There is a perception getting built inside the government that big technology companies -- a common term used for firms like Facebook, Google, Twitter, Amazon and the like - are becoming very powerful and present multiple threats to entire nations and their citizens today. The digital ecosystem is replete with CSAM (child sexual abuse material), fake news, drug trade, radicalisation, trolling among other social vices. Given the network effect that these platforms have, it is important to ensure that these platforms are not misused.
Congress sources also said speculation that Motilal Vora would be appointed as interim party president are incorrect.
The Congress also alleged that Facebook was acting as an ally of the ruling BJP and pushing its agenda.
"Why is it that whenever there are no political overtones to a case, the CBI does a good job?" he said.
An all-party meeting on Monday failed to hammer out a consensus over the controversial Insurance Bill, which was scheduled to be taken up in Rajya Sabha.
In the concluding part of the series, Y V Reddy, argues that the proposal strikes at the functioning of federalism and the basic structure of the Constitution, which has served us well so far.
The Railway Budget will be presented on February 25 while the Union Budget will be presented on February 29.
The CPI(M) has asked the Centre to withdraw its decision to make Aadhaar cards compulsory for providing various benefits like cooking gas subsidy to people.
The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed in Rajya Sabha by a voice vote, although many parties including the Trinamool Congress and Dravida Munnetra Kazagham opposed it citing various reasons, including apprehensions data theft.
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice has made a suggestion for protecting whistle-blowers from the dreaded contempt law, till inquiry into such charges, as part of an effort to ensure accountability of judges. The proposal has been mooted for inclusion in the Judges (Inquiry) Bill 2006 which is expected to be introduced in Parliament shortly.
Ministry of home affairs and the IT ministry are planning to have a series of discussions with representatives from Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Google on issues around national security and the problem of fake news. Asking for decryption keys from WhatsApp to track conversations on the chat app is also part of the agenda.
'No sovereign guarantee, no bank guarantee, no escrow account, yet a huge amount was paid as advance'
If retrenched workers are unable to reskill within a fixed period of time, they will have to return the money given to them by the government. Moreover, they may be asked to pay back an interest on the sum transferred.
Two state ministers have also come out in the open to demand a detailed assessment by the top leadership.
Alexandr Kogan, the Cambridge University researcher who developed the app used by Cambridge Analytica, claimed he has been made a scapegoat.
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Tuesday said the Finance Ministry's decision to provide more capital to PSU banks will lower the borrowing cost and increase their capacity to lend, besides promoting investments.
A Parliamentary Standing Committee praised the government for the wrestling and boxing facilities at the Sports Authority of India's Sonepat Center but pointed out that "excellence needs to be replicated for other sports disciplines".
'This is not Ahmedabad Gymkhana but people's house'
The Congress has conceded the plum Finance portfolio to its junior partner, resolving a thorny issue, after its president Rahul Gandhi intervened and spoke to Kumaraswamy.
'The role of Parliament is to hold the government of the day, whichever party is in power, accountable for its actions, policies.' 'The amount we are wasting on Parliament is a very miniscule amount. But the cost of delay in policy-making is huge and that affects the entire nation.'
An impartial probe into the coal scam can only take place once Prime Minister Manmohan Singh steps down from office, Bharatiya Janata Party said on Friday in reaction to his offer to face CBI in a coal block allocation case.
An MP's is a full-time job, so is the BCCI president's. How can Anurag Thakur do justice to both, asks Sudhir Bisht.
The demonetisation has caused untold miseries to the ordinary people, Yechury said.
A parliamentary panel termed the government's proposed 85 per cent pictorial warnings on tobacco products as "too harsh" and recommended a drastic reduction in size.
As per the recommendations of the 2nd National Commission on Labour, the ministry is codifying existing 44 central labour laws into four codes by simplifying, amalgamating and rationalising the relevant provisions of the legislations.
Sebi has been given direct powers to freeze bank accounts, attach properties, conduct search and seizure and initiate recovery proceedings.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Friday remained non-committal on the issue of granting Leader of the Opposition status to Congress which does not have requisite numbers.
The chief minister dug out appointments of parliamentary secretaries by the Congress and the BJP governments in the national capital in the past and said many of them including Ajay Maken, who had held the post, even had his own staff and access to important official files.
India is the birthplace of four major world religions -- Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism. It is home to the world's third largest Muslim population, a diverse community of sects that includes Sufis, Shia, and Bohra. Roughly three per cent of India's citizens are Christian, and notably, Christians are the religious majority in three of India's 29 states, she said.
'In his 2014 election campaign, Mr Modi had boasted that he would apply the Gujarat model to the rest of India. We just have to ensure he doesn't start with Parliament,' says Shashi Tharoor in this fascinating excerpt from his new book, The Paradoxical Prime Minister: Narendra Modi And His India.
The strike call is over privatisation, mergers, and also due to write-off of corporate NPAs, criminalisation of willful default
Let there be a rule that if the Budget is not passed and funds cannot be drawn from the Consolidated Fund of India, there will be a government shutdown as it happens in the United States, says A K Bhattacharya.
Parliamentary panel seeks 5-yr jail term and penalty of up to Rs 50 lakh if a celebrity-endorsed product misfires
With the Defence Research and Development Organisation facing "bitter criticism" over delays in major projects like Light Combat Aircraft and the Arjun tank, Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday asked the research agency to complete its programmes within the prescribed time-limit.
Top officials of the environment ministry, Delhi Development Authority and municipal commissioners also stayed away from the deliberations.
Citing overlapping of functions, a parliamentary committee on Monday recommended integrating Central Vigilance Commission and anti-corruption wing of the Central Bureau of Investigation to work directly under the command and control of Lokpal to deal with corruption cases.
Priyadarshini Scindia, wife of sitting Guna MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, started campaigning in February, going door-to-door, reaching out to a cross-section of voters, listening to their woes and telling them about the work done by her better half.
The danger to India's democracy is coming from recourse to mobocracy encouraged by the anti-Modi gang, argues Vivek Gumaste.
The Committee headed by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha had proposed no tax on income of up to Rs 300,000 per annum; 10 per cent for Rs 300,000-10 lakh (Rs 1 million); 20 per cent, for Rs 10-20 lakh (Rs 1-2 million) and 30 per cent on annual income beyond Rs 20 lakh (Rs 2 million).
Vishwajit Rane purportedly can be heard saying that during a Goa cabinet meeting last week Parrikar stated he had an entire file and all documents relating to the Rafale deal lying in his bedroom, Surjewala claimed, playing the conversation for the media outside Parliament.
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