Signalling both change and continuity, India's new government, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a third consecutive term, got into work gear on Tuesday with cabinet ministers and ministers of state filing into their respective offices to assume charge.
The Gujarat high court has stayed the release of Maharaj, Aamir Khan's son Junaid's debut film, on Netflix after followers of Pushtimarg, a Vaishnava sect of Hinduism, claimed that it would hurt their religious sentiments.
A deep fake video of actress Rashmika Mandanna has been circulating on social media platforms. Netizens claimed the video has been morphed and the actual video is of an Indian-origin person living in the United Kingdom.
More than 6,000 URLs, accounts or websites were blocked in 2021, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.
The industry came under scrutiny after the proliferation of games like cards, casinos, and fantasy sports among young people led to addiction and financial losses, with some reported cases of suicide.
The digital platforms are responsible and accountable for ensuring the safety of 'digital nagriks', the minister said, adding that the government will respond to every instance of alleged misuse or alleged breach of users' privacy.
The government on Thursday ordered blocking of eight YouTube channels, including one operating from Pakistan, for allegedly spreading disinformation related to India's national security, foreign relations and public order.
The Delhi government has announced that vehicles older than 15 years will be denied fuel at petrol pumps starting April 1.
On February 4, Twitter was asked to take down 1,178 accounts with links to Pakistan and Khalistan supporters that were spreading misinformation and provocative content related to farmers' protest.
'There is a need for an innovation sandbox where the PSBs can collaborate and then they can do their own innovation on top of it.'
To boost domestic manufacturing under the Make in India initiative and reduce dependency on imports, the government is expected to announce in the Budget an increase in the minimum local content requirement for public procurement, with certain sectors being granted exceptions. Currently, firms producing goods, services, or works with at least 50 per cent local content are classified as Class-I local suppliers and are preferred the most in government procurement.
Under the title of "legal enforcement", states and Union Territories were directed to appoint officers solely responsible for discharging the functions of Child Marriage Prohibition Officers at the district level.
The government will assist citizens in filing FIR against social media platforms for violation of IT rules in case they are aggrieved from objectionable content like deep fakes.
The Pakistani government is firm in its stance on keeping the ban imposed on YouTube until the video-sharing website removed the controversial blasphemous film that outraged the Muslim world last year.
While Paytm (One97 Communications) is not completely past regulatory hurdles, its share price has gained in the last month or two. The Paytm handle migration is complete along with FDI clearance necessary for the Payment Aggregator (PA) license. UPI consumer data indicates stable market share, and expansion in partner networks in financial distribution. All this implies Paytm could be set to meet guidance of turning Adjusted Ebitda breakeven by Q4FY25 (ex of UPI-incentives).
'Today's situation is unacceptable. It has the potential to affect the IAF's operational capability.'
The Budget announcement of zero tax for earnings upto Rs 12 lakh per annum and the rejig of tax slabs across the board should prompt more than 90 per cent of individual taxpayers to embrace the new tax regime as compared to the about 75 per cent as of now, CBDT Chairman Ravi Agrawal said. Agrawal also highlighted the government's focus on "non-intrusive" tax administration through enhanced use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and simplified tax processes for common taxpayers. He emphasized the benefits of the new tax regime (NTR), which offers simple calculations and allows taxpayers to file their ITR without professional help. The CBDT chief stated that the Budget provisions related to income tax payment benefit all income earners, not just those earning Rs 12 lakh per annum, creating a positive sentiment in the economy and propelling growth. The department is also harnessing technology, including AI and data analytics, to widen and deepen the tax base, resulting in increased compliance and tax revenue. Agrawal further highlighted the positive impact of data availability and simplified tax processes on compliance rates, citing examples of taxpayers filing revised returns and paying taxes after being prompted by the department's data analysis.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information and Technology has called on Twitter to appear before the panel in Parliament Complex on June 18 at 4 pm and give representation on how to prevent misuse of social media and online news.
The commanders' conclave in a forward area in Sikkim, which is close to the Line of Actual Control, comes amid the lingering border row in eastern Ladakh.
The connectivity will not only improve delivery of government schemes but will also empower people, he said while talking to reporters on the sidelines of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in New Delhi.
The government wants a collaborative model with a public-private partnership to fact-check social media content.
The Mumbai police, who are probing the incident of attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan, on Tuesday said they have 'ample and strong evidence' against the Bangladeshi national arrested in the case.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday met top officials of the finance and corporate affairs ministries to review the implementation of various announcements of the Union Budget FY24. "The finance minister underlined the importance of continuous assessment of progress to ensure that various announcements are implemented in a time-bound manner," the finance ministry said in a tweet. Sitharaman also discussed in detail various issues on the digital competition laws with Rajeev Chandrashekhar, the minister of state for entrepreneurship, skill development, electronics and technology.
Semiconductor makers need thousands of engineers and technicians, and though India has one of the largest pool of engineers in the world, they do not have experience in the semiconductor manufacturing space.
Kailash Gahlot was divested of the Law and Justice portfolio in the Aam Aadmi Party government on Friday, a day after Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena recalled files related to judicial infrastructure and administration in New Delhi as they remained pending with him for months, officials said.
The Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE), the only self-regulatory organisation for financial technology/fintech (SRO-FT) companies, is aiming to secure membership from at least 75 per cent of players across all key fintech categories within the next three years, according to a senior executive. The total number of members in the organisation has increased to 110, up from around 60 when it received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an SRO-FT in August.
The government is expected to outline a policy framework for artificial intelligence (AI) at the annual India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2024, beginning Tuesday, officials said. Apart from industry participation, the four-day event will feature booths from over 15 ministries showcasing how AI is being integrated into their departments.
The ministry of home affairs has received more than 20 proposals for foreign direct investment (FDI), including from China and Hong Kong, requiring security clearance between April and May. 'We are vetting some of these proposals which have come from various sectors. One of the applications is from a well known start-up,' an official said. 'We await inputs from Research and Analysis Wing, intelligence agencies, external affairs ministry, and embassies.'
CloudSEK in its report also warned that the leaked data could enable account takeovers.
The government started the crackdown against such YouTube channels for the first time in December last year using its emergency powers under the Information Technology Rules, 2021.
'The idea is to frame the ToR quickly, so that Trai can begin its consultations with industry stakeholders.'
Expanding the scope of its hearing in the Patanjali Ayurved case, the Supreme Court on Tuesday took a stern view of misleading advertisements by Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) firms and asked three Union ministries to inform it about the steps they have taken to curb the practice which takes 'public for a ride' and adversely affects their health.
'With free software on the Internet and apps, creating a deepfake video can take 3 to 5 minutes. Anyone can make these videos.'
For 2015-16, the planned outlay for the department was Rs 2,568 crore.
The government will investigate a claim that WhatsApp accessed the microphone of smartphone users while the phone was not in use, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Wednesday.
Airports across the country witnessed chaotic scenes on Friday after dozens of flights were either delayed or cancelled after a widespread global computer outage that also hit operations like cash withdrawal at some banks, and impacted functioning of some brokerages. Globally, the Microsoft cloud outage led to US airlines cancelling flights, but the tech giant later reportedly said its cloud services outage in the Central US region has been resolved.
It also issued notice to chairman of Sudarshan News, Suresh Chavhanke, Odisha Television Limited, Pittie Media LLP, Bharat Prakashan (Delhi) Limited which is the owner of The Organiser, Voice of the Nation'.
The first leg of Micron's semiconductor play in Sanand is crucial for the company to sprint towards India's goal of joining the chip race.
Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which operates India's largest airport, dismissed the expert committee report as "inaccurate", claiming it relied on "probabilities, hypothesis, and conjectures" rather than empirical data or complete documentation.
According to the notification, publishers of online curated content displaying tobacco products or their use will be required to display anti-tobacco health spots each of a minimum of 30 seconds at the beginning and middle of the programme.
