iWorld
Twitter records over 700K Tweets with #Budget2017
MUMBAI: Twitter is the live connection to news and culture and this reflected during the recently concluded #Budget2017 when people flocked to the platform for live breaking news and to know what’s happening. Conversations on Twitter on the Union Budget 2017 echoed the nation’s mood and its temperament towards an event of national significance.
From common man to well-known personalities, everyone took to Twitter to express their opinions regarding the Budget. The platform recorded 720,000 Budget-related Tweets between January 30 – February 2, 2017.
The conversations on the platform peaked at 12:01 PM with 1.5K Tweets per minute.
Here’s a snapshot of what people were saying about #Budget2017:
#BudgetForBetterIndia reforms old processes, empowers our human capital & aims to rejuvenate the economy.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 1, 2017
Glad the government is upping investments in solar power.
The sun is still the world's cheapest power plant.#Budget2017— Sorabh Pant (@hankypanty) February 1, 2017
Together with the Finance Ministry (@FinMinIndia), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (@MIB_India), CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News), SBI (@TheOfficialSBI), as well as Bloomberg-Quint (@BloombergQuint), Twitter provided live updates from #Budget2017, showcasing the presentation of the Union Budget and initiated conversation amongst policy makers, influencers, journalists, opinion-makers, and the public in general.
#Budget2017: FM presents the budget https://t.co/Iprm4P00mQ
— CNBC-TV18 News (@CNBCTV18News) February 1, 2017
LIVE on #Periscope | Tax expectations from #Budget2017
Join the discussion with @menakadoshi https://t.co/dC9nsko1pz
— BloombergQuint (@BloombergQuint) February 1, 2017
This year, Finance Minister @ArunJaitley did two Q&As on Twitter, taking questions with the hashtags #MyQuestionToFM and #AskYourFM after the Budget itself, expanding the #Budget2017 discussion with the public and gathering feedback in real-time. @FinMinIndia also posted exclusive behind the scenes peek into the highly secretive process of the making of the #Budget2017 with an autographed picture of the Finance Minister @ArunJaitley via Twitter’s Challenger app as well as a video Teaser to the Q&A session.
Ask your questions to FM using #MyQuestionToFM pic.twitter.com/SP63OwyOT8
— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) January 31, 2017
Post your Qs on #Budget2017 using #AskYourFM & get live Ans from FM Sh @arunjaitley on #Talkathon at 6.30pm today: https://t.co/BcUOkOoHDB pic.twitter.com/ihUaEE2YrR
— MIB India (@MIB_India) February 1, 2017
@arunjaitley what is going to be done with UBI in this session with India's interest #MyQuestionToFM
— Praneeth Reddy (@praneethcars) February 1, 2017
#MyQuestionToFM Dear Sir congrats for budget 2017. With reference to section 80D shouldn't the state reduce service tax on Health Insurance
— MUNISH PRABHAKAR (@PRABHAKARMUNISH) February 1, 2017
Live Talkathon
Tweet your Qns to @arunjaitley using #AskYourFM on #Budget2017 and get Ans live here https://t.co/Sq4XeaK0E9— MIB India (@MIB_India) February 1, 2017
In a first of its kind Twitter collaboration, CNBC-TV18 and SBI joined forces for the first-ever Amplify partnership in the news category for India, providing video highlights of #Budget2017 on the platform. The highly informative content approach featured #Budget2017 videos from CNBC-TV18 and pre-roll ads from SBI.
We are happy to announce our partnership with @TwitterIndia and @TheOfficialSBI for #Budget2017. Details here: https://t.co/eoF91vBjcK
— CNBC-TV18 News (@CNBCTV18News) January 31, 2017
iWorld
Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
