Page 5 - Internet

1,000 Lok Mitra Kendra to be opened in Himachal to provide internet: CM

Himachal Pradesh government is planning to open 1,000 Lok Mitra Kendra in far-flung areas during the current fiscal to provide instant internet access to the people, said Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu here on Wednesday. The government is determined to make high-speed internet connectivity accessible to the users, especially in the rural areas which lack internet connectivity through these Kendras, he said in a statement. These centres will help in fulfilling the objective to create employment opportunities for the rural youth at their doorstep, the Congress leader said. A widespread optical fibre cable network will be laid across the state for providing internet connectivity, he said, adding that the government will also take up the matter with the concerned authorities to strengthen 5G services. Adequate budget provision has been made for the same by the government for the current financial year, the statement added. The chief minister said an 'Integrated Data Base Manage

India should aim for 10% 6G patents by 2030, says Ashwini Vaishnaw

India should aspire for a 10 per cent share in global 6G patents by 2030, Union minister for IT and telecom Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Monday. While launching Bharat 6G alliance, Vaishnaw said that the foreign direct investment in the country's telecom sector has reached close to USD 24 billion between 2014 and 2023. He said that India has now become an exporter of technologies and it already has 200 patents for 6G. The minister said Bharat 6G Alliance -- a forum for development of 6G technology -- will provide opportunities for filing more intellectual property rights for 5G advance technologies and as the world moves towards 6G, there will be more and more institutions and companies working together in India to file more intellectual property rights (IPRs) for 6G. "We should keep a minimum target of 10 per cent of 6G IPRs from India by the time we reach 2029 or 2030," Vaishnaw said. For the first time, India's technology contributions have made way into 5G development standards an

Internet shutdowns cost $1.9 bn to Indian economy in Jan-Jun 2023: Report

Internet shutdowns by law enforcement agencies like the one in Manipur and Punjab cost USD 1.9 billion to the Indian economy in the first half of 2023, a report said on Thursday. The shutdowns also led to a loss of nearly USD 118 million in foreign investment and triggered over 21,000 job losses, the global non-profit Internet Society said in its report 'Netloss'. The non-profit arrived at the financial impact of the shutdown going beyond the loss of output and included factors like change in the unemployment rate, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) lost, risks of future shutdowns, population in the working age etc. Governments often mistakenly believe that internet shutdowns will quell unrest, stop the spread of misinformation, or reduce harm from cybersecurity threats. But shutdowns are extremely disruptive to economic activity, the report said. India's regular use of shutdowns as a tool to maintain public order gives India a shutdown risk of 16 per cent so far this year, one of the

Biden govt to announce plan worth billions for expanding internet access

President Joe Biden is expected to announce on Monday his administration's plans to distribute billions of dollars appropriated by Congress to deliver the internet to every household and small business in the United States. Likening the push for universal connectivity to the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, when the federal government installed the electric utility lines that brought light to the countryside all across the U.S., White House chief of staff Jeff Zients said access to high-speed internet is as imperative to day-to-day life as electricity. We all know how difficult life is when electricity goes down after a storm or for other reasons, Zients said on a Friday call with reporters to preview the announcement. For millions of Americans in rural communities in particular, the internet is down a lot. Sometimes there's not even any access. The amount each state, territory and Washington, D.C., will receive from the $42.5 billion program depends primarily on the number of ...

Musk, Tata & Mittal on one side, Ambani on other for satellite spectrum

Elon Musk wants his Starlink to beam down wireless internet in India from satellites orbiting the earth, but the licensing regime his group favours has put him at odds with Mukesh Ambani's Reliance. After meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York last week, Musk on June 21 said he was keen to launch Starlink in India that "can be incredibly helpful" in bringing the internet to remote villages that lack on-ground infrastructure. But Starlink wants India to just assign a license for the service and not insist on auctioning the signal-carrying spectrum or airwaves. This stand finds Musk on the side of Tatas, Sunil Bharti Mittal's firm, and Amazon, who too prefer the same route. But Ambani's Reliance says there must be an auction of spectrum for foreign satellite service providers to offer voice and data services to provide a level playing field to traditional telecom players who offer the same services using airwaves bought in government auctions. "India's space-based ...

Internet has changed lives but comes with baggage: NITI Aayog member

Emphasizing the dangers of AI's influence on personal lives, he stated that the time has come again that parents, schools, and media to talk about the rightful and excessive use of the internet

TMS Ep456: PLI course correction, HNI exodus, markets, dark patterns

What course correction does the PLI scheme need? Why are millionaires deserting India? Can Indian markets stay immune to US Fed's hawkish pause? What are dark patterns? All answers here

India's frequent internet shutdowns hurt its most impoverished, says report

Officials often resort to such closures to stem protests, check communal violence, maintain law and order and even to prevent cheating in school and university exams

NASA mission to avert 'internet apocalypse' that could pause online access

Such an event could cause people to lose internet access for months or even years, rendering satellites and power lines useless

India's internet economy to grow 6-fold to $1 trn by 2030: Report

India's internet economy is expected to register six-fold growth and touch USD 1 trillion by 2030, mainly driven by the e-commerce vertical, a joint report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company released on Tuesday said. The report estimates that India's internet-economy was in the range of USD 155-175 billion in 2022. According to the report, the growth will be led by the B2C e-commerce segment, followed by B2B e-commerce, software-as-a-service providers and online media led by over-the-top players. "India's internet economy is expected to grow 6 x to USD 1 trillion by 2030," Google India, Country Manager & Vice President, Sanjay Gupta said while sharing details of the report. He said most of the purchases in future will take place digitally. Gupta said while startups have led the path on digital innovation, small and medium businesses and large enterprises after the pandemic have started to use digital technologies to become more competitive. According to the report, B2C ...

TMS Ep447: Semiconductor policy, Apple store sale, markets, carrier hotels

How can India's semiconductor plans be salvaged? Has Tim Cook's bet on India paid off? Will RBI's June meet push markets out of consolidation? What are carrier hotels? All answers here

Internet banned in Saharanpur as precaution ahead of Gurjar community march

Authorities on Monday suspended the internet services here as a precautionary measure after a march flouting prohibitory orders by the Gurjar community and stopped a Samajwadi Party MLA who was headed to the district to attend a panchayat. Officials said the Gurjar community's decision to take out a 'gaurav yatra' in honour of King Mihir Bhoj Pratihar had been opposed by the Rajput community. To avoid any confrontation between the two, the administration denied permission for the procession. "There were talks about a 'gaurav yatra' by members of the Gurjar community for a long time. No procession based on caste should be taken out in Saharanpur as CrPC section 144 is imposed here. Despite no permission for the procession, it was taken out," District Magistrate Dinesh Chandra said. Senior Superintendent of Police Vipin Tada said action would be initiated against those who had taken the law into their own hands and vitiated the atmosphere. "Seeing a possible confrontation between the

Congress-led UDF to boycott K-FON project inauguration, claims corruption

Alleging corruption behind the Kerala Fibre Optic Network (K-FON) project, Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly V D Satheesan on Monday said the Congress-led UDF will boycott the inauguration ceremony of the Left government's programme to provide free internet connectivity and all events related to it. The Congress leader said the UDF was not against the project but decided to boycott the inauguration on June 5 because of the "corruption behind it". "The opposition levelled the allegations of corruption with solid proof. However, the Chief Minister is not yet ready to respond," he told reporters here. Satheesan said that when the K-FON project was launched in 2017, it was announced that free internet connections would be provided to 20 lakh people in 18 months. "But even after seven years, only 14,000 people are being given connections. The estimated amount of Rs 1,028 crore (for setting up the project) has been increased by 50 percent to Rs 1,531 crore," he alleged. The ...

Rights of consumers to safe internet can not be compromised: Chandrasekhar

The government will ensure that consumers always have their platforms accountable to them in the digital space, and the rights of Indian consumers to have safe internet will not be allowed to be compromised or diluted, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Friday. The Minister of State for Electronics and IT - who is spearheading an extensive and in-depth nationwide consultation on the new Digital India Bill that will replace two decades old the Information Technology Act - noted that for years, the big tech platforms masqueraded as innovation and misused market dominance necessitating overhaul of regulatory and legal frameworks. "...it is a commitment that we have to the people of India...1.2 billion Indians who are going to use the Indian internet, that we will keep the internet open for them. We will deliver safety and trust on the internet for them. And we will make sure that regardless of whether you're a big tech or small tech, Indian or foreign that consumers will always

CICA countries organises workshop to deliberate on misuse of internet

A workshop organised by India for the member countries of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) on "Misuse of Internet" concluded on Friday. The two-day workshop saw experts deliberate on topics such as the misuse of the internet in organised crime, the use of malware and ransomware as a tool for financial crime and prevention of information and communication technology in crime against women. The workshop, organised by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Bureau of Police Research and Development and the Central Detective Training Institute, also deliberated on topics such as the use of dark web and cryptocurrency in illegal trade and terror, and futuristic information and communication technology crime and Internet of Things (IoT) hacks. "The virtual workshop was addressed by Muanpuii Saiawi, Joint Secretary (D&ISA) in the MEA, Neeraj Sinha, Additional Director General, BPR&D, and Anurag Kumar, Director, BPR&D," a statement .

US Supreme Court tosses case against legal shield to internet firms

A lower court allowed the suit to proceed under a law against aiding and abetting terrorism

ChatGPT adds real-time web browsing feature to compete with Google Bard

The new web-enabled features allow ChatGPT users to obtain up-to-date information and ask inquiries about current events and topics

Most digitally adept MSME retail owners between 18-30 yrs of age: Report

Under the first edition of PayNearby's 'MSME Digital Index 2023', the report showcased the consumption of technology by MSMEs at the last mile

Internet across Pakistan to remain suspended for indefinite period: PTA

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Wednesday said that internet services across the country will remain suspended for an indefinite period

Pakistan among world's worst performers in internet access: Report

The report said that despite a rise in internet penetration, approximately 15% of the population still lacked access to the internet and mobile or telecom services