News Analysis India

Tag: Indian Government

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  • Security Alert For Android Users! Indian Govt Issued High-Risk Warning: Read More |

    New Delhi: In the age of digitalisation, many tough things become easy and can be done in a few clicks. But one thing that is growing parallel with the digital age is risks and vulnerabilities. Yes, this is the thing that may be encountered by you. Read on further to find out about the latest incident.

    In the latest and recent security alert issued by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), Android users across India have been cautioned about a significant security threat. (Also Read: ‘You Give More Money To Govt Than Spend On Yourself’: Social Media Post On Income Tax Concerns Goes Viral)

    As per the reports, the threat can impact a vast number of Android devices across the country. This latest high-severity issue could potentially enable hackers to steal important and sensitive data from affected smartphones. (Also Read: High-Security Alert For Apple Users! CERT-In Asked To Deploy Immediate Measures)

    How It Has Originated?

    According to CERT-In’s April 2024 bulletin, the vulnerabilities stem from various weaknesses in Android’s framework, system, and Google Play system updates, as well as components from major hardware suppliers like Arm, Imagination Technologies, MediaTek, Unisoc, and Qualcomm, including their closed-source components.

    Which Android Versions Can Be Affected?

    The advisory specifies the Android versions susceptible to this security risk. Some of them include:

    Android 12 And 12L

    The report suggests that Android 12 and 12L are amongst the Android versions that may be affected. 

    Android 13

    Android 13 is also on the list.

    Android 14

    Android 14 features on the list of  Android versions susceptible to this security risk.

    Why The Concern Is Alarming?

    The different media reports claim that over 90 percent of active Android devices in India running on these versions. Now the ongoing situation raises considerable concern among users.

    The identified vulnerabilities could potentially allow attackers to access sensitive information, gain elevated privileges, and even cause denial of service conditions on targeted devices.

  • India should be ‘open-minded’ about dealing with Taliban: Former external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Former external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha on Tuesday said India should be “open-minded” about dealing with the Taliban and suggested that it should open its embassy in Kabul and send back the ambassador.

    Noting that the people of Afghanistan have great love for India while Pakistan is not popular among them, Sinha told PTI in an interview that the Indian government should not conclude that the Taliban will place itself “in Pakistan’s lap” as every country furthers its own interests.

    As a big country, India should approach the issues of the Taliban with a degree of confidence and should not indulge in a “widow’s wail” as if Pakistan has taken over Afghanistan or has an advantage over it, he added.

    That the Taliban now controls most of Afghanistan is a reality, Sinha said, adding that India should adopt “wait and watch” mode and be in no hurry either to recognise or to dismiss its regime.

    The Taliban swept across Afghanistan this month, seizing control of almost all key Afghan towns and cities in the country following the withdrawal of the US forces from the country.

    Kabul also fell to the Taliban on Sunday after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani left the country for an unknown destination.

    “It appears on the face of it that the Taliban of 2021 is not the same Taliban of 2001. There appears to be some difference. They are making mature statements. That is something we have to take note of,” Sinha said.

    “I am not saying that take their statements at face value but I will also suggest that they should not be dismissed off-hand because of their past behaviour. We have to look at present and future,” he added.

    Sinha was the foreign minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government but became a critic of the Modi government and quit the BJP.

    He is currently vice president in the Trinamool Congress.

    He said India should have waited instead of immediately closing its embassy and evacuating its people after the extremist Islamist organisation captured Kabul.

    India on Tuesday rushed back home its ambassador Rudrendra Tandon and staff from the embassy in Kabul in a military transport aircraft following escalating tension, fear and uncertainty gripping the Afghan capital after the Taliban insurgents seized the Afghan capital on Sunday.

    This policy needs to have a second look, Sinha said, noting that the Taliban is holding talks with former Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai, who took office after the US-led forces had toppled the previous Taliban regime after the 9/11 terror attack, and its former CEO Abdullah Abdullah.

    It could not have been imagined earlier, Sinha said.

    He added, “India should immediately open its embassy in Kabul and send back the ambassador.”

    “We must remember that the people of Afghanistan have great love for India. Pakistan is not popular with the people of Afghanistan, India is. That we must remember. Our development works have also been appreciated,” he said.

    Organisations dubbed as terror groups have occupied the highest offices in the past and have changed, he noted, saying that India should wait to see how the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan pans out.

    To dismiss always is to turn your face from reality, he said.

     

  • India failed to draw up plan well in advance to evacuate citizens from Afghanistan: Sitaram Yechury 

    By PTI

    COIMBATORE: CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Tuesday accused the Centre of failing to draw up a plan well in advance to evacuate Indians from Afghanistan before the Taliban gained control over the country.

    “The government should have planned the evacuation much earlier before the Taliban took over Afghanistan, as the air space was totally closed down after it,” he told reporters here.

    Demanding that the government provide proper information about the steps taken to ensure the safety of Indians, he said many countries had evacuated their citizens earlier, anticipating what was going to happen in another 10 days.

    India on Tuesday brought back home the Indian ambassador and its staff at the embassy in Kabul in a military transport aircraft in view of the deteriorating security situation in the Afghan capital, two days after its takeover by the Taliban.

    Yechury, here to address the two-day Party State Committee meeting, alleged that India was seen as a ‘subordinate ally’ of the United States, “which should not have gone to that country.

    ” On the Pegasus snooping issue, he said the Centre’s response in the Supreme Court was a ‘clear admission that it has used the spyware.

    The Supreme Court on Monday said it cannot compel the ‘reluctant’ Centre to file a detailed affidavit on pleas seeking information if Pegasus spyware was used to snoop on certain citizens and steps it took to probe the allegations amid vehement claims that there was ‘nothing to hide ” and it will set up a panel to examine all aspects related to the issue.

    Yechury also flayed the Centre’s move to observe August 14 as ‘Partition Horrors Remembrance Day’ and asked the Government to focus on strengthening the Constitution further, as the country had adopted a secular and democratic Constitution (after partition.

    The CPI(M) would organise nation-wide protests along with Opposition parties next month on various demands, including effectively controlling the pandemic, he said.

    Yechury also demanded that the Centre withdraw the duty hike on petroleum products.

  • No deaths due to manual scavenging, 309 died while cleaning sewers in last five years: Government

    Although no deaths have been reported due to manual scavenging, 309 people died while cleaning sewers and septic tanks in the last five years, the government said.

  • New Zealand national accuses Indian government of denying entry, MHA cites violation of visa rules

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A New Zealand national has accused the Indian government of denying him entry without specifying any reasons leading to his “separation” from his Indian wife, a charge the Home Ministry rejected saying he was barred due to violation of visa conditions.

    Karl Edward Rice, who claims to be a content creator, appealed to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and also approached the Delhi High Court for the withdrawal of the Indian government’s decision to “blacklist” him.

    He also launched an online petition to gather public opinion in his support.

    “Dear @jacindaardern, the Govt. of India has blocked me from entering India separating me from my wife & family in Delhi. They blacklisted me without telling me, giving reasons, or letting me reply. Please watch my struggle https://t.co/dq0Z98SCFw @NZinIndia,” he tweeted from a handle @iamkarlrock along with a video of his life story.

    He claimed that his wife Manisha Malik hails from Haryana and they married in 2019.

    He also claimed that he was COVID-19 positive last year and after his recovery he donated plasma twice in Delhi to help people recover from the virus.

    When contacted, Union Home Ministry officials said the New Zealand national has been restricted from entering India till the next year for violating terms and conditions of his visa.

    He was found to be doing business activities on a tourist visa and also violating other visa conditions, they said without specifying.

    In the video, Rice claimed that about eight months ago, when he was about to leave for Dubai and Pakistan, he was told at the airport that his Indian visa has been cancelled.

    Since then he has approached MHA officials and Indian High Commission officials in New Zealand seeking reasons for the visa ban.

    However, he said, he has not received any reply from anyone so far.

    Rice said that he has approached the Delhi High Court seeking remedies and reversal of the government decision of banning his entry.

    He said that he has visited every Indian state and Union Territory — from Mizoram to Lakshadweep — and that India is his “passion”.

    “It is very difficult for me to be away from my family,” he said in the video and appealed people to sign the attached online petition in his support.

    Describing the Indian government “very, very tough”, the New Zealander said it was “very wrong” of India to “exile” him from his family.

    He said he had undergone “separation trauma” and “panic attack” in the past and was very unhappy with his life.

    He also said he would fight back the government’s decision and hoped to visit India again.