Google’s mystery product — a payment app?; Karnataka wants to be India’s e-vehicle capital

 Sound smarter today: Here's the news professionals are talking about on LinkedIn right now. Join the conversation in the comments.  Google is set to take the wraps off its new India-centric product on September 18. The company has maintained the hype by revealing nothing, saying only that it was doing this “because fast is better than slow”. Here’s one educated guess: The Ken reported Google was about to launch its mobile payment service application Tez, which makes sense since the term literally means “fast”. Available on both desktops and Android phones, Tez may integrate other e-wallets such as Paytm and MobiKwik. Google is late to the Indian e-payment game, following in the footsteps of Uber, Truecaller and WhatsApp, and even traditional banks.After taking a pole position in IT services, Karnataka now wants to become India’s electric vehicle capital. It has become the first state to float an e-vehicle policy with the aim to attract investments worth ₹31,000 crore and to create 55,000 new jobs. Karnataka will dole out concessions for companies to set up R&D centres, manufacturing hubs and charging infrastructure. All highrise buildings, malls, IT parks and apartment complexes in the state will soon be required to have charging points for e-vehicles. Things are picking up pace even at the central government level: India is set to formulate an Elon Musk-inspired policy that incentivises international and national carmakers to set up shop here. India has an ambitious target of electrifying all vehicles by 2030.  HDFC Bank is India’s most valuable brand. Advertising firms WPP and Kantar Millward Brown estimate the brand of the country’s second private lender is now worth nearly $18 billion. Banks and telecom companies, with Airtel at No. 2 and State Bank of India at No. 3, dominate the list. Consumer goods brands failed to make it, as they were hit hard by the demonetization drive. This is aligned with the scene in countries like China and Indonesia, where the biggest brands are also banks.It’s not all good news in the banking industry. Former Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit has warned that 30% of bank jobs may vanish in the next five years, twice as fast as what the company had predicted last year. The reasons are the same as those affecting the IT sector — artificial intelligence and robotics. “Everything that happens with artificial intelligence, robotics and natural language -- all of that is going to make processes easier,” he told Bloomberg. That will impact back office jobs the hardest.You may give your packaged drinking water the side eye for a while. The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration will soon examine samples from popular brands such as Bisleri, Kinley, Aquafina and Himalayan to check for bromate level, after activists warned of a potential risk. Studies show that prolonged exposure to bromate increases the risk of cancer. The permissible limit is 10 microgram per litre. Himalayan, part of Tata Global Beverages, has responded it is confident its water is not contaminated. A report to the central FDA is expected in one to two months.Idea of the Day: The silver lining to having a bad boss: It’s “a crash course in how not to act and how not to treat people,” says Korn Ferry CEO Gary Burnison. It can make you a better employee and bolster your coping skills. This isn’t to suggest you should stick with a damaging situation — significant work stress could be as bad for your health as smoking — but you can make lemonade out of this particularly sour lemon.

“Learn all you can, develop your skills, and become more resilient. In time, you’ll be off to your next job — wiser and more experienced — leaving that bad boss behind.”