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Oracle layoffs trigger fresh fears for Bengaluru housing market as IT slowdown deepens

Oracle layoffs and a broader IT slowdown are beginning to impact housing demand in Bengaluru as tech professionals delay big home purchases amid job uncertainty.

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4 months ago

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Oracle layoff

Layoffs at Oracle have intensified concerns across India’s major technology hubs, with early signs now emerging in the housing markets of cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and NCR, where IT incomes have historically driven residential demand.

The job cuts, which reportedly affected around 12,000 employees in Oracle India, are part of a broader global workforce reduction plan that could total nearly 30,000 roles. The company cited organisational changes and informed affected employees that their roles had been eliminated with immediate effect, with termination emails reportedly sent early Tuesday morning US time.

The development comes at a time when growth in India’s IT services sector is already slowing after two decades of rapid expansion. Market experts say the combination of layoffs, slower hiring and automation is beginning to change financial behaviour among tech professionals, especially when it comes to large housing purchases.

Saurabh Mukherjea of Marcellus Investment Managers said in a podcast that the IT sector is entering a structural slowdown. Between 2005 and 2020, IT services firms grew revenues and headcount at roughly 15 percent annually, but growth has now slowed to around 5 to 6 percent, with hiring tapering off after the Covid period. He noted that the slowdown began even before artificial intelligence became a major factor.

Artificial intelligence is now accelerating the shift. A 2025 report by NITI Aayog estimated that up to 20 percent of jobs in IT services and call centres could be impacted by automation by 2031, adding further uncertainty to hiring trends.

Bengaluru shows early impact

Real estate experts say the first visible spillover is appearing in Bengaluru’s property market. Some technology professionals are reportedly postponing high-value home purchases, while others are choosing lower-cost housing to reduce financial risk.

This shift follows a sharp rise in housing prices between 2021 and 2023 and indicates a change in buyer behaviour rather than a sudden collapse in demand. However, analysts warn that prolonged hiring slowdowns or continued layoffs could weaken housing absorption and increase pressure on existing inventory.

Real estate consultant Vishal Bhargava noted that layoffs tend to affect housing demand in two ways — employees who lose jobs struggle with loan repayments, while those still employed often delay purchases due to fear of job loss.

Financial markets are already reflecting the transition. The Nifty IT index has fallen around 25 percent so far in 2026 as investors adjust growth expectations for the sector.

According to a note by ICICI Direct, the sector may be entering a deflationary phase where automation reduces human effort and compresses revenues linked to billable hours. The note estimates annual revenue deflation of 2 to 3 percent in the near term, with nearly 30 percent of the industry exposed. In a downside scenario, as much as 80 billion dollars of Indian IT revenue could be at risk.

Long-term outlook tied to AI transition

Despite the near-term concerns, the long-term outlook depends on how quickly companies adapt to AI-led services. Estimates suggest that AI-driven services could expand the total addressable market by 300 to 400 billion dollars by 2030.

India’s IT exports contribute roughly 300 billion dollars in foreign exchange, making the sector critical to the country’s economic stability. Any structural shift in the industry is therefore likely to have wider economic implications beyond the technology sector.

A research paper titled The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis by Citrini Research outlined a hypothetical worst-case scenario in which rapid AI automation could lead to large-scale job losses and financial instability by 2028. The report argued that Indian IT firms could be vulnerable if global clients increasingly shift to AI coding tools available at significantly lower cost.

However, the authors described the scenario as a stress test rather than a base-case forecast. Even so, the report has intensified debate over how quickly IT firms can transition to higher-value AI services and whether the broader economy can absorb the shock if the transition is slow.

For now, early indicators — layoffs, slower hiring and cautious home buying — suggest that the impact of the IT sector’s slowdown is beginning to move beyond the technology industry into the broader economy.

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Over 43 lakh names removed from Jharkhand draft voter rolls after special revision

The Election Commission has released Jharkhand’s draft electoral rolls after the Special Intensive Revision, with over 43 lakh names removed and 83.51% of registered voters submitting enumeration forms.

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6 hours ago

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August 5, 2026

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The Election Commission on Wednesday published the draft electoral rolls for Jharkhand following the completion of the enumeration phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), with more than 43 lakh names removed from the voter list.

Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) K Ravi Kumar said the state had 2,64,63,236 registered voters before the Special Intensive Revision exercise began. Following the completion of the enumeration process, the draft electoral roll now contains 2,21,01,249 electors.

According to the CEO, 2,21,01,249 electors, or 83.51 per cent of the total registered voters, submitted their enumeration forms by July 29, reflecting strong participation in the revision exercise.

Door-to-door verification conducted during revision exercise

The enumeration exercise for the Special Intensive Revision began on June 30 and continued until July 29. During this period, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) carried out door-to-door visits to distribute, collect and verify enumeration forms submitted by eligible voters.

Why over 43 lakh names were removed

A total of 43,61,987 names were deleted from the draft electoral rolls after being identified under the Absent, Shifted, Dead or Duplicate (ASDD) category.

The CEO said the deleted names include:

  • 7.63 lakh voters who had died.
  • 15.92 lakh voters who had permanently shifted.
  • 14.50 lakh voters who were untraceable or remained absent during the verification exercise.
  • 4.38 lakh voters whose names were found registered at multiple locations.

In addition, around 1.16 lakh voters refused to sign the enumeration forms and did not return the completed forms to Booth Level Officers during the enumeration phase, the CEO added.

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Lok Sabha passes Bankers’ Books Evidence Bill, 2026 to recognise digital bank records as evidence

The Lok Sabha has passed the Bankers’ Books Evidence Bill, 2026, replacing the colonial-era law and recognising digital, electronic and cloud-based bank records as admissible evidence in courts.

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6 hours ago

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August 5, 2026

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The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Bankers’ Books Evidence Bill, 2026, paving the way for digital and electronic bank records to be recognised as admissible evidence in courts. The proposed law aims to replace the colonial-era Bankers’ Books Evidence Act, 1891 and update the legal framework in line with modern banking practices.

Bill passed amid opposition protests

The legislation was passed through a voice vote after persistent disruptions in the House prevented a detailed discussion.

When the Lok Sabha reconvened at 2 pm following an earlier adjournment, opposition members continued raising slogans despite repeated appeals from the Chair to take up the Bill for discussion.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman moved the Bill for consideration and passage amid the disruptions. With the protests continuing, the House passed the legislation without a debate. The Bill had been introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

What the new Bill proposes

The proposed law, to be known as the Bankers’ Books Evidence Act, 2026, seeks to modernise the legal framework governing bank records used in legal proceedings.

According to the statement of objects and reasons, rapid technological advancement and the growing use of digital banking have made it necessary to update the existing law, which was enacted when banking records were maintained primarily in physical form.

The Bill expands the definition of “bankers’ books” to include records maintained in physical, electronic, digital, virtual, cloud-based and other formats. This aims to create a technology-neutral and future-ready legal framework for the banking sector.

Key provisions of the legislation

The Bill also proposes standardised certificate formats and allows authentication through manual, digital or electronic signatures. It expressly recognises electronic bank records as admissible evidence and permits their production in either physical or electronic form during legal proceedings.

Another provision empowers the central government to extend the applicability of the law to other entities or classes of entities operating in the financial sector, subject to specified conditions.

The legislation also defines the term “special cause”, under which a court may direct a bank officer to produce bankers’ books or appear as a witness to prove transactions, accounts or other matters in legal proceedings where the bank is not a party.

Why the law is being replaced

The existing Bankers’ Books Evidence Act, 1891 was enacted during the pre-independence period to allow certified copies of bank records to be accepted as evidence without requiring the original records to be produced before the court.

Since the law was framed when banking records were predominantly maintained in physical form, the government has proposed replacing it with legislation better suited to today’s digital banking ecosystem.

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Meta executive Joel Kaplan apologises over restriction of PM Modi’s social media post

Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan apologised to IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw after the company admitted it mistakenly restricted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s social media post before restoring it.

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6 hours ago

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August 5, 2026

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Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan on Wednesday apologised to Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on behalf of the company after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s social media post was mistakenly restricted.

Kaplan said he conveyed the apology to the minister over what he described as an error that led to the restriction of the Prime Minister’s post.

Meta says restriction was an error

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had shared a vertical video on July 23 in which he addressed the public directly. According to Meta, the video was briefly removed from Facebook and Instagram before being restored.

The company attributed the removal to a technical glitch and said the content had been taken down in error before being reinstated on its platforms.

Government found explanation inadequate

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) reviewed the incident and described Meta’s initial explanation as “inadequate”. The company subsequently maintained that the removal was unintentional and restored the post.

India remains Meta’s largest user market, with hundreds of millions of people using Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

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