IT MINISTRY
Social media companies list out worries as Centre readies data protection law
Social media platforms have said that undoing behavioural tracking of children and targeted advertisements are among the biggest concerns they have with the new data law the government is prepping. The companies are voicing their concerns as rules of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act will be released soon.
India’s bid to make GPAI as AI regulator gets global support
India has emerged successful in making the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) the leading platform for international cooperation on AI governance. This includes establishing regulations and a unified global framework for responsible AI development and implementation.
Govt websites, apps set to get an accessibility reboot soon
The ministry of electronics and information technology will anchor this project and suggest ways to improve page and website loading times, have better user interfaces on websites and apps, and make them more accessible for people with disabilities, an official said.
Why the Digital Competition Bill has started a polarising debate in the tech industry
India’s Digital Competition Bill has turned previous foes in the tech industry into unlikely allies and sparked a polarising debate on market practices. The Committee on Digital Competition Law (CDCL) on February 27, submitted its report to the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) after working on it for more than a year.
Priyank Kharge meets IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, requests Centre's support for state's chip firms
Karnataka IT minister Priyank Kharge met Ashwini Vaishnaw, union IT minister, to seek support for the state's semiconductor and electronics space. Kharge said that the State has the highest share of 46% in India in housing innovative companies and contributes 10% of India's industrial output.
Budget documents and their meanings, decoded by Ministry of Finance
The Department of Economic Affairs under the Ministry of Finance has explained the meanings of different documents that you will come across while reading the Budget for this year. The first one in the list is Annual Financial Statement. As per the DEA, "Under Article 112 of the Constitution, a statement of estimated receipts and expenditure of the Government of India has to be laid before Parliament in respect of every financial year which runs from 1st April to 31st March. Annual Financial Statement is the main Budget document and is commonly referred to as the Budget Statement.
- Go To Page 1
Indonesia data hit by cyberattack not backed up, officials say
Indonesia experienced a significant cyberattack that affected over 230 public agencies, including ministries, causing disruptions to various government services such as immigration and operations at major airports. The attackers demanded an $8 million ransom to retrieve the encrypted data, but the government chose not to pay the ransom and instead focused on restoring services and strengthening cybersecurity measures to prevent future incidents.
High taxes, selective bans drive 30% growth in illegal online gambling in India, says study
The illegal betting market, already thriving in India, is expected to grow by 30% in the coming years, as per a new study. Inadequate legal frameworks, selective banning, and high taxation on legitimate online gaming platforms seem to be key factors contributing to this trend.
After iPhone, Foxconn’s next big revenue project in India is AI servers
Contract manufacturer Foxconn said it has plans to begin manufacturing AI servers—the high-performance computing engines that train and run artificial intelligence (AI) models—at its Indian facilities, sources told ET.
Madras HC delivers shot in the arm for online pharmacies
In a shot in the arm for epharmacies, the Madras High Court overturned a previous ruling by a single-judge bench restricting online platforms like Tata 1mg, PharmEasy, Netmeds, and Practo from engaging in the digital trade of medicines.
Proceedings initiated against Byju's under companies law 'still ongoing': MCA
Last year, the ministry ordered the inspection of the books of Byju's in the wake of various developments at the edtech company, including its inability to finalise the statements and the resignation of an auditor.
ETtech Deep Dive: How RBI and NPCI are working to tackle mule account frauds
The RBI, the National Payments Corporation of India, and the Ministry of Home Affairs are teaming up with banks, financial institutions, and tech security companies to crack down on mule accounts and prevent fraud in the country's banking system.
Education ministry to initiate talks with health ministry over reforming format, structure of NEET
The move comes with the NEET-UG 2024 exam, which saw nearly 2.4 million participants, facing allegations of question paper leaks and grace marks being awarded to over 1,500 students. The results, announced on June 4, triggered protests and legal actions. Senior officials confirmed to ET that learning from the experience, such an effort is being initiated to minimise any vulnerabilities in the exam process.
Citing overlaps, experts seek rejig of Digital Competition Bill
The ministry of electronics and information technology continued discussions on the digital competition bill with think tanks and industry bodies raising concerns about foreign regulation approaches. The impact on startups and overlap with existing laws were highlighted.
Govt may release DPDP rules for public consultation before start of Parliament session
The DPDP Act, passed in August, aims to have administrative rules notified within a year to ensure compliance. The Act focuses on personal data collection, processing, and storage, marking India's first regulation on digital personal privacy. The rules are crucial for data protection, stakeholder engagement, and regulatory enforcement.
Ashwini Vaishnaw, Jitin Prasada take charge of electronics and IT ministry
Ashwini Vaishnaw took charge as the union railway minister, minister of information and broadcasting, and Union minister of electronics and information technology. Jitin Prasada is the minister of state for electronics and information technology, succeeding Rajeev Chandrasekhar after switching from Congress to BJP.
Ashwini Vaishnaw takes charge of IT ministry; promises focus on tech, manufacturing
Taking charge of Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), he said the Modi government's Digital India initiatives have empowered the common man, bringing transformative changes through Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, and other enabling programmes over the last 10 years.
New govt to build on past success in tech; more initiatives in offing, says IT Secretary
NDA set to form government for a third term, IT Secretary S Krishnan discusses tech initiatives. Meity to continue new initiatives, build on past successes.
Ministries divided over inclusion of IT gear in public procurement list
Differences have erupted between DPIIT and IT ministry over listing electronic consumables (printer cartridges, toners, cables) in public procurement preference list.
Google tests new AI scam call detection feature amid rising cyber crime
Google is testing a new AI-based scam call detection feature. However, its legality is in question, as profiling callers based on conversation content without their consent is not permitted in India. In 2021, one scammer in India was responsible for 202 mn scam calls, which is about 27,000 fraud attempts every hour.
Govt eyes time, spend curbs to tackle gaming addiction
The government is leaning towards imposing time limits as opposed to certifying games as permissible or non-permissible through self-regulatory organisations (SRO), an official at the IT ministry said.
Karnataka HC upholds govt notification, caps service fee on app-based auto rides at 5%
Justice Suraj Govindaraj, while dismissing the petitions from the app-based aggregators, said the platforms were entitled to collect 5% service charge over and above the base fare fixed.
Govt asks Israel’s Tower to rework chip fab proposal
The government requested Tower Semiconductor to revise its proposal for a chip fab unit. The government seeks the Israeli company to collaborate with a technology partner boasting superior chip-making capabilities and the ability to manufacture using more advanced processes.
Govt saying aye to laying strong AI foundation
The government may rope in higher education institutes, key researchers for the model that can be customised for wide range of applications. It will be trained on publicly available data, digitised records of books, journals and research papers from public libraries.
India to be $1 trillion digital economy by FY28: IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar
The government earlier expected India to reach the $1 trillion-mark by 2026-27 but the target has been moved by a year due to various reasons, including the Covid-19 pandemic, IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said.
Elon Musk, Indonesian health minister, launch Starlink for health sector
Musk, the billionaire head of SpaceX and Tesla, arrived on the Indonesian resort island of Bali by private jet before attending the launch ceremony at a community health centre in the provincial capital, Denpasar.
Govt ready to fund 50% cost of creating 10,000 GPU capacity in India: Meity secy S Krishnan
The Centre is willing to spend up to half of the cost of creating computing capacity of up to 10,000 graphic processing units (GPUs) in a push to the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) mission, funding can be done either through viability gap funding or a voucher based system
Govt eyes pvt-public cloud model for chip designs for easy access
This facility will provide easy access to chip and packaging designs to startups, researchers and small firms, as per the plan.
South Korea prepares support package worth over $7 billion for chip industry
Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said the government would soon announce details of the package, which targets chip materials, equipment makers, and fabless companies throughout the semiconductor supply chain.
Load More
