The central government may form a fresh panel of experts to study the possibility of regulating cryptocurrency in India, three sources privy of the discussions told FT. This comes amid the prevailing view that the recommendations by a committee headed by former finance secretary Subhash Garg in 2019 for a blanket ban on these assets had become outdated. The new committee’s ambit could be to explore the use of blockchain for technological enhancement and suggest ways to regulate cryptos as digital assets instead of a currency. The committee may also…
Read MoreDay: May 19, 2021
PhonePe to Acquire Content Discovery Platform Indus OS for $60 million
Digital payments major PhonePe is in talks to acquire homegrown content and app discovery platform Indus OS in a deal valued around $60 million, sources aware of the matter said. Bengaluru-based PhonePe’s rationale for acquiring Indus OS is to boost its ‘super app’ Switch, where it hosts apps across categories such as food, travel, shopping and lifestyle. A super app is simply a platform that offers a wide range of services under one umbrella. Local developers use Indus OS to reach non-English speakers beyond India’s tier 1 cities and allow…
Read MoreIndia Gives WhatsApp 7 Days to Roll Back New Privacy Policy
India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Wednesday has directed Facebook-owned messaging platform WhatsApp to take back its contentious new privacy policy, according to government sources quoted by ANI. According to MeitY, deferral of the privacy policy beyond May 15, 2021, does not absolve WhatsApp from respecting the values of informational privacy, data security and user choice for Indian users, sources told ANI. MeitY has reportedly given WhatsApp seven days to reply to its notice. If WhatsApp’s response isn’t deemed satisfactory, the Indian government may take legal action…
Read MoreFacebook Rolls-Out Covid Announcement Tool to Help Health Depts in India
Social media giant Facebook on Wednesday said it is expanding its ‘COVID-19 Announcement’ in India that will help health departments of states and union territories share essential COVID-19 related updates with their communities. India is the second country after the US to launch this feature. Facebook said it has partnered with 33 states and union territories to roll out this tool in their respective jurisdictions. “The COVID-19 Announcement feature will give health departments the ability to push out timely, credible COVID-19 and vaccine information to people in their local communities/ state jurisdictions. States…
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