Centre urges OTT platforms to take down Pakistani-origin content, cites ‘national security'
The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Thursday urged all over-the-top and streaming platforms in India to pull down any web series, films, songs, podcasts and other content originating from Pakistan with immediate effect, 'in the interest of national security' after the Pahalgam terror attack.
'Several terrorist attacks in India have been established to have cross-border linkages with Pakistan-based state and non-state actors,' the directive read before specifically mentioning the April 22 attack.
The circular cited the 2021 Information Technology Rules, which outlines a code of ethics for OTT content publishers.
According to the code, publishers must assess whether content impacts India's 'sovereignty and integrity', threatens national security, harms foreign relations, or could 'incite violence' or 'disturb maintenance public order' before releasing it.
'We have received the request and are working to comply in accordance with the law,' a spokesperson of music-streaming platform Spotify told The Hindu.
Social media accounts of various Pakistani politicians, actors and cricketers have already been banned in India, including those of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto and singer Abida Parveen.
On April 28, the Union government also banned 16 Pakistani YouTube channels, accusing them of spreading misinformation and content that could incite communal tension. The banned platforms included major news outlets such as Dawn News, Samaa TV and Geo News.
On Wednesday, the Indian military carried out strikes on what it claimed were terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Nine sites were targeted under Operation Sindoor.
The Pakistan Army retaliated by shelling Indian villages along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. Sixteen persons were killed in the firing, according to the Ministry of Defence.
The terror attack at the Baisaran area near Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam town on April 22 left 26 dead and 17 injured. The terrorists targeted tourists after asking their names to ascertain their religion, the police said. All but three of those killed were Hindu.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
25 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Pakistan hikes assembly speaker, Senate chairman salaries to Rs 1.3 million
The monthly salary for both officials has been fixed at Rs 1.3 million and they will also receive an additional 50 per cent as a temporary allowance on top of it, according to the notification Press Trust of India Islamabad The Pakistani government has formally raised the monthly salaries of the National Assembly speaker and the Senate chairman to Rs 1.3 million, according to a media report on Saturday. The new salary marks a significant rise from their previous salary of Rs 205,000. The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs issued the notification on May 29, but details surfaced on Friday, Samaa TV reported. The monthly salary for both officials has been fixed at Rs 1.3 million and they will also receive an additional 50 per cent as a temporary allowance on top of it, according to the notification. The revised salary structure will be effective retrospectively from January 1, 2025. Earlier on March 21, it was reported that the salaries and allowances of federal cabinet members had been significantly increased, with federal ministers, ministers of state and advisers receiving hikes of up to 188 per cent. Sources had said that the federal ministers approved a summary of the salary increments for themselves and ministers of state through circulation. An amendment to the Federal Ministers and Ministers of State (Allowances and Salaries) Act, 1975, was approved, paving the way for these increases. Following the bill's approval, the revised salary of a federal minister, minister of state and adviser would stand at Rs 519,000. Previously, federal ministers were earning Rs 200,000, while ministers of state had a salary of Rs 180,000. This decision marked a substantial 159 per cent increase in the salaries of federal ministers, while ministers of state and advisers have witnessed an increment of up to 188 per cent. Earlier this year, the Finance Committee had approved an increase in the salaries of members of the National Assembly and senators, raising their monthly pay to Rs 519,000, according to the report.
The Hindu
26 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Finance Ministry rolls back restrictions on procurement of scientific equipment
Amid complaints from scientists on sub-standard equipment affecting their research, the Finance Ministry has rolled back restrictions imposed on how scientific labs procured equipment, through a circular issued on Thursday (June 5, 2025). The first significant change was allowing affiliated scientific institutions to bypass the Government e-marketplace (GEM), a Commerce Ministry initiative meant to prioritise made-in-India equipment. Existing norms require all government purchases — from laptops to furniture — to be made with the cheapest vendor identified through the GEM portal. As The Hindu had previously reported, this was often a stumbling block for scientists who required customised equipment conforming to high-quality standards to replicate experiments. The vendors of the GEM, scientists had told The Hindu, were often unable to meet such standards. For procurement outside the GEM universe, scientists had to first establish that the necessary wares were unavailable on the site. This often led to delays and compromise on research goals. Thursday's (June 5, 2025) notification allowed Directors of select institutes and Vice-Chancellors or Chancellors of universities to make 'non-Government e-market place procurement of scientific equipment and consumables'. The Director of a leading biology institute, who declined to be identified, said he could 'scarcely believe' that the government had eased procurement norms via GEM in a 'single stroke'. 'This has been a major demand from the scientific community and a restriction imposed after 2019. It is a positive development and should greatly ease research and development,' he told The Hindu. 'This reverts back to how procurement used to happen before the GEM, where institute heads had greater autonomy.' The circular of June 5 also allows heads of scientific institutions to approve 'Global Tender Enquiry' (GTE) up to ₹200 crore. Prior to this, departmental Secretaries – such as the heads of the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Biotechnology or Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) – were required to issue such clearances. This usually led to 'pile up' of requests and concomitant procurement delays, a scientist in one of the Ministries told The Hindu. The circular has also doubled the ceiling on goods that can be procured by scientific departments without quotations from ₹1 lakh to ₹2 lakh. For a Purchase Committee, the ceiling was raised from ₹10 lakh to 25 lakh and for Tender Enquiries, the upper limit was increased from ₹50 lakh to ₹1 crore. These limits were revised in July 2024 too and easing them reflects inflation while allowing scientific institutions greater control at a local level in choosing appropriate vendors. However, all of these concessions are strictly for scientific equipment and consumables and meant only for organisations affiliated to the Ministry of Science and Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Department of Atomic Energy and Space, Indian Council of Medical Research, Indian Council for Agricultural Research and educational institutions conducting postgraduate research under various Ministries. Science Minister Jitendra Singh posted on X that this was a 'landmark' step. 'This will reduce delays, also enhance autonomy and flexibility for research institutions – empowering them to innovate faster.' He credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the 'transformative reform'.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
28 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Harsimrat urges EAM to sensitise UAE govt on Sikhs' five articles of faith
Senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Saturday urged External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to initiate a dialogue with the UAE government to sensitise it about the religious significance of the five articles of faith, especially the 'kirpan', for the initiated Sikhs. In a letter to the minister, the Bathinda MP said she was making this appeal in the wake of a recent "advisory" by the Indian Embassy in UAE directing Indians not to carry sharp objects while visiting the country in view of Article 405 of the UAE penal law which prohibits the same. This move has caused deep distress and mental agony to Sikh travellers and residents alike, Harsimrat said, noting that there have been instances of Sikhs being detained and compelled to remove their 'kirpan'. She also cited a recent case of an elderly man being detained in Abu Dhabi for wearing the 'kirpan' and turban. Badal asserted in her letter that such incidents had caused distress within the Sikh community as they contravened the rights of Sikhs to practice their faith besides raising serious concerns about the protection of religious freedom for minorities in the UAE. "The Sikh community has always contributed positively to societies worldwide, including in the UAE, and demand the freedom to practice its faith in accordance with its tenets. "Denying Sikhs the right to wear their five 'kakkars' (Sikh articles of faith worn by baptised Sikhs), particularly the 'kirpan', is a curtailment of religious freedom and contrary to the principles of mutual respect and pluralism that India stands for," she said. The former union minister also requested Jaishankar to consider sending a high-level delegation, including representatives from the National Commission for Minorities and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), to engage with UAE authorities and relevant international agencies and sensitise them about Sikh articles of faith. She asserted that the 'kirpan' was a sacred symbol and an inseparable part of Sikh identity mandated by Sikh tenets since the time of Guru Gobind Singh. "Its significance is spiritual and symbolic, representing the duty to uphold justice and protect the oppressed, and not as a weapon for aggression or harm. The 'kirpan' is worn at all times by 'Amritdhari' Sikhs (initiated Sikhs) as a matter of religious obligation and conscience", she added.
