MoS IT Chandrasekhar launches GAC for safe internet

NEW DELHI, FEB 28 wrote that India is about to become the world’s most populated country and yet it has “proven it can tackle big challenges”. He underlined that India eradicated polio, reduced poverty, lowered HIV transmission, and increased access to financial services and sanitation among other achievements.

(IANS): In a bid to empower millions of Indian social media users, Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, on Tuesday launched the Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) that will look into their concerns regarding content and other issues.

The IT Ministry last month notified to establish three Grievance Appellate Committees (GACs) as required under the recently amended IT Rules, 2021.

Bill Gates further said he was “going to India next week to see firsthand the work being done by innovators and entrepreneurs”. He said India, despite having limited resources, has shown the world that progress can be still made with that constraint.

Reliance Jio to bring 5G to every Indian by Dec 2023: Akash Ambani

NEW DELHI, FEB 28 (IANS): Reliance Jio has launched True 5G service in 277 cities across the country and is on the path to achieve the declared goal to increase the Jio 5G footprint to cover every town, taluka and tehsil across the country by December this year, Akash Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, said on Tuesday.

“Many novel-use cases are finding their way to the market across sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture, smart cities and infrastructure, including entertainment and productivity,” he stressed.

The healthcare sector is poised to be among the most significant beneficiaries of 5G technology.

“The move is to make sure that the internet remains open and safe for users in the country. These are early days for the committee and it will keep evolving as days progress,” the minister told reporters here.

The announcement came in the presence of representatives of Big Tech internet companies like Meta, Snap, Google and others.

The newly-formed panel, a move to strengthen the country’s digital laws to tame the Big Tech companies, will look into appeals by users against decisions of social media platforms.

Under the IT Rules, social media intermediaries like Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp are already required to have a Grievance Officer to whom users may complain about any violation of the Rules.

The GACs will function as a “traffic signpost” on the Internet. Every GAC will have three members.

The need for such panels arose due to large numbers of grievances being left unaddressed or unsatisfactorily addressed by Internet Intermediaries.

The GACs are expected to create a culture of responsiveness among all Internet Platforms and Intermediaries towards their consumers.

Addressing a post-budget webinar coordinated by the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) and Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), he added that this will be the world’s fastest 5G rollout. Jio has deployed “more than 40,000 sites and nearly 2,50,000 cells of 5G network in 700 Mhz as well as in the 3500Mhz band. We are on the path to achieve the declared goal to increase the Jio 5G footprint month after month to other cities, towns and talukas of various states/UTs,” Ambani said.

Jio is leading the 5G network rollout in the country with the world’s largest stand-alone network ar -

Unsustainable consumption needs attention: Bhupender

NEW

DELHI, FEB 28

(IANS): Environment minister Bhupender Yadav on Tuesday said that “unsustainable production and consumption needs urgent attention, if we are to confront the global environmental and climate changerelated challenges that we face today. We need to act fast before it is too late”.

He said that the IndoDanish Green Strategic Partnership is an appropriate forum to exchange ideas and best practices for promoting sustainable lifestyles, including LiFE, not only in the two countries but the whole world.

Addressing the India - Denmark: Partners for Green and Sustainable Progress Conference, Yadav said that since the launch of the “Green Strategic

Partnership” during the Virtual Summit on September 28, 2020 between Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, the bilateral cooperation is focussed on promoting green and sustainable development.

He said that during Modi’s visit to Denmark in May 2022, India and Denmark had agreed to further strengthen the Green Strategic Partnership with a focus on green hydrogen, renewable energy and waste water management. Yadav said that India and Denmark have set very ambitious national targets on climate and energy that will contribute to an ambi- tious implementation of the Paris Agreement. chitecture that is uniquely suited to cater to the requirements of True 5G technology.

“Together, the two countries can show the world that delivering on ambitious climate and sustainable energy goals is possible. It is also necessary, at the same time, to commit ourselves to the founding principles of the Rio Convention,” he added.

“The impact on 5G that will have on India’s growing economy is immense. There is no other technology that has given us various growth sectors like 5G has as a rapidly growing and emerging economy. India’s uniquely positioned to take lead in the use of 5G technology for the betterment of society and livelihood of over 140 crore Indians,” Ambani added.

5G will make our cities smarter or society safer, utilities more stable and emergency services more responsive and industry more efficient, he said.

With 5G-enabled remote consultations, “patients can easily consult with doctors without physically visiting. This can save time, reduce the risk of exposure to infections, and dramatically lower healthcare costs,” Ambani added.

With 5G-enabled medical devices, doctors can get real-time information about a patient’s vital signs, allowing them to make faster and more accurate diagnoses.

5G ambulances would be able to transmit data and video to hospitals in real time. In agriculture, 5G can enable precision farming by providing farmers with real-time data on weather patterns, soil moisture levels and crop growth.

Cong petitions Election Commission for action on poll...

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Based on news reports, Dr.Kumar said Congress’ chief agent Among in had filed a complaint with returning officer, deputy commissioner (DC) Mokokchung, regarding the matter.

Meanwhile, Kumar also mentioned that Congress candidate T. Thomas Konyak from Tizit A/C had filed a complaint with Tizit district election officer and DC alleging that booths captured at Part 10 (Nokyan village), Part 9 (Loakho village), Part 4 (Nangtan village) and Parts 18, 19, 20, 30 (Tizit village), besides the attempt to tamper EVMs of Part 7 (Jaboka village), Part 28 (Old Jakoba village) and Part 8 (Neitong village).

Dr.Kumar lamented that no action has been taken on these complaints. In the light of the above, the Dr.Kumar appealed to the CEC to treat all these as urgent matters and take action against individuals involved in perpetrating violence on Toshipokba and his family members and those indulging in proxy voting. He asked ECI to order re-election in 26-Aolengden A/C, besides ordering immediate repolling in Part 10 (Nokyan village), Part 9 (Loakho village), Part 4 (Nangtan village) and Parts 18, 19, 20, 30 (Tizit village) and on attempt to tamper EVMs of Part 7 (Jaboka village), Part 28 (Old Jakoba village) and Part 8 (Neitong village).

State Govt constitutes assessment committee

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The committee will be headed by additional deputy commissioner (ADC) Kohima & CEO District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) Kohima as convener, SDO (C) Sadar as member secretary and SDPO- South, OC - Fire & Emergency Services South, T Khel Council chairman, Kohima village, Mao Market Kohima Committee chairman and Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority nodal officer for Kohima district as members.

Meanwhile, eyewitnesses expressed anguish at the incident and questioned the competency of officials in-charge of the department responsible for handling such fire incidents.

The eyewitnesses alleged that fire tenders were improperly equipped while fire fighters themselves were not wearing proper and regulated fire fighting uniform while operating under fire, smoke and falling debris. Over 100 poorly equipped fire fighters struggled to douse the fire, which was one of the biggest in recent memory in Kohima.

Responding to call for help, fire fighters from neighbouring districts also rushed with their fire tenders.

More than 100 truckloads of water are believed to have been used in the firefighting exercise by around 20 fire tenders.

Meanwhile, Kohima Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI) led by its president Kezhazer Angami has expressed shock at the fire incident and regretted loss of properties.

Interacting with media,

Angami said KCCI had come to perform a survey on the total damage cause by the fire. He also appealed to members of KCCI to contribute to the victims of fire, disclosing that the trade body’s executives would facilitate in organising and collecting relief materials. Tsütuonuomia Council also extended help to the fire victims. The council held a meeting with Mao Market committee chairman on Tuesday to chalk out how to carry out relief duties.

Snippets

Ecuador and Belgium sign deal to fight crime

QUITO, FEB 28 (AGENCIES): Ecuador and Belgium on Monday agreed to increase bilateral cooperation in their fight against international organized crime, a day after Ecuadorean police seized nearly nine tonnes of drugs bound for the European country, reports Reuters. The interior ministers of both countries signed an agreement in Quito to promote the exchange of information, methodology, procedures and experiences, as well as technology to combat organized crime.

Hong Kong to lift mask mandate from today

HONG KONG, FEB 28 (AP): Hong Kong will lift its mask mandate on Wednesday, ending the city’s last major restriction imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The city’s chief executive, John Lee, said masks will no longer be required both outdoors and indoors, including on public transit, but some high-risk areas including hospitals and elderly homes can still require their use.

UN mission in Mali to probe recent raid

UNITED NATIONS,

FEB 28 (IANS): The UN mission in Mali condemned and vowed to investigate a recent raid where terrorists killed at least 12 civilians, a UN spokesman said. The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA, condemned the attack by an armed terrorist group at the KaniBonzon village in the Bandiagara region, said Stephane Dujarric, the Chief Spokesman for UN Secretary on Monday.

2 injured in Germany school shooting

BERLIN, FEB 28 (IANS):

Two people have been seriously injured following gunshots near a school in Bramsche in northwest Germany, according to the local police. Police have arrested the suspected shooter, and there is no danger to the people. The school itself was also not affected, the police said as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.

Sri Lankan trade unions strike on Mar 1

COLOMBO, FEB 28 (PTI): Sri Lankan trade unions are all set to defy an essential services order issued by President Ranil Wickremesinghe by going ahead with their one-day token strike scheduled on March 1 to protest the government’s tax and utility rates hikes. The trade unions belonging to various sectors had earlier urged the Sri Lankan government to withdraw its tax hikes.

ISKP military chief killed in Kabul

KABUL, FEB 28 (IANS):

The intelligence and military chief of Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) was killed during an operation in Kabul, according to a media report. Meanwhile, in a separate operation, the Afghan Taliban administration arrested a high-ranking ISKP officer who is known to have been working as the terrorist organisation’s subcontinent chief, The Express Tribune reported.

Robbers target Indian dairy shop owner in NZ

WELLINGTON, FEB 28 (IANS): A dairy shop owner of Indian descent and his family were left traumatised after robbers stormed his shop in West Auckland to steal cigarettes and cash. According to the police, two of the culprits were found and arrested.