News digest: RIL's Q3 show, India's first BS-VI car, bitcoin, and more

The income tax department has sent notices to thousands of cryptocurrency investors across the country, seeking additional details on the money invested in the virtual currency during demonetisation

Jio, petrochemicals power RIL's Q3 show, net profit rises 25% to Rs 94.2 bn

Oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Friday reported a 25.1 per cent rise in net profit for the October-December 2017 quarter with higher profitability in petrochemicals and its telecom venture Jio reporting its first profit of Rs 5.04 billion. The Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate, at a consolidated level, posted a net profit of Rs 94.23 billion during the quarter under review, as against Rs 75.33 billion during the quarter ended December 2016. Read more

I-T notices to cryptocurrency investors on suspicion of tax evasion

The income tax department has sent notices to thousands of cryptocurrency investors across the country, seeking additional details on the money invested in the virtual currency during the government’s demonetisation exercise. Among 28 questions in total, the income tax department has sought details on “investment or sales of bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies in India and abroad during 8 November-31 December 2016,” said a notice to cryptocurrency investors on December 20.  Read more

Budget 2018: Elections or not, my mantra is development, says Narendra Modi

Countering the allegation that his government had reneged on the promise of creating 10 million jobs a year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi quoted a recent study showing seven million jobs had been created in the formal sector alone in the current financial year. Read more

End of road for Uber in India? Ola and Uber said to be on merger path

A comment made by Rajeev Misra, a board member of Softbank and about to join the Uber board, triggered a strong buzz on Friday that the Travis Kalanick-founded ride hailing firm may step off the pedal in India. Talks of a possible merger between Ola and Uber, with Softbank as the common investor, also did the rounds. Read more

Mercedes-Benz unveils India's first BS-VI car, promises better fuel economy

Mercedes-Benz unveiled the BS-VI variant of its flagship S-Class on Friday. The luxury carmaker became the first in India to show preparedness for the commercial launch of a BS-VI compliant model, two years ahead of the regulation. Roland Folger, managing director (MD) and chief executive at Mercedes-Benz India, said with government incentive, the implementation of the BS-VI norms can be expedited. Read more