
T.N. govt. to offer 50 citizen services through WhatsApp, says Minister
The Tamil Nadu government has decided to offer 50 citizen services through WhatsApp in the first phase, Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services Palanivel Thiaga Rajan said in the Assembly on Friday.
In his reply to the demand for grants for the Information Technology and Digital Services Department, he said the government was providing 260 citizen services through 34,843 e-seva centres to ensure easy access. At a cost of ₹3.85 crore, 50 services, including utility bill payments, would be provided through WhatsApp in the first phase.
Among several agencies which offer Aadhaar enrolment services, the Electronic Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT) has been operating 266 Aadhaar Enrolment Centres at the Collectorates, the corporation and municipality head offices and zonal offices, and the block development offices. Steps would be taken to open 50 new such centres this year, the Minister said.
Since e-Know Your Customer (KYC) is becoming mandatory for Aadhaar-linked welfare schemes, the government will introduce a mobile application and web platform for e-KYC, he said.
Further, through the Tamil Virtual Academy, special training programmes, including the use of Artificial Intelligence in translation and natural language processing, will be conducted for students of Tamil literature. The government will also take steps to provide high-speed internet services to households at a low cost, he added.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Your VPN might be spying for China: Watchdog flags 17 apps with hidden ties on Apple and Google stores
A new report by the Technology Transparency Project warns that 17 VPN apps, available on major app stores, may be secretly linked to Qihoo 360, a Chinese cybersecurity firm under U.S. sanctions. Experts fear user data could be accessed by Chinese authorities under China's broad surveillance laws. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads How are these VPNs tied to China? Why is Qihoo 360 a concern? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Which VPN apps were flagged earlier? What are Apple and Google doing about it? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads FAQs Think your VPN is keeping you anonymous? Think again. A major watchdog report just revealed that 17 popular VPN apps available on Apple and Google stores might be quietly handing over your data with links pointing straight to to a report released on Thursday by the Technology Transparency Project, the firm involved may have discreet links to China, where the government can monitor all user report claims that 17 apps, six from Apple's App Store, four from Google Play Store, and seven from both, have hidden connections to China, as quoted in a report by NBC News.A new report by the Technology Transparency Project warns that 17 VPN apps, available on major app stores, may be secretly linked to Qihoo 360 , a Chinese cybersecurity firm under U.S. 360 is a firm sanctioned by the U.S. Commerce Department in 2020 for potential links to the Chinese military. While the apps don't explicitly name Qihoo, corporate filings and company records suggest they are operated by shell companies acquired by Qihoo in 2019, as per a are mainly utilized to safeguard a user's privacy by complicating a website's ability to identify its visitors, or to bypass censorship restrictions. However, if a VPN provider does not implement substantial measures to automatically and permanently erase its users' search histories, it is probable that the company will retain logs of its clients' online is especially significant if the company is Chinese, since national legislation requires that intelligence and law enforcement agencies can access any personal data stored there without a Katie Paul explained that VPNs carry unique risks since they reroute all of a user's internet activity through their servers. If those servers are controlled or accessed by Chinese-linked firms, it means user data, including sensitive work information and browsing habits, could end up in Beijing's Sherman, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council focusing on data privacy, informed that utilizing a VPN owned by China would be equivalent to surrendering one's browsing history to Beijing, as per a report by NBC News. Experts fear user data could be accessed by Chinese authorities under China's broad surveillance TTP, a technology-oriented branch of the Campaign for Accountability, an investigative nonprofit aimed at uncovering "corruption, negligence, and unethical conduct," released a report on Chinese VPN applications on April 1. TTP reports that several of the VPNs are indirectly tied to Qihoo applications are all virtual private networks, or VPNs, enabling a user to route their internet traffic through a company's internet service. Names such as VPNify, Ostrich VPN, and Now VPN do not explicitly indicate any connections to China or Chinese ownership in the app Qihoo 360 isn't listed as the direct developer, many apps are operated by entities like Lemon Seed, Autumn Breeze, and Innovative Connecting all tied to Qihoo via Chinese and Cayman Islands quickly removed three apps purportedly connected to Qihoo 360: Thunder VPN, Snap VPN, and Signal Secure VPN. Turbo VPN and VPN Proxy Master, both accessible on the Google Play Store, along with three additional options provided by Google, remain availableThe findings raise important questions about who really controls these "free" VPN services and what happens to your data when you trust the wrong if it logs your data and shares it with third parties especially if it's tied to governments with wide surveillance all, but many free VPNs have vague ownership and poor privacy policies. Always research the company behind the app.


The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
A good fix: On the IRCTC and ticket booking
The e-ticketing system of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC) is one of India's most widely used e-commerce platforms. Crores of Indian rail commuters and passengers use it to book their tickets, which makes it imperative that the system is run robustly. The scale of the operation is revealing — on May 22, 2025, the IRCTC processed a staggering 31,814 tickets in 60 seconds to set a new record. Yet, the popular e-ticketing system, especially the Tatkal booking part, is plagued by issues. Extremely high demand during peak hours, particularly during the designated Tatkal booking window period, often leads to crashes and slow performance. A major concern is that the system is exploited by ticketing agents who use unfair automated tools (or bots), leading to rapidly dwindling ticket availability for passengers. These issues are what prompted the IRCTC to announce two major steps. The first was a major digital overhaul of the ticketing infrastructure using anti-bot systems to prevent unauthorised automated bookings — a measure that led to the de-activation of a whopping 2.5 crore suspect user IDs. Implementation of a content delivery network also helped improve website performance. In addition, Aadhaar verification is necessary immediately after a ticket is booked. The IRCTC has also mandated Aadhaar authentication for all Tatkal bookings, from July 1, along with OTP-based authentication. Authorised agents have been restricted from booking Tatkal tickets during the first 30 minutes of the booking window period. The idea behind an e-ticketing platform and the provision of Tatkal booking of tickets are to provide equitable chances for passengers to travel. Despite more train services having been introduced over the years by the Indian Railways, which is a state monopoly, demand far outstrips supply, and passengers have to rely on advanced booking and Tatkal tickets for their travel. When agents use bots to game the system, it kills the purpose of equity. Therefore, the IRCTC's steps will bring relief to passengers. That said, the Indian Railways must focus not only on easing the process of ticketing but also on elevating the passenger experience in terms of increasing its train and track capacity to fulfil travel demand, ensuring safety and enhancing its facilities. Seen in this context, while these ticketing fixes are important, the true test for the Indian Railways will be its ability to move beyond just technical and administrative solutions and undertake a fundamental expansion of its services to serve India's large passenger clientele. In a way, meaningful expansion to meet the demand will also obviate the need for reworking technological solutions yet again in the future.


The Print
5 hours ago
- The Print
Monsoon causes ‘minor damages' to NHPC's Subansiri hydro project; commissioning delayed further
The project cost has also been anticipated to escalate more than four times to around Rs 26,075 crore at the time of completion next year from the initial estimate of Rs 6,285 crore in December 2002. The commissioning of the Subansiri Lower Hydro Electric Project has been further delayed till May 2026 from the earlier announced 2023-24 fiscal end, which was already more than 10 years late from the original completion schedule of December 2012, the NHPC said. Guwahati, Jun 12 (PTI) NHPC's much-delayed 2,000 MW Subansiri hydro project along Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border has suffered 'minor damages' during the recent monsoon rains though the main structure remained unaffected, the company said on Thursday. 'No such structural damage has occurred to the dam structure which may cause safety concerns. Only minor damages to the spillway lip portion have occurred during this monsoon season,' NHPC said in a statement. During the monsoon season, the river flow is accompanied by silt, wooden logs and boulders, it added. 'Rolling of the boulders and wooden logs causes minor damages on the upper surface of the spillway glacis and lip portion during the passing of the river flow from the spillway gates. The functionality of the dam is not affected by such minor damage,' the company said. After the passing of the monsoon season, the area shall be inspected, and the minor damages shall be repaired and restored as a general practice in any hydroelectric project, it added. The company asserted that there is no risk at all to the dam structure, which is 116 metres high from the river bed level. The Subansiri Lower Hydro Electric Project, which faced multiple bottlenecks since its inception stage, has been delayed several times and its deadline for commissioning has been revised on many occasions. On its official website, NHPC said, 'Date of Commercial Operation (COD) – Project is likely to be completed in MAY 2026.' It also stated that the project cost has now been anticipated to be Rs 26,075.54 crore on completion compared to Rs 6,285.33 crore as per the initial estimate in December 2002. According to a company estimate in January 2020, the cost of the mega project, which was originally scheduled to be commissioned in December 2012, had escalated to around Rs 20,000 crore. On completion, the Subansiri project, which is a run-of-river scheme, will generate around 7,500 million units of power annually in a '90 per cent dependable year' with the help of eight Francis turbines of 250 MW capacity each. In June 2023, commissioning of the 2,000 MW hydro project was postponed till the end of the 2023-24 fiscal with more than 90 per cent of the total work of the project completed by then. The Assam government in March 2022 had informed the state Assembly that partial commissioning of the 2,000 MW project was postponed till August 2022. In December 2020, the company had set a target of March 2022 for commissioning the project, being constructed at Gerukamukh along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. NHPC had commenced the construction work of the Subansiri project in January 2005 after obtaining forest clearance in October 2004. Construction work of the project was stalled from December 2011 to October 14, 2019 due to protests by locals and many groups fearing safety and downstream impact. To address the concerns of the agitators, multiple committees were formed by the Assam government and the Centre. The outcomes of their reports varied from one to another. After clearing all the legal issues by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the NHPC re-started construction of the project from October 15, 2019. PTI TR NN This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.