Latest news with #DepartmentofTelecommunications
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
‘Draft telecom cybersecurity rules may raise compliance costs for firms, impact digital adoption'
NEW DELHI: The draft telecom cybersecurity amendment rules, proposed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), may significantly raise compliance costs for non-telecom licensed entities such as fintech applications, OTT services, ecommerce businesses, and small digital firms, among others, according to CUTS International . The Draft Telecommunications (Telecom Cyber Security) Amendment Rules, 2025, propose a new category of entities, Telecommunication Identifier User Entities (TIUEs), which may potentially include entities in the abovementioned categories. The telecom department, under the proposed cybersecurity rules , can direct telecom carriers and other entities such as banks, financial institutions, e-commerce players, etc., to verify mobile numbers or identities of users through a centralised platform to curb online fraud and spoofing. If a TIUE is directed by the Central or state government, or an authorised agency, to seek mobile number validation, a fee of ₹1.50 per request will be levied, while for private TIUEs making voluntary requests for mobile number validation, the fee will be ₹3 per request. 'This may extend telecom-style obligations to entities not covered under the parent Act, raising concerns about constitutional validity,' the research and advocacy firm said in a statement based on a rapid Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA). CUTS said that the modest per-verification charges proposed in the draft amendment rules may result in 'large recurring costs', and may cause digital platforms to pay 'tens of thousands of crores of rupees' in annual compliance costs. CUTS estimated potential impact on one key platform each from three of India's fastest-growing digital consumer sectors - digital payments, food delivery, and mobility. PhonePe, which processes nearly 282 million daily transactions, may face over ₹1,500 crore if merely 10% of its users are subjected to mobile number validation, while Zomato, with 30.7 million weekly active users, may face validation costs of over ₹24 crore annually, in a similar situation. Likewise, ride-hailing application Uber India, with 1.12 million daily users, may incur ₹6.13 crore annually. CUTS said that voluntary validations at ₹3 per request would 'double these figures', making compliance economically unviable, especially for smaller platforms and sensitive digital services. At the same time, it estimated that the total costs passed onto consumers may add up to ₹540 crore per month–or over ₹6,480 crore annually. 'Overall, increased costs and exclusion risks may reduce digital adoption, hinder competition, and result in an estimated ₹2.5 lakh crore loss to the digital economy even at a 10% compliance, potentially excluding 4,000–5,000 potential startups from the market, and risking a loss of nearly 150,000–200,000 direct jobs,' it added.
Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
103 days under ‘digital arrest': Cybercriminals made Gujarat doctor sell house, break FD, take loan to pay Rs 19.24 crore
A doctor in Gujarat's Gandhinagar was allegedly placed under 103 days of 'digital arrest' and forced to sell her properties, take loan against gold to pay the accused over Rs 19.24 crore. The cyber criminals had placed her under alleged 'digital arrest' between March and June this year. While one of the accused allegedly identified herself as Jyoti Vishwanath from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), another identified himself as Police Sub-Inspector Mohan Singh, a third identified himself as Public Prosecutor Deepak Saini, a fourth as Public Prosecutor Venkateswara, and the fifth as as Notary Officer Pawan Kumar. The victim was called from different numbers. 'The accused made phone calls, WhatsApp video calls, and sent messages on the victim's WhatsApp. They allegedly told the victim that they would block her mobile numbers as 'offensive' messages were being sent to people from her numbers. They also allegedly threatened the doctor, who is the complainant in the case, saying that a case would be filed against her,' said a statement from SP Dharmendra Sharma. The accused obtained details of the victim's Aadhaar card and allegedly claimed that she was found involved in money laundering. Later, they even told her that a case of money laundering had been registered against her. The accused also sent a fake letter in which the complainant had been named as an accused in a case for alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) as well as the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). They also warned the victim against talking to anyone about this matter. A case was registered in the matter in July. A statement from the State Cybercrime Cell of the CID on Monday said that an investigation has been launched. As per the State Cyber Crime Cell statement, the accused persons kept the victim under 'digital arrest' for 103 days, from March 15 to June 26 and she was told that a man in plain clothes was keeping an eye on her and if she wanted to get a relief, she would have to provide information about all her properties. 'After the complainant provided the information about the properties, the accused persons made her withdraw her Fixed Deposit (FD), sell the gold in her house and further made her take a loan on the gold in her bank locker. They made her sell her house and shares in her stock market portfolio as well, and made her transfer a total amount of Rs 19,24,41,541 to different bank accounts on a fake receipt of 'Financial Supervisionary Freezing Certificate' for the same, and falsely promised that the money would be returned to her after investigation.'
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Enterprise demand to drive satellite internet; space startups gaining ground in India: DoT
New Delhi: Gulab Chand , Joint Wireless Advisor at the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), is of the view that satellite internet services will largely be of use for enterprises, and individuals are likely to continue using their 4G and 5G services. "I hardly find, at the personal level, any adoption of the satellite internet by the individuals. But at the enterprise level, I think satellite kind of technology would be picked up by the enterprises," Chand told on the sidelines of the 2nd IAFI Space Policy Conference . He sees enterprises using satellite internet for logistics support, monitoring of various assets, including mobile assets."I think it will find good use," he supplemented. "Satellite internet basically (in) India is like almost covered by the possesses one or two mobile (phones) with them, so almost 5G footprint is everywhere and 4G is almost covered in all the village level," he noted. Speaking about startups in the space sector, he said that startups are already manufacturing space goods."Certain companies are working for making the satellite payloads, etc. Already that is happening and a lot of assistance is also being provided by the government," he said. "Startups have already started thinking in that line. They have started manufacturing parts of the satellite system, If not the entire satellite. They are starting with panels and certain parts of the satellite. So I think, things are going to get brighter in the future," Chand noted. In India, the space sector was liberalised in 2020, and the private sector was allowed to carry out end-to-end space activities. Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) was created in the Department of Space for promoting, authorising and overseeing the activities of Non-Government Entities (NGEs) in the space sector. The number of Space Start-Ups in India has gone up, from just 1 in 2014 to around 266 as of the end of 2024, government data showed. The aim was to open up the space sector, which was, hitherto, a closed sector, when only the government was operating in space. "So it's a big step taken forward," he said. Bharat Bhatia, President of the ITU-APT Foundation of India (IAFI), speaking to ANI, said this two-day space policy conference has been one of the most successful events. "The sessions were very detailed and very elaborate. We went through a session on D2D today, then on the 2nd day. And very intensively discussed all aspects of spectrum policy, regulation, market demand, all aspects of D2D have been discussed in a very detailed panel, with the participants from the government, from the industry, from the satellite operators, from the chip operators, and I believe this today conference itself has been one of the very successful events," Bhatia said. "Our aim is to bring all the stakeholders on one platform, make sure that there is a continuous dialogue between the policymakers and between the industry, between the operators, between the chip vendors, between the ecosystem. So the whole idea of this conference is to get everybody on the same platform. Thrash out whatever the issues are there and make sure that India moves forward. The session, the last session that we had today on the Viksit Bharat, that session really provided a way forward. How do we make India a developed country by 2047, and that particular session really stole the thunder, because we are trying to use the satellite technologies to make India a developed country," he further said. According to IAFI website, it is working for last 20 years with the prime objective of encouraging involvement of professionals, corporate, public and private sector industries, R&D organizations, academic institutions, and such other agencies engaged in development of ICT sector, in the activities of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT). On Day 1 of the conference, Thursday, Bharat Bhatia had applauded the opening up of the Indian space sector, adding that it holds immense potential for job creation and new investments. "India has opened up the space to the private sector and the way the policy has evolved, it is going to bring in a lot of new jobs, a lot of new investment," Bhatia had said.
Canada News.Net
4 days ago
- Business
- Canada News.Net
Enterprise demand to drive satellite internet; space startups gaining ground in India: Department of Telecommunications (DoT) Advisor
New Delhi [India], July 25 (ANI): Gulab Chand, Joint Wireless Advisor at Department of Telecommunications (DoT), is of the view that satellite internet services will largely be of use for enterprises, and individuals are likely to continue using their 4G and 5G services. 'I hardly find, at the personal level, any adoption of the satellite internet by the individuals. But at the enterprise level, I think satellite kind of technology would be picked up by the enterprises,' Chand told ANI on the sidelines of the 2nd IAFI Space Policy Conference. He sees enterprises using satellite internet for logistics support, monitoring of various assets, including mobile assets. 'I think it will find good use,' he supplemented. 'Satellite internet basically (in) India is like almost covered by the possesses one or two mobile (phones) with them, so almost 5G footprint is everywhere and 4G is almost covered in all the village level,' he noted. Speaking about startups in the space sector, he said that startups are already manufacturing space goods. 'Certain companies are working for making the satellite payloads, etc. Already that is happening and a lot of assistance is also being provided by the government,' he said. 'Startups have already started thinking in that line. They have started manufacturing parts of the satellite system, If not the entire satellite. They are starting with panels and certain parts of the satellite. So I think, things are going to get brighter in the future,' Chand noted. In India, the space sector was liberalised in 2020, and the private sector was allowed to carry out end-to-end space activities. Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) was created in the Department of Space for promoting, authorising and overseeing the activities of Non-Government Entities (NGEs) in the space sector. The number of Space Start-Ups in India has gone up, from just 1 in 2014 to around 266 as of the end of 2024, government data showed. The aim was to open up the space sector, which was, hitherto, a closed sector, when only the government was operating in space. 'So it's a big step taken forward,' he said. Bharat Bhatia, President of the ITU-APT Foundation of India (IAFI), speaking to ANI, said this two-day space policy conference has been one of the most successful events. 'The sessions were very detailed and very elaborate. We went through a session on D2D today, then on the 2nd day. And very intensively discussed all aspects of spectrum policy, regulation, market demand, all aspects of D2D have been discussed in a very detailed panel, with the participants from the government, from the industry, from the satellite operators, from the chip operators, and I believe this today conference itself has been one of the very successful events,' Bhatia said. 'Our aim is to bring all the stakeholders on one platform, make sure that there is a continuous dialogue between the policymakers and between the industry, between the operators, between the chip vendors, between the ecosystem. So the whole idea of this conference is to get everybody on the same platform. Thrash out whatever the issues are there and make sure that India moves forward. The session, the last session that we had today on the Viksit Bharat, that session really provided a way forward. How do we make India a developed country by 2047, and that particular session really stole the thunder, because we are trying to use the satellite technologies to make India a developed country,' he further said. According to IAFI website, it is working for last 20 years with the prime objective of encouraging involvement of professionals, corporate, public and private sector industries, R&D organizations, academic institutions, and such other agencies engaged in development of ICT sector, in the activities of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT). On Day 1 of the conference, Thursday, Bharat Bhatia had applauded the opening up of the Indian space sector, adding that it holds immense potential for job creation and new investments. 'India has opened up the space to the private sector and the way the policy has evolved, it is going to bring in a lot of new jobs, a lot of new investment,' Bhatia had said. (ANI)
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
FDI fueling telecom innovation; satellite internet key for rural India: DoT official
New Delhi: Pointing to the fact that 100 per cent FDI is already allowed in the telecom sector in India, Deb Kumar Chakrabarti, an Advisor at Department of Telecommunications (DoT) said that the country has been doing very well in this technology domain. "Lots of FDI basically have come from the telecom sector. FDI is not just money. FDI is technology. There are new management styles, many things that come into a new country. So, that way I think every country benefits if it gets a big share of FDI," the DoT official told on the sidelines of the 2nd India Space Policy Conference here in the national capital. Asked about the reforms made in the technology domain, particularly in the telecommunications, and what new innovations have been brought in, he, without getting into much specifics, said the government or the department are always technology agnostic. "It never talks up any particular technology to be brought in or not to be brought in. We are always welcoming technology. Because it gives a bigger choice to the consumers, which is ultimately it will be doing good only the common users of the telecom services so that way it's always good to have more and more choices in the market," he asserted. Speaking about demand for satellite internet services in India, he said that it will have good use cases in places where current telecom technologies are difficult to install. "It (demand for satellite internet services) will be growing, because there is a good amount of areas, but mostly in the village, rural and very distant areas where extending normal modes of communication like optical fibre or the microwave, it is very difficult, so I think that (there) satellite services could be an ideal replacement in those areas, and the more these satellite services are getting customised for this type of requirements -- I mean the size is reducing, the cost is reducing, no extra devices may be required in the future," he supplemented. "The simple smart phone may be sufficient to work on D2D type of services. I think it (satellite internet services) will have wider acceptance in the Indian market as well." Going ahead, he said India will also look at manufacturing goods needed for satellite internet services. "India has in a big way (wanting) to become a manufacturing nation. Call it satellite or any other technology, and if you see the new telecom policy 2025, which has been published very recently for the public consultation. There, we have declared that becoming a manufacturing nation, it's a mission for the Department of Telecom. In the coming five years, I think the department aggressively will be working towards that mission," he added. Bharat Bhatia, President, ITU-APT Foundation of India (IAFI), talking to ANI, said this two-day space policy conference has been one of the most successful events. "The sessions were very detailed and very elaborate. We went through a session on D2D today, then the 2nd day. And very intensively discussed all aspects of spectrum policy, regulation, market demand, all aspects of D2D have been discussed in a very detailed panel, with the participants from the government, from the industry, from the satellite operators, from the chip operators, and I believe this today conference itself has been one of the very successful events," Bhatia said. "Our aim is to bring all the stakeholders on one platform, make sure that there is a continuous dialogue between the policymakers and between the industry, between the operators, between the chip vendors, between the ecosystem. So the whole idea of this conference is to get everybody on the same platform. Thrash out whatever the issues are there and make sure that India moves forward. The session, the last session that we had today on the Viksit Bharat, that session really provided a way forward. How do we make India a developed country by 2047, and that particular session really stole the thunder, because we are trying to use the satellite technologies to make India a developed country," he further said. According to IAFI website, it is working for last 20 years with the prime objective of encouraging involvement of professionals, corporate, public and private sector industries, R&D organizations, academic institutions, and such other agencies engaged in development of ICT sector, in the activities of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT). On Day 1 of the conference, Thursday, Bharat Bhatia had applauded the opening up of the Indian space sector, adding that it holds immense potential for job creation and new investments. "India has opened up the space to the private sector and the way the policy has evolved, it is going to bring in a lot of new jobs, a lot of new investment," Bhatia had said. In India, the space sector was liberalised in 2020, and private sector was allowed to carry out end to end space activities. Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) was created in Department of Space for promoting, authorising and overseeing the activities of Non-Government Entities (NGEs) in space sector.
