It Ministry

Centre pulls pre-installation mandate for Sanchar Saathi app after backlash

The Ministry of Communications said that given the surge in voluntary downloads of Sanchar Saathi, pre-installation of the app will not be mandatory for manufacturers

Govt to modernise SCL Mohali with Rs 4,500 cr investment: Ashwini Vaishnaw

The government plans to invest Rs 4,500 crore to modernise state-owned chip company Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL) over the next three years, union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Friday. Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), is the only integrated device manufacturing facility in the country providing end-to-end solutions for the development of Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), opto-electronics devices, and Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) devices. The minister said that the centre has requested the Punjab government for a 25-acre parcel of land to support the expansion. "SCL will be modernised with an investment of Rs 4,500 crore over a period of the next three years," Vaishnaw said at the device handling ceremony here. He said SCL will play a significant role in realising the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for semiconductors and assured that there is no question o

Govt working to shield conventional media amid rapid digitisation: Vaishnaw

The government has planned a series of initiatives to shield the conventional media from the disruptions expected due to rapid digitisation in the sector. Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said the government plans to remove the regulatory overhang in the radio industry and Television Rating Point (TRP) reforms. "The government is working to remove regulatory barriers wherever they exist," the minister said in an informal interaction with reporters here. Vaishnaw said the ministry is exploring ways to improve the television rating system to ensure fair revenue to television channels from government advertisements. "Television Rating Point (TRP) guidelines are being formulated. The first round of consultation is complete, feedback has been received, and a second consultation paper will be published soon," the minister said. The government is also considering increasing the advertisement rates for print and television media. Vaishnaw said the

DFS, Meity secys among 3 external members of Payments Regulatory Board

The new Payments Regulatory Board, chaired by the RBI governor, will replace BPSS and include government nominees - the DFS secretary, Meity secretary and retired IAS officer Aruna Sundararajan

Online Gaming Act to be implemented from Oct 1: IT Minister Vaishnaw

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act that bans all forms of online money games, would be implemented from October 1, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday. The Act, passed by Parliament last month, bars all forms of online money games while promoting e-sports and other online games. "The rules will be promulgated with effect from October 1," Vaishnaw said during a pre-event conference for the planned AI Impact Summit 2026 India. The minister said that the government had engaged in discussions with the industry, even after the online gaming legislation was passed. "We have engaged with the industry, we have had multiple discussions with them, we have been having discussions with them for last almost three years. After passing the law, once again, we engaged with them, we also engaged with the banks and practically all stakeholders possible, and we have finalised the rules," he said. The government will hold one more round of discussions with the industry, he ..

CCI, MeitY to work together on competition and data protection issues

CCI and MeitY have agreed to collaborate on overlaps between the DPDP Act and Competition Act, aiming for regulatory harmony in addressing data protection, competition and consumer welfare

Govt clears 23 chip design projects under DLI scheme in semiconductor push

Among the supported firms is Bengaluru-based Vervesemi, developing ICs for space, defence, and smart energy applications

TCS layoffs: Meity keeping close watch; IT union writes to labour minister

The IT Ministry is keeping a close watch on situation arising out of Tata Consultancy Services' (TCS) decision to lay off over 12,000 employees, and is in touch with the Tata Group company, sources said on Monday. The move comes as India's largest IT services company is preparing to lay off two per cent of its global workforce this year, in what it describes as a broader strategy to become a "future-ready organisation", with focus on investments in technology, AI deployment, market expansion, and workforce realignment. The bulk of the impact will be felt on middle and senior grades at TCS. The IT Ministry is keeping a close watch on the entire situation, and is in touch with the tech company, sources said. The ministry is concerned and will go into the underlying causes that has prompted the move. The blue-chip stock dipped 1.76 per cent closing at Rs 3,079.05 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Monday, as news of layoffs sent fresh tremors in the tech circles. Meanwhile

Vaishnaw announces free AI training for over 5.5 lakh CSC franchise holders

The government will provide training on artificial intelligence to over 5.5 lakh Village Level Entrepreneurs who run Common Service Centres for free, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday. While speaking at the 10th anniversary of CSC SPV, Vaishnaw said that training will be provided under the government's IndiaAI Mission, which has a provision to train 10 lakh people on AI. "All of you will be given AI training for free. We have set a target under the IndiaAI Mission to skill around 10 lakh people. All 5.5 lakh VLEs will be given preference in that training," Vaishnaw said. Minister of State for Electronics and IT Jitin Prasada brought to the notice of the minister the demand of CSC VLEs for merging state-based government services centres with CSC, as it will provide them a higher income generation opportunity. He also said that CSC VLEs want allotment of Aadhaar-related work at their centre. Vaishnaw asked CSC SPV to prepare details on the merger of state-based servi

Govt denies Reuters takedown order; Elon Musk's X insists it happened

X says blocking done on government request, while the IT ministry claims no such request was made

Centre refutes claims, says X took 21 hours to unblock Reuters accounts

The clarification came after X blocked accounts of several news platforms including Reuters and Reuters World on July 5

OpenAI, IndiaAI launch academy to expand AI learning across the country

OpenAI and IndiaAI launch OpenAI Academy India to expand AI education nationwide, offering free training, workshops and resources to students, professionals and startups

Razorpay, MeitY Startup Hub partner to boost India's deep-tech startups

Initiative aims to support early-stage ventures with fintech tools, mentorship and infrastructure - especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities

IT ministry in talks with Power min to address data centre energy needs

Ministry of Electronics and IT is in discussion with the power ministry to address issues related to energy requirement of data centres, a senior government official said on Saturday. Speaking at Global Technology Summit, IT Secretary S Krishnan said that even before the development around artificial intelligence, there has been a lot of pressure to add data centres for cloud computing etc and at the same time there was was a lot of resistance to setting up more because they guzzle a lot of power and they don't provide much employment. "I think if you have to take advantage of the technology, it (setting up of data centres) is something which needs to be done now. Which means we have to figure out ways of doing it. There are solutions, technological solutions which can be worked out. And my ministry is in consultation with the Ministry of Power and other ministries to try and address this issue," Krishnan said. He said that India has an advantage in terms of having a lot of green ..

Cadence looks to continue adding employees for India unit at 8-10% CAGR

India head Jaswinder Ahuja says engineers feel their prospects in India are as good as elsewhere in the world

Gaming SRBs must block harmful, addictive content: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Although betting and gambling fall under the purview of state governments, the central government will work to ensure that users are protected from the ills of online gaming, Vaishnaw said

Income-Tax Bill empowers taxman to ask for access to electronic systems

Scrutinising crypto, other virtual digital assets may become easier

India to host first 'WAVES summit' in Mumbai from May 1-4: Ashwini Vaishnaw

India will host the first World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit (WAVES) in Mumbai from May 1-4 that will bring together too media CEOs, entertainment icons and creative minds from around the globe. Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the dates of WAVES through a post on X, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the Advisory Board for the summit. "This summit will bring together the world's top media CEOs, biggest entertainment icons, and creative minds from around the globe, unifying entertainment, creativity, and culture like never before," Vaishnaw said. "India is laying the foundation for becoming the creative powerhouse of the world," he said. On Friday evening, Modi interacted with eminent personalities from various fields that included Amitabh Bachchan and Mukesh Ambani regarding the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES). Those who participated in the interaction include Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, Amitabh

Sam Altman, Ashwini Vaishnaw explore collab as global AI race intensifies

OpenAI's Sam Altman discusses collab with IT Minister Vaishnaw, including the development of GPUs, AI models, and applications

Manufacturing of electronics to double to $200 bn in 3-4 years: Vaishnaw

The scheme to set up outsourced assembly and testing units has been allocated Rs 3,900 crore in the Budget for 2025-26, compared to Rs 2,500 crore allocated last fiscal