The country’s premier cyber security agency – CERT-In – has cautioned against a malicious ‘SMShing’ fraud where fake messages are being sent to people in the name of the Income Tax Department saying their refunds have been approved, with an aim to steal the recipient’s vital personal details and put them on the dark net “for sale”. The warning, that also acts as an advisory, comes at a time when…

Only a day is left for the much-awaited launch of Ikea, the Swedish furniture retailer in India. Ikea’s lndia debut has been much delayed because of local sourcing norms. The company, which has flagged import duties in India as a big challenge as it tries to keep prices low, has to source at least 30 per cent of its raw materials locally within five years of operations in the country…

NEW DELHI: Maintaining its tough stance against multi-national internet giants, the government on Tuesday warned large platforms to “behave in a responsible manner” to enable users report “disturbing” content promptly so that swift action can be initiated. IT secretary Ajay P Sawhney said that the platforms should take pro-active steps to ensure that subscribers develop confidence in them while using their services. The spread of fake news via social media…

DMK chief M Karunanidhi – five-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu who dominated the state’s politics for six decades along with arch-rivals MG Ramachandran and later, J Jayalalithaa – died at a hospital in Chennai Tuesday evening. The 94-year-old leader was admitted to Kauvery Hospital on July 28 after he contracted urinary tract infection and developed a high fever. He died at 6.10 pm. “Despite the best possible efforts by our team…

New Delhi: In an attempt to curb the spread of fake news and child pornography, the government is exploring the possibility of blocking popular mobile applications such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram. The Department of Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has written to telcos and internet service providers to suggest methods for doing so, reported the Economic Times. The financial daily mentioned that the DoT plans to hold discussions with social media…

New Delhi: At least 10,000 new jobs will be created with the implementation of the Centre’s ambitious Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM), which aims to provide a cover of Rs 5 lakh per family annually to 10 crore poor families, according to a government official. Around one lakh Ayushman Mitras will be deployed at both private and government hospitals under the scheme to assist patients coming to health facilities to…

HYDERABAD: Police warned of action against popular YouTube prank video-makers, who perform dangerous stunts like dips during traffic snarls, lie down on the road in peak hours, climb on moving four-wheelers or squat in the middle of the road to eat. Cops swung into action, following complaints to IT minister K T Rama Rao, stating pranks in the name of ‘dare-series’ by two youngsters are running on Youtube channel —…

New Delhi: Last week the government extended the income tax return (ITR) filing deadline for the financial year 2017-18 by one month to March 31. However, by now most of you must have filed your ITR. Once you have filed your ITR and verified it, the income tax department then processes your return. Once you file your ITR and verify it, the ‘status’ of your ITR is shown as either…

Mumbai: The official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday said that it was the passport office in Mumbai which had given a Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) to fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi on the basis of a clear Police Verification Report (PVR) available on his passport. Issuing a statement, the official spokesperson of MEA said, “We have seen media reports on the issue. Police Clearance Certificate (PCC)…

As many as 21 public sector banks and three major private sector lenders collected a whopping Rs 5,000 crore from customers for non-maintenance of minimum balance in their accounts in 2017-18, according to banking data. India’s largest lender State Bank of India, which suffered a staggering net loss of Rs 6,547 crore during 2017-18, led the pack in penalising its customers for not maintaining minimum account balance. The government-owned SBI,…

Amazon has announced the Freedom Sale in India. In the build-up to India’s 72nd Independence Day, the e-commerce giant is kicking off a four-day sale that will see over ‘200,000’ deals on a range of products including smartphones, tablets, laptops, TVs, gaming consoles, clothing, home appliances and furniture, and more. This includes some big brands such as LG, JBL, OnePlus, Huawei, Honor, Samsung, and Vivo among others. The Amazon Freedom…