Neha Alawadhi &Amp; Shine Jacob

Stories by Neha Alawadhi &Amp; Shine Jacob

Govt to break 150-yr tradition, gives nod to Railway board restructuring

Govt to break 150-yr tradition, gives nod to Railway board restructuring

Rediff.com   25 Dec 2019

The new board will have a leaner structure on functional lines headed by the chairman and four members - covering infrastructure, operations and business development, rolling stock, and finance.

Railways in talks with Reliance Jio on tower use

Railways in talks with Reliance Jio on tower use

Rediff.com   23 Dec 2019

Indian Railways is in talks with Reliance Jio Infocomm to allow the Mukesh Ambani-led telecom major's use of its towers. The aim is seamless mobile and internet connectivity for passengers along the 67,368-km of tracks. The Railway Board has entrusted its RailTel Corporation arm to work on the modalities with Jio. The Jio tie-up is expected to bring down its telecom bill by at least 35 per cent from this financial year.

New Data Bill may hit tech businesses hard

New Data Bill may hit tech businesses hard

Rediff.com   19 Dec 2019

'If Indians are to be truly protected, Parliament must review and address these dangerous provisions before they become law.'

New data law: Alexa, Google Home may stop speaking

New data law: Alexa, Google Home may stop speaking

Rediff.com   18 Dec 2019

In the worst-case scenario, it will be next to impossible for tech companies like Amazon and Google to run any service that requires user biometrics.

Social media firms deploy 15K people to check content

Social media firms deploy 15K people to check content

Rediff.com   17 Dec 2019

In platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Helo, and ShareChat, mediators have been asked to put in more hours to ensure that no communal or fake news spread.

Tharoor's House panel on I-T meets cyber experts

Tharoor's House panel on I-T meets cyber experts

Rediff.com   14 Dec 2019

People familiar with the proceedings said independent cybersecurity experts from a private consulting firm, technology lawyers, government officials and WhatsApp representatives were asked questions about the Pegasus spyware and the larger issues surrounding surveillance, hacking and remedial measures.

Data Bill: Industry experts fear massive implementation hurdles

Data Bill: Industry experts fear massive implementation hurdles

Rediff.com   12 Dec 2019

If the Personal Data Protection Bill gets passed in its present form, a new class of companies and entities could emerge. The sole job of these new entities would be to manage the consent for data usage of a user.Banks, healthcare firms and fintech companies, among others, fear that sharing non-personal data with the government may hurt business interests. Banks also fear the threat of data misuse.

E-commerce, tech firms call for clarity on Personal Data Protection Bill

E-commerce, tech firms call for clarity on Personal Data Protection Bill

Rediff.com   5 Dec 2019

The biggest fear many of the e-commerce firms have is the possible requirement to change business models overnight, which would drastically increase costs as well as disrupt businesses.

Oyo brass Aditya Ghosh joins board, Rohit Kapoor becomes CEO

Oyo brass Aditya Ghosh joins board, Rohit Kapoor becomes CEO

Rediff.com   3 Dec 2019

Oyo has recently undergone large-scale corporate restructuring, setting up several subsidiaries and bifurcating operations globally.

Tech, service firms gear up for FASTag

Tech, service firms gear up for FASTag

Rediff.com   2 Dec 2019

Fintech giant Paytm claimed it is selling more FASTags than all the banks put together on a daily basis.

Only 61% homes used LPG as of Dec 2018

Only 61% homes used LPG as of Dec 2018

Rediff.com   26 Nov 2019

Only 48.3 per cent of the rural households used LPG, while the figures were much higher in urban areas at 86.6 per cent, according to a NSO report.

Could have done more: WhatsApp on snooping row

Could have done more: WhatsApp on snooping row

Rediff.com   20 Nov 2019

In a communication to the ministry of electronics and information technology, the messaging service said it was committed to protecting the privacy of its over 400 million users in India.

Why stubble burning will continue to choke NCR

Why stubble burning will continue to choke NCR

Rediff.com   13 Nov 2019

To prevent rise in air pollution levels, oil marketing companies and thermal power units were planning to procure stubble from farmers to make bioethanol and promote the central government's 'Agricultural Mechanization' for crop residue management. But both have seen minimal success.

The Pegasus mess: Has the govt actually spied on you?

The Pegasus mess: Has the govt actually spied on you?

Rediff.com   13 Nov 2019

This episode highlights that the country's surveillance systems are not robust enough to ward off and prevent such attacks in the future.

Delivery staff are among the worst affected by Delhi's air pollution

Delivery staff are among the worst affected by Delhi's air pollution

Rediff.com   11 Nov 2019

The delivery staff who drop off packages for online retail giants or food or ferry passengers around the city in their taxis are among the worst affected by the capital's foul air.

Why users are logging out of Twitter and joining Mastodon

Why users are logging out of Twitter and joining Mastodon

Rediff.com   11 Nov 2019

Recently, several Twitter users began migrating to the social networking platform after a protest that began with Supreme Court lawyer Sanjay Hegde's Twitter account suspension, and moved on to a larger conversation about Twitter's policies being allegedly anti-Dalit and certain castes and religion.

Whatsapp Pay's India launch in jeopardy

Whatsapp Pay's India launch in jeopardy

Rediff.com   6 Nov 2019

Top officials in key ministries, including finance and IT, are of the opinion that a sensitive payments system such as UPI should not be on a platform whose security is possibly compromised.

Spyware row: WhatsApp downloads in India drop by a staggering 80%

Spyware row: WhatsApp downloads in India drop by a staggering 80%

Rediff.com   6 Nov 2019

On October 29, WhatsApp announced it was suing NSO Group for selling its software, Pegasus, which has the ability to compromise a device and get access to all of a target's data. Spooked by revelations that activists and journalists were spied upon by using NSO Group's spyware, many have moved to alternative messaging platforms such as Signal and Telegram.

WhatsAppgate: Foreign lobbies involved, believes govt

WhatsAppgate: Foreign lobbies involved, believes govt

Rediff.com   4 Nov 2019

Home ministry sources say there are fears that international lobbies might have been involved in spying, to create a narrative around Indian governance as well as the economy.

What Uber plans to do in India

What Uber plans to do in India

Rediff.com   4 Nov 2019

'12% of all our global trips are done in India.'