US bars TCS, Infosys, Wipro from green-card sponsorship programme

Good morning. Washington tightened the screws on foreign workers, Delhi loosened a few on taxpayers, and markets ended another nervous day lower.

In today's newsletter: US suspends Indian IT firms from green-card route, GST Council's procedural overhaul, and Houthi strikes ground Riyadh flights.

MARKETS AT A GLANCE

Closing levels · 8 October 2026

Sensex 71,593.24 ▼ 1.44%	Nifty 50 22,231.80 ▼ 1.64%
USD/INR 96.78 ▲ 0.02% · rupee weaker	Brent Crude $103.80 ● 0.00%

Sensex and Nifty fell more than 1.4% each as rate-hike worries and high crude weighed, while the rupee stayed near 96.8 to the dollar.

MAIN STORY

US suspends TCS, Infosys, Wipro and Microsoft from green-card sponsorship

The US Labor Department has suspended Indian IT firms including TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCLTech from the Permanent Labor Certification Program, or PERM, the route companies use to sponsor foreign workers for green cards. Cognizant, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe are also on the list.

Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling cited "multiple active federal investigations" and announced the move flanked by Vice President JD Vance, who accused companies of using foreign-worker programmes at the expense of American employees.

Vance singled out Microsoft, saying it laid off around 6,000 American workers last year. Microsoft has denied the fraud claims, and Infosys and Wipro ADRs fell about 3% in US trading.

DEEP DIVE

GST Council scraps officers' arrest powers, speeds up refunds

The GST Council cleared a big procedural overhaul on Thursday while keeping tax rates largely unchanged. It removed GST officers' arrest powers and raised the prosecution threshold to ₹5 crore, with changes expected from April 1, 2027.

More than 16 lakh small businesses with turnover up to ₹5 crore could pay tax quarterly and file one annual return. About 38,700 exporters get automatic release of 90% of refund claims after risk checks.

Employers can now claim input tax credit on group health and life insurance premiums, which lowers the cost of offering staff cover. Telangana's finance minister has already asked for protection of state revenues.

DEEP DIVE

Houthi strikes on Riyadh cancel over 300 flights, Indian embassy says stay indoors

Over 300 Riyadh flights were cancelled worldwide after Houthi attacks on Saudi airports. Smoke was seen at Riyadh airport and a kindergarten and a hospital were damaged, though the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted two ballistic missiles.

Air India, IndiGo and Akasa cancelled flights to Riyadh, and the Indian embassy told nationals to stay indoors and not repost videos of the attacks. India called the strikes "unacceptable".

Pakistan has confirmed its troops are in Saudi Arabia, and its jets were reportedly used to strike the Houthis, the first major test of the Mecca defence pact.

TECH

Breaking.exe

Starlink goes mobile. SpaceX bought a nationwide low-band spectrum portfolio so Starlink Mobile can become a major US carrier, sending AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile shares lower.

OpenAI's real number. OpenAI told investors its annualised revenue was roughly $50 billion at the end of September, about $20 billion below earlier reports, and Nvidia, Oracle and CoreWeave shares fell.

Gemini gets a job. Google is turning Gemini into an AI agent for businesses that can plan tasks, delegate to subagents and even get its own workplace email address.

Robotaxi money. Waymo secured a $5 billion loan from Blackstone and PIMCO, its first-ever debt financing, to expand its robotaxi service.

MONEY

Finance 101

TCS slows down. TCS revenue rose 11% to ₹73,188 crore, but its 0.2% growth over the previous quarter was its slowest second quarter in three years, a sign IT demand is still muted.

Shipbuilding win. Cochin Shipyard has won an order to build 40 ships for buyers in the US, Germany, Norway and other countries, Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said.

Big investor exits ITC. A GQG-linked fund sold ITC shares worth ₹9,395 crore in a block deal, with Fidelity and Indian mutual funds buying after the stock's 30% fall this year.

Paytm bank struck off. The RBI removed Paytm Payments Bank from its list of scheduled banks, months after cancelling its banking licence in April for not following norms.

THE WORLD

Pangaea Revisited

Indians on Iran list. Fresh US sanctions on Iran's oil trade name two Mumbai-based firms and five Indian nationals among 27 companies, six individuals and 22 vessels.

New Maduro charges. Ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife were indicted for conspiracy to torture US citizens, and a New York judge denied her bail plea.

Duterte to face trial. The International Criminal Court ruled former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte fit to stand trial, after experts found he can follow the proceedings.

Horn of Africa flares. Ethiopia launched drone strikes on Eritrean troops who crossed into Tigray, raising the risk of a full regional war.

THE REST

Also, Also, Also

Nana Patekar, 1951-2026. Actor Nana Patekar, known for his intense performances, died suddenly at 75 and was cremated at his Pune farmhouse with full state honours.

Cheaper cancer drugs. The Centre will cap trade margins on non-scheduled cancer drugs at 30% of MRP, which could save patients ₹2,500 crore a year.

Flying costs more. Air India, Air India Express and Akasa have raised fuel surcharges from October 9 as jet fuel prices climb, following IndiGo.

Nobel's India link. Literature Nobel winner Anne Carson's memoir 'Nox' is an elegy for her brother, who spent years in India before she could meet him one last time.

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