Page 8 - Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Open to Chinese investments despite border clashes: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Chandrasekhar also said that the tightening of foreign investments did not target China and it applied to other neighbouring countries as well

Centre issues directions for blocking 3,470 URLs this year: MoS IT

The central government issued directions for blocking 3,470 URLs in 2023 under provisions of the IT Act, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. Section 69A of the IT Act provides power to the central government to issue directions to block any information if it is necessary to do so in the interest of sovereignty and integrity, defence of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States or public order, Minister of State for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. "The Central Government has issued directions for blocking of 6,096, 6,775 and 3,470 URLs in the year 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively," the minister added. He was specifically replying to a question on orders served by the government to social media platforms to take down content, hampering the digital safety of citizens since 2021. The policies of the government are aimed at ensuring an open, safe and trusted and accountable internet for all digital nagriks, he said. The IT

Some gambling firms masqueraded as gaming companies: Chandrasekhar

Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Wednesday said some gaming companies "gamed the system", masqueraded as gaming companies to run gambling businesses or did not pay taxes at all in the past. In his comments at Express Adda Live event amid a row over the GST Council's decision to charge 28 per cent tax on online gaming, the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology reiterated that he will pitch for lowering the GST on permissible online gaming and has spoken to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman about the same. Denying that the GST decision to be a "body blow" for the sector as it is made out to be, the entrepreneur-turned politician said there have been "bad actors" in online gaming and states who voted to levy the high GST are conditioned based on the instances that they see. "For all of the characterization of body blow, we are upset (with the GST Council decision), there have been people who have gamed the system as gaming companies," he said. "Some of .

Will go back to GST Council to reconsider tax on online gaming: MoS IT

The GST Council on July 11 decided to impose 28 per cent tax on full face value of bets in online gaming, casinos and horse trading

Startups in India to grow tenfold in next 4-5 years: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Hailing India's remarkable progress in building unicorns and startups, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar prophesised that the next 4-5 years will witness substantial growth for such enterprises and the startups in the country will increase by 10 times. Speaking at the JITO Incubation Innovation Foundation (JIIF) Sixth Foundation Day and Investors/Startup Conclave in Hyderabad, the Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and IT, highlighted India's remarkable progress in creating unicorns and startups, how they have successfully entered areas in emerging technologies such as AI, Web3, and deep tech, an official release said on Sunday. The Minister, who engaged with industry leaders and aspiring young entrepreneurs, emphasised the transformative journey India has embarked upon since 2014. From being predominantly focussed on IT and ITes, the next 4-5 years will witness substantial growth for startups and unicorns, Chandrasekhar said during

Left, Congress instilling fear among minorities on UCC: Chandrasekhar

UCC is a common set of laws dealing with marriage, inheritance adoption and other matters and not based on religion

Unemployment narrative wrong; disadvantage due to lack of skills: MoS IT

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday said the narrative around unemployment in the country is not correct, as the Narendra Modi-led government is dealing with a "legacy problem" since it came to power in 2014 when 31 crore of 42 crore Indians at the workplace were unskilled. "This narrative about unemployment is not correct because there are a lot of jobs and micro-entrepreneurial opportunities being created, but they require skills," Chandrasekhar, the Union minister of state for skill development and entrepreneurship, said. "And why a lot of Indians today find themselves at a disadvantage, is that around 2014, of the 42 crore Indians in the workforce 31 crore were unskilled. Three out of four Indians after 65 years of Independence were left to fend for themselves without skills in the workplace and the last nine years we are dealing with that," he observed. The minister said, "In a way, a legacy problem is being solved" through skills in the National Education Policy. He

Foxconn withdrawal has no impact on India's semiconductor goals: MoS IT

Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn's decision to pull out of Vedanta joint venture has no impact on India's semiconductor fabrication plant goal, minister of state for electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Monday. Foxconn has decided to pull out of the semiconductor joint venture with Indian conglomerate Vedanta. "This decision of Foxconn to withdraw from its JV wth Vedanta has no impact on India's Semiconductor Fab goals. None," Chandrasekhar tweeted. Vedanta Foxconn JV had announced the setting up of India's first electronic chip manufacturing unit in Gujarat with an investment of around USD 1.5 lakh crore. "Its not for govt to get into why or how two private companies choose to partner or choose not to, but in simple terms it means both companies can & will now pursue their strategies in India independently, and wth appropriate technology partners in Semicon n Electronics," Chandrasekhar tweeted. The minister said that both Foxconn and Vedanta have significant

MeitY receives proposals for self-regulatory organisations in online gaming

As per the new regulations introduced in April, the government will approve the formation of three SROs responsible for certifying online games in India

Comments about AI taking away jobs non-sense: MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Comments about artificial intelligence taking away jobs in India are "zero, non-sense, bakwas", Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Friday. The minister of state for electronics, information and technology said Artificial Intelligence (AI) today is task-focused and essentially makes tasks more efficient, mimicking human behaviour. "I am sorry to be sounding cynical. In 1999, the whole of 1999, I heard how Y2K is going to wipe out the world. Then I hear AI will finish our jobs and there are obviously people who want to look at the worst case scenario of any innovation. AI will finish our jobs, zero, non-sense, bakwas," he said. "Generative AI today is task-focused and essentially makes tasks more efficient, mimicking human behaviour...," he said. Chandrasekhar was talking to reporters after unveiling the fully automated state-of-the-art electromagnetic interference and compatibility laboratories at the Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research (SAMEE

India in exciting period in technology space: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

India is in an "exciting period" in the history of the country when it comes to the technology space, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday said. Speaking at the 113th annual general meeting of industry body Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) here today, Chandrasekhar said the country has developed capabilities, capacities, and confidence in the last nine years, particularly with regard to technology and innovation. Releasing the 'Emerging Tech Trends in 2023" guide at the event, the minister said that in the global value chain, electronics is the second highest traded commodity after hydrocarbons and energy but India did not find a place in it before 2014. "I want to draw attention to two quotes one from Google CEO Sundar Pichai, a son of Chennai and Tamil Nadu. He spoke about how it was almost prescient on the part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji to anticipate the power of technology and launch ..

100,000 unicorns, 1-2 mn startups doable: Chandrasekhar on tech opportunity

India's success with innovation, entrepreneurship, electronics manufacturing as well as its digital clout is just the "tip" of a massive growth opportunity before the country, and the nation has the ability to scale to one lakh unicorns and almost 10-20 lakh startups in future, according to Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar. Chandrasekhar -- who completes two years as Minister of State for Electronics and IT -- said the India Stack and the digital public infrastructure built by the country, have demonstrated to the world how technology can be deployed for good, to benefit people, society and communities, and the country at large. The extent of digitalisation of government, governance and economy is going to "accelerate even more", Chandrasekhar promised. The last two years have seen Chandrasekhar keeping a razor-sharp focus on driving India's digital agenda and work on measures to promote electronics and semiconductor manufacturing in the country. He has also been deeply involved

Twitter's challenge to govt order part of Dorsey's fiction creation: MoS IT

Twitter moving to a court against the government notice to block some accounts was "part of the fiction" that company's former CEO Jack Dorsey had put out, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Monday. Dorsey, who had quit as Twitter CEO, has claimed that the Indian government "pressured" the company with threats of a shutdown and raids on employees if it did not comply with requests to take down posts and restrict accounts that were critical of the government over the protest by farmers against new agri laws in 2020 and 2021. In response to views on the Karnataka High Court order rejecting Twitter's appeal, the minister said that the order clearly lays down non-compliance to government order is not an option and all platforms, big or small, need to comply with Indian laws. "In this particular case as you remember they (Twitter) were given a large number of directions under the law which they did not comply with and then when they were sent a legal ..

Finfluencer advertisement using govt logo by YouTube stirs a hornets' nest

Not an endorsement by the government, clarifies MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Semiconductor announcements to create 80,000 jobs: MoS IT Chandrasekhar

The big-ticket announcements by players including Micron, Applied Materials, and Lam Research during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's US visit will create an estimated 80,000 jobs, and underscore the resolve of the two countries to shape the future of technology, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Friday. The Minister of State for Electronics and IT termed the announcements by Micron Technology, Applied Materials and Lam Research as a "significant and meaningful milestone" and "central piece" in the growth semiconductor ecosystem in the country. "These three investment decisions will create a minimum of 80,000 jobs directly in my estimate and indirectly the numbers could be much higher. More than that it will be a catalyst to the overall electronics and semiconductor ecosystem," Chandrasekhar said. US memory chip firm Micron Technology will set up its semiconductor assembly and test plant in Gujarat entailing a total investment of USD 2.75 billion (around Rs 22,540 crore), th

India set to achieve $300 bn electronics manufacturing target: MoS IT

The govt is right on the path to achieve the $300 bn electronics manufacturing target which will be a massive 20-25 times growth in almost a decade, Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT said

Target is to have technology be 20-25% of Indian GDP by 2025-26: MoS IT

The Indian Government has set a goal of making technology 20-25 per cent of the nation's GDP by 2025, India's IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has told Indian American entrepreneurs and asked them to be part of this story of India. Over the last nine years digital economy has expanded, diversified and currently there isn't a slice or space in the tech sector that Indian entrepreneurs, Indian startups are not present in; whether it is semiconductors, micro-electronics, AI, the blockchain and web three high-performance computing languages and consumer internet, Chandrasekhar said in his virtual address to the annual conference of the Global Indian Technology Professionals Association. Any part of technology that you look at today, there is significant presence and momentum by Indian startups, Indian enterprises and Indian innovators. Over the last five years, in particular, during and after COVID-19, the Indian innovation economy has grown from the four-five per cent in 2014 to ten per

M K Stalin behaving like the original Stalin: Union minister Chandrasekhar

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Saturday said that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin was acting like the original Stalin for whom he said the freedom of people and their rights didn't matter. He was reacting to the arrest of Tamil Nadu BJP leader S G Suryah under the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology (IT) Act allegedly over a social media post. Yesterday, our senior worker from TN (S G Suryah) was arrested, just simply because he tweeted about the death of a sanitation worker in the constituency where there is a CPM elected person, Chandrasekhar told PTI in Margao town of South Goa. The Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology is in the coastal state to participate in the party's organisational programmes. He said that it is a sign of irony and hypocrisy that the Congress used Section 66A during UPA (United Progressive Alliance) regime to put people in jail over their tweets. Now, their alliance partners, including NCP and Stalin, are do

Chandrasekhar rebuts Raghuram Rajan's criticism on PLI, calls it misleading

Terming former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan as a repeat offender, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Thursday issued a word-by-word rebuttal of his criticism of the production-linked incentive scheme for mobile phone manufacturing. Rajan in a social media post questioned the outcome of the PLI scheme for mobile phones as companies continue to import most of the components, and the subsidies are paid on finished phones and not on the value addition done by the mobile phone companies. He also questioned if subsidies being paid to the companies under the PLI scheme and tax waivers are more than the value addition the mobile phone makers are doing in the country. The minister of state for electronics and IT said that he had responded to Rajan eight months ago when he tried to discredit the smartphone PLI after which he went and "now he is back with some deceitful numbers and shoddy comparisons". The PLI scheme for mobile phones was notified on April 1, 2020. The scheme extends an ..

Govt's relationship with media platform is simply via prism of laws: MoS IT

The government's relationship with any social media platform is simply through the prism of compliance of law and rules, and therefore there is nothing personal or adversarial against one platform or the other, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said. The platforms have to respect the Indian laws, the Minister of State for IT and Electronics asserted. Chandrasekhar, who was speaking at the inaugural edition of FinancialExpress.com's Digital Bharat Economy Conclave 2023 on Wednesday, made it clear that the government's relationship with any social media platform is simply through the prism of compliance of law and rules, and thus there is nothing personal or adversarial against one platform or the other. "But we certainly and consistently ask from these platforms to respect the Indian laws," he said. The minister also rebuffed claims of an alleged data breach of the CoWin platform (the Covid vaccination portal). "I would like to emphasise that there was no breach of the CoWin