'We carry 6.5 billion passengers every year. We have crossed seven billion this year, and are targeting 10 billion by 2030.'
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.
As per sources, the MHA recommended the MeitY this week to ban and block these apps, and the ministry subsequently initiated the process as per communication.
The GST revenues for August 2023 have shown a growth of 11 per cent year on year due to increased compliance and less evasion, Revenue secretary Sanjay Malhotra said on Friday. The collection from Goods and Services Tax (GST) was Rs 1,43,612 crore in August 2022. "Roughly numbers are in the range of 11 per cent year on year growth as in earlier months," Malhotra told reporters.
In his clearest message yet on the controversy over the safety of ENDS, health minister Harsh Vardhan ruled out their acceptability in the light of research findings by experts which have held that they are no less unsafe than the 'real thing', said a government statement.
India's total value of defence production breached Rs 1 trillion-mark in the fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23), up 12 per cent year-on-year (YoY). At the bourses, this has been well reflected in related-stocks from the sector as they gained considerable ground during this period. Shares of Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, MTAR Technologies, Bharat Electronics (BEL), and Bharat Dynamics (BDL) have skyrocketed up to 160 per cent in a year, as against a 14 per cent jump in the S&P BSE Sensex.
Micron plans an assembly testing, marking and packaging project of $1 billion, and talks are on to set up a memory chip plant for captive requirements.
Unlike Israeli company NSO, whose sale of Pegasus cyber tech grabbed worldwide attention, and other manufacturers of offensive-cyber products, Cellebrite operates in a grey area between security exports and civilian ones.
During these seven decades, the IAF has lost 2,374 aircraft to crashes. They include 1,126 fighters and 1,248 non-combat aircraft. In addition, 229 trainers and 196 helicopters have crashed. These crashes have resulted in the deaths of 1,305 skilled pilots, note Ajai Shukla and Devesh Kapur.
'With free software on the Internet and apps, creating a deepfake video can take 3 to 5 minutes. Anyone can make these videos.'
Indian exporters are keeping their fingers crossed on account of rising Covid infections in China and other countries as it could again disrupt supply chains and affect demand for goods. Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) director general Ajay Sahai said that if the cases continue to increase in the coming days, it may have implications on imports. "We are keeping our fingers crossed," he said.
Pakistan's defence ministry on Wednesday filed a complaint before the media regulatory authority accusing the Geo News channel of indulging in anti-national activities by smearing the image of intelligence agency Inter Services Intelligence.
India's exports contracted by 22 per cent, the steepest decline in the last three years, to $32.97 billion in June on account of global demand slowdown, especially in the Western markets like the US and Europe. According to the data of the commerce ministry, the trade deficit in June stood at $20.3 billion against $22.07 billion in the same month last year due to a fall in exports and imports. The inbound shipments during the month under review declined by a steep 17.48 per cent to $53.10 billion.
A high-level committee to explore the feasibility of conducting simultaneous elections, headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind, held its first meeting in New Delhi on Saturday and decided to invite political parties and the Law Commission to seek their views on holding synchronised polls in the country, a statement said.
It started out as a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to make India an export hub. But after many a twist and turns, the latest 2.0 PLI for IT hardware, for which the 40 eligible candidates have applied till its deadline, is now focused on 'import substitution'. The scheme will help in reducing India's over-dependence on imports (80 per cent of laptops are imported), especially from China which include laptops, tablets and servers.
The department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) has suggested to the home ministry to allow limited activity in certain sectors such as heavy electricals and telecom equipment with reasonable safeguards. In a letter to Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, the department said that these activities are essential to improve the economic situation and provide liquidity in the hands of the people.
The government is likely to extend fiscal incentives for production of toys, bicycles and leather and footwear in the forthcoming budget as it looks to expand production linked incentive (PLI) scheme to cover more high-employment potential sectors, sources said. The government has already rolled out the scheme with an outlay of about Rs 2 lakh crore for as many as 14 sectors, including automobiles and auto components, white goods, pharma, textiles, food products, high efficiency solar PV modules, advance chemistry cell and speciality steel. The scheme aims to make domestic manufacturing globally competitive and create global champions in manufacturing, and it is yielding solid results, sources said.
In a significant move to enhance its strategic resource security, India has officially released its first-ever critical minerals list, identifying 30 key critical minerals crucial to the nation's economic growth and technological development. This pioneering step aims at reducing import dependence, enhancing supply-chain resilience, and supporting the country's net-zero objectives. Union Minister Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi, while releasing the Critical Minerals for India report in New Delhi on Wednesday, said, "India is readying for an Atmanirbhar Bharat."
In its chargesheet filed before a special court in New Delhi, the CBI has named Raghuvanshi and Pathak as accused in the alleged violation of the Official Secrets Act and related offences, they said.
The Chief of Air Staff, addressing a press conference ahead of the Air Force Day on October 8, asserted that the IAF will continue to remain deployed along the frontier in the region till complete disengagement takes place in the remaining contested areas.
The five-day event will include aerial displays by aircraft and helicopters along with a large exhibition and trade fair of aerospace and defence companies.
The instructions cite service rules that bar any government servant from making any adverse criticism of any policy or action of the government.
The tourism ministry has decided to impart Mandarin training to members of Indian Association of Tour Operators.
In line with the government's vision of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', the ministry of defence on Thursday signed contracts with Indian shipyards for the acquisition of 11 next generation offshore patrol vessels and six next generation missile vessels at a cost of nearly Rs 19,600 crore, officials said.
The guild said that already multiple laws exist to deal with content that is found to be factually incorrect.
The government, which is celebrating 75 years of India's Independence, has proposed that India@75 tableaux include India's freedom struggle, its achievements, actions and resolves over the past seven decades.
India's exports contracted 12.2 per cent to $34.48 billion in December 2022, mainly due to global headwinds, and the trade deficit widened to $23.76 billion during the same period, according to official data released on Monday. Imports in December 2022 also declined 3.5 per cent to $58.24 billion as against $60.33 billion in the year-ago period. In December 2021, exports stood at $39.27 billion and the trade deficit was at $21.06 billion.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) too, is going big on popularising e-Sport with Singapore being confirmed to host the inaugural Olympic Esports Week in June next year.
"Muzzling the Internet and censoring online content through PIB is the Modi government's definition of 'fact checking'," Pawan Khera alleged.
Talking to reporters at the accident site, he said the issue is of electric point machine, a vital device for railway signalling, and electronic interlocking.
Manoj Sinha, earlier minister of state for railways, will be tasked to conduct the auction and deal with issues like net neutrality.
The investor education and protection fund authority (IEPFA) has reached out to top hundred companies to reduce the documentation required for individuals trying to claim their shares, according to a senior government official. Recently, the Supreme Court-appointed expert panel on the Adani-Hindenburg case had raised issues such as capacity constraints faced by IEPFA in clearing these claims which are over Rs 5,000 crore. "Our immediate priority is to ensure that claims of those investors whose application was approved a year ago but the transfer has not gone through yet are settled first.
Apple Inc has announced the India prices of the new variants of its bestselling smartphones - launched on Tuesday - as it assembles the device in the country. The new iPhone 15 range starts at Rs 79,900 for the 128 GB variant (the same price as the iPhone 14 when it was launched last year) and goes up to Rs 199,900 for the top-end Pro Max with a 6.7 inch screen and 1 TB (terabyte) storage. The world's most valuable company also launched three new upgraded Apple watches, starting with the SE at Rs 29,900 and going up to Ultra 2 at Rs 89,900.
He said that fact-checkers are a reference point to fight against misinformation and rejected arguments that it will adversely impact "free speech".
A whopping Rs 62,476 crore has been "illegally" transferred by smartphone maker Vivo to China in order to avoid payment of taxes in India, the Enforcement Directorate said Thursday, as it claimed to have busted a major money laundering racket involving Chinese nationals and multiple Indian companies. This money is almost half of Vivo's turnover of Rs 1,25,185 crore, it said without stating the time period of the transaction. The crackdown on the leading Chinese company came after the federal probe agency found that three Chinese nationals, all of whom "left" India during 2018-21, and one other person from that country incorporated as many as 23 companies in India in which they were also helped by a Chartered Accountant, Nitin Garg.
India and the US on Friday said they have started talks to put in place a strategic framework for human space flight by year-end as they plan to send an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station in 2024.
Faced with one setback after another in expanding the scope of mining in the country, almost all the major miners of the world have wound down their operations in India.
The preventive aspect of cancer is strengthened under comprehensive primary healthcare through the Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centre scheme by the promotion of wellness activities and targeted communication at the community level.
The Congress' chief whip Jairam Ramesh, said, 'Today, too, the INDIA parties demanded the prime minister's presence in the Rajya Sabha to make a statement on Manipur, to be followed by a discussion.'
'Terrorists who are active in Poonch and Rajouri are not relying on random locals for logistics, guidance etc.' 'They are being supported by a selected few who are being vetted, cleared and directed from across the LoC.'