Page 2 - It Ministry

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

India to host DeepSeek on its servers to address privacy concerns: Vaishnaw

Vaishnaw also emphasised the importance of distillation in AI models, ensuring that India's AI development remains open and application-driven

Country can't rely on foreign cyber security resources: IT Secretary

India cannot afford to take cyber security resources even from friendly nations as it will be a threat to security and sovereignty of the nation, a senior government official said on Thursday. During a roundtable with start-ups organised by Start-up Policy Forum, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity), Secretary S Krishnan said that the funding of start-ups especially in growth and later stage is crucial for entities in deep-tech space like cyber security. "There is a crucial story, especially in something like cyber security. The crucial story is that you have to have an independent resource within the country. You can't afford not to have it. This is not something where you can actually take it from other countries. It becomes a threat to our own sovereignty," Krishnan said. He was talking about the challenges that the government faced while financing start-ups and the need for the alignment of support with the state's strategic requirements. "It (importing cy

Consulting industry for developing GPU, says Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

"We expect the first made-in-India chip to roll out in August-September 2025 from Micron plant... the first fab plant will roll out by 2027 end"

Vaishnaw lays foundation stone for Syrma SGS's laptop assembly line in TN

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, on Friday, laid the foundation stone for a new assembly line to produce laptops at the Tamil Nadu facility of electronic systems design and manufacturing company Syrma SGS Technology Ltd. To assemble laptops at its state-of-the-art Chennai facility, Syrma SGS Technology Ltd has partnered with MSI, a global leader in AI-powered personal computers. The Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology laid the foundation stone for establishing a new assembly line to produce laptops, marking a significant milestone in the 'Make in India' initiative. Syrma SGS is collaborating with MSI to produce laptops for the Indian market, according to a press release. During his brief interaction with company officials, Vaishnaw applauded Syrma SGS's efforts in driving the electronics manufacturing ecosystem forward and highlighted the pivotal role of such initiatives in building a self-reliant India. Syrma SGS Technology Ltd will leverage its high-quality,