Aadhaar leak: EPFO discontinues services provided through Common Service Centre

Following fear of Aadhaar data leak, the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on May 2 said it has discontinued services provided through Common Service Centre. The organization cited “pending vulnerability checks”, but at the same time ruled out any data leak.

TRAI writes to MIB over processing charges for broadcasters

On 4 May, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) wrote a letter to the ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B), in which it questioned ministry’s jurisdiction to impose "processing" charges on broadcasters without asking for TRAI’s recommendations.

Airtel launches 4G services in Kenya

Airtel’s Kenya wing has launched 4G services in Nairobi and Mombasa. Currently, Airtel is the second-largest carrier in Kenya.

News agency ANI Media upgrades its LiveU fleet with LiveU’s flagship LU600 HEVC units

The entire LiveU fleet of the News agency Asian News International (ANI) has been replaced with LiveU’s flagship LU600 HEVC units for global newsgathering and live sports coverage.

Digital advertising spend occupies 16% of total ad-spends:IAMAI-Kantar Report

Thanks to cheaper smartphones, falling data rates, rural penetration, the share of the digital advertising spend has reached 16% of the total ad-spends in India, according to ‘Digital Advertising in India 2017’ report, jointly published by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Kantar IMRB.

Mediaprofessionals launch ‘FEUD’to promote ethical use of data

An organization has been launched by senior media professionals to promote ethical use of public data. Such a need was strongly felt by these professionals as the world is witnessing massive leaks and thefts of data in recent times.

9XM, 9X Jalwa make debut in Maldives

In a bid to enthralIndian diaspora living in Maldives, 9XM and 9X Jalwa have been launched by the music broadcaster 9X Media, which has partnered with Maldivian digital services provider Dhiraagu for live streaming the same.

Xiaomi India starts its own video& music streaming apps

Entering the OTT segment, smartphone maker Xiaomi India has started its own music and video streaming apps - Mi Music and Mi Video. MiMusic offers an integrated music streaming service along with the ability to store offline music.

RJio comes up JioInteract, world’s first AI-based brand engagement platform

To further offer the latest in technology and cash in on its 186 million subscribers and another 150 million smartphone users, Reliance Jio Infocomm has come up with the world’s first Artificial Intelligence (AI) based brand engagement platform, Jio Interact.

World Press Freedom Day: PM Modi bats for free press for stronger democracy

Amidst killing of journalists, snatching of the rights of freedom of press, PM Modi, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day (3 May), said that a free press is vital for a stronger democracy. The PM asked people to reaffirm their ‘commitment to support a free press’.

‘BARC India is extremely transparent &neutral’: Broadcasting Industry

In the midst of allegations following the doubt of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B) and its proposal to install chip in DTH STBs to get accurate TV viewership data, the broadcasting industry has reposed its faith on the Broadcast Audience Research Council India (BARC India), calling it transparent and neutral.

Dish TV-d2h merged entity to launch their OTT service

The first big news post-merger of two big direct-to-home (DTH) operators (Dish TV&Videocon d2h), is a possible launch of over the top (OTT) service. The new initiative is aimed at allowing the subscribers of the two DTH brands to access content on the go.

MIB writes new letter; drops previous charges against NFDC chief

On 24 April, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B Ministry) wrote a fresh letter dropping all previously labelled charges against Nina Lath Gupta, former head of National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), who was fired.

Twitter partners with top broadcasters including Disney, NBC, Viacom

To give its users wider content choices, Twitter Inc. has partnered with top international broadcasters to have 30 deals. The list of broadcasters includes Walt Disney Co. and NBC Universal.

April records 190 million UPI transactions; BHIM’s performance remains poor

The month of April has recorded 190 million UPI transactions. There has seen a spike in transactions in the past few months, as per data shared by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). This was mainly because apps like Paytm, PhonePe, Google Tez and WhatsApp have integrated UPI in their system.

Buying a mobile phone Sim? Aadhaar no more mandatory

Giving a big relief to the people, the government has taken down Aadhaar as the mandatory document for buying a mobile phone Sim card. The government has asked telecom companies to start accepting alternative documents such as driving licence, passport and voter ID card.

Kaizad Heerjee resigns from Aircel

Kaizad Heerjee, the Aircel chief executive officer (CEO), has resigned from his post. He will continue to work with the insolvency resolution professional (IRP) to help the telco, which has filed for bankruptcy protection.

Soon, users will be able to clear their browsing history on FB

Chastised by the recent global anger against leaking tons of users’ data, the social media giant Facebook will soon allow its users to clear their browsing history. The FB is planning a new privacy control called "clear history" to address this issue.

SonyLIV adds Republic TV

For the first time, the OTT platform by Sony Pictures Networks India’s (SPNI), SonyLIV has added a channel of news genre. Now the subscribers of SonyLiv are able to watch Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV.

Bennett Coleman and Company Ltd’s net profit drops 27%

The profit of India’s one of biggest media groups the Bennett Coleman and Company Ltd (BCCL) has gone down 26.61% for the fiscal ended March 2017. This time the group collected Rs 827 crore as against a net profit of Rs 1127 crore in the last FY.