It Ministry

IT ministry to meet experts on children's digital safety on Thursday

The IT Ministry will meet experts on Thursday to discuss children's online safety, CSEAM, social media regulations and global approaches to protecting young internet users

Semicon 2.0 equity norms to boost chip design investment: IT secy

Provisions under Semicon 2.0 to provide incentives to Indian chip-making firms against equity are expected to drive largescale investment required for the development of advanced chips for technology such as artificial intelligence, a senior government official has said. Under Semicon 2.0, which has a budget of Rs 1.27 lakh crore, the central government has prioritised chip design by Indian companies. In an interview to PTI on Saturday, Ministry of Electronics and IT Secretary S Krishnan said advance chip design may need thousands of crores of investments. "We intend to provide more funding. Otherwise, under design-linked incentive scheme, you get only about Rs 15 crore. Now, to design high-end chips you need Rs 1,000 crore or more. "At the same time, the government can't give everything. This is why you have this combination saying that you get investment from a venture capitalist or somebody who believes that you will be able to bring out this chip, and we will co-invest," he ...

AI, identity, real-time payments resetting cyber threat landscape: Report

The rapid transformation of banking and financial services is creating a fundamentally new cyber threat landscape, according to a report that argues traditional security models are no longer sufficient to serve today's interconnected ecosystems. The Digital Threat Report 2025-26, released on Monday, notes that conventional cybersecurity architectures were designed around centralised systems where trust boundaries were defined. Today's financial ecosystem, however, is built around interconnected platforms, embedded finance, AI-driven decision-making and real-time payments, dramatically expanding the attack surface, says the new report by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), the Computer Security Incident Response Team in Finance (CSIRT-Fin) and SISA. "Modern financial attacks are moving from direct compromise to trust-chain manipulation across biometric onboarding, partner apps, AI decisioning, real-time ..

SC refuses to entertain plea seeking nationwide ban on viewing pornography

A bench led by CJI Surya Kant held that although the issue raised in the petition was of 'paramount importance', it did not involve a question of law warranting the Court's examination

Govt studying Tata Electronics breach, entities involved say not much lost

The issue of an alleged data breach at Tata Electronics that reportedly exposed sensitive information related to Apple's unreleased iPhone model is currently under examination, and both entities are satisfied they haven't lost much on commercial parameters, a senior IT Ministry official said on Monday. The government had earlier said that the incident was reported to the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In). CERT-In is the national nodal agency for responding to computer security incidents. "We are studying what is happening on that issue. But on the commercial aspect, we understand that both the current entities involved are broadly satisfied that they have not lost anything... they are not very concerned about that. So this is what we understand from those entities," IT Secretary S Krishnan told reporters on Monday. Krishnan's comment comes in the wake of reports that details of components and suppliers, along with Apple's iPhone 18 Pro model photos were put on the d

Govt examining Meta's reply over child abuse ads on Instagram: IT secy

Meta's reply to the government notice over child sexual abuse material (CSAM) ads on Instagram has been received by Meity and is being examined, IT Secretary S Krishnan said on Monday, adding that appropriate action will be taken after examination. The government had issued a stern notice to Meta recently on Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM) in paid advertisements on Instagram. MeitY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) had ordered Instagram to disable all ads and content promoting and facilitating access to CSEAM, and demanded a detailed explanation bound to a deadline. Within a few days of the notice, Meta outlined its efforts to combat child sexual abuse material (CSAM) across its apps, highlighting AI-powered detection and large-scale enforcement actions, and, in a blogpost, promised to continue investment in technology and resources to keep young people safe and strengthen its ad review processes. Krishnan said Monday that Meta's reply to the

WhatsApp's reply on 'username' feature due today: IT Secretary S Krishnan

Meta-owned WhatsApp's response to the government notice on the 'username' feature is due on Thursday, IT Secretary S Krishnan said. Last Wednesday, the Centre issued a notice to Meta questioning the proposed username feature on WhatsApp, flagging concerns that it could materially increase online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams, and impersonation attacks. The username feature essentially allows people on the messaging platform to communicate without sharing their phone numbers. The government had also directed the platform not to launch the feature until consultations on the issue are completed "to the satisfaction of the Government". Subsequently, WhatsApp had sought some more time to submit its response on the 'username' feature and had assured the government that it would not roll it out in India until discussions are complete. "Today is the day when the reply is due," Krishnan said on the sidelines of the CII GCC Business Summit, when asked about WhatsApp's response to th

Disable child sex abuse ads and content on Meta's Instagram: Meity

Centre has also asked Meta to provide a detailed explanation on the presence of such content within 7 days

IT Ministry summons Meta executives over ads promoting CSAM in India

Meta executives meet IT ministry officials over WhatsApp username issue

Meta team meets IT Ministry over username feature, to reply within 3 days

The Centre directed WhatsApp to keep the rollout on hold until consultations are completed "to the satisfaction of the Government"

Time has come to look at separate AI legislation, says IT Secy S Krishnan

India appears set to move towards a dedicated regulatory framework for artificial intelligence, with IT Secretary S Krishnan on Friday saying the time has come to look at a separate AI regulation. Krishnan noted that while existing legal provisions have so far been adequate in addressing initial concerns on issues like deepfakes and AI-generated synthetic content, an "additional regulation or law may be needed". "It is a conversation which has commenced, and my Minister (IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw) and I have both been on record earlier that we will look at AI regulation when the time is right, and it appears that the time is getting right, and we will start looking at it," Krishnan said. He added: "We have used the IT rules, and other provisions of existing law to address various concerns that AI raises, but now, probably the time has come to look at a separate legislation." Asked about the timelines for bringing out a new AI regulation, the IT secretary said: "As Ministry, at a

Username row: After WhatsApp, IT Ministry sends notices to Telegram, Signal

After sending a notice to WhatsApp, the IT Ministry has now sent a notice to Telegram and Signal, raising questions on their existing username feature and asking how the platforms are addressing concerns related to fraud and impersonation, according to a source. Sources said that in the notice to Telegram, the government has asked the platform why it should be allowed to retain the username feature. On Wednesday, the Centre issued a notice to Meta over the username feature on WhatsApp, citing concerns that it could materially increase online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams, and impersonation attacks. It had also directed WhatsApp to pause the feature until consultations on the issue are completed "to the satisfaction of the Government". The government has now widened its scrutiny to other messaging platforms as well, sources said. Sources told PTI that the IT ministry has also written to Telegram and Signal - which already have the username feature - and asked how concerns .

Govt plans empowered and unified command centre to tackle AI risks

New command centre would be tasked with ensuring timely implementation of the latest cybersecurity measures

Kalshi bars India users after govt crackdown on prediction markets

Platform adds India to restricted jurisdictions as authorities move to block access to prediction market websites

Govt forms high-level inter-ministerial body to steer AI governance plan

A high-level inter-ministerial body, AI Governance and Economic Group, headed by Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, has been constituted to steer the country's national AI governance strategy, an official statement said on Thursday. AI Governance and Economic Group (AIGEG) will coordinate policy across ministries, departments and sectoral regulators and oversee cross-sectoral governance issues. "The AIGEG will operate as the apex inter-ministerial body within India's AI governance institutional framework. It will be supported by a Technology and Policy Expert Committee (TPEC), which will offer expert advisory to the AIGEG on global developments, emerging technologies, risks, regulation and other evolving priorities relating to AI policy and governance," the statement said. The inter-ministerial body will be chaired by the union electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw whose portfolio spans railways and Information and Broadcasting. Minister of State for Electronics and IT Jiti

Platforms have almost doubled-tripled deepfake takedowns: Vaishnaw

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday highlighted rising concerns over AI-generated deepfakes, and noted that social media platforms, too, have scaled up efforts on deepfake takedowns. The minister termed deepfakes as a new menace and a threat to society. "A lot of content has started coming in the nature of deepfakes. Because of whatever changes have happened in the AI world, a huge quantity of deepfakes have started coming in the social media... the entire world, and the social media platforms themselves have significantly ramped up their efforts at removing the deepfakes," Vaishnaw, who is the minister for IT as well as Information and Broadcasting, told reporters. The platforms themselves have almost doubled or tripled their own takedowns of deepfake content, he added. "It's a new menace, new threat, which is coming for the society," he said, adding that countering it effectively is very important for society, for every individual, and institution.

Govt in talks with tech industry, no impact seen from Iran war: Vaishnaw

The government is in dialogue with hi-tech industry associations on the West Asia conflict and its impact on the ecosystem, and industry bodies have not reported any adverse impact on their operations, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Monday. The Electronics and IT Minister's comments came amid reports that the helium crunch has started impacting global tech supply chains. "We have asked every industry association here, and each one has said that so far there is no impact... This includes semiconductors, mobile, electronics components, and hardware space...It is an evolving situation. So, we will continue interacting with the industry," Vaishnaw told reporters. The industry believes that the West Asia crisis will not be prolonged, he said.

Govt clears 29 electronics component mfg proposals worth ₹7,104 crore

The government has approved 29 applications under the electronics component manufacturing scheme entailing cumulative investment of Rs 7,104 crore, a senior IT ministry official said on Monday. The Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) Secretary, S Krishnan, said the fresh investment proposal will create as many as 14,246 new jobs in the segment. The new applications will lead to the production of electronics components worth Rs 84,515 crore, he said. With this new set of approvals, Meity has approved a total of 75 applications.

India trained 85,000 engineers in 4 years under Semicon 2.0: Vaishnaw

Prioritising talent development under the Government of India's Semiconductor Mission, Union Minister for Railways and Electronics & IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, stated that India has achieved its 10-year target of training 85,000 engineers in semiconductor design in just 4 years.The Minister on Monday informed that world-class Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools, Cadence, Synopsys, and Siemens, have been made available in 315 universities across the country, and with the help of these tools, students are designing actual semiconductor chips, according to a release.These chips are being fabricated and tested at the Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL) in Mohali, giving students hands-on experience across the entire process from design to manufacturing and validation, he said.Vaishnaw further stated that students from universities across the nation, from Assam to Gujarat and from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, are actively engaging in semiconductor design. This marks a significant milestone ...

Govt toughens rules on AI content, mandates 3-hour takedown timeline

From February 20, social media and internet intermediaries must remove unlawful content within three hours and non-consensual intimate imagery within two hours under amended IT rules