Micro dramas -- typically 30 seconds to one to two minutes long per episode -- are designed for mobile-first audiences.
Once identified, these individuals are drawn into private groups where they are exposed to manipulative content, including fabricated videos depicting atrocities allegedly committed by security forces, the officials said.
Terror groups are using online war games to communicate with recruits in Jammu and Kashmir, bypassing traditional social media channels, officials said.
In 2025 alone, at least 50 suicides linked to online gambling losses have been reported across India. According to FIRs, the victims were addicted to betting, largely driven by cricket, rummy and poker.
More Indians start car shopping online, pushing automakers and dealers to respond quickly, train staff, and use AI to turn clicks into showroom visits.
Many users of Gmail, YouTube and social networks Facebook and Instagram faced problems in logging into their accounts in several parts of the world, including India on Tuesday evening.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that he will hand over his social media accounts to women achievers from different walks of life to mark International Women's Day on March 8. In his monthly "Mann Ki Baat" address, Modi said these successful women will talk about their work and experience on his social media accounts. He also renewed his appeal to people to take measures to deal with the growing problem of obesity and encouraged people to visit research laboratories or planetariums to mark National Science Day on February 28. Modi highlighted India's progress in space science and artificial intelligence, and emphasized the importance of celebrating and respecting the indomitable spirit of women. He also spoke about the diversity of India's wildlife and the importance of conservation efforts.
'The larger and more opaque this shadow economy becomes, especially online, the greater the risk to India's national security.'
China has defended its newly-released AI tool DeepSeek, after several countries, including India, imposed restrictions on government officials accessing it. Beijing claims actions against DeepSeek amount to "politicisation" of trade and tech issues and vowed to protect the interests of its companies. India's Finance Ministry directed officials to avoid using DeepSeek on office devices, citing confidentiality risks. The tool has garnered global attention for its low-cost model and efficient use of resources, surpassing ChatGPT in popularity on Apple's Appstore.
At 250 million unique visitors a month, MX Player has for long been in the same bracket as YouTube (454 million) and Meta (324 million) in reach.
A veterans' cricket match involving India and Pakistan in the World Championship of Legends in London on Sunday has been cancelled after Indian players, including Shikhar Dhawan, refused to be a part of it citing the Pahalgam terror attack in April.
The reality is that far from being friendless, India is better positioned in the world than at any point post-Cold War, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
In a post on LinkedIn, co-founders Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka announced that the platform will be discontinuing its services to the public, as talks for a partnership with multiple larger internet companies, conglomerates and media houses did not yield the desired outcomes.
Dubai-based siblings Jainam and Jivika, the owners of jiohotstar.com domain, have decided to transfer it to Reliance "free of cost", resting speculations on social media platforms. The story of the internet domain name, which grabbed a lot of attention on social media platforms in the recent past, ended with "seva and kindness", according to the duo.
Electric cab-hailing platform BluSmart remained non-operational on Thursday across Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, and Mumbai, as the market regulator cracked down on its co-founder over alleged misuse of funds at an affiliated company. BluSmart app, that offered more than 8,000 taxis in the three metros, stopped taking bookings on Wednesday evening and remained unoperational on Thursday as well.
FOMO-driven investing is reshaping India's stock market. Swati Saxena explains how social media hype fuels risky bets and how to protect your wealth.
'The startup ecosystem, the government, and the owners of large pools of Indian capital need to actively support the creation of these local champions, not pull down the teams that are trying hard to get there.'
'Indian players in the digital market should not be dominated by global players, and they should not dominate the smaller players -- these discussions are on.'
Across the board, brands use influencers like a Bhuvan Bam or Kusha Kapila as the second or third rung of their strategy. The first rung is always a celebrity that has been created outside the Internet, through mainstream media.
Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu on Thursday said India will need at least 20,000 pilots in the coming years to meet the rising air-travel demand in the country -- one of the world's fastest growing aviation market. Addressing a gathering at the UDAAN Bhawan here following the launch of Electronic Personnel License (EPL) for pilots, the Minister said aviation has always been the backbone of connectivity, economic growth, and technological advancements.
According to industry insiders, India has 400 million smartphones and is the world's fastest-growing app market. So the addition or deletion of apps impacts the global valuations of these platforms. "Based on calls given by various local organisations to delete Chinese Apps, there will be an impact," said Blaise Fernandes, director at foreign policy think tank Gateway House. "All of them eventually will go the IPO (initial public offering) route so there would be economic impact also."
'With an achievement like this, Gukesh could even be endorsing global brands.'
It is being suggested that apps, such as WhatsApp and Telegram, should share their APIs with each other to ensure there is interoperability, just as it exists across email services.
Tech giant Alphabet on Monday launched a privacy feature on its app marketplace Google Play Store that will require developers to give people more information about how apps collect, share and secure users' data. Users will start seeing the data safety section in Google Play on Tuesday, and developers are required to complete this section for their apps by July 20. As app developers update their functionality or change their data handling practices, they will show the latest in the apps' data safety section.
A new cyber fraud known as 'pig butchering scam' or 'investment scam' has emerged, targeting unemployed youths, housewives, students, and needy people who are made to lose large sums of money daily, according to the latest annual report of the Union home ministry.
With nearly 100 launches and unveils, the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025, held in Delhi from January 17 to 22, made one thing clear to automobile enthusiasts: Electric vehicles (EVs) are the way ahead for the Indian auto market for years to come.
'There is simply too much to watch, read and absorb.' 'Just online consumption (news, entertainment, social media) in India was 2.5 hours a day in November 2024.' 'Add TV (just under 4 hours), other media, and the figure is closer to 7 to 8 hours a day for over one-third of Indians,' points out Vanita Kohli Khandekar.
Eighteen months after the government started banning Chinese mobile apps, two distinct changes have occurred in the country's mobile app sweepstakes. The move has given a thrust to domestic app publishers, especially in certain segments and it has dramatically reduced the market share of Chinese apps. What started as an interim government ban on 59 Chinese apps, including the highly popular TikTok and WeChat in March 2020 ended as a permanent ban on many of them in January this year. According to a China Internet Report 2021 (by South China Morning Post), the market share of Chinese apps in India has dropped substantially from 44 per cent in 2018 to only 29 per cent in 2020. In 2017 it was 41 per cent.
India's e-commerce market alone is projected to reach $200 billion by 2026, making it a prime industry for ambitious entrepreneurs, explains rediffGURU Harsh Bharwani.
US media reports that Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, could be the latest technology giant to downsize its workforce have triggered trepidation among its 300-400 employees in India, according to people familiar with the matter. "We have not heard much about the impact (of downsizing) on India. "It's a wait-and-watch situation. Certainly, there is uncertainty," said a source.
While the users of the three social media platforms remained clueless as they repeatedly received error messages for most part of the day, the stocks of Silicon Valley firm Facebook dropped by nearly five per cent as a result.
Avoid clicking on any unknown links from strangers. Use a different, secure password for each social media account you have.
There's clearly no limit to how dramatic a wedding can be.
'The use of AI, especially genAI is only going to get worse, especially in an enterprise ecosystem.'
He said that as compared to global models costing 2.5 to 3 US dollars per hour usage, India's AI model will cost less than less than Rs 100 per hour (1.16 US dollars per hour) after 40 percent government subsidy.
'The combination of star power, compelling storytelling, and action-packed drama promises to set the box office ablaze and kickstart the new quarter on a spectacular high note.'
Santa Claus grooving to a bhangra beat or lip-syncing to a Bhojpuri rendition of 'Jingle Bells', adding in some ha-ha-ha to the classic ho-ho-ho this festive season, are the many amusing, desi versions of Christmas carols.
Nadaaniyan's lack of charm, chemistry and cheek fails to create any ripples sighs Sukanya Verma.
Of the 2,562 customer complaints received between January 2020 and March 2021, a majority relate to illegal apps. At least two dozen suicide cases have been reported, perpetrated by the harassment by loan app operators, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
