Page 4 - Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Certainly important case: MoS IT on NYT lawsuit against OpenAI, Microsoft

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said the NYT-OpenAI-Microsoft case is important and interesting one, and represents the broader issue of the nature of a relationship between those scraping internet and monetising from it versus the copyrighted content on the internet. Last Wednesday, New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft over copyright infringement, alleging that millions of its articles were used without consent to train chatbots and AI models, which now compete with it. "It is certainly a very important case. It is an issue that I have spoken about in the past in the context of social media and big tech platform versus Indian creators of content... "This is a broader issue of what is the relationship between those who scrape the internet and monetise from that scraping, versus the content that is on the internet that is copyrighted content," Chandrasekhar told PTI in a recent interview. He described the case as an "interesting" one. "We should all stay tuned... watch t

MoS Chandrasekhar launches training centres under PM Vishwakarma in Goa

The government is focusing on skilling, reskilling and upskilling youth, which would result in better employment and growth of local economy

Skills key to make use of growing opportunities in India: Chandrasekhar

Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Thursday said India was witnessing "exciting times" at present and today's youngsters belong to the "luckiest generation" in the country's history considering the opportunities created by the Narendra Modi government. He also said that India's economy was expanding and in order to make use of the growing opportunities, one needs to have skills. Chandrashekhar was addressing the 'Skill Development Initiatives in Goa and Guru Ka Samman' programme organised by the Centre and the Goa government under the Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma scheme. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant was also present. "I am associated with the progress of the country technologically for the last 30-35 years. I must say you are the luckiest generation in India's history considering the opportunities that are generated under Modi-led government," the Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Electronics and Information Technology said. He said that in 2014, .

iPhone hack: Chandrashekhar rebuts Washington Post, calls it 'half facts'

In a story published on December 27 in association with Amnesty the Washington Post had reported that certain journalists had been targeted with the spyware on their iPhones

Gujarat's semiconductor policy setting stage in technology world: CM Patel

The 'Gujarat Semiconductor Policy' will help realise the state's commitment for a self-reliant India and Gujarat, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has said. The policy is setting the stage for a future in the world of technology and manufacturing, and helping Gujarat transform itself into a semiconductor powerhouse, he said. According to the state government, chip maker Micron Technology's decision to set up a USD 2.75-billion plant at Sanand near Ahmedabad indicates that Gujarat's dedicated semiconductor policy is bearing fruit and attracting global players. Under the policy, the state government will set up 'Dholera Semicon City' near Ahmedabad where eligible projects will be given subsidies for setting up manufacturing units, it said ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS) to be held in Gandhinagar next month. The summit is a forum for business networking, knowledge sharing and strategic partnerships for inclusive growth and sustainable development. In June this year, t

Foxconn submits application for setting up semiconductor unit: MoS IT

Taiwanese electronics manufacturing services company Foxconn has submitted an application for setting up a semiconductor fab in the country, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. Minister of state for electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in a written reply to Lok Sabha that the government has taken several measures to boost electronics manufacturing, including semiconductors, incentivising large investments in electronic goods and appliances, and promote exports. "Foxconn has submitted its application under the "modified scheme for setting up of semiconductor fabs in India" for the establishment of semiconductor fab in the country," Chandrasekhar said. The development comes after Foxconn exited a joint venture (JV) with Vedanta Group to set up a chip plant in India. The JV had plans to set up its chip plant in Gujarat with an investment of around Rs 1.5 lakh crore. Chandrasekhar said the first semiconductor unit by Micron was approved in June 2023 under the Semicon India .

Centre spends Rs 1,218 cr to commission 24 PF compute capacity: MoS IT

The government has spent Rs 1,218.14 crore in the last eight years to set up 24 PetaFlops compute capacity under the National Supercomputing Mission, Parliament was informed on Friday. Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha said that systems have been commissioned at 20 academic institutions, organisations and Research and Development (R&D) labs across the country. PetaFlop level computing speed can perform quadrillion calculations per second and is important for high-performance computing, especially in the field of climate monitoring, drug discovery, astrophysics etc, and now for developing and supporting artificial intelligence technologies. "NSM (National Supercomputing Mission) was initiated in April 2015, with a budget outlay of Rs 4,500 crore for seven years. An amount of Rs 1,218.14 crore has been spent till date for the mission activities. Till date, systems with a total of 24 PF compute capacity have been ...

29 member countries of GPAI unanimously adopts New Delhi declaration

The Minister also informed that Senegal was elevated to the steering committee during the second day of the summit, as India looks to further expand GPAI during its presidency in the coming year

India to create AI computing capacity for start-ups, researchers: Minister

Capacity will be created by the public sector and separately in collaboration with private companies, says 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,