India

India Panel Recommends Digital Competition Act to Rein in Big Tech

An Indian parliamentary panel on Thursday recommended the government enact a digital competition act to regulate anti-competitive business practices by Big Tech companies on its platforms. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has had strained relations with many large technology companies, and New Delhi has been tightening the regulation of firms such as Facebook, YouTube and […]

Exclusive: India’s Snapdeal to Shelve $152 Million IPO Amid Tech Stocks Rout

SoftBank-backed Indian e-commerce firm Snapdeal has decided to pull the plug on its $152 million IPO, the company told Reuters, making it the latest casualty of a meltdown in tech stocks that has soured investor sentiment. Snapdeal filed its initial public offering (IPO) regulatory papers for approval in December 2021, a year that saw many […]

Stolen Data of 600,000 Indians Sold on Bot Markets So Far - Study

Around five million people globally have had their data stolen and sold on the bot market till date, of which 600,000 are from India, making it the worst affected country, according to one of the world’s largest VPN serice providers NordVPN. Bot markets are used by hackers to sell stolen data from victims’ devices with […]

Exclusive: Google Launches Anti-Misinformation Campaign in India

Google’s Jigsaw subsidiary is launching a new anti-misinformation project in India, aimed at preventing misleading information that has been blamed for inciting violence, a top executive said. The initiative will use “prebunking” videos – designed to counter false claims before they become widespread – circulated on the company’s YouTube platform and other social media sites. […]

India’s Digital Rupee Fails to Excite Interest, Bankers Say

A month into India’s pilot project for using an official digital rupee for inter-bank and institutional transactions, stakeholders are seeing no benefits, several bankers said. Seven bankers told Reuters that using the e-rupee of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was much the same as internet-based banking that users were already satisfied with. The RBI […]

Apple, Samsung to Upgrade Phone Software in India for 5G Roll Out by Dec

Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics will upgrade software for their 5G-enabled phones in India by December, the companies said on Wednesday, as Indian authorities press mobile phone manufacturers to adopt the high-speed network. Apple said it would push software upgrades to recent models, including the iPhone 14, 13, 12 and iPhone SE, which, industry sources […]

India's Reliance Jio to Launch 5G Services Within 2 Months

Reliance Industries Ltd’s Jio will begin rolling out 5G services for its subscribers in the next two months, India’s top telecom company said on Monday. The company has committed 2 trillion rupees ($25 billion) to roll out the 5G services, Chairman Mukesh Ambani said at the company’s annual general meeting. The company will start rolling […]

5G Spectrum Auction in India: Here’s How it Panned Out

Since the introduction of first-generation mobile services, which could only carry voice calls, mobile networks have significantly developed. The fourth generation of mobile networks is capable of handling faster data rates. However, a newer generation of mobile networks is required due to the shifting connectivity requirements, increasing mobile data traffic, and a new class of […]

Google Opposes Facebook-backed Proposal for Self-regulatory Body in India - Sources

Google has grave reservations about developing a self-regulatory body in India for the social media sector to hear user complaints, though the proposal has support from Facebook and Twitter, sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters. India in June proposed appointing a government panel to hear complaints from users about content moderation decisions, but […]

India Freezes Assets of Binance-linked WazirX

India’s financial crime-fighting agency said on Friday it had frozen the assets of WazirX, linked to the world’s largest digital currency exchange Binance, as part of its investigation into suspected violation of foreign exchange regulations. The federal Enforcement Directorate (ED) said that it froze assets worth 646.70 million rupees ($8.16 million). “We have been fully […]