I&B Ministry
I&B Ministry gets CAS on Upper House Monday agenda
NEW DELHI:The information and broadcasting ministry has asked the business advisory committee of parliament to relist the Cable TV Networks Amendment Bill 2002 next week and this is most probably going to happen on Monday in the Upper House (the Rajya Sabha).
According to I&B ministry officials, if the RS transacts business on Monday and there are no adjournments, then the Bill, which aims at facilitating the implementation of conditional access systems (CAS), will be discussed on that day.
The officials agree upon one thing: about three hours have been allotted for debate on CAS in the Upper House. Even if the Bill, which has generated lot of heat and unleashed high pitched lobbying for and against it, is to be referred to a parliamentary committee (as is being demanded by a section of the broadcasting industry), it will require consent from the Upper House where the issue will have to be taken up and a motion passed to this effect.
Though Swaraj’s meeting earlier this week with Opposition members of the Rajya Sabha was inconclusive, she is hopeful of pushing the amendments through in the Upper House too.
The Lok Sabha has already okayed the amendments through a voice vote. The Congress, which is opposing the passage of the CATV Amendment Bill 2002 in the Upper House and has raised several questions, however, had not opposed the Bill when it had come up in Lok Sabha.
According to political sources, Nilotpal Basu of the CPM, after his meeting with Swaraj, had said that the minister was not able to satisfactorily resolve some doubts raised by some Upper House members.
I&B Ministry
MeitY & Reliance Foundation launch e-SafeHER cyber training for Women
Programme aims to train one million rural women in cyber safety over three years
NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has partnered with Reliance Foundation and C-DAC Hyderabad to launch ‘e-SafeHER’, a nationwide cyber security awareness programme aimed at empowering one million women across rural India.
Anchored under the Information Security Education and Awareness Programme, the initiative will focus on building digital confidence and safe online practices among women who are increasingly using digital platforms for financial transactions, livelihoods and essential services.
The programme will be rolled out through a community-led model, with training delivered via women’s self-help groups and grassroots networks. C-DAC Hyderabad will develop and localise training content, while Reliance Foundation will drive on-ground implementation using its rural outreach platforms.
Speaking on the launch, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology secretary S Krishnan said, “e-SafeHER is an exciting opportunity to bring together knowledge and collaboration to build a cyber secure Bharat. Through this initiative, women from even the remotest regions will be empowered to participate safely in the digital ecosystem.”
Echoing this, Reliance Foundation director Isha Ambani said the initiative aims to equip women with the skills needed to navigate the online world safely. She added that the goal is to enable one million “Cyber Sakhis” who can confidently adopt digital tools to improve their lives and livelihoods.
The programme will begin with pilot training in Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, before scaling nationwide through a phased approach. It will use multilingual content, audio-visual modules and blended learning formats to ensure accessibility and engagement.
Designed for long-term impact, e-SafeHER will be integrated into existing digital literacy and women’s empowerment programmes, avoiding the need for parallel infrastructure. The initiative also aims to drive measurable behavioural change, from improved awareness of cyber risks to safer digital transactions.
By combining policy, technology and grassroots reach, the programme looks to bridge not just the digital divide, but the digital safety gap, ensuring that inclusion goes hand in hand with security.
