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<keyword id="19945815" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="startups" source="keywords">Startups</keyword> in <keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India" source="keywords">India</keyword> have high expectations from this year's upcoming <keyword id="19908389" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Budget" source="keywords">Union Budget</keyword>. Early-age startups hope for the removal of angel taxes, while <keyword id="20677283" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="health-tech-startups" source="keywords">health tech startups</keyword> expect increased <keyword id="19913964" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="funding" source="keywords">funding</keyword> for the sector. Startups function as engines of economic growth, playing a crucial role in generating new jobs, ideas, products, and services. As of December 2023, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) had recognised 1,17,254 startups. These startups have reportedly created over 12.42 lakh direct jobs, significantly impacting the economy. Eklavya Gupta, CEO and Co-founder of Recur Club, stated, "We are confident that India's business credit landscape is on the brink of a major digital overhaul. FinTechs are at the forefront of this change, deploying innovative technologies and utilising in-depth data analytics to streamline and expand <keyword id="20974354" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="credit-access" source="keywords">credit access</keyword>." He added, "While the current allocation of Rs 10,000 crore is an excellent initial step, realising the full capabilities of India's SME and startup ecosystem will necessitate greater investment, especially in credit guarantee schemes." Vinod K Singh, Co-Founder and CTO of Concirrus, expressed his expectations from the budget: "As the Union Budget 2024-25 approaches, we hope the government will address the pressing issue of the 'angel tax.' Eliminating this tax will enhance capital formation and attract vital <keyword id="19895633" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="investments" source="keywords">investments</keyword>. Streamlining the duty structure and reducing high tariffs on electronic inputs are also crucial to bolstering the startup ecosystem and driving innovation. Expanding the Fund of Funds and introducing low-interest loans would be beneficial." Rajiv Lamba, co-founder and CEO of AI-enabled customer feedback platform Surveysensum, added, "Just as the government has prioritised financial inclusion, it should now focus on <keyword id="22405441" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="technological-inclusion" source="keywords">technological inclusion</keyword> to propel India to the next stage of growth. By training youth in AI, the government can make a strategic investment in the nation's technological future. Given the rapidly evolving job market, a substantial increase of 20 to 25 percent in budget allocation should be considered for AI-based skill development and entrepreneurship." He further emphasised, "Incentivizing investment in <keyword id="20328842" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AI-startups" source="keywords">AI startups</keyword> and R&amp;D initiatives can boost local innovation in the AI space. The last budget introduced a deep tech fund of Rs 1 lakh crore with a 50-year interest-free loan period; the government should now establish a clear and transparent mechanism for access to this fund." Raja S, founder and MD of Hearzap, highlighted the expectations of health tech startups: "Health tech startups are eagerly anticipating increased funding that could usher in transformative advancements. This crucial investment holds the promise of extending cutting-edge healthcare solutions to rural and underserved areas, effectively bridging existing gaps in care. The upcoming budget ensures that every individual in our diverse population, from the youngest to the oldest, can access essential health services, including specialised care." Discussing taxation for startups in India, Vvihan Gulati, Director of Mediagraphics PR, commented, "Removing the angel tax is a highly anticipated move that would benefit early-stage startups and their investors. It would foster a more favourable environment for innovation and growth, allowing startups to attract much-needed capital without the burden of excessive taxation. This change could significantly enhance the ease of doing business and contribute to the overall growth of the startup ecosystem in India." The Union Budget 2024 will be tabled on July 23 by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. With this, she will become the first Finance Minister to deliver seven consecutive budgets, surpassing Morarji Desai. She presented the interim budget on February 1 of this year.

Startups demand angel tax elimination, incentives on investments in upcoming budget

New Delhi [India], July 25 (ANI): The discussion on the <keyword id="6360189" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Budget" source="Orion">Union Budget</keyword> 2024-25, presented on July 23, will continue in both <keyword id="244400" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Houses-of-Parliament" source="Orion">Houses of Parliament</keyword> on Thursday. The discussion on <keyword id="6358021" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Budget" source="Orion">Budget</keyword> of <keyword id="17605" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jammu-and-kashmir" source="Orion">Jammu and Kashmir</keyword>, 2024-25, which was also presented on Tuesday, will also continue today. Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Jitendra Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal and Kirtivardhan Singh will lay papers on the table today. Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar is likely to make a statement regarding status of implementation of recommendations and observations contained in the 250th report of the department-related parliamentary standing committee on Home Affairs on action taken by the government on the recommendations and observations contained in the 243rd report of the committee on demands for grants (2023-24) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region. Both Houses of <keyword id="19895397" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parliament" source="keywords">Parliament</keyword> took up discussion on the <keyword id="15626720" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="union-budget-2024" source="Orion">Union Budget 2024</keyword> on July 24, with opposition parties accusing it of being "discriminatory" to most states and lacking vision. The discussion was initiated by former Finance Minister and Congress MP P Chidambaram in Rajya Sabha and Congress MP Kumari Selja initiated the discussion in Lok Sabha. Raising four major challenges, Chidambaram said the most significant challenge is unemployment and data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) indicates that the unemployment rate for June 2024 is 9.2 per cent . Chidambaram emphasised that the primary challenge for the economy is creating sufficient employment opportunities. He pointed out that the budget's announcement of the employment-linked incentives (ELI) scheme suggests that the Production Linked Incentives (PLI) scheme is not generating the expected employment. He urged the finance minister to disclose the number of jobs created by the PLI scheme. Radha Mohan Das Aggarwal of the BJP highlighted the achievements made by the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last ten years. He said the Jan Dhan Yojana has provided banking services to crores of people in the country. Biplab Kumar Deb of the BJP said the Economic Survey has estimated real GDP growth of 6.5 per cent to 7 per cent in 2024-25. He highlighted the provisions in the budget for various sections, including farmers and the education sector. Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee launched a strong attack on the Modi government, alleging that the Union Budget lacks clarity or vision, that it has been rolled out to satisfy the coalition partners of the BJP and that it "was planned by two individuals to keep another two in good faith." The budget session of Parliament began on July 22 and, according to schedule, will end on August 12.

Discussions on Union Budget, Budget for Jammu and Kashmir to continue in Parliament today

Last week, Donald Trump announced the creation of the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-department-of-government-efficiency-donald-trump-ramaswamy-2024-11">Department of Government Efficiency</a>, which promises to "dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies." And to run the new cost-cutting department, Trump tapped the businessman he calls the world's "greatest cutter" — <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-senator-waste-list-influence-elon-musk-spending-cuts-2024-11">Elon Musk</a>.If you're looking to take a chainsaw to the federal government, Musk seems perfectly suited to the job. At <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-x-elon-musk-startup-competitition-town-square-election-2024-10">Twitter,</a> he eliminated a staggering 80% of the staff — over 6,000 people. At <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-salary-database-elon-musk-pay-strategy-2024-11">Tesla</a>, he cut 10% of the workforce, saying the company needed to be "absolutely hardcore about headcount and cost reduction." He also laid off 10% of employees at <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-jared-isaacman-interview-polaris-dawn-space-walk-2024-11">Space X</a>, insisting his teams need to be scrappy and nimble. Cutting, for Musk, is generally Job No. 1.For the most part, Musk's slash-and-burn tactics have paid off. Twitter usage, according to Musk, is at an all-time high. Tesla's stock is up 28% over the past year. And SpaceX — now valued at $250 billion — is grabbing rockets out of the sky with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-spacex-starship-landing-super-heavy-2024-10">giant chopsticks</a>. In the world of business, fewer workers often translate into higher profits.The question is: Can the cost-cutting tactics Musk has employed in the private sector work to corral waste and bloat in the federal government? Musk and his DOGE cochair, the biotech billionaire <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-elon-musk-cutting-federal-spending-could-work-2024-11">Vivek Ramaswamy</a>, have said they're looking to hire "super high-IQ small government revolutionaries" to help make $2 trillion in cuts — about a third of all federal spending — and to slash the federal workforce by as much as 75%. It's a dream that has eluded every Republican administration since Ronald Reagan — and it's one that may prove elusive even for Musk, the man now anointed as America's cost-cutter in chief.There's certainly no shortage of waste and inefficiency in the federal government that cries out to be streamlined. In 2019, the Defense Department forked over $22 million for lobster tails. In 2020, the IRS sent $1.4 billion in tax refunds to dead Americans. Millions of square feet in federal buildings sit unoccupied.In theory, a bold, outside figure like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-donald-trump-elected-shadow-president-2024-11">Musk</a> could be the very thing needed to downscale an operation as vast and intractable as the federal government. Large organizations need a force of "creative destruction" to change, says Michael Morris, a professor at Columbia Business School. "Things don't go away on their own. You have to have somebody with a willingness to deliberately dismantle things if you're going to have innovation." And when a new figure institutes a massive shock to the system — whether at the government or private level — "it often backfires," says Morris. "There's often very fierce, active resistance to change." As <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-corporate-gerontocracy-aging-ceos-retirement-succession-replacement-2024-8">CEO</a>, Musk has the latitude to push past that resistance and overhaul company culture. But things are going to be different with DOGE. Despite its branding as a "department," the new outfit will operate only in an advisory capacity: Congress holds the ultimate responsibility for authorizing spending and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/doge-how-to-apply-dm-job-application-elon-musk-2024-11">eliminating agencies</a>. Government, by design, is an intensely collaborative process, intended to hammer out the competing needs of different constituencies. Musk, by contrast, is accustomed to ruling by fiat."Musk certainly exercises a great deal of control in his companies that he won't have in the environment of the federal government, where we have checks and balances," says Andy Wu, an associate professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. "Even if Musk had the right idea for things, it's not so clear he could implement any of them."The federal government is infamous for holding on to past practices, even when they no longer make sense. Linda Bilmes, a senior lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, cites the continued minting of the penny, each of which costs three cents to produce. Last year, in an economy that has largely moved away from cash, the government spent $179 million forging pennies and nickels. Yet past calls to get rid of the penny haven't amounted to one red cent."The danger is if Elon Musk were to somehow think he is the first person who has ever looked at cost cutting in government," says Bilmes. "Many people who know a lot about government have proposed many good ideas. The potential for usefulness would be if he could take some already reasonably good ideas and help them get implemented."The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/watchdog-dod-must-speed-up-weapons-deliveries-to-maintain-advantage-2024-6">Government Accountability Office</a> and inspectors general have already recommended a variety of potential targets. They aren't always flashy: This year, the GAO recommended agencies use predictive models to schedule maintenance, saying they could save $100 million or more. It also urged the IRS to focus on collecting taxes owed by sole proprietors, which could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. If the government implemented all 5,480 of its suggestions, the GAO estimated, it would "produce measurable financial benefits" of up to $208 billion.But so far, Musk has seemed more interested in the kind of flashy, small-bore proposals that attract clicks on X. He's taken to resharing what he sees as examples of waste — everything from $3 million spent on drug research that involved watching "hamsters fight on steroids" to a $20,000 grant that funded drag shows in Ecuador — and crowdsourcing them on the platform. Those sorts of items might generate outrage on <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-donald-trump-elon-musk-2024-11">Fox News</a>, but eliminating them won't do much to trim the federal government's $6,200,000,000,000 in annual spending.Then there's the politics of budget cutting. The last time Republicans succeeded at slowing government spending, under <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reagan-secret-service-agent-says-trump-shooting-failure-for-agency-2024-7">Ronald Reagan</a>, they made deep cuts to areas of government that proved unpopular — including social welfare programs, student loans, and job training. Musk may see plenty of areas he'd like to slash, but a wide range of constituencies will inevitably push back against cuts to programs they consider essential. When it comes to federal spending, one person's waste is another person's bread and butter."People support the idea of improving how the government delivers services," says Joel Friedman, the senior vice president for federal fiscal policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a progressive think tank. "I think people would take a different view if you end up gutting programs they depend on and care about." Efficiency always sounds like a good thing, until it comes for something you love.Beyond the question of where to cut, Musk will face intense scrutiny over why he's targeting certain areas of government. His role at DOGE is rife with the potential for conflicts of interest. SpaceX, for example, has received nearly $20 billion in federal contracts since 2008, and Musk has been sharply critical of the Federal Aviation Administration, viewing it as an obstacle to launching his powerful <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-trump-spacex-starship-rocket-milestone-election-2024-10">Starship</a>. And his massive investments in electric vehicles and social media are dependent on all sorts of federal spending and oversight. When it comes to how the government interacts with the marketplace, the world's richest man inherently has a lot of skin in the game. Musk's companies did not respond to requests for comment. But Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for Trump's transition team, says it plans to ensure that those involved with DOGE "are compliant with all legal guidelines related to conflicts of interest."Those concerns also touch on the larger question of what Trump and his allies hope to accomplish by reducing the size of government. Calls for reducing "inefficiency" and "bureaucracy" have long been a euphemism for Republicans eager to reduce or eliminate federal oversight of everything from industrial pollution to airline safety. Less government is not necessarily better government, and there are plenty of federal agencies that remain so understaffed and underfunded, from the IRS to the Veterans Administration, that they're unable to perform even their most basic functions. The GOP's aim of cutting spending, a leading Reagan ally once acknowledged, is to shrink government to the size where conservatives can "drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub." On Friday, Ramaswamy directly linked DOGE to the Reagan-era dream of smaller government, promising that the new agency will finish its work by July 4, 2026 — the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.And even when conservatives have succeeded at cutting costs, it's done nothing to slow the pace of government spending. Reagan slashed $22 billion in social welfare programs during his first two years in office — savings that were more than offset by his tax cuts and military spending, which nearly tripled the national debt. And in 1981, when a deep recession hit, carving up the safety net left the millions of Americans who were mired in poverty with even fewer resources to get by.It's also important to remember that Musk did more than downsize X — he also used the platform to elevate far-right talking points and unfounded conspiracy theories. In short, he reshaped it to serve his own political ends, making it meaner as well as leaner. It remains to be seen if Musk will do the same with DOGE. There are plenty of places where Uncle Sam could spend America's hard-earned tax dollars more wisely. But there are also plenty of places where the man Trump's family now refers to as "Uncle" Elon could deploy what DOGE calls "unglamorous cost-cutting" to bend the federal government to serve his own financial needs.Musk has acknowledged that Americans will feel "hardship" as a result of the cuts he wants to see implemented. But that doesn't mean he won't be able to juice more performance out of fewer resources, as he did at his own companies. When Musk slashed the workforce at Twitter, critics predicted that the app would collapse without enough staff to maintain it. Two years later, after a few initial glitches, it works much the same as before — at a far lower cost. Doubting Musk, even when he seems to be operating at his most extreme, can be a fool's game.<a target="_blank" rel="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/amanda-hoover">Amanda Hoover</a> is a senior correspondent at Business Insider covering the tech industry. She writes about the biggest tech companies and trends.

Elon Musk downsized Big Tech. Can he do the same to Big Government?

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Used electric vehicles became more affordable after a new tax credit kicked in in January 2023.</li><li>Driving range and driving habits can affect the type of used EV you should shop for.</li></ul>Electric-vehicle prices are falling across the board. And as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nissan-kicks-review-price-rare-find-under-30k-2024-10">more models flood the market</a>, you can get a particularly good deal on a used EV.But shelling out thousands of dollars on an unfamiliar piece of technology (especially one that's been around the block a few times) is daunting for some shoppers.Aside from wondering <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cheapest-electric-car-affordable-kia-ford-chevy-hyundai-nissan-2022-6">which car to buy</a>, used-EV shoppers might be wondering whether the battery could die. Shoppers on a budget might also be looking for more ways to save money, as EV tax credits broadened to include used electric cars in January 2023.The research can be a lot to take on at once. We talked to car-buying experts to demystify the process.<h2>Consider where and how much you drive</h2>Scott Case, the cofounder and CEO of Recurrent, a startup that tracks EV battery health, recommended starting by considering how far you typically drive and the climate you live in — those factors will affect how much range you'll want, as EVs perform best in temperate weather and can't drive quite as far in cold temperatures."Let's say you live in Florida and you drive 30 to 50 miles every day — you can pretty much buy anything," Case said. On the other hand, people who travel 150 miles daily and live in the occasionally frigid Midwest would need to shop around for a long-range vehicle.<div type="image" title="A gray Tesla Cybertruck plugged in at a public charging station." height="1150" width="1533" msid="114294136" hostid="261" sizebytes="313240"></div>Most older electric cars don't have the range of the latest offerings — you might find models with estimates from the Environmental Protection Agency of only 80 to 120 miles.<h2>Battery range will degrade over time</h2>Anyone who's owned a smartphone knows that lithium-ion batteries wear out over time. Pretty much the same goes for EVs.As the years go by, cycles of charging and driving wear out an EV's battery pack, reducing driving range. The vehicle-data firm Geotab has estimated that EV batteries <a href="https://www.geotab.com/blog/ev-battery-health/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tend to lose about 2% of their capacity each year</a>.The good news is that an EV's battery is unlikely to fail completely or render the car useless.But understanding how much life a vehicle has left isn't all that simple. Case said that exposure to extreme temperatures, frequent trips to powerful DC fast chargers, and variations in battery chemistry mean some used cars perform better than others with identical mileage.<div type="image" title="A charging cable extending from a Tesla Supercharger to a Chevrolet Equinox EV." height="3024" width="4032" msid="114294138" hostid="261" sizebytes="789912"></div>Jim Fish, a vice president of Opus IVS, a tech-focused collision-repair company, said the best question to ask about a battery's care is how often it was left below 20% and above 80% of its charge.Leaving a battery too close to empty or on a full charge for too long affects its ability to hold a charge, Fish said."Of course, you might struggle to find out the truth to that question," Fish said.Recurrent provides reports on EV battery health aimed at helping shoppers choose between cars.<h2>You can get up to $4,000 off thanks to federal tax credits</h2>At the start of last year, a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/federal-state-electric-car-vehicle-tax-credits-rebates-qualify-2023-1">used-EV tax credit went into effect</a> as part of a larger incentive program in the Inflation Reduction Act. Automotive retail analysts described it as a welcome change for EV shoppers on a budget.To <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ev-tax-credit-suv-tesla-model-y-ford-mach-e-2023-2">qualify for the credit</a>, the vehicle must be purchased at a dealership so that the dealer can report the required information to the IRS.The buyer must be purchasing the vehicle for personal use and not for resale, must not be the original owner of the vehicle, must not be able to be claimed as a dependent, and must not have used any other clean-vehicle credit in the previous three years. Income caps for buyers range from $75,000 to $150,000, depending on their tax-filing status.The vehicle must have a sale price of $25,000 or less and must be at least two model years old.Many states also have tax incentives for purchasing EVs. More detailed information and required forms can be found on the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/used-clean-vehicle-credit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IRS's website</a>.

Considering an electric vehicle? Experts explain how to pick one for your lifestyle and budget

New Delhi [India], July 23 (ANI): <keyword id="19956758" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Finance-Minister" source="keywords">Finance Minister</keyword> <keyword id="19916618" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nirmala-Sitharaman" source="keywords">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword> is set to present the <keyword id="15626720" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Budget-2024" source="Orion">Union Budget 2024</keyword> in Parliament today, marking her seventh consecutive budget and eclipsing the late Moraji Desai's record of six consecutive budgets, which is likely to focus on changes in the income tax structure and improving the ease of doing business in India. At 11 am today, the much-awaited full budget for 2024-25, the first under the Modi 3.0 government, will be presented on the floor of the Parliament. All eyes will be on the major announcements made by the finance minister and the government's forward-looking guidance about the overall economy. Sitharaman will lay on the table a statement (in English and Hindi) of the estimated receipts and expenditures of the government for the year 2024-25 in the Rajya Sabha. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111946291" title="Union Budget 2024-25: Focus on employment, skilling, MSME and middle class" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>She will table the budget one hour after the conclusion of the presentation of the <keyword id="19908389" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Budget" source="keywords">Union Budget</keyword> 2024-25 in the Lok Sabha. The Finance Minister also lay on the table, under subsection (1) of Section 3 of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003, a copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following papers: medium-term fiscal policy strategy statement and macro-economic framework statement. The Finance Minister will further lay on the table statements (in English and Hindi) of the estimated receipts and expenditures (2024-25) of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (with the legislature). The interim budget, tabled on February 1, took care of the financial needs of the intervening period until a government was formed after the Lok Sabha polls, after which a full budget was to be presented by the new government. With this upcoming budget presentation, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will surpass the record set by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who presented five annual budgets and one interim budget between 1959 and 1964 as finance minister. The <keyword id="105431" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="budget-session" source="Orion">budget session</keyword> of Parliament began on July 22 and, according to schedule, will end on August 12. Before presenting the Budget, the finance minister will go to the North Block, where the Ministry of Finance is housed. She will meet the secretaries of her ministry, and later, along with them, she will reach the President's residence to get permission before presenting the Budget. About half an hour before the budget is presented, a Cabinet meeting headed by the prime minister is usually held, where ministers are briefed about the budget and Cabinet approval is taken. Putting aside the details of the upcoming budget, let us review the budget-making process and sequence of events typically followed. The Ministry of Finance typically issues circulars to all ministries, Union territories, States, and autonomous entities to send their demands and recommendations for the Union budget around September-October, with budgets typically tabled on February 1. Another key event before the budget presentation is the 'halwa ceremony'. A few days before the budget is presented, the government has a tradition of conducting a 'halwa ceremony', marking the start of budget document printing. The Halwa ceremony is significant as it also marks the beginning of a lockdown at the finance ministry, meaning no official is allowed to leave the ministry compound. Everyone on the budget team is allowed to leave only after the financial document is presented in Parliament. The printing of the Union Budget inside the basement located in the North Block has been a permanent feature since 1980. A day before the budget is scheduled to be tabled, the government typically releases its Economic Survey. This year, too, the same norms were followed. The Economic Survey serves as a crucial input for budget formulation. It is prepared by the Chief Economic Advisor and provides an overview of the country's economic performance, prospects, and policy recommendations, including future outlook. India is poised to remain the fastest-growing major economy in 2024-25, Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran said in a press conference after the tabling of the Economic Survey. The Economic Survey tabled projected India to grow at 6.5-7.0 percent in 2024-25. As per the Economic Survey 2023-24 tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Indian economy is on a strong and stable footing, demonstrating resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. The first Economic Survey reportedly came into existence in 1950-51, when it used to be a part of the budget documents. In the 1960s, it was separated from the budget documents and presented a day before the Union Budget. The budget, once it is presented, is then subjected to detailed debate and discussion in both houses of Parliament, allowing members to scrutinise its provisions, raise concerns, and propose amendments. Following its presentation and approval by Parliament, the Union Budget sets in motion a series of post-budget activities aimed at implementing its provisions and achieving the outlined objectives. Like the previous few full Union budgets, the Budget 2024 will also be delivered in paperless form. An Interim Union Budget 2024 was presented on February 1, as the country was due for general elections later in the year. All the Union Budget documents, including the Annual Financial Statement (commonly known as the Budget), Demand for Grants (DG), and Finance Bill, as prescribed by the Constitution, will be available on the "Union Budget Mobile App" for hassle-free access to budget documents by Members of Parliament (MPs) and the public. The app is bilingual (English and Hindi) and available on both Android and iOS platforms. The app can also be downloaded from the Union Budget Web Portal (www.indiabudget.gov.in). SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/budget/news/union-budget-2024-live-updates-finance-minister-nirmala-sitharaman-key-announcements-23-july/liveblog/111942008.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Union Budget 2024 Live Updates: PM Modi arrives in Parliament ahead of Budget 2024 presentation</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/budget/news/why-did-the-latest-economic-survey-of-india-heavily-shun-the-western-ways-of-climate-action/articleshow/111947230.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Why did the latest Economic Survey of India heavily shun the ‘Western ways’ of climate action?</a>

Here's a quick overview of PM Modi 3.0 government's first budget, to be presented by FM Nirmala Sitharaman today

<ul class="summary-list"><li>This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.</li></ul>Boo! Did I scare you? If not, maybe this will surprise you: Microsoft disclosed an equity investment in OpenAI for the first time, SEC filings show. It could <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-hints-big-change-to-openai-investments-sec-filing-2024-10">hint at an evolution in their relationship</a>, as the tech giant previously described their deal as "a long-term partnership" in filings.In today's big story, Big Tech is pulling back on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/big-tech-workers-pushed-limits-of-perks-benefits-pampering-over-2024-10">the freebies for its employees</a>.What's on deck:<ul><li>Markets: Reddit's stock had a monster day <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/reddit-stock-skyrockets-earnings-beat-ai-growth-revenue-huffman-2024-10">thanks to a strong earnings report</a>.</li><li>Tech: Tesla's test drivers talk about <a target="_blank" href="https://businessinsider.com/tesla-self-driving-software-test-drivers-project-rodeo-experiences-2024-10">pushing the limits of self-driving software</a>.</li><li>Business: We outlined what Trump and Harris' policies <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tax-cut-tariff-plan-outlook-presidential-election-scenarios-harris-trump-2024-10">mean for your tax bill</a>.</li></ul>But first, is this free?If this was forwarded to you, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/insider-today">sign up here.</a><h3 id="7fa5f018-5b05-4a37-a8dc-d3f89138bcb3">The big story</h3><h2 id="5fd547b9-ec52-41fc-8e08-4f4b27dd8097">No free lunches in tech</h2><div type="image" title="A vice grip holding a wrapped gift" height="1500" width="2000" msid="114819672" hostid="261" sizebytes="896688"></div>Use it. Don't abuse it.That's the hard lesson tech workers <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/big-tech-workers-pushed-limits-of-perks-benefits-pampering-over-2024-10">are learning about their jobs' free perks</a>, Business Insider's Lara O'Reilly, Rob Price, Hugh Langley, and Sydney Bradley write.After years of upping the ante with everything from exercise classes to laundry services, tech companies are clamping down on the freebies. It's part of a broader push to cut costs across the industry.Those efforts took center stage recently when Meta fired employees <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-employees-react-grubhub-meal-credit-firings-2024-10">for misusing Grubhub credits</a>. Instead of buying food, people used the perk for things like laundry detergent and wine glasses.Employees everywhere have been known to bend the rules with work benefits. A Citibank employee was fired after expensing business trip meals he eventually admitted <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/banker-fired-over-sandwich-and-pasta-for-two-expenses-claims-2023-10">were for his partner</a>.The difference for tech might be how widespread the perks are. Tech companies have gone out of their way to fully subsidize almost everything for their employees.It's not charity. The perks help recruit and retain talent and keep employees working at the office. (Free lunch at the office means more time spent working there.)<div type="image" title="Amazon Web Services' CEO Matt Garman." height="2984" width="4800" msid="114819677" hostid="261" sizebytes="603362"></div>A tech giant's pullback on one work perk is causing an uproar.Amazon's new return-to-office mandate, which requires employees in the office five days a week, continues to face pushback from its workforce.More than 500 employees signed a letter sent to Amazon Web Services' CEO Matt Garman <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-employees-open-letter-aws-ceo-office-return-rto-2024-10">criticizing his support of the policy</a>, BI's Jyoti Mann and Ashley Stewart write.While speaking at an all-hands earlier this month, Garman said nine out of 10 Amazonians he spoke to were "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-office-policy-aws-ceo-employees-rto-five-days-2024-10">actually quite excited about this change</a>." Remote work made it harder to innovate and collaborate, he added.Some Amazon employees aren't buying it. In the letter to Garman, they said the lack of hard numbers backing up the decision "fail to achieve our standard of decision making for critical issues."The true benefits and downsides of remote work are hard to nail down. Some studies have shown workers are more productive when working from home. Another conducted last year found <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/remote-work-innovation-collaboration-return-to-office-work-from-home-2023-12">remote work can stifle innovation</a>.It's not all bad news for Amazon employees, though. When contacted by BI about the letter, a company spokesperson said in some cases Amazon would offer resources to employees like elder care and pet sitters.In other words, perks.<h3 id="77f31a4c-8462-4e3d-a71f-838cb79493fb">News brief</h3><h2 id="1fcd294b-3f53-425f-9f20-4093e8623b59">Top headlines</h2><ul><li>A new study shows that Americans agree on <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/democrats-republicans-harris-trump-voters-secret-opinions-polarization-2024-10">more than they're willing to admit</a>.</li><li>Two big Fidelity funds own more than $100 million in OpenAI stock, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fidelity-openai-stock-valuation-filing-2024-10">filings show</a>.</li><li>Why Tesla's sales are slipping in California, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-falling-california-sales-are-bad-for-elon-musk-2024-10">what it means for Elon Musk's car company</a>.</li><li>Dropbox lays off 20% of employees and joins Big Tech's flattening trend. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dropbox-layoffs-drew-houston-memo-managers-flatter-structure-2024-10">Read CEO Drew Houston's memo</a>.</li><li>Starbucks CEO's plan to fix the chain includes <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/starbucks-ceo-to-lay-out-strategy-to-fix-coffee-chain-2024-10">coffee in 4 minutes and comfy chairs</a>.</li><li>Gaming giant Take-Two is in talks to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/take-two-in-talks-sell-chartboost-adtech-division-2024-10">sell its Chartboost adtech division</a>.</li><li>Polymarket's pro-Trump election predictions aren't so surprising <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/polymarket-election-predictions-trump-harris-pop-culture-bets-2024-10">when you look at the rest of the site</a>.</li></ul><h2 id="8120060b-ae66-48dc-b149-f0489a30ffa2">3 things in markets</h2><div type="image" title="Steve Huffman" height="4000" width="6000" msid="114819675" hostid="261" sizebytes="2457300"></div><ol><li>Reddit stock skyrockets to record high. The platform's stock <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/reddit-stock-skyrockets-earnings-beat-ai-growth-revenue-huffman-2024-10">surged 42% Wednesday</a> after a strong earnings beat fueled enthusiasm. Its revenue jumped 68% from a year ago, partly thanks to AI licensing deals with Google and OpenAI.</li><li>Semiconductor stocks struggle. An index tracking the sector <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/chipmakers-amd-smci-super-micro-stock-auditor-earnings-report-guidance-2024-10">dropped 3% Wednesday</a>. Super Micro Computer was in a free fall after its auditor resigned from working with it, saying it could "no longer be able to rely on management's and the Audit Committee's representations."</li><li>The US consumer won't back down. Bad news: US real GDP <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gdp-gross-domestic-product-third-quarter-economy-2024-10">fell short of expectations</a>, growing at an annualized rate of 2.8% last quarter compared to a 3% forecast. Good news: The strength of the US consumer continues, as personal consumption expenditures grew at a 3.7% annualized rate.</li></ol><h2 id="f4b54806-7f81-450c-ba32-92560d4fae9b">3 things in tech</h2><div type="image" title="Tesla with crosswalk sign" height="1500" width="2000" msid="114819681" hostid="261" sizebytes="254166"></div><ol><li>Inside Tesla's autonomous-driving testing program. In preparation for its future of autonomous vehicles, Tesla has been leaning on a specialized group of test drivers, part of <a target="_blank" href="https://businessinsider.com/tesla-self-driving-software-test-drivers-project-rodeo-experiences-2024-10">what's known internally as "Project Rodeo."</a> BI spoke with nine test drivers, who described sometimes perilous scenarios and near-crashes while testing unreleased software.</li><li>Meta and Microsoft reported earnings. While Meta missed expectations for user growth (notching 3.29 billion daily active users instead of the expected 3.31 billion), <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-stock-earnings-report-call-live-updates-2024-10">its $40.59 billion in revenue</a> beat estimates. Microsoft similarly <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-beats-estimates-ramps-up-capex-on-ai-2024-10">surpassed analysts' expectations</a> as it continues to invest heavily in AI.</li><li>Intel's no good, very bad year. In 2023, some Intel employees received pay cuts to reduce costs and avoid layoffs. In August 2024, the company announced it would shed 15,000 employees via voluntary separation agreements and layoffs. BI spoke with eight current and former employees <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intel-layoffs-cost-cutting-measures-pay-cuts-reduced-perks-2024-10">about Intel's year of "setbacks."</a></li></ol><h2 id="9260fa45-d397-4b3c-b4f8-4bb193976216">3 things in business</h2><div type="image" title="Trump and Harris." height="1600" width="2400" msid="114819679" hostid="261" sizebytes="286328"></div><ol><li>What a Harris or Trump victory means for your taxes. Regardless of who wins next week, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tax-cut-tariff-plan-outlook-presidential-election-scenarios-harris-trump-2024-10">you'll probably see a change to your tax bill in 2025</a> — Trump's tax plans could mean increases for lower earners; Harris' proposals would target higher earners. Meanwhile, both have proposed some version of nixing taxes on tips.</li><li>Some Amazon employees support Jeff Bezos' controversial WaPo decision. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-employees-react-jeff-bezos-washington-post-decision-leaked-messages-2024-10">Internal messages viewed by BI</a> reveal employee division over his decision to stop presidential endorsements by the Washington Post. While some commended the move, others questioned Bezos' motives and timing.</li><li>Inside the battle for control of America's home listings. Open up Zillow, Redfin, or any of their competitors, and you'll have a near-complete picture of all the homes for sale in the country. Real estate's power players want to change that. They're fighting each other for control, but <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/real-estate-fight-clear-cooperation-realtors-zillow-pocket-listings-homes-2024-10">it's consumers who stand to lose</a>.</li></ol><h2 id="9f5d80ac-3466-429f-a50a-2ffbb70c65ff">What's happening today</h2><ul><li>Apple, Amazon, Intel, and other companies report earnings.</li><li>Happy Halloween!</li></ul>The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Milan Sehmbi, fellow, in London.

Big Tech's vanishing perks have left employees to face a stark new reality

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/layoffs-sweeping-us-these-are-companies-making-cuts-2024">Recent layoffs</a> at Meta are a sign that some employers are willing to make recurring cutbacks.</li><li>That's a change from a prior "big cuts" mentality.</li></ul>The hashtag affixed to Andy Welfle's LinkedIn photo says it all: #sickofthisshit.Welfle wrote earlier this month that he was <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/awelfle_seems-like-ive-been-seeing-a-lot-of-these-activity-7249852142998413312-kQaT/">laid off from Microsoft</a> after only nine months. Before that, he'd also spent nine months at Cruise — before being laid off.His dual layoffs might have been worse than what many others experienced, but Welfle is hardly alone in getting hit by what appears to be some employers' penchant for regular layoffs, particularly in Silicon Valley.One of the latest examples comes from Meta, which said Wednesday it was rejigging some of its biggest businesses. The changes mean <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-reorganized-major-businesses-eliminated-roles-whatsapp-instagram-reality-labs-2024-10">lost jobs at Instagram</a>, Reality Labs, and WhatsApp.It wasn't clear how many roles were eliminated. A Meta spokesperson told Business Insider on Wednesday that the company was looking for other positions for affected workers.After shedding workers in sweeping layoffs in late 2022 and early 2023, many tech companies are adopting a more methodical, department-by-department approach to making cuts. Major firms, from Google to Amazon to Microsoft, have announced <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/layoffs-sweeping-us-these-are-companies-making-cuts-2024">sizable reductions</a> followed by more modest trimming.Take Google. The tech giant's parent company, Alphabet, began 2023 by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-ceo-says-more-layoffs-to-come-2024-1">cutting some 12,000</a> jobs, or about 6% of its workforce. It has followed that large cut with smaller reductions this year.Art Zeile, CEO of the tech career marketplace Dice, told BI that some of the biggest companies in the industry have determined that certain departments aren't sufficiently profitable any longer. As a result, companies need to redirect resources to growth areas like artificial intelligence."It is a shifting of bets," he said. This routine trimming of jobs here and there is the new normal — for now, Zeile said.Unsurprisingly, even with growth in some areas, the drip-drip of reductions in the last couple of years appears to be making some tech workers nervous. In a new <a target="_blank" href="https://www.indeed.com/lead/tapping-into-todays-tech-talent">survey from Indeed</a>, 40% of respondents said they expected to be hit if their company conducted layoffs. Seven in 10 said they would start looking to other employers if their company made layoffs.Indeed surveyed more than 1,100 US tech workers from early to late June.<h2 id="45b631ca-a979-402e-84e9-cacd8e6e300f">A costly decision</h2>Linsey Fagan, senior talent strategy advisor at Indeed, told BI that most of the recurring layoffs are in tech. That's likely because many companies in the industry grew so fast during the pandemic and are still making adjustments.But those recurring cuts don't come without costs, Fagan said."It's definitely not a sustainable strategy," she said.Fagan noted that employee sentiment starts to drop before a layoff as workers suspect cuts are coming. Then, after the layoffs are made, workers' feelings about the company — and a CEO's acumen — take "a long-term dive," she said."When you look at a business trying to come back from that — if they're continuously laying off, it simply can't happen," Fagan said.Even smaller-scale layoffs can make workers jittery, she said. Fagan also noted that the rise of technologies like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-threaten-jobs-of-coders-who-dont-shift-their-focus-2024-9">generative AI</a> and the threat of layoffs are pushing many in tech to want to build their skills.In a departure from the past, tech workers looking for jobs on Indeed are now more likely to apply to staffing firms, which might offer temporary gigs, or to areas like healthcare than to tech firms, she said.Fagan said some tech workers are drawn to the flexibility that contingent or part-time roles can offer. Yet, ultimately, she said, tech is the #1 industry tech workers historically want to work in.However, "they're just not feeling that stability right now," Fagan said.<h2 id="b104b21a-d3c7-4c4c-8f96-abe4129a39ac">Why they do it</h2>Some companies' penchant for undergoing regular nips and tucks could be because Wall Street often celebrates that type of trimming.At Meta, CEO Mark Zuckerberg was "beautifully rewarded" by the market for making cuts, Dice's Zeile said, noting the rise in the company's stock price.Beyond what investors might cheer, the tech giants are also getting older and no longer in growth mode, when their aim was often to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-new-normal-constant-layoffs-job-cuts-google-amazon-meta-2024-1">snap up workers</a>. Hence, many companies made cuts following the rush of hiring during the pandemic.Since then, some bosses have been looking to trim the size of their organizations and otherwise make improvements. Zuckerberg famously declared that 2023 would be the company's <a target="_blank" href="https://about.fb.com/news/2023/03/mark-zuckerberg-meta-year-of-efficiency/">"year of efficiency</a>." He also said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-firms-laying-off-employees-again-efficiency-amazon-google-2024-1">the directive</a> would become an ongoing feature, not a bug.<h2 id="f4238de0-992d-4404-9264-eec504b4387b">It's not all bad news for tech jobs</h2>Zeile said that investors will eventually look to tech companies to do more than boost profits by trimming costs and want to see a return to growth. He said that's when <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/finding-job-awful-right-now-drop-in-openings-tough-search-2024-9">hiring will pick up</a> broadly because companies might have many areas <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/salesforce-meta-big-tech-companies-rehire-workers-employees-laid-off-2023-9">in need of workers</a>.For now, a company like Meta might be cutting in some areas, but it's growing elsewhere, Zeile said."Meta is actually on a tear right now. They're just no longer hiring VR engineers. They are hiring AI engineers, so they've actually boosted their hiring," he said.Indeed's Fagan said a sign that the tech industry might be closer to stabilizing is that after declining for several years, job postings in areas like software development have remained flat in recent months, though they're still 30% below 2020 levels. Of course, that means there are fewer opportunities for laid-off workers. Still, she said, it's also an indication that companies are being careful not to hire too many people."It's not like they're going out and massively hiring and then doing layoffs," Fagan said.For his part, Welfle, who was laid off from Microsoft, wrote on LinkedIn that he's looking for a content design role — maybe with a smaller company. He also said some of his recent feelings are similar to those he experienced after his prior layoff in December."I'm having a hard time disentangling my sense of value and self-worth from my identity as a corporate worker. But I'll definitely be reflecting on that, and finding gentler, more sustainable ways to exist in a capitalist society," he wrote.Do you have something to share about what you're seeing in the workplace or in your job search? Business Insider would like to hear from you. Email our workplace team from a nonwork device at <a target="_blank" href="mailto:thegrind@businessinsider.com">thegrind@businessinsider.com</a> with your story, or ask for one of our reporter's Signal numbers.

Meta layoffs are the latest sign that constant job cuts are the new Big Tech normal

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="20948500" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mira-Murati" source="keywords">Mira Murati</keyword> is leaving <keyword id="19918823" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="OpenAI" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="OpenAI" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="OpenAI">OpenAI</keyword>, causing shockwaves in the <keyword id="20790511" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tech-sector" source="keywords">tech sector</keyword>.</li><li>Murati's departure follows a series of high-profile exits from OpenAI this year.</li></ul><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mira-murati-openai-cto-leaving-executive-memo-staff-2024-9">Mira Murati announced on Wednesday</a> that she is leaving OpenAI, where she served as chief technology officer and interim CEO after <keyword id="19918827" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sam-Altman" source="keywords">Sam Altman</keyword> was briefly ousted in November. Her departure immediately set off shockwaves across the tech sector. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-25/openai-cto-mira-murati-says-she-will-leave-the-company">Bloomberg reported</a> that employees used a "WTF" emoji in Slack in response to the news. There's also rampant speculation on X about why she is leaving — and where she'll end up next. And then, of course, there are the memes on social media, poking fun at the high-profile departures that have happened this year. One VC joked that OpenAI lacked a C-suite. Others pointed to a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/_thatstartupguy/status/1839037417912783194?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1839037417912783194%7Ctwgr%5Ef6eb4801b303d0ceadb67d0b3b6778b877e6d9a6%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmuse.insider.com%2Fstory%2F66f48f0b69657a7deb4de735">2023 </a><a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/_thatstartupguy/status/1839037417912783194?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1839037417912783194%7Ctwgr%5Ef6eb4801b303d0ceadb67d0b3b6778b877e6d9a6%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmuse.insider.com%2Fstory%2F66f48f0b69657a7deb4de735">Wired magazine cover</a> featuring CEO Altman, Murati, former chief scientist and cofounder Ilya Sutskever, and Greg Brockman, the company's president and cofounder. Wired, at the time, called the OpenAI execs the world's "AI overlords." Of the four, only Altman and Brockman are left at the company, and Brockman is on extended leave through the end of the year. Sutskever announced his departure from OpenAI in May and launched his own AI startup focused on safety. The snark on X, meanwhile, has reached critical mass. A few hours after Murati announced her departure, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-openai-note-more-staff-exits-barret-bob-2024-9">two other OpenAi departures </a>were announced on X: Bob McGrew, the company's chief research officer, and Barret Zoph, the vice president of research. Left on the leadership team are CFO Sarah Friar; Chief Scientist Officer Jakub Pachocki, who replaced Sutskever: Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap; and Chief Product Officer Kevin Weil. Of the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.ft.com/content/638f67f7-5375-47fc-b3a7-af7c9e05b9e0">11 cofounders</a> of OpenAI from 2015, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/crew-of-10-helped-sam-altman-found-openai-dwindled-2-2024-8">only Altman, Brockman (who, again, is on leave), and Wojciech Zaremba remain</a>. One of the cofounders, Elon Musk, has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI. Musk dropped, then reopened the suit in August, saying he believed he was helping start a nonprofit and had been "deceived." OpenAI responded to the lawsuit, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-fightingwars-alot-of-fronts-2024-8">telling Business Insider</a> in an August statement: "As we said about Elon's initial legal filing, which was subsequently withdrawn, Elon's prior emails continue to speak for themselves." OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI on McGrew and Zoph's departures. The brain drain has also included other high-profile exits, including former researcher and head of alignment <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jan-leike-ilya-sutskever-resignations-superalignment-openai-superintelligence-safe-humanity-2024-5">Jan Leike</a>, who announced his resignation in May, shortly after Sutskever. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-safety-researchers-quit-superalignment-sam-altman-chatgpt-2024-5" target="_blank">Daniel Kokotajlo and William Saunders</a>, who worked on OpenAI's governance and safety teams, left in the first half of the year. Additionally, OpenAI cofounder John Schulman left in August to join OpenAI rival Anthropic — where Leike also landed. And another cofounder, Andrej Karpathy, left in February 2024. In August, Kokotajlo said that about <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-lost-nearly-half-agi-safety-team-ex-researcher-2024-8">half of the people focused on AI safety had left the company</a>. "It's not been like a coordinated thing," he told Fortune. "I think it's just people sort of individually giving up." OpenAI, which was founded in 2015, has been the dominant player in the AI race since the launch of ChatGPT in late November 2022. It has since launched more sophisticated versions of ChatGPT, its text-to-image model DALL-E, and GPT 4o. The startup also announced a voice assistant, a text-to-video model named Sora, and its <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-o1-product-name-strawberry-2024-9">most sophisticated AI model, o1</a>, which the startup said can reason. But rivals — including some OpenAI investors like Microsoft — are catching up. On Wednesday, Meta announced that Meta AI is on track to be "the most used AI assistant in the world." OpenAI's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-openai-mission-drift-for-profit-nonprofit-structure-investment-2024-9">latest funding round </a>— which would bring its valuation to $150 billion — is now nearly complete and could include investors like Apple and Nvidia, per <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-19/openai-to-decide-which-backers-to-let-into-6-5-billion-funding?embedded-checkout=true">Bloomberg</a>. And Altman, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/open-ai-sam-altman-equity-stake-valuation-private-nonprofit-9">according to Reuters</a> and Bloomberg, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/open-ai-sam-altman-equity-stake-valuation-private-nonprofit-9">could be in for a large payday</a> with a reported company restructuring that would shift the startup away from its current nonprofit status. Correction: September 26, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated when Daniel Kokotajlo and William Saunders left OpenAI. They left in the first half of this year, not last year.

The OpenAI talent exodus has become the joke of the moment in tech world

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Vice President Kamala Harris looks set to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination.</li><li>Harris is the former attorney-general of California and has a long history with the tech industry.</li></ul><a target="_blank" rel="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-wants-to-unite-democratic-party-defeat-trump-biden-2024-7">Kamala Harris</a> looks set to win the Democratic presidential nomination after Joe Biden <a target="_blank" rel="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-dropping-out-presidential-race-2024-7">withdrew from the 2024 race</a> on Sunday.The Vice President is off to a flying start, raising a record<a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-raises-81-million-in-24-hours-breaks-record-2024-7"> $81 million</a> and <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-secured-enough-delegates-to-win-democratic-presidential-nomination-2024-7">securing enough delegates</a> to win the nomination within 24 hours of Biden dropping his reelection bid.Harris is the former California attorney-general before becoming a senator in 2017 and has a long association with the tech sector.Born in Oakland, she has roots and high-profile friends in the Bay Area. She reportedly attended former Facebook president and investor <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sean-parker-life-career-napster-facebook-billionaire-pictures-2020-3">Sean Parker</a>'s wedding in 2013 and her brother-in-law,<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tony-west-life-career-uber-maya-harris-kamala-harris-2020-11"> Tony West</a>, is the chief legal officer for Uber.While some prominent figures in Silicon Valley have called on techies to rally behind Trump and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-jd-vance-veep-trump-election-kingmaker-2024-7">JD Vance, his former venture capitalist running mate,</a> others have been quick to voice their support for Harris."The tech community must come together to defeat Donald Trump and save our democracy by uniting behind Vice President @KamalaHarris as the Democratic nominee for President," Silicon Valley "super angel" investor Ron Conway <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/RonConway/status/1815466335612399778">said on X.</a>"I have known Kamala for decades, and she's been a fighter, a leader, and an advocate for the tech ecosystem."Here's where Harris stands on AI, Big Tech, and crypto.<h2 id="1aa6de01-0467-48b1-a62d-893a7d98f469">Big Tech allies</h2>Harris has a reputation as a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-are-kamala-harris-policy-stances-issues-2024-7">pro-business politician.</a>She has close relationships with several influential Valley figures, including<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sheryl-sandberg-endorses-kamala-harris-for-president-2024-7"> </a><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/teddyschleifer/status/1815557071548362973">Laurene Powell Jobs</a>, who's worth more than $11 billion. Steve Jobs' widow could play a role in Harris' campaign, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/22/us/politics/kamala-harris-donors-women.html">The New York Times reported</a>.<div type="image" title="Laurene Powell Jobs dressed in a grey suit and talking on a stage, waves her hand forward to make a point" height="1424" width="1898" msid="111962240" hostid="261" sizebytes="192444"></div>Harris has already been endorsed as a presidential candidate by LinkedIn cofounder <a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" href="https://x.com/reidhoffman/status/1815103690912723274">Reid Hoffman</a> and former Meta exec <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sheryl-sandberg-endorses-kamala-harris-for-president-2024-7">Sheryl Sandberg,</a> who called her "the strongest candidate to lead our country forward." Netflix executive chairman Reed Hastings also congratulated Harris in an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/reedhastings/status/1815603833927815360">X post</a> on Tuesday, adding: "Now it is time to win."Box CEO Aaron Levie <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=1f5d2a28fd4bd28be0e49396a3865751b3c2087f3498a1b922fc1c8c2dc59788&amp;postID=669f688ec87a0f57098fcc56&amp;postSlug=kamala-harris-tech-issues-ai-big-tech-crypto-silicon-valley-2024-7&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theinformation.com%2Farticles%2Ftechs-mostly-positive-views-on-kamala-harris">also told The Information</a> he expected Harris to "turn around" some of the Biden administration's missed opportunities to rally the tech industry behind the Democrats.Harris has also shown she's willing to take on influential tech CEOs. During her time as attorney-general, she tackled issues such as the distribution of explicit content on social media platforms, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/02/01/kamala-harris-porn-california-attorney-general-facebook-twitter-silicon-valley-224534/">particularly "revenge porn."</a><h2 id="5796a6e8-8241-4e54-a84d-9be6717b7a3e">Fresh start for crypto?</h2>Harris has yet to express a clear stance on crypto — but some in the Bay Area hope she could be a fresh start for the industry.The Biden administration has increased its scrutiny over the sector following the collapse of FTX in 2022. Meanwhile, with support from pro-crypto running mate JD Vance, Trump announced he plans to be the first <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/trump-bitcoin-crypto-president-jd-vance-b2582235.html">"crypto president."</a>Nigel Green, CEO of financial company deVere Group, told Business Insider Harris's views "reflect a cautious approach" to the sector. "This regulatory clarity could bring greater legitimacy to the industry, potentially attracting more institutional investors and mainstream adoption."Green said he expected Harris to become more pro-crypto to compete effectively with Donald Trump, but in the meantime "crypto investors are likely to still favor Trump at this point."<h2 id="f911e785-d54a-4bf9-b01b-88d01b17a23f">AI safety with innovation</h2>Harris has played an active role in the Biden administration's approach to AI.As Veep, she's been warned of the potential risks AI poses and has hosted meetings with leaders at the forefront of advanced AI development.Harris <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/11/01/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-on-the-future-of-artificial-intelligence-london-united-kingdom/">previously said</a> she rejects the "false choice that suggests we can either protect the public, or advance innovation."Despite this, some VCs, such as <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://cryptoslate.com/andreessen-horowitz-founders-break-rank-to-endorse-trump-due-to-his-support-for-bitcoin-ai/">Marc Andreessen had expressed concern that the Biden administration</a> would over-regulate AI.In 2023, Biden signed an executive order on "Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence," which set safety standards for AI researchers to follow. However, critics said the order provided little teeth for federal agencies, and Trump has vowed to overturn it.

Here's where Kamala Harris stands on tech issues including AI, Big Tech, and crypto 

One aspect that always garners much traction on the <keyword id="19936553" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Budget" source="keywords">Budget</keyword> day is what got <keyword id="20257498" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cheaper" source="keywords">cheaper</keyword> and what got <keyword id="20286063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="costlier" source="keywords">costlier</keyword>. Finance Minister <keyword id="19916618" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nirmala-Sitharaman" source="keywords">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword> as part of her Budget presentation proposed a host of tweaks in basic <keyword id="20454068" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="customs-duty" source="keywords">customs duty</keyword> (BCD) for various products or items that are critical for manufacturing. In her Budget speech, Sitharaman proposed an exemption on customs duty on certain <keyword id="22516435" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cancer-medicines" source="keywords">cancer medicines</keyword> and a reduction in duties on <keyword id="19920958" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mobile-phone" source="keywords">mobile phone</keyword> parts and chargers, aimed at bringing down their prices in the retail market. "With a three-fold increase in domestic production and almost 100-fold jump in exports of mobile phones over the last six years, the Indian mobile phone industry has matured. In the interest of consumers, I now propose to reduce the BCD on mobile phone, mobile PCBA and mobile charger to 15 per cent," said Sitharaman in her Budget speech that lasted around 90 minutes. To provide relief to cancer patients, she proposed to fully exempt three more medicines from customs duties. Imported <keyword id="19895579" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gold" source="keywords">gold</keyword>, silver, leather goods and seafood will also get cheaper, as duties were invariably lowered on them. Duty cut on gold would boost retail demand and help in curtailing smuggling in the world's second-biggest bullion market. "To enhance domestic value addition in gold and precious metal jewellery in the country, I propose to reduce customs duties on gold and silver to 6 per cent and that on platinum to 6.4 per cent." She also proposed changes in the customs duty on X-ray tubes and flat panel detectors for use in medical X-ray machines under the <keyword id="20330318" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="phased-manufacturing-programme" source="keywords">Phased Manufacturing Programme</keyword>, so as to synchronise them with domestic capacity addition. Also, she proposed to fully exempt customs duties on 25 critical minerals and reduce basic customs duty on two of them. Minerals such as lithium, copper, cobalt and rare earth elements are critical for sectors like nuclear energy, renewable energy, space, defence, telecommunications, and high-tech electronics, said the finance minister. "This will provide a major fillip to the processing and refining of such minerals and help secure their availability for these strategic and important sectors," Sitharaman said. Putting energy transition on focus, as it is critical in the fight against climate change, the finance minister proposed to expand the list of exempted capital goods for use in the manufacture of solar cells and panels in the country. However, in view of sufficient domestic manufacturing capacity of solar glass and tinned copper interconnect, it was proposed not to extend the exemption of customs duties provided to them. To enhance competitiveness in marine products, the reduced duty on certain broodstock, polychaete worms, shrimp and fish feed to 5 per cent, besides exempting customs duty on various inputs for manufacture of shrimp and fish feed. Moving on to leather and textile, reduction in duty was announced for various items. "...to enhance the competitiveness of exports in the leather and textile sectors, I propose to reduce BCD on real down filling material from duck or goose," Sitharaman said. To reduce cost of production of steel and copper, two important raw materials, it was proposed to remove the customs duty on ferro nickel and blister copper. "I am also continuing with nil BCD (customs duty) on ferrous scrap and nickel cathode and concessional BCD of 2.5 per cent on copper scrap." On the flip side, to support chemicals and petrochemicals, an increase in duty was proposed. To support existing and new capacities in the pipeline, an increase in duty on ammonium nitrate from 7.5 to 10 per cent would be applicable. PVC flex banners are non-biodegradable and hazardous for environment and health. To curb their imports, a propose was made to raise the duty on them from 10 to 25 per cent. To incentivise domestic telecommunication equipment manufacturing, a propose to increase the duty from 10 to 15 per cent on PCBA (printed circuit board assembly) of specified telecom equipment was made. Explaining her rational behind the indirect taxes tweak, Sitharaman said her proposals for customs duties intend to support domestic manufacturing, deepen local value addition, promote export competitiveness, and simplify taxation, while keeping the interest of the general public and consumers surmount. In Budget 2022-23 too, the government reduced the number of customs duty rates.

Here's what will get cheaper and costlier after this Budget

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Spirit Airlines is considering filing for bankruptcy protection, The Wall Street Journal reported.</li><li>Its struggles are indicative of the wider issues faced by budget airlines as labor and fuel costs rise.</li></ul>In another sign of the problems faced by budget airlines, The Wall Street Journal reported that <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spirit-airlines-chapter-11-bankruptcy-billion-debt-restructuring-2024-10">Spirit Airlines is considering filing for bankruptcy protection</a>.Falling profits for the cheapest carriers could result in higher ticket prices and fees for passengers as airlines try to cope with increased fuel and labor costs.The introduction of premium-seating options and axing routes is spelling <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-end-of-budget-airlines-southwest-jetblue-frontier-spirit-2024-7">the end of budget airlines as we've known them</a>.Declining revenues saw <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spirit-airlines-big-front-seat-premium-review-2022-6">Spirit</a> post a net loss of $192 million in the second quarter. Its struggles intensified after a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jetblue-spirit-merger-deal-blocked-by-federal-judge-2024-1">planned merger with JetBlue</a> was called off in March.The airline's stock was down about 25% on Friday, leaving it worth less than $200 million.When asked for comment on the Journal's report, Spirit referred to CEO Ted Christie's words on an August earnings call. He said the airline was engaged in "productive" conversations with its bondholders' advisors.Filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy would let Spirit restructure its assets. The ultra-low-cost carrier has already tried several methods to try to stop the bleeding, like introducing premium-seating options and cutting routes.According to data from Cirium, Spirit reduced the number of seats scheduled to be flown by 18% between August and September. This month, its schedule is a tenth smaller than last October.Neil Glynn, of research and analysis firm AIR Control Tower, said in a report Friday that these developments highlight the challenges facing the leanest airline business models following a surge in costs across the industry.Glynn also highlighted that increasing labor costs have "not been absorbable by the quality of its network."Fewer routes could see passengers face higher ticket prices on other airlines due to reduced competition.<h2 id="cb505919-1827-4fd3-9f9e-659847419e1f">Higher prices, fewer routes, and no hot meals</h2><div type="image" title="Southwest planes at an airport" height="3235" width="4313" msid="113946783" hostid="261" sizebytes="512866"></div><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/flying-ultra-low-cost-airlines-spirit-frontier-not-worth-it-2024-6">Budget airlines</a> could raise their prices, especially since they lack the business- and first-class cabins that are highly profitable for mainline carriers.Airlines like Spirit rely on filling as many seats as possible and keeping their planes flying as much as possible to compensate for cheap tickets.Ancillary revenue, from add-ons like baggage fees or inflight drinks, is also a mainstay. However, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spirit-airlines-says-flyers-spending-less-extras-like-food-baggage-2024-7">Spirit warned in July</a> that it was making less than expected from this revenue stream.Many other budget carriers have been shaking up their operations as they contend with reduced profits, which has raised questions about the nature of their business models.In February Frontier Airlines announced a new "BizFare" package with perks including priority boarding, a free carry-on, and premium seat assignments. Its pre-tax income fell 63% in the second quarter of 2024 compared with the same period last year.Most notably, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/southwest-airlines-changes-turnaround-plan-assigned-seats-routes-bags-2024-9">Southwest Airlines</a> announced in July that it would ditch its open-seating policy and let customers pay for extra legroom, as it faces pressure from the activist investor Elliott Management. It reported a profit of $367 million in the second quarter, but that was still a 46% fall from the same period last year.Starting this quarter, low-cost carrier <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jetblue-axes-hot-meals-for-economy-flyers-cuts-costs-2024-10">JetBlue has axed hot meals</a> for economy passengers on its transatlantic flights. A spokesperson told BI this was "part of our effort to ensure we can continue to provide a great experience at JetBlue's competitive fares." Its second-quarter profits were down 82% from the same period in 2023.<a target="_blank" rel="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/united-ceo-low-cost-carriers-frontier-spirit-flawed-business-model-2024-6">United CEO Scott Kirby told</a> "The Air Show" podcast in June that he believes low-cost carriers are "going out of business" because their business model is flawed and "customers hate it."

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