More than 12,500 transgenders across the country have been issued `Aadhaar` numbers by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). "Aadhaar number is being issued to transgender. As on October 28, 2011, 12,548 of Aadhaar numbers are issued to the community," the UIDAI said in reply to an RTI query. Besides, close to six crore such numbers were i
City police on Sunday claimed to have busted an international credit card racket based in New Delhi with the arrest of two Nigerians at Secunderabad. Sleuths of the Commissioner`s Task Force (North Zone) team apprehended two Nigerian nationals identified as Kasope Sangodipe Adeyemo and Abolaji Mohammed alias Maroof who were allegedly staying in India without any valid visa and ru
Twenty teenage school girls have been caught offering sexual services for money through online network in China`s commercial hub Shanghai, local prosecutors said. Three of the girls have been charged with organising prostitution and procuring, after they persuaded classmates to join them and took a commission for helping them contact customers. According to Han Kon
In a major embarrassment to Israeli security agencies, their websites crashed barely two days after a hacker group threatened to paralyse the Jewish state`s online activities over the interception of two Gaza-bound ships trying to break the blockade of the coastal territory. All Israeli government and security-related websites that crashed on Sunday started working once again ove
Find it difficult to remember your password? Here`s some good news -- researchers claim to have developed picture password for your online account, which will also help protect against hacking. An international team says that it`s actually a new kind of login which relies on the fallibility of human memory to prevent phishing attempts at stealing one`s account details, the `New S
With increasing affordability of PCs and internet penetration, India is all set to have 121 million internet users by December 2011, a study by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB has said. According to the annual I-Cube Report jointly published by IAMAI and IMRB, India`s internet population is expected to grow to 121 million users by December 2011 from 100
Sri Lankan authorities have blocked several news websites, including a portal run by the opposition UNP, days after citing complaints that top public officials including the president were being targeted with `defamatory` reports. The move was criticised by the main opposition United National Party that termed it undemocratic. The Sri Lankan ministry of media had o
The Pentagon`s researchers plan to bolster their efforts to create offensive weapons for use in cyber warfare, reflecting a growing concern over digital threats, US officials have said. The US government needed "more and better options" to safeguard the country from assaults on sensitive computer networks and had to invest in both offensive and defensive tools, said Reg
Telecom regulator Trai and service providers are now working together to find a solution to the problem of telemarketers using international websites to send pesky calls and SMSes-- a menace which has resurfaced within weeks of a blanket ban on them. Within a month of Trai`s regulation curbing unsolicited calls and SMSes came out, telemarketers seem to have found a way of reachin
The Telecom Ministry has sought details from various CDMA operators, including Tata TeleServices and Reliance Communication, for offering high-speed Internet services without paying for spectrum. The Telecom Enforcement, Resource and Monitoring (TERM) cell of the Department of Telecom (DoT) has written a letter in which it has sought information from the CDMA operators regarding
India is open to collaboration with international companies for future development of Akash tablet, which could make the low-cost device available for children across the world, Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said on Saturday. Talking to PTI on the sidelines of Goa Think Fest conclave here, Sibal said that if any company wanted to collaborate with Indian government on Akash, it w
The Telecom Ministry will seek legal opinion before canceling some of new telecom licences, issued in 2008, for not starting services within stipulated timeframe as per norms. "DoT will seek opinion of Attorney General or Solicitor General to come to a final conclusion to address some of the legal issues," a senior DoT official said. Last year, the Teleco
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday emphasised the need for governments to use social media to interact with the masses and to get a sense of accountability in democracy. "I hope more and more governments use the social media. This will give them a sense of accountability in a democracy," he said at Goa Think Fest 2011 here. The former Minister of Stat
GSM lobby COAI on Thursday welcomed Trai`s recommendations on M&As and uniform licence fee, saying it will help operators rationalise their costs of operations, but expressed displeasure on spectrum pricing. "Recommendations on M&A, uniform licence fee and rationalisation of spectrum limit would be positive for the telecom industry, which is reeling under high operat
Telecom regulator Trai on Thursday indicated allocating of 700 Mhz spectrum, one of the most valuable bands, to telecom operators on prority basis. "We will also take a look at actually giving out 700 Mhz ...in a manner of speaking it is a low hanging fruit. Since part of 700 mhz is available, we said we will examine its feasibility giving out 700 mhz spectrum first to peopl
Telecom regulator Trai on Thursday said it has penalised 15 telemarketers till date and notices have been issued to 900 individuals and phones of 90 people has been disconnected for violating norms put in place to curb pesky calls and SMSes. Trai`s regulation to stop pesky calls and SMSes says that if an unsolicited commercial communication (UCC) originates from a subscriber who
Defending the 3G roaming agreement between telecom operators, the Cellular Operators Association of India on Thursday said it obeys conditions provided in the Unified Access Services Licence (UASL) under which service providers operate all kinds of telecom services. "The UASL licences clearly permit the operators to provide "all types of access services". Indisputa
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has rejected allegations that it had discouraged lead auditor R P Singh in his work on the 2G spectrum report and justified the quantum of presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore as based on certain market indicators of spectrum value. Against the backdrop of reports that Singh, the then DG, Audit (Post and Telecommunications) had computed
Since most of the incumbent operators will have to renew their licences in the next 3-5 years, they might have to shell out Rs Rs 10,972.45 crore for acquiring start-up 2G spectrum as against to Rs 1,658 crore paid earlier. Mobile tariffs could go up in the near future as the Indian telecom regulator Trai Thursday stood by its recommendation of over six-fold jump in 2G spectrum p
PDS consumers will soon have a choice to either get subsidised goods from their preferred locations or receive cash, with the government accepting in principle suggestions of the Nandan Nilekani-headed task force on revamping the Public Distribution System. These suggestions form a part of the report of the task force on `IT strategy for the PDS` submitted to the Finance Minister
