-The Hindu Talking tough to non-cooperating social networking websites, the Centre on Wednesday said it had given an ultimatum to micro-blogging site Twitter to remove around 30 web pages still carrying inflammatory content such as morphed pictures and fake videos or face penal action. Minister for Communications and IT Kapil Sibal will be meeting National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon, Intelligence Bureau Director Nehchal Sandhu and Electronics and IT Secretary J. Satyanarayana on...

-The Business Standard Cautious optimism about the revival of the monsoon  A progressive improvement in the monsoon, after a dismal June that saw rainfall deficient by over 30 per cent, has eased some worries over kharif crop production. Since then the rainfall deficit has been halved to 15 per cent, dispelling fears of a situation as bad as in 2009, when severe drought lowered foodgrain production by seven per cent. In addition,...

-Live Mint India’s biggest crackdown on websites and blogs hosting hate messages was hobbled by the absence of a policy on cyber security, escalating panic and resulting in an exodus of people belonging to north-eastern states from several cities. The government initially identified 245 such websites, but could block only 207 of them, saying it couldn’t shut out the other 38 because of technical difficulties. It has identified and is in the...

-The Indian Express The exodus to the Northeast, perhaps the biggest mass displacement in peacetime, reads like the dark side of the Arab Spring or the reverse of a flash mob. The social and SMS media, which accumulate forces for positive change, were leveraged to spread rumours and disperse minorities by the fictitious threat of violence. And the response is totally inadequate. Social media shifted the balance of power from governments and...

-The Hindustan Times In the last few days, digital technology — in the form of short messaging services (SMS) and multimedia messaging services (MMS) — has shaken the foundation of this diverse country. Thanks to the publication of hate content on the internet, there have been riot-like situations in many parts of the country. There were rumours of Muslim retaliation to the violence in Assam at the end of Ramzan, with threats...