Page 4 - Rajeev Chandrasekhar

MoS Chandrasekhar to take stock of relief efforts in cyclone-hit Chennai

Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Electronics & Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar will visit Chennai and meet government officials to see how the Centre can further help people and administration in the aftermath of cyclone Michaung. "I'm travelling today to Chennai to visit flood-affected areas and meet government officials to see how our government can help people and the administration further. PM Narendra Modi's government has responded fast and decisively to support the government of Tamil Nadu with almost 1000 crores and to deploy the Navy and Air Force for relief and rescue operations," Rajeev Chandrasekhar posted on X.The Minister's agenda includes a comprehensive review of waterlogged areas, overseeing the distribution of relief materials, evaluating ongoing rescue missions and engaging with the residents who have been severely affected by the extensive waterlogging following the cyclone.Earlier, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin ...

Notice issued to social media firms to remove child sex abuse material: MoS

The government has issued notice to social media platforms including Telegram, YouTube and X to remove all child sex abuse material and groups circulating such content, Parliament was informed on Friday. Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar in a written reply to Rajya Sabha said that the social media platforms have been informed that existing rules cast obligations on the intermediaries, including social media firms, to observe due diligence and if they fail to observe such due diligence, they shall no longer be exempt from their liability under law for third-party information hosted by them. "The Government has issued notice to various social media intermediaries including Telegram, YouTube and X, to remove or disable access to all such CSAM and groups circulating such material which is violative of rule 3(1)(d) and rule 4(4) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021)," Chandrasekhar ...

Digital economy to contribute 20% of GDP by 2026: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Thursday said that the digital economy will contribute 20 per cent of India's gross domestic product (GDP) by 2026. The Union minister of state for electronics and information technology, skill development and entrepreneurship was speaking at the inaugural function of Startup Conclave 2023', organised by the Gujarat government at helipad ground in the state capital. In 2014, the digital economy was around 4.5 per cent of the GDP and today it is 11 per cent. By 2026, digital economy will account for 20 per cent or one-fifth of the Indian GDP, he said. According to Chandrasekhar, targets and ambitions set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he launched the Digital India' programme in 2015 have transformed qualitatively as well as quantitatively our economy, our innovation ecosystem and our position as a nation in the world. India's position has transformed from being the consumer of technology for nearly three decades to being the producer of .

Digital India Act unlikely to be in place before LS election: Chandrasekhar

The government may not be able to put in place the Digital India Act, which aims to replace over 23 years old IT Act 2000, before the next general election, as there is not much time left for extensive consultation, minister of state for electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Wednesday. While speaking at the Global Technology Summit 2023, the minister, however, said that the rules for Digital Personal Data Protection Act will be out later this month for consultation and are expected to be notified by the end of December or early January. Chandrasekhar said, the existing IT Act doesn't even have the word internet and there is a consensus that it can be safely superseded and replaced. "The successor act to that is something called the Digital India Act, which is a work in progress. We have the draft ready and a lot of work has gone into it. "I suspect that before the next elections, we will not be able to legislate it because one of the things that the Prime Minister insists

Govt talks tough to social media platforms on deepfakes, holds review meet

The government on Tuesday held another round of meeting with social media platforms to "review" progress made by them in tackling deepfake issue, according to sources. Platforms have been clearly told that the 11 "user harms" or "illegalities" flagged under IT rules are in fact also mapped to equivalent provisions in IPC (Indian Penal Code) and hence criminal consequences exist even under the current laws. It is pertinent to mention that on November 24, Minister of State for IT and Electronics Rajeev Chandrasekhar had met with the representatives of social media platforms and the companies were given seven days to act decisively on deepfakes, and align their terms of use as per the IT rules. According to sources, a follow-up meeting was held on Tuesday with social media platforms to assess the progress made after the November 24 meeting. While some platforms have complied, others that been "slow" in doing so, have been given additional time. The government, in Tuesday's meeting, h

Apple battery vendor TDK to set up plant in Haryana, seeks clearance

The local production of lithium-ion battery cells will enhance local value addition in Apple's products

Need guardrails to ensure that AI can never be misused: Chandrasekhar

"We see AI as a kinetic enabler for the $1 trillion digital economy goal that we set for ourselves as a nation. So, it's a very big deal for us," said Chandrasekhar

Kochi blast remarks: No coercive action against Union minister till Dec 14

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the police not to take any coercive steps against Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar till December 14 in the two criminal cases in which he is accused of making statements promoting enmity between different groups. The cases were lodged against him over his controversial social media posts following the blasts at a convention centre in Kochi during a prayer meeting of Christian religious group Jehovah's Witnesses. Justice C S Dias admitted Chandrasekhar's pleas for quashing the FIRs against him and issued notice to the state seeking its stand in both matters. The court also issued notice to Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) Digital Media Convenor P Sarin, on whose complaint one of the FIRs was lodged, and sought his stand on the matter. Right after news broke out about the blasts, Chandrasekhar had posted on Facebook, "The price of appeasement politics of Cong and CPM will always be borne by innocents of all communities

Govt to assist in filing FIRs against social media firms for deepfakes

The government will assist people in filing FIRs against social media platforms in case they are aggrieved by objectionable content like deepfakes that are in violation of IT rules. Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) will develop a platform on which people can notify the ministry about IT rule violations by social media platforms. Speaking to the media after a meeting with the representatives of social media platforms here, the minister also said that social media platforms have been given seven days time to align their terms of use as per the IT rules. Further, Chandrasekhar said it will be acceptable for the government if social media platforms label content as deepfake instead of taking down the content. The ministry will appoint an officer who will deal with implementation of Rule 7 of IT Rules that were notified in October 2022. According to Chandrasekhar, the move will enable people who are aggrie

Digital India Act will deal with ill effects of AI: MoS Chandrasekhar

The aim of the Digital India Act (DIA) 2023 is to deal with the ill effects of artificial intelligence (AI) and it will succeed the current IT Act, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Friday. At present, the IT Act, which is about 22 years old, does not even mention the word internet, he said. "To regulate AI as an ecosystem, the Digital India Act will have to be enacted which will deal with all the harms of AI," Chandrasekhar said while speaking at the 12th edition of Sadhguru Academy's (formerly Isha Leadership Academy) flagship program, INSIGHT: The DNA of Success kicked off on Thursday at Isha Yoga Center, here. Founder of Isha Foundation the Sadhguru said I do not look at technology as a problem ever; it's a great possibility. But the nature of life is such, unless we rightly harness a possibility, it can become the worst problem in our lives. Chandrasekhar sounded extremely optimistic while talking about 6G and wireless technology which, he .

Internet, tech can do harm if not regulated via prism of safety: MoS IT

Internet and technology - unless regulated carefully through the prism of safety and trust - have the power to harm users, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Friday, adding that 'guardrails' have to be carefully developed without over-regulating innovation. The Minister of State for IT and Electronics said that while artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the biggest inventions of recent times, the government is committed to ensuring the safety of users on digital platforms, given that India is one of the largest connected nations in the world with almost 850 million Indians already using the internet and 1.2 billion estimated to do so by 2025-26. In a video message at the 'DATE with Tech' event, the minister also drew attention to the issue of deepfakes. "You have heard recently our Prime Minister call out the risks of deepfakes. We have all been aware, especially some of us from my generation, who always believe that technology is a great enabler and is a force for good,

Govt to enable citizens to file FIR against social media companies

The government will assist citizens in filing FIR against social media platforms for violation of IT rules in case they are aggrieved from objectionable content like deep fakes. Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) will develop a platform on which users can notify about IT rule violation by social media platforms. "Meity will assist users to very easily notify it about violation of IT rules and assist them in filing FIRs," the minister said. He was speaking to the media after a meeting with social media platforms. "From today onwards there is zero tolerance for violation of IT rules," Chandrasekhar said. The FIR will be registered against the intermediary and if they disclose the details from where the content has originated then the FIR will be filed against the entity that has posted the content, the minister said. He said that social media platforms have been given seven days time to al

Platforms with algo biases not protected under IT rule: Chandrasekhar

Those who are aggrieved by this can file FIRs against such platforms and safe harbour/immunity under Section 79 will not apply to these cases," said the minister

Govt gearing up to launch India AI Programme soon: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

The India AI programme will take the focus of the tech and startup ecosystem on real-life use cases in agriculture, security and governance, said the union minister at the Nasscom Future Forge event

Rashmika Mandanna's deepfake video goes viral, IT Minister issues warning

The video shows a woman wearing a black outfit entering a lift. However, her face changes to that of the actor Rashmika Mandanna in the deepfake video

Social media cos must remove misinformation: MoS IT on actress' fake video

Social media companies are bound to remove any misinformation and ensure that if any misinformation reported to them by any user or the government it is taken down within 36 hours, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar tweeted on Monday. The comments from the minister came in response to the circulation of a deepfake video of actress Rashmika Mandanna on social media platforms. "Under the IT rules notified in April 2023 it is a legal obligation for platforms to ensure no misinformation is posted by any user and ensure that when reported by any user or govt, misinformation is removed in 36 hrs," he said. "Deepfakes are the latest and even more dangerous and damaging form of misinformation and need to be dealt with by platforms," he said. Mandanna expressed concern over her fake video in circulation. "I feel really hurt to share this and have to talk about the deepfake video of me being spread online. Something like this is honestly, extremely scary not only

Mahadev App: Govt didn't receive any letter seeking ban, says Chandrasekhar

Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday rejected the Congress' claim that Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel had first raised the demand to ban the controversial Mahadev App months ago but the Centre failed to act. Chandrasekhar alleged that Congress is creating a "new story" claiming to have written to the Centre two months back only in the wake of the disclosure that those who run this app have paid Rs 508 crore. Hitting back at Congress, the MoS for Electronics and Information Technology alleged the Baghel government deliberately stretched the investigation for one-and-a-half years as they wanted to take out Rs 508 crore from the betting app. Notably, the Centre on Sunday issued blocking orders against the Mahadev app and Reddyannaprestopro along with 20 other illegal betting platforms at the request of the Enforcement Directorate. In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Monday said the Enforcement Directorate has been investigating the Mahadev

'Cong gains power by fake guarantees to turn states into ATMs of 1 family'

Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday claimed the Congress comes to power by making fake guarantees and turning states into the ATM of one family. Addressing a press conference here in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, he alleged the Congress has nothing to do with public welfare but wants to get power through fake guarantees and by misleading people, as evident in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh. Everyone knows about the Congress and corruption as witnessed during the UPA government. Within four months of the Congress government in Karnataka, Rs 109 crore were found in the house of a contractor. Guarantees were not fulfilled but they started fulfilling their one motive - to make Karnataka an ATM, Chandrasekhar said. We had clearly said before the election that if the Congress is elected, Karnataka will become the ATM of one family and it was proved true, he claimed. The BJP leader said he belongs to Karnataka, where the Congress had given five major ...

Ambition to grow AI, startup innovations as important as AI safety: MoS IT

Artificial intelligence safety is as important for India as its ambition to grow AI ecosystem and startup innovations, Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Friday. Addressing the AI Safety Summit 2023 held in the UK, the minister of state for electronics and IT said it is not a binary choice for India to do AI safety at the expense of growth of digital economy. "India took a slightly different position from most countries there (AI Safety Summit). For us safety is important but safety is an issue accompanied with our goals and ambition to grow AI and make sure the ecosystem for AI, startup innovation is as important a goal for us as the safety of AI is. It is not a binary choice that we want to do safety at the expense of the risk of growth of the digital economy," Chandrasekhar said. The minister attended AI Safety Summit 2023 that was held in Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire in United Kingdom where 28 nations, including the US and China participated. He said It is not enoug

AI should be guided by principles of safety, trust for users: MoS IT

Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said Artificial Intelligence should be guided by principles of safety and trust for users, and accountability for platforms, an official statement said on Thursday. The minister, who is representing India at AI Safety Summit 2023 in the UK, has extended invitations to all nations for the upcoming GPAI and India AI summits scheduled for December 2023. The minister said India, in its capacity as the chair of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI), has taken a leadership stand on AI. "We have maintained that AI should be guided by principles of safety & trust for users, and accountability for platforms," Chandrasekhar said at the summit. He participated in "Ministerial round table: Creating actions and next steps for future collaboration" where he discussed the importance of building a shared understanding of the risks of Frontier AI and future collaboration. The minister participated in a session on