Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Tuesday announced plans to invest $17.5 billion in India to help build infrastructure and sovereign capabilities for the country's AI-first future, marking the third major AI-driven investment in the country in the past two months. Microsoft said that the $17.5 billion (around Rs 1.58 lakh crore) investment builds on the $3 billion (around Rs 26,955 crore) funding announced earlier this year, which the company is on track to spend by the end of CY (calendar year) 2026.
'Given the proportion of the global leak, it is very likely that the data of Indian citizens might be on the dataset.'
A task force set up by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) for transforming India into an "electronic and semiconductor products" nation is on the verge of finalising its report, which is likely to recommend an allocation of Rs 44,000 crore between 2024 and 2030 to support homegrown companies in their quest to develop products and build global brands. The task force's recommendations include significant incentives: Rs 15,000 crore dedicated to electronic products (systems), Rs 11,000 crore for semiconductor products, and Rs 18,000 crore for various other incentives such as talent development, common infrastructure, logistics, and technology & IP (intellectual property) acquisition, a member of the panel revealed.
'Money moves in a web of transactions and payment addresses keep changing for offshore companies, which requires heightened monitoring measures.'
MeitY is in discussions with global Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies, mid-tier firms, and state government officials on a three-pronged approach to setting up new GCCs in India.
'There are cases of suicides, and middle-class families losing their entire family savings.'
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) is looking at a proposal to generate 1.5-2 direct jobs for every Rs 1 crore invested by companies under the proposed electronic components production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. If this plan fructifies, a Rs 10,000 crore investment under the proposed PLI scheme would bring with it the expectation of creating 15,000-20,000 direct jobs in electronic components sector.
A day after news emerged that Foxconn Technology Group was "forced" by Beijing to send back its Chinese engineers and technicians from its Tamil Nadu plant, sources indicate that the global electronics giant has already drawn up an alternative plan to rescue its India iPhone 17 production by bringing in experts from mainly Taiwan and the US.
The Delhi high court has protected the personality rights of Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan, restraining websites and online platforms from illegally using his name or images for commercial gain without his consent.
rediffGURU Chocko Valliappa offers crucial career advice to engineering aspirants.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday said it would pass order on Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan's plea seeking to protect his publicity and personality rights, and restrain websites and platforms from using his image, likeness, persona and fake videos, including sexually explicit material.
CPGRAMS -- an online platform available to citizens 24x7 to lodge their grievances to public authorities on service delivery -- has existed for close to two decades. But it has never been this active, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
In a move to deepen manufacturing in electronics in India, the Centre is targeting 35-40 per cent value-addition through the yet-to-be launched production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for electronics components, sources in the government
Inputs from religious texts, scriptures of local dialects and inspirational word-of-mouth stories will also be included.
The Foxconn move may have been prompted by the Chinese government's focus on strengthening its supply chain.
Many who track the ministry and the technology sector closely believe that the space won't see much impact on the policymaking side, but the gestation time for regulations might get long, as now there could be a wider consensus-building exercise on policy matters under a coalition government.
China accounts for about 70 per cent of global rare earth mining and nearly 90 per cent of rare earth magnet production, making it a dominant player and giving it significant leverage in global supply chains.
There's no change in Apple Inc's India strategy, said a top government source. 'It can only be enhanced'.
'I think that kind of change is coming. We should stay prepared for that change, whichever industry or sector we are in, we must be prepared.'
It said Sadhguru has acquired uniqueness pertaining to his personality qua his voice, name, signature, image, likeness, vocal, articulation style and his unique attire, looks or appearance.
What has surprised the industry is that the Bill has been tabled without any consultation. Critics warn the ban on real-money gaming could fuel black markets, endanger 200,000 jobs and billions in tax revenue.
'India has the maths talent, academic institutions, and research institutions to do the next big thing.'
Seeking prompt removal of identifiable references of the deceased from all social media platforms, the IT ministry warned that failure to comply with the apex court's order may result in legal consequences and further regulatory action.
The Delhi high court said on Friday the purpose of Right to Information (RTI) Act is to bring in transparency, and if any information has been sought, it should be made public unless exempted from disclosure under the law.
The Indian government has said that social media platform X will be held responsible for content generated by its artificial intelligence tool Grok. This comes after users on X asked Grok questions about Indian politicians and the AI platform responded with "unpalatable" answers. The government is currently in discussion with X to understand and assess how Grok works. The government has previously taken action against social media platforms for AI-generated content that has been deemed offensive. In this case, the government is considering holding X accountable for Grok's content, even though it is generated by an AI tool. The government's stance is likely to have implications for other social media platforms that use AI tools.
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry is examining the existing statutory provisions and the need for a new legal framework to regulate 'harmful' content amid complaints of 'obscenity and violence' being shown on digital platforms.
The Indian government has introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to ban online games played with money, aiming to curb addiction, money laundering, and financial fraud. The bill also targets advertisements and financial transactions related to such games.
More than one million cybersecurity incidents were flagged within 10 days.
'We will start reaching out to researchers, academics, and experts on AI from top universities and companies from across the world.'
The scale of illegal gambling and betting in India is staggering, with 1.6 billion visits recorded between October and December 2024 across four analysed platforms -- Parimatch, Stake, 1xBet, and Battery Bet.
For the first time, the Data Security Council of India assembled a joint task force to source threat intelligence at the origin and ensure coordinated action across the cybersecurity spectrum.
Amid a spate of hoax bomb threats to multiple airlines, the IT ministry has asked social media platforms to observe due diligence obligations and promptly remove or disable access to misinformation within the strict timelines prescribed under IT rules.
'The new Bill introduces no policy or rate changes, leaving financial planning strategies largely unaffected.'
'The considerations for choosing between the old and new tax regimes remain essentially unchanged.'
Anticipating US action on tariffs, India seems to have made the first move by revamping its tariff structure by reducing the slabs to eight rates, points out Mukesh Butani.
Information Commissioner, in a terse order, pointed out that the website of the application mentions that the content on it is "owned, updated and maintained" by MyGov and MeitY
According to the Department of Pharmaceuticals' annual report for 2024-25, India imported medical devices worth $8.1 billion, while exports stood at $3.7 billion in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24)
'What I hope to do is provide a vehicle for that scale and growth in literacy and English as a second language here.'
The Centre's decision to block the entire social media account of 'Hindutva Watch' on the basis of certain alleged offending posts is 'disproportionate' and contrary to the law, social media giant 'X' has told the Delhi high court.
In 2023-2024, 95 scheduled commercial banks received over 10 million complaints from their customers. The process of KYC at many banks has become 'HYC' -- harass your customer, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
'At present, we are conducting internal consultations with legal minds and other stakeholders.' 'Once we have a reasonable draft, we'll then engage in broader consultations.'
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