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New Income Tax Bill introduced in LS

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Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the Income Tax Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha and urged Speaker Om Birla to refer it to a select committee of the House. Opposition members opposed the Bill at the introduction stage but the House passed a motion by voice vote for its introduction. While moving the Bill for introduction, Sitharaman urged Birla to refer the draft law to a select committee of the House, which will submit its report by the first day of the next session. She urged the speaker to take a call on the proposed panel's composition and rules.

SEBI seeks greater access to social media records

Markets regulator is seeking broader powers from the government to remove unauthorised financial advice from social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram, and to access their call records for investigations into market violations. This is the second time since 2022 that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has sought such powers, with approval from the government still pending. The request comes as the regulator has intensified investigations into market violations and clamped down on unregulated financial advice circulating on social media.

Gupshup launches pre-built AI agents for financial services sector

Conversational AI platform Gupshup on Thursday launched pre-built and industry-trained AI agents for the financial services sector. The launch would enable financial institutions to streamline customer engagement, improve conversion rates and drive revenue growth. In tech parlance, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) agent is a system or programme that can autonomously carry out tasks by designing workflow and processes and leveraging available tools. These AI agents, designed to address critical challenges in top-of-the-funnel customer acquisition, help fintech companies go to market faster with minimal setup.

Chevron to set up $1 bn engineering centre in India

Energy giant Chevron is setting up a $1-billion engineering and innovation centre in India, its second biggest in the world, as it looks to tap the country's engineering and technology talent to support its global operations and projects. The Chevron Engineering and Innovation Excellence Centre (ENGINE) in Bengaluru is not a back office but a centre that will do works ranging from understanding geology for oil and gas production and carbon storage to developing digital twins for oil refineries and advanced process monitoring to improve supply reliability.