In no particular order, here are MediaNama’s top 10 stories of the week ended 1st December 2019
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‘More than 6.7 million FASTags issued so far,’ Nitin Gadkari informs Rajya Sabha
As of November 18, 6.712 million FASTags had been issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari informed Rajya Sabha on November 25 in a written response. The ministry has decided that all lanes at National Highway toll plazas will become FASTag lanes starting December 1 (except one lane on either side which shall be kept as hybrid lane). Read it here
Uber loses licence to operate in London after transport authority finds it not ‘fit and proper’
Ride hailing service Uber has been stripped of its licence in London — for the second time — after the city’s transport authority found that at least 14,000 trips were taken with drivers who had faked their identity on Uber’s app. Transport for London (TfL) said that Uber is not a “fit and proper” company to operate in the city. Read it here
Sign a bond with 6 conditions and get internet in J&K: Report
Businesses in Jammu and Kashmir can have their internet services restored, but only for “businesses purposes,” The Wire reported. To do that, the businesses will have to give the government a signed bond agreeing to that: Read it here
101-500 Indian users targeted by govt-backed attackers between Jul-Sep 2019, says Google
Between July and September 2019, Google sent warnings to 101-500 Indian Google users that they had been targeted by government-backed attackers, the company’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) reported on November 26. Read it here
DPIIT recommends measures to ease fundraising for start-ups: Report
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has suggested exempting proceeds on sale of residential properties from capital tax gains if they are used to fund a start-up, PTI reported. Read it here
Anonymity on Telegram makes it a ‘safe haven’ for illegal activities, says Kerala Police: Report
The Kerala police told the Kerala High Court that it is nearly impossible for it to trace users on messaging service Telegram because of the “anonymity” and “security” the app provides, the Times of India reported. Read it here
Prasad gives details of communication between MeitY and WhatsApp in Rajya Sabha
As the Pegasus-WhatsApp issue was taken up by the Rajya Sabha for discussion on November 28, the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad, gave more details about the communication between MeitY and WhatsApp. Read it here
Prasad’s day in Rajya Sabha: No update on when Personal Data Protection Bill will be tabled
As IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad fielded questions on the Pegasus-WhatsApp snooping row in Rajya Sabha on November 28, he also gave an insight into where the government stands on other critical issues: Read it here
‘UPI is NPCI’s invention but not a monopoly,’ says Dilip Asbe at CIC hearing
“The UPI system was invented by the NPCI, and we took a licence from the RBI to operate it,” said Dilip Asbe, CEO of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) at a hearing in the Central Information Commission. Read it here
Prasad brings Pegasus’s flight in Parliament to a grinding halt, denies ‘unlawful interception’
“And, Sir, to the best of my knowledge, no unauthorised interception has been done,” IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad informed the Rajya Sabha on November 28, wrapping another unsatisfying chapter in the saga of “Did the Indian government purchase Israeli spyware Pegasus to spy on its citizens?”. Read it here
