BT Podcast: NDA's toughest budget, e-way bill, Reliance Jio & fake apps

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Union budget to be presented today
All eyes will be on Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today as he presents the Narendra Modi government's fifth - and arguably the NDA's toughest - Budget for the financial year 2018-19 in Parliament. This will be India's first post-GST Budget, and is being keenly watched to see what Jaitley does to boost growth in Asia's third largest economy. With Assembly elections due in eight states this year - including three major states ruled by the BJP - and Lok Sabha election next year, Jaitley's Budget may seek to address the widespread agriculture distress, create jobs, and boost growth, while at the same time stick to fiscal prudence.

E-way bill to become mandatory from today
After a fortnight of trial, the crucial anti-evasion measure under the goods and services tax (GST), e-way bill, will become mandatory for transporters across the country from today. According to a an estimate, 7-8 lakh such bills will be generated daily. Under the e-way bill system, every inter-state movement of goods with a value of over Rs 50,000 and being moved beyond 10 km, the transporter will have to generate an electronic bill on the designated portal.

Reliance Jio warns against fake Jio Apps
Reliance Jio Infocomm has warned that it could take legal action against those misleading the public in the name of the company by soliciting investments in crypto currencies through fake JioCoin Apps. It said the company doesn't offer any such apps. "Any such apps using the JioCoin name are fake and people are advised to refrain from dealing with any of them. Reliance Jio takes a serious note of such fraudulent attempts by unscrupulous persons to misguide the public in the name of Jio and reserves the right to take appropriate legal recourse," the telco warned in a statement.

Industrial activity yet to stabilise
Ahead of Union Budget 2018-19, a set of official data has revealed that industrial activity is yet to stabilise after the disruptions of note-ban and GST. According to a report published in the Hindu Businessline the eight core industries grew at a five-month low of 4 per cent in December, with little or no growth in six of the monitored sectors. These eight core industries grew 7.4 per cent in November last year and 5.6 per cent in December 2016. The data indicates that factory output may also have slowed down in December as the core sector industries comprise 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production.

Facebook shares spike after optimism about ad revenue
Facebook Inc  shares rose after the social media network stated that fewer hours spent on its flagship News Feed would not necessarily hurt its highly profitable digital advertising business.Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg told analysts that recent changes to stem the spread of disinformation and sensational media on Facebook could be good for its advertising business. The comments from her and other executives seem to have reassured investors about the financial consequences of people spending less time on Facebook.

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