The Central Government has declared the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), the National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) and e-Kuber (Core Banking Solution) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) with their associated infrastructure dependencies installed at the Reserve Bank of India as ‘protected systems’ under Section 70 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

The effect of this declaration is that only specific personnel authorized by the RBI will be permitted to access these systems. Any person who unauthorizedly secures access or attempts to secure access to a protected system would be liable for penal actions under the statute.

The Gazette notification can be accessed at – http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2020/221588.pdf.

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has unveiled the Universal Self-Regulation Code for OCCPs (Online Curated Content Providers) with the aim of empowering consumers with information and tools to assist them in making informed choices with regard to viewing decisions. The Code has been adopted by 15 leading OCCPs in India including Netflix, Disney Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, etc.

The Code includes a framework for age classification and content descriptions for titles as well as access control tools. It also introduces a clear, transparent and structured grievance redressal and escalation mechanism for reporting non-compliance with the prescribed guidelines. As part of this mechanism, each OCCP will set-up a Consumer Complaints Department and/or an internal committee as well as advisory panel which will deal with complaints, appeals and escalations.

The official press release by IAMAI can be accessed at – https://cms.iamai.in/Content/MediaFiles/dcc7639e-9917-4f8f-8ffa-d0e61bd3dc36.pdf.

The WIPO, Cornell University and INSEAD have co-published the 13^th edition of the Global Innovation Index (GII). The GII is now a leading benchmarking tool for business executives, policy makers and others seeking insight into the state of innovation around the world. The core of the GII Report consists of a ranking of world economies’ innovation capabilities and results.

Switzerland, Sweden, United States of America, United Kingdom and Netherlands took the top 5 spots in this year’s GII rankings. Interestingly, India broke into the top 50 rankings for the first time since the inception of the GII ranking system. India also took the top spot in the rankings for the Central and Southern Asia region.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India has decided to block access to 118 mobile apps (including PUBG, APUS Launcher, Baidu, etc.) in view of information available that these apps are engaged in activities prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order. This power has been invoked by the Government under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 read with the relevant provisions of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009.

The press release and the complete list of apps which have been blocked can be accessed at -https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1650669.

The Ministry of Electronics and IT, Government of India has launched ‘Chunauti’, a challenge to boost Start-ups and software products with special focus on Tier-II towns of India. The Start-ups selected through this initiative will be provided support in various forms including incubation facilities, mentorship, security testing facilities, access to venture capitalist funding, industry connect as well as advisories in legal, Human Resource (HR), IPR and Patent matters.

Through this initiative, the Government aims to identify around 300 Start-ups and provide them seed fund of up to INR 25 Lakh and other facilities.

The press release can be accessed at – https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=1649231.