Page 6 - It Ministry

Joint call for proposal under MeitY-NSF research collaboration announced

The IT Ministry has announced the first joint call for proposals under the MeitY- National Science Foundation research collaboration, an official release said on Monday. Proposals in the areas of semiconductor research, next-generation communication technologies/networks/systems, cyber-security, sustainability and green technologies and Intelligent Transportation Systems will be considered, under this. The "Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) announced its first joint call for proposals under the MeitY- National Science Foundation (NSF) research collaboration," the release said. MeitY-NSF signed an Implementation Arrangement (IA) on research collaboration in May 2023. "This MeitYNSF collaborative research opportunity focuses specifically upon discoveries and innovations in areas of mutual interest as highlighted in the Joint Statement made by Government of India and USA during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US in June 2023," the release said. Th

Need to collaborate on digital security to contain risks: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said the global interconnectedness has created shared security risks requiring the urgent need to collaborate on digital security. Addressing the G20 Digital Economy Working Group Ministers Meet, Vaishnaw said three priority areas have been selected by the Indian presidency for the digital economy Working Group, which will help in the democratisation of technology. "Global interconnectedness creates shared security risks. Therefore the need to collaborate on digital security has become more urgent," the Minister, who holds Railways, Electronics and IT portfolios, said. Appreciating the efforts of the digital economy working group of G20, he said the group has been diligently engaged in discussions for steering the member nations towards common ground. In this context, Vaishnaw said, "The three priority areas selected by the Indian presidency for the digital economy Working Group are digital public infrastructure (DPI), security in the ...

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Open to Chinese investments despite border clashes: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Chandrasekhar also said that the tightening of foreign investments did not target China and it applied to other neighbouring countries as well

Centre issues directions for blocking 3,470 URLs this year: MoS IT

The central government issued directions for blocking 3,470 URLs in 2023 under provisions of the IT Act, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. Section 69A of the IT Act provides power to the central government to issue directions to block any information if it is necessary to do so in the interest of sovereignty and integrity, defence of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States or public order, Minister of State for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. "The Central Government has issued directions for blocking of 6,096, 6,775 and 3,470 URLs in the year 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively," the minister added. He was specifically replying to a question on orders served by the government to social media platforms to take down content, hampering the digital safety of citizens since 2021. The policies of the government are aimed at ensuring an open, safe and trusted and accountable internet for all digital nagriks, he said. The IT

HCLTech joins Meta, IT ministry programme to help India XR start-ups

Programme helps companies working in augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality

Startups in India to grow tenfold in next 4-5 years: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Hailing India's remarkable progress in building unicorns and startups, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar prophesised that the next 4-5 years will witness substantial growth for such enterprises and the startups in the country will increase by 10 times. Speaking at the JITO Incubation Innovation Foundation (JIIF) Sixth Foundation Day and Investors/Startup Conclave in Hyderabad, the Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and IT, highlighted India's remarkable progress in creating unicorns and startups, how they have successfully entered areas in emerging technologies such as AI, Web3, and deep tech, an official release said on Sunday. The Minister, who engaged with industry leaders and aspiring young entrepreneurs, emphasised the transformative journey India has embarked upon since 2014. From being predominantly focussed on IT and ITes, the next 4-5 years will witness substantial growth for startups and unicorns, Chandrasekhar said during

Vaishnaw calls for joint global, national efforts for cybersecurity

IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday called for coordinated cybersecurity efforts and strategies at global, national and organisational levels to protect cyberspace and societies, as he emphasised the need for shared solutions to tackle the challenges, being compounded by new technologies like AI. The minister exhorted G20 member countries to come together and think through these challenges, share solutions and tools, and "co-operate across boundaries". Citing platforms like UPI, ONDC and CoWIN, the minister said that India with its robust digital public infrastructure has ensured true democratisation of technology for the benefit of its people. "We have seen in many parts of the world, technology has been cornered by a few big-tech companies...is that the right model for a country, democracy or society which is evolving so fast?" Vaishnaw said asserting that India has been clear in its approach on democratising technology to ensure it is inclusive, accessible to all, and not ...

Parliamentary committee to hear RBI, IT ministry on cyber related crimes

A parliamentary committee examining the issue of cyber security and rising incidents of cyber crimes has summoned officials of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Electronics and Information Technology Ministry later this month to seek their views. The panel has already quizzed representatives of several tech majors on the issue. The parliamentary committee on Finance headed by BJP's Jayant Sinha has called RBI and MeitY officials on July 20, the first day of the Monsoon session. On the same day, it also called representatives of Google India separately on the same issue. In its last meeting, the panel had summoned representatives of Punjab National Bank and tech majors Google, Apple and Paytm to hear them on cyber security and rising cases of cyber and white-collar crimes. The issue was at the centre of deliberations at a meeting of the panel held last month too as experts from the industry were quizzed by lawmakers about various facets of unlawful activities, including fraud

Bihar police seek ban on over 100 gambling, gaming and illegal loan apps

Bihar police has approached the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) seeking a ban on more than 100 gambling/gaming and loan lending apps that are allegedly engaged in money laundering and pose a threat to the financial security of the country. The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar police recently approached MeitY urging it to ban more than 100 such apps, Nayyar Hasnain Khan, Additional Director General (ADG) of EOU (Bihar police) told PTI on Saturday. "The decision was taken after confirming that these apps attract Section 69 of the Information Technology (IT) Act as they contain materials which is prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India. Several complaints had been received of extortion and harassment from people who had borrowed very small amounts through such loan lending apps," Khan said. Section 69A of IT Act empowers the government to restrict access to any online content to protect the interest of sovereignty and integrity of the natio

Karnataka HC imposes a fine of Rs 50 lakh on Twitter for non-compliance

The court has also refused Twitter's request to stay the Centre's orders to block some accounts on its platform with tweets related to coronavirus and farmers' protests

Centre to release draft Digital India Bill for consultation in next 15 days

The bill was due to be released last month but was delayed due to the need for fresh consultations with experts on topics like fact-checking and misinformation

Vendanta Group to leverage startups' tech under pact with Meity-Nasscom

Conglomerate Vendanta Group plans to leverage technologies developed by startups under a partnership with Meity-Nascomm Centre of Excellence, a joint statement said on Monday. Vendanta Group's corporate innovation, accelerator and ventures programme Vedanta Spark has entered into a collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) and Nasscom's Centre of Excellence (CoE) - IoT & AI, to accelerate the adoption of digital technologies-led innovations. "Vedanta's engagement with Nasscom CoE will enable innovative startups to demonstrate and develop their product in our unique ecosystem. Vedanta Spark looks forward to bringing in accelerated value delivery across our operations with the key goal being to utilize emerging technology to find solutions that will contribute to long-term environmental, social, and economic sustainability," Priya Agarwal Hebbar, Chairperson, Hindustan Zinc Limited, and Non-Executive Director, Vedanta Limited, said in a ...

IT Ministry, Google announce collaboration to boost online cyber safety

Google will raise awareness on the fundamentals of online safety through the 'Be Internet Awesome' programme, sharing helpful content covering a wide range of online safety topics

Gaming startups form two regulatory bodies; to hold talks with govt

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will make the final decision on the number of self-regulatory bodies and the composition of their boards of directors

Apple unlikely to apply for subsidies under PLI 2.0 scheme: Report

Apple will continue to focus on making iPhones in India and make Vietnam a hub to make MacBooks

IT hardware players to lose on PLI incentives for failing to meet targets

Under revised scheme, 5% penalty to be deducted from amount due if actual PLI figure for a year is 25-50% lower; if shortfall exceeds 50%, then penalty is 10%

New PLI scheme to attract global cos to India from China: Ashwini Vaishnaw

In a Q&A, the minister of communications says the new scheme for IT hardware also invites Chinese players to set up shop under the scheme if they adhere to its norms

Not PIB, MeitY-led team may scrutinise news items to mark them as fake news

The decision drew harsh criticism from the supporters of free speech in the country

Govt to launch tracking system to block lost, stolen phones from May 17

Telecom network providers will have access to the list of approved IMEI numbers. Using this list, they will be able to check the entry of any unauthorised mobile phones on their network