rs 14,84,816.26 crore. On the losing side, ICICI Bank’s market value declined by Rs 10,707.87 crore to Rs 10,01,654.46 crore. Bajaj Finance lost Rs 6,346.93 crore, slipping to Rs 6,17,892.72 crore and Hindustan Unilever shed Rs 5,039.87 crore to Rs 6,01,225.16 crore.

At the end of the week, HDFC Bank remained among the most valued company, followed by TCS, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever and LIC.

Meanwhile, in the previous week ended September 7, the combined market valuation of seven top firms had risen by Rs 1,06,250.95 crore, with Bajaj Finance emerging as the biggest gainer as the BSE benchmark jumped 901.11 points, or 1.12 per cent.

In the previous week, Bajaj Finance’s market value jumped by Rs 40,788.38 crore to reach Rs 6.24 lakh crore. Infosys added Rs 33,736.83 crore, taking its valuation to Rs 6.33 lakh crore.

Last Updated:September 21, 2025, 11:41 IST

Several leading IT giants in India like Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro, and HCL Technologies have consistently been among the top employers of the H-1B visa holders

Under a proclamation that takes effect on 21 September 2025, employers will now need to pay a $100,000 fee for every H-1B worker entering the US.

H1b Latest News: Indian IT companies have mainly relied on the US market for their business, and the H-1B visa is of significant importance for them. Though the Indian tech companies’ dependence on H-1B visas have fallen in the past few years, the firms still account for nearly 13% of all such visas issued by the US. According to the latest data available on the website of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Indian tech companies secured 13,870 or nearly 13 per cent of all H-1B visas issued in FY25 till June 30, 2025.

According to the data, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys emerged as the top recipients of H-1B visas.

Data from the US Immigration Department showed that of the total 1,06,922 H-1B visas issued to various employers in FY25 till June 30, 2025, about 13,870 (or 13% of the total) went to companies of Indian origin. TCS led the way with 5,505 beneficiaries, followed by Infosys with 2,004, LTIMindtree with 1,807, and HCL America with 1,728.

Among others, Wipro’s H-1B visa beneficiaries stood at 1,523, followed by Tech Mahindra Americas with 951, and L&T Technology Services with 352.

H-1B dependency of Indian IT companies falls

However, the number (13,870 H-1B visas for Indian companies) is significantly lower now as compared with about 24,766 H-1B visas went to the Indian companies till September 2024.

Which company got the most H1B visas?

Amazon.com Services LLC, an American company, received the highest number of US visas, obtaining 10,044 H1B visas. The Indian company, TCS, secured the second position, while Microsoft ranked third with 5,189 visas. Although Cognizant was founded in Chennai, its headquarters is now located in New Jersey, USA.

Indian Companies Benefit from H1B Visa Programme

The H1B visa programme permits companies to temporarily employ foreign professionals in specialised roles. India’s technology companies have particularly benefited from this programme.

Major Indian IT service companies such as Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro, and HCL Technologies have consistently ranked among the top employers of H1B visa holders.

H-1B visa fee hiked to $100,000: Donald Trump’s latest move

In a move that could adversely impact Indian professionals on visas in the US, President Donald Trump on Friday signed a proclamation that will raise the fee for H1-B visas to a staggering $100,000 annually, the latest in the administration’s efforts to crack down on immigration.

Until now, H-1B visas have carried various administrative fees totalling around $1,500.

The proclamation said that the number of foreign STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) workers in the United States has more than doubled between 2000 and 2019, increasing from 1.2 million to almost 2.5 million, while overall STEM employment has only increased 44.5 per cent during that time.  Among computer and math occupations, the foreign share of the workforce grew from 17.7 per cent in 2000 to 26.1 per cent in 2019. The key facilitator for this influx of foreign STEM labour has been the abuse of the H-1B visa, it said.

In July, USCIS had said that it has received enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and the 20,000 H-1B visa US advanced degree exemption, known as the master’s cap, for fiscal year 2026.

White House staff secretary Will Scharf said the H1B non-immigrant visa programme is one of the “most abused visa” systems in the country’s current immigration system, and it is supposed to allow highly skilled labourers, who work in fields that Americans don’t work in, to come into the United States.

The Trump administration said that the $100,000 fee is aimed at ensuring that the people being brought into the country are “actually very highly skilled” and do not replace American workers.

Lutnick said that historically, the employment-based Green Card programme let in 281,000 people a year, and those people earned $66,000 a year on average, and were five times more likely to participate in assistance programmes of the government.

Infosys, Wipro ADRs fall

Falling the move, Infosys ADRs dropped as much as 4.5% in Friday’s trade, while Wipro slid 3.4%. Other leading users of the H-1B programme also lost ground, with Cognizant Technology down 4.3% and consulting giant Accenture slipping 1.3%.

Mohammad Haris

Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to personal finance, markets, economy and companies. Having over a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris h…Read More

Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to personal finance, markets, economy and companies. Having over a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris h… Read More

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