The US administration has suspended major IT outsourcing firms, including TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCLTech, and Cognizant, alongside Microsoft and Adobe, from the key PERM labour certification programme used for green cards. The action freezes both new and pending applications indefinitely amid federal scrutiny over the alleged abuse of the foreign worker immigration system. Several prominent US universities are also facing investigations over J-1 exchange visa usage. Despite the regulatory crackdown, Indian benchmark indices and IT shares opened higher, led by gains in TCS following company clarification that the move would have no material impact on workforce strategy. Separately, the Indian government capped trade margins on non-scheduled cancer medicines at 30 percent, a move expected to reduce drug prices by up to 70 percent and deliver estimated annual savings of 2,500 crore rupees to patients.
