-Down to Earth Can pre-poll sops like giving smart phones with internet connectivity to farmers increase farm income? Last week, thousands of farmers and agricultural workers poured into the National Capital to attract and focus the attention of the Central government to their demands. The Mazdoor Kisan Sangharsh Rally, organised by farmers’ organization, All India Kisan Sabha, and the All India Agriculture Workers Union, broke all records as far as crowd numbers...

-The Indian Express The research shows that India’s mobile phone gender gap - 33 per cent - is among the highest in the world, surpassing several countries with comparable incomes, development levels, and mobile phone costs. New Delhi:  Apart from economic constraints, social barriers like the level of education, marital status and the lack of empowerment prevent women’s access to mobile technology in India, suggests a study by the Harvard Kennedy School. The...

Good news about digital inclusion often leaves little room for reporting on bad experiences, which netizens encounter in the digital world. A recent report by LIRNEAsia – an ICT [information and communication technology] policy and regulation think tank working in the Asia-Pacific – says that almost one among five Indian netizens in the age-group 15-65 years had faced online harassment in 2017. In contrast, roughly twelve out of hundred internet...

-The Times of India JAIPUR: The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has shot off a letter to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to discourage states, particularly Rajasthan, from diluting the laws governing temporary suspension of telecom services and issuing orders for shutdown of internet and data services. In its letter dated August 8, the representative body for telecom service providers said that, as per rules, the direction to suspend internet services...

-The Indian Express Out of 919 internet users in India in the age group 15-65, 175 (19%) reported that they had online harassment. New Delhi: ONE IN every five internet users surveyed in India have reported having faced online harassment. This is one of the findings of surveys by the policy think-tank LIRNEAsia on the Global South and information technology; other findings were reported in The Indian Express Wednesday. Out of 919 internet...