Latest news with #MinistryofElectronicsandInformationTechnology
Time Business News
12-06-2025
- Business
- Time Business News
Aadhaar Authentication Expansion: What Private Entities Need to Know
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) recently amended the Aadhaar Act to allow private entities to use Aadhaar authentication. This move aims to enhance service delivery and ensure consent-based data processing across various sectors, including e-commerce, travel, healthcare, and others. However, to leverage Aadhaar, private firms need to understand the regulatory requirements around privacy, data security and compliance. This article will clarify what the notification entails and what private players must do to offer Aadhaar-based services legally and securely. Previously, Aadhaar authentication was restricted to banks, telecom firms and government services. The latest amendment now permits voluntary use across the private sectors, including: E-commerce Travel and hospitality Healthcare Other digital platforms This will boost innovation in service delivery, such as seamless hotel check-ins, quicker deliveries, and enhanced customisation. However, protecting data privacy remains paramount. Hence, strict protocols around consent, transparency and security must be instituted. Private entities must register with the UIDAI through a designated portal and ensure full compliance with all applicable regulations. Under the Aadhaar Act 2016, specific requirements exist for offering Aadhaar-based services: Users must be informed about the authentication process and the purpose of data collection. Prior explicit consent is mandatory. Only necessary attributes should be accessed. Excess data collection is prohibited. Data can only be used for the exact purpose stated during the consent process. No further processing is allowed. Entities must have robust cybersecurity controls, encryption mechanisms and access protocols in place. Users must have precise grievance redressal mechanisms that are easily accessible to address their concerns. Regular third-party audits are mandated to ensure continued compliance. Any violations will invite penalties under the Aadhaar Act. Hence, understanding the regulatory landscape is key before adoption. Interested companies must apply on the UIDAI's portal, providing details of the proposed usage. UIDAI will scrutinise applications to gauge data security preparedness. Final approval will be granted based on UIDAI's recommendations. Once approved, APIs can be integrated into the entity's systems. Extensive testing will be conducted before the system goes live. Annual audits are also needed. – Approvals will require periodic renewals. Updated audits have to be furnished. By investing in robust data infrastructure, private players can securely unlock the power of Aadhaar. However, continuous self-appraisals and upgrades are essential for maintaining sustainable compliance. Some key advantages include: For service providers: Enhanced service delivery and customisation Innovation in offerings like seamless travel, personalised healthcare Prevent identity fraud losses through Aadhaar multi-factor authentication Reduce costs by digitising paper-based processes For consumers: Secure consent-based data sharing across services Convenience of single digital identity verification across platforms Control over personal data usage Minimise identity fraud For the government: Expand secure digital governance Enforce compliance standards across sectors Innovation towards a privacy-first digital economy Consistent citizen experience across services By upholding consent, privacy and security protocols, Aadhaar usage can accelerate India's digital public infrastructure. The voluntary adoption of Aadhaar by regulated private entities promises to stimulate digital innovation and enhance service delivery while prioritising consent and data privacy. However, the success of this policy amendment depends greatly on awareness and compliant implementation. Strict audits and updates to existing infrastructure will be vital for private players to demonstrate continual adherence. Additionally, clear communication and consent flows for consumers must be ensured. Overall, the expansion marks a new era of responsible data sharing between public and private digital ecosystems, paving the way for an integrated and secure digital economy. Yes, the government has amended the Aadhaar Act to allow private entities, such as e-commerce and healthcare firms, to use Aadhaar authentication to enhance service delivery. This ensures secure, consent-based transactions for a better user experience. The Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance Amendment Rules, 2025, permit private entities to utilise Aadhaar for voluntary authentication to enhance services in sectors such as travel and healthcare, subject to strict privacy and compliance regulations. Private entities in e-commerce, travel, tourism, hospitality, and healthcare can now utilise Aadhaar authentication to verify user identities securely. This expands its use beyond banks and telecom. Private entities must apply through the UIDAI portal, detailing their use case, and get approval from MeitY after UIDAI reviews their data security measures. User consent is mandatory to ensure transparency about how Aadhaar data is used, protecting privacy and preventing misuse by private entities. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Time of India
11-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
E-waste initiative launched in Hyderabad to tackle hazardous waste from IT sector, urbanisation
Representative Image (AI-generated) A CSR initiative called "E-waste Initiative" has been launched in Hyderabad in collaboration with distinguished organizations that aims to protect the environment and foster social responsibility in order to tackle one of the major challenges: e-waste generation. Electronic waste (e-waste) is a generic term used to describe discarded electrical or electronic devices. It includes gadgets like smartphones and laptops, as well as electrical appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines. E-waste poses a serious threat to both the environment and public health, requiring immediate action. The mission of this campaign is to educate and engage every sector of society—residential communities, offices, retail markets and educational institutions. Experts predict that the amount of e-waste could double by 2050, posing a significant threat to the environment. If not recycled properly, it can also cause health hazards. However, a shift towards a circular economy, where resources are recovered and reused, could revolutionize e-waste management. Moreover, manufacturers are starting to design electronics for easier repair and disassembly, potentially extending product lifespans and reducing waste. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Buy Brass Idols - Handmade Brass Statues for Home & Gifting Luxeartisanship Buy Now Undo The Government of India has established comprehensive regulations for e-waste management, primarily through the E-waste (Management) Rules, 2022, which aim to address the growing challenge of electronic waste and streamline the processes for handling it responsibly. E-waste management in Hyderabad: Hyderabad, being a major IT hub, has seen a massive increase in e-waste generation due to rapid urbanization. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has initiated a Centre of Excellence on E-Waste Recycling at C-MET, Hyderabad, to foster research, innovation and best practices in e-waste management. The Telangana Pollution Control Board (TGPCB) has enacted the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2018 to regulate the handling of electronic waste, promoting responsible management and reducing environmental harm, with a vision to achieve economic growth alongside environmental protection for an improved quality of life.
Indian Express
10-06-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Women's jobs are already precarious, and AI may just make it worse
Written by Neha Lodha The job market is expanding for persons equipped with technical and scientific expertise and skills, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and other emerging technologies. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology claims, in a recent report, that there will be a market for approximately one million AI professionals in India by next year. This increase in demand for skilled employment is, however, being outpaced by the increase in automation by AI in entry-level positions and continuously evolving job profiles, leading to an employment crisis. Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei recently warned that AI may eliminate 50 per cent of entry-level white collar jobs in the next five years. The adverse effects are likely to be unevenly distributed across demographic groups, affecting those already facing systemic barriers to workforce participation, such as women. Automation and structured unemployment Back in 2013, an Oxford study had indicated that nearly 47 per cent of US jobs were highly susceptible to being eliminated due to automation. As one of the earliest such studies on the future of employment, this report highlighted that there is an 'inverse relationship' between the advancement of technologies and the creation of employment. Since the breakthrough of generative AI in 2023, these projections are slowly becoming reality. The World Economic Forum, in its Report on the Future of AI in 2025, predicts that about 22 per cent of jobs will be disrupted by as early as 2030, and about 40 per cent of the existing jobs will require an entirely new set of skills. From this data, it is evident that while AI and innovation will enable the creation of new employment opportunities, they may also leave some people unequipped to take up the new jobs or continue in the existing jobs, making them prone to being unemployed cyclically. The consequence is the creation of a scenario of 'structurally lower employment'. The situation is aggravated for women in the workforce, who have traditionally faced a high degree of exclusion from participation in the economic sphere. Gendered exclusion in employment International Labour Organisation projections indicate that there has been a consistent 30 per cent gap in labour force participation between men and women since the 1990s. Further, a high proportion of women continue to be employed at administrative or clerical levels across sectors, whereas the higher managerial level jobs are dominated by men. Further, a UNESCO study has revealed that women make up only 35 per cent of STEM graduates, with only 26 per cent working as AI or data science professionals. These numbers indicate a systematic exclusion of women from the workforce and technical education. Historically, women were excluded from workforce participation due to the gendered division of labour. Under such division, the role of women is primarily relegated to the 'private sphere', involving tasks concentrated around domestic work, which kept them out of the economic sphere. Over time, while women's participation in the public sphere has increased, the impact of initial structural disadvantages, coupled with persistent practices of division of work, has continued to hinder their professional advancement. As a result, a significant proportion of women remain concentrated in administrative and support roles, with limited representation in leadership or managerial positions. Women are also more prone to being forced outside of the workforce because of familial and societal pressures to prioritise child care and household responsibilities over gainful employment. A 2024 study of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation reveals that women in India spent 201 more minutes a day in unpaid domestic services for household members than their male counterparts. In addition to the problem of gendered division of labour, women face exclusions from the job market due to deeply entrenched biases. These biases are often perpetuated through politics of essentialisation, which suggest that women are inherently weaker in areas such as science and mathematics. This is then used as a tool to justify their exclusion from STEM fields, to the extent that women are actively discouraged from taking up such jobs. With the increase in automation and AI-driven job markets, this systematic exclusion of women creates three critical policy problems. First, the changing nature of jobs and job profiles increases the barrier to entry and re-entry of women in the workforce, leading to further exclusion from the workforce. The limited new jobs that are created through automation and innovation largely focus on fields such as AI, computer sciences and software engineering, where women already face a structural disadvantage. Second, the concentration of women in low-skilled jobs and administrative positions makes them highly susceptible to facing full or partial automation and leads to a downward pressure on their wages. Third, the underrepresentation of women in science and technical fields increases the perpetuation of biases against their scientific skills. The way forward In order to address the threats posed by the female workforce, because of the accelerated shift to an AI-driven economy, there is a need for urgent legal and policy interventions. Targeted reskilling and education programmes are required to orient women towards the transitions to new jobs or new job profiles, given the existing disadvantages faced by them. As the government plans new curricula for scientific education, which is oriented towards promoting AI, it should ensure that the gendered stereotypes that are present in the current technological discourse are reduced and greater representation of women in science is promoted. Furthermore, policies on the development of AI and automation should be designed with an inclusive perspective. They should promote advancements not only in capital-intensive sectors but also in products and services that reduce the burden of unpaid domestic work. This approach will help support women's participation in the paid labour market. Additionally, to provide a safety net for women who may face temporary job losses or require time to acquire new skills, it is essential to consider measures that support income continuity and economic resilience. This may include basic income support for displaced workers and conditional cash transfers linked to undertaking upskilling programmes. Complementary to these efforts, financial instruments designed to promote long-term savings and asset accumulation for women, such as subsidised pension and savings plans, can enhance economic security and reduce dependency. Furthermore, publicly funded childcare support, flexible work arrangements, and legal safeguards against discriminatory layoffs should be integrated into labour market policies to ensure that women are not disproportionately affected by technological disruption. These measures would not only address immediate vulnerabilities but also contribute to building a more inclusive and resilient future of work for women. The writer is Senior Resident Fellow, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. Views expressed are personal
Hans India
09-06-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Satya Nadella's Advice for Aspiring Tech Professionals: Master the Basics to Stay Ahead of AI
In a world rapidly reshaped by artificial intelligence, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella believes that one skill remains irreplaceable — strong fundamentals. In a recent interview with tech YouTuber Sajjaad Khade, Nadella emphasized that despite AI's increasing role in software development, it still depends heavily on the developer's ability to think logically and design systems effectively. 'Just getting real fundamentals of software (if you're a software engineer), I think, matters a lot,' Nadella stated. 'To me, having the ability to think computationally (is important).' Nadella was responding to a question from Khade on what single piece of advice he would give to those starting a tech career in today's AI-dominated landscape. He underlined the importance of learning to structure problems and think like a software architect — roles that AI can assist with, but not replace. "The path to being that software architect gets speeded up," Nadella noted. "All of us are going to be more software architects." Illustrating his point with a personal story, Nadella recounted an experience using GitHub Copilot — Microsoft's AI-powered coding assistant — to solve a tricky bug in his own code. He was developing a feature that used a percentile filter and realized he needed to recall SQL concepts to resolve the issue effectively. "Except I was thinking about it, it was a pretty cool issue, right? The issue was I did a filter, which was basically a percentile... creating a feature. But then I said, 'Oh man, this is, like, you know, I could, you know, recount what is a SQL, right?'" This, he explained, is the future of software development — a collaborative relationship between human intuition and AI automation. While AI handles repetitive and mechanical parts of coding, humans must still guide the design, structure, and purpose of software systems. Nadella also revealed that AI already writes a large share of Microsoft's code. 'I'd say maybe 20 per cent, 30 percent of the code that is inside of our repos today and some of our projects are probably all written by software,' he said during a previous conversation with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Beyond product development, Nadella has committed to preparing the next generation for this evolving reality. At Microsoft Build, he spoke about 'agentic AI,' a concept redefining the technology stack and unlocking new developer opportunities. In line with that vision, Microsoft has launched a major initiative in India aimed at training 500,000 students, educators, developers, and entrepreneurs by 2026. Partnering with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the initiative includes the creation of an AI Centre of Excellence called 'AI Catalysts' and the establishment of 20 AI productivity labs in National Skill Training Institutes and NIELIT centres across ten Indian states. The goal: train 20,000 educators and foster a community of 100,000 AI developers, especially in rural and underrepresented areas. Nadella's message is clear — AI is transforming how we build software, but human creativity, logic, and a strong grasp of the basics are what will continue to set successful developers apart.
India Today
08-06-2025
- Business
- India Today
Satya Nadella reveals the one skill you need to beat AI and land your first tech job
In an era where artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the software industry, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has a clear message for those aiming to break into tech: Never underestimate the power of strong fundamentals. In a recent chat with popular tech YouTuber Sajjaad Khade, Nadella offered a dose of grounded advice for beginners hoping to make their mark in the tech world. Despite AI's growing capabilities, he believes that foundational computational thinking and system design skills remain critical. "Just getting real fundamentals of software (if you're a software engineer), I think, matters a lot," Nadella said. "To me, having the ability to think computationally (is important)."advertisementKhade posed the question and asked Nadella what one piece of advice he would offer someone just starting out in today's AI-driven software landscape. Nadella highlighted that while AI can assist in coding, it still relies heavily on the user's ability to think logically and offer structured guidance."The path to being that software architect gets speeded up," he explained. "All of us are going to be more software architects." Nadella used a personal anecdote to underline his point. He recalled how he recently encountered a bug in his code and resolved it using GitHub Copilot, an AI-powered coding assistant. "Except I was thinking about it, it was a pretty cool issue, right? The issue was I did a filter, which was basically a percentile... creating a feature. But then I said, 'Oh man, this is, like, you know, I could, you know, recount what is a SQL, right?'"advertisementThis balance between human insight and AI-powered assistance, Nadella argues, is what the future of coding looks like. While AI will continue to handle more repetitive and mechanical tasks, the core responsibilities of structuring problems and designing coherent systems will fall to fact, the extent to which AI has already penetrated Microsoft's own software development process is striking. In a conversation with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg earlier this year, Nadella revealed that AI currently writes a significant portion of Microsoft's code."I'd say maybe 20 per cent, 30 per cent of the code that is inside of our repos today and some of our projects are probably all written by software," he also spotlighted the concept of "agentic AI" during his keynote at Microsoft Build last month. According to him, "The agentic web is reshaping the entire tech stack, and we are creating new opportunities for devs at every layer."His commitment to preparing future tech professionals isn't limited to philosophy and product development. Earlier this year, Microsoft announced a major initiative in India as part of its broader global AI strategy. In partnership with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the company has pledged to skill 500,000 students, educators, developers, government officials, and women entrepreneurs across the country by elements of this partnership include the establishment of an AI Centre of Excellence named "AI Catalysts," aimed at nurturing rural innovation and empowering a growing community of 100,000 AI developers. Furthermore, Microsoft will set up 20 AI productivity labs in National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) and NIELIT centres across ten Indian states, designed to train 20,000 educators in core AI hands-on skilling push aligns with Nadella's emphasis on mastering the fundamentals. As AI continues to grow more sophisticated, those who pair a strong technical foundation with the ability to collaborate effectively with AI tools are the ones most likely to if you're planning to venture into tech, take it from Nadella, AI might write the code, but it's human ingenuity that still defines what that code should do.
