Nasheman News :  In the face of allegations that YouTube is being used by paedophiles to target minors, the Google-owned video streaming platform said it is now disabling comments on videos featuring minors that could be at risk of attracting predatory behaviour.

Due to the on-going paedophilia content controversy on YouTube, several international companies including Disney, Nestle and Fortnite maker Epic Games pulled out their advertisements from the platform this week. 

Many users also alleged that YouTube was being careless with monitoring content on its app.

YouTube, however, claimed that it has been terminating accounts and channels over the past few weeks that have violated the platform’s policies.

“No form of content that endangers minors is acceptable on YouTube, which is why we have terminated certain channels that attempt to endanger children in any way,” YouTube said in a blog post on Thursday.

“Over the past week, we disabled comments from tens of millions of videos that could be subject to predatory behaviour,” YouTube said, adding that over the next few months, it will be broadening this action to suspend comments on videos featuring young minors.

But the platform is not introducing a blanket ban on comments for all videos featuring minors.

“A small number of creators will be able to keep comments enabled on these types of videos. These channels will be required to actively moderate their comments, beyond just using our moderation tools and demonstrate a low risk of predatory behaviour. We will work with them directly,” the company wrote. 

YouTube said it has a new comments classifier in place that is more sweeping in scope, and will detect and remove two times more individual comments.

A study by the Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute of the University of Toledo in Ohio, US recently showed that human traffickers are exploiting social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram or SnapChat, as well as dating apps such as Tinder, Blendr and Yellow to hunt for potential underage victims.

Traffickers educate themselves by studying what the victim posts on these sites to build trust.

The study, which was requested by the Ohio Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Commission, revealed how traffickers quickly target and connect with vulnerable children on the Internet through social media.

Grooming children for sex trafficking consists of convincing someone to send a risky picture and then using it to extort them.

The traffickers use fear of repercussions as a way to compel the youth to move from a monitored page to a less monitored page by saying, “You don’t want your parents to find out what we’re talking about”, the study suggested.

With a global user-base of over 1.3 billion people, every eight out of ten 18-49 years old people watch YouTube. With the penetration of Internet and smartphones, users below 18 years of age today are also heavily exposed to the platform.

Wacom Launches 4K Cintiq Pro 24 & 4K Cintiq Pro 32

  Working towards its commitment to inspire & equip people to make the world a more creative place, Wacom today launched its 4K Cintiq Pro 24 & 4K Cintiq Pro 32 in the Indian market. Designed diligently to aid creative professionals & set new standards in film & 3D animation, in industry design, digital art, game development & a broad range of human communication & expression, the 4K Cintiq Pro 24 & 32 will offer new high performance large-sized display built for cutting-edge creative & design applications including augmented & virtual reality.

Besides the large screen to create & design, the Cintiq Pro 32 & Cintiq Pro 24 help provide a true-to-life visual experience with the brilliant 4K display & up to 98% & 99% RGB color accuracy respectively.

Users will also experience higher level of productivity with these devices given setting like time saving onscreen or the multi touch gestures. The devices are designed to cater to connectivity & security. The Cintiq Pro 24 & the Cintiq Pro 32 have 4 X USB3 ports, and 1 X USB-C port. Along with that the devices also have an HDMI2.0

USB3 ports & 1 X USB-C port. Along with that the devices also have an HDMI2.0 port, a DisplayPort & 2 X USB-A ports, of which, one is reserved for the ExpressKeyTM remote. In order to assist creativity,
 
 
 
the Cintiq Pro 24 & 32can be optionally converted to an “All-in-One” PC with Cintiq Pro Engine.The Cintiq Pro 24 & the Cintiq Pro 32 come with an ExpressKeyTM Remote for utmost efficiency & comfort. A set of 17 customizable buttons & Touch Ring allow for instant one-touch access to timesaving shortcuts in all your favorite creative applications. Users can place the ExpressKey™ Remote anywhere it’s most convenient while drawing, on screen, in your hand or beside your keyboard. User can also connect up to 5 ExpressKey™ Remotes at one time, one for each of your creative software applications, to optimize their workflow.

Designed to provide a more comfortable & natural pen on screen experience, Wacom Pro Pen 2 features 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity, tilt-response & virtually lag-free tracking. A protective case with three nibs & a nib removal hole is included. For a freer movement, the pen offers more natural support, requires no batteries or charging and has reduced parallax. With the help of new pressure & tilt sensitivity of the Pro Pen 2 & the textured screen, the designers are sure to get a realistic artistic control & feel.

The 4K Cintiq Pro 24 series will be available in 2 options, Pen only priced at INR 202,099 & Pen & Touch priced at INR 223,399. The Cintiq Pro 32 model is available with Pen & Touch feature, priced at INR 275,999. 

Nasheman News :  The realty market in India’s tech hub is set to grow as lower Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates become effective from April 1, builders’ apex body Credai said on Thursday.

“GST rate cut to 5 per cent from 12 per cent on under-construction properties and to 1 per cent from 8 per cent on affordable housing projects from April 1 will spur the growth in the realty sector,” Credai (Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India) President Ashish Puravankara said in a statement.

The sector is also betting on benefitting from the incentives given to the sector in the interim Budget for 2019-20 and anticipated higher investment in commercial and housing projects.

“Many potential home buyers are enquiring to book flats or duplex houses in gated communities and avail the GST rate cuts,” Puravankara said.

The GST Council cut the rates on February 24. It, however, did not accept the super carpet area concept as many developers have made it variable and flexible.

Cashing in on the GST relief and budgetary sops, Credai is holding its annual realty expo here on March 2-3 and March 9-10, where 30 developers will offer the properties with new indirect tax rates.

“Seven financial institutions will be at the expo to assist buyers in applying for home loans and benefits offered by them,” Puravankara said.

The state’s Stamps and Registration Department also witnessed 20 per cent increase in revenue from property registrations from May to December over the like period of 2017.

“Sales growth and higher revenue collection indicates property buyers are no longer in a wait mode, as developers have been offering houses at a better price,” Puravankara added.

New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS) The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the proposal for Foreign Direct Investment of more than Rs 5,000 crore and up to Rs 25,000 crore in Vodafone Idea as part of the proposed equity fund raise through rights issue.

It also approved to take on record the proposed changes in the indirect foreign investment in the subsidiaries of Vodafone Idea, which will take place on account of non-residents subscribing to the equity shares in the fund raise, an official statement said.

According to the statement, “the inflow of foreign investment to India will spur economic growth as well as foster innovation”.

FDI up to 100 per cent is allowed in telecom services sector wherein 49 per cent is under automatic route and beyond 49 per cent through government route. The 100 per cent FDI has been approved in the company, it said. 

However, it is necessary to take the government approval for FDI beyond Rs 5,000 crore even if there is no change in the percentage of foreign equity already approved.

Nasheman News : Amid escalating Indo-Pak tensions, the Air India (AI) has re-routed its to and from the USA and Europe flights, while as many as 8 incoming and 8 outgoing flights of private and international carrier were cancelled, said officials here on Wednesday.

The cancellations included two arrivals and two departures of Jet Airways, three arrivals and departures of IndiGo, and one arrival and one departure each of GoAir and Vistara, mostly to Srinagar, Jammu, Amritsar, Chandigarh and Dehradun.

Besides, United Airlines’ one arrival and one departure flights from and to Newark were also cancelled due to the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued earlier on Wednesday for nine airports by the Directorate-General (DG) of Civil Aviation. It was withdrawn later.

The AI said its inbound and outbound flights for the USA and Europe and for Delhi were being re-routed to Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

Besides, flights landing into India from the USA and Europe are being diverted to Dubai and Sharjah due to technical reasons, and will land with a delay, but no AI flights have been cancelled.

The DGA had earlier restricted all flight operations at Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Pathankot, Amritsar, Shimla, Kangra, Kullu-Manali and Pitthorgarh. It was restored later.

Meanwhile, most airlines have waived penalties for cancellations, rescheduling, no-show, refunds, due to the closure of air space at these airports.

Nasheman News : In a big relief to the realty sector and homebuyers, the GST council on Sunday lowered tax on under-construction properties to 5 per cent from 12 per cent, and affordable housing projects to 1 per cent from 8 per cent. The council also made changes in the definition of the affordable housing.

The new rates will be applicable from April 1. 

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said: “It is a milestone decision to promote affordable housing for all. The expanded definition of affordable housing is to encourage aspiring people buy bigger flats. The council did not accept the super carpet area concept as many developers have made it variable and flexible. 

“We will have to see how new rates can be passed on to incentivise people to buy under-construction flats. We believe competition will take care of price benefits to be passed on to consumers.” 

“However, developers won’t be able to claim input tax credit (ITC),” Jaitley said. The group of minister (GoM) on housing had suggested 3 per cent affordable housing projects. 

The council also decided that properties costing up to Rs 45 lakh will be considered affordable as well as properties with a carpet area of 90 square metres in metro cities and 60 square metres in non-metro cities, he said. 

On issues like transfer of development rights, sale or transfer of floor space index (FSI) and joint development rights, Jaitley said it was suggested that these be exempted from the goods and services tax (GST) for the sector’s growth. 

The council, he said wanted guidelines for the transition to be prepared for the law & fitment committee to take it up on March 10. 

“Transition is a challenge. The notification will have to be carefully drafted. The law & fitment committee will draft notifications and the GST council will approve the same through video-conferencing,” he said. 

Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey said the decision will help the common man afford a house, while also enabling the industry to emerge from the “recent tough time”. 

Though praising the decision, the housing sector and property experts, also called for caution. 

Niranjan Hiranandani, National President, NAREDCO, said, “Industry lauds the GST rate cut on real estate to 5 per cent on non-affordable and 1 per cent on affordable housing without input tax credit as a welcome and positive move. It will bring a big relief to the homebuyers and help narrow the demand mismatch gap.” 

The announcement would give an impetus to affordable housing and enthuse homebuyers to close the sale deals. “The GST on cement has not been reduced as was expected. At 28 per cent, it remains among the highest taxed inputs for construction — and there will be no input tax credit, developers will face a challenging time,” he said.

He said the changes should have been applicable ‘with immediate effect’. As it would be effective from April 1, “we will see rise in sales figures only in the next financial year,” he added.

Rajat Mohan, Partner, AMRG & Associates, said lowering of tax rates at the cost of the tax credit in the realty sector could be a good populist measure. But businesses may witness a quick bloodbath, and after that the sector will reboot itself to a higher equilibrium price to justify the margins, he added. 

“This may prove to a costly affair for businesses as they will see incremental costs due to breakage of credit chain,” Mohan said. 

M.S. Mani, Partner, Deloitte India, said, the real estate sector needed rate reductions to prop up sales. “The reductions announced today for normal housing and specially for affordable housing could lead to an uptick in demand. With these reductions, the GST on normal under-construction apartments would be a little lower than prior to introduction of GST and affordable housing would be significantly lower than before,” he said.

“The combination of the increase in the threshold to be termed as affordable housing together with the lower rate of 1 per cent could lead to significant upswing in demand. The lower rates would lead to a revival of demand for under-construction apartments, which had tapered down as buyers were preferring ready apartments that did not attract any GST,” the Deloitte India partner said.

“Having certain categories that are not eligible for input tax credits is an aberration of the basic principles of a good GST, in addition to issues of traceability of transactions and making the transactions opaque,” Mani said.

Jaitley also said the lottery issues have been referred back to the GoM. A GoM had suggested a single rate of 18 per cent or 28 per cent on lotteries, which are of two types — state-organised and state-authorised. 

Nasheman News :  Robert Vadra, brother-in-law of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, was on Wednesday questioned for over three hours by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case.

A senior ED official said: “We could question Vadra for only three-and-a-half hours as he complained of poor health. 

“We have asked him to appear before us again on February 22 at 10.30 a.m.,” the official told media.

Vadra arrived at the ED office in central Delhi at 10.30 a.m. and was questioned till 2 p.m.

Outside, hundreds of Youth Congress workers raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ED. 

On February 16, a Delhi court had extended Vadra’s interim bail till March 2. 

This was the fourth time that Vadra, husband of Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been questioned in connection with the money laundering case. 

The earlier quizzing took place on February 6, 7 and 9. 

The case relates to the ownership of undisclosed assets abroad worth 1.9 million pounds, allegedly belonging to Vadra.

Vadra was also questioned on February 12 and 13 by the ED in Jaipur in connection with a land deal case in Bikaner, Rajasthan. 

The ED on February 15 attached Vadra’s Sukhdev Vihar house in Delhi, a property worth Rs 4.43 crore. The house was in the name of Vadra’s company Sky Light Hospitality Pvt Ltd. 

On February 2, the court granted Vadra interim bail till February 16 and asked him to join the investigation on February 6.

The ED also lodged a money laundering case against Vadra’s employee Manoj Arora after his role came up during an Income Tax Department probe in a 2015 anti-black money case involving absconding arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari.

The ED had alleged that Arora was aware of Vadra’s overseas undeclared assets and was instrumental in arranging funds.

Nasheman News : The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed Reliance Communications to pay Rs 453 crore to Ericsson India within four weeks failing which its chairman will have to undergo a three-month sentence.

A bench of Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman and Justice Vineet Saran directed the court’s Registry to give Ericsson Rs 118 crore that were earlier deposited by RCOM. 

The court said that the entire amount that RCOM has to pay to Ericsson is Rs 550 crore plus the interest that was generated. 

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1 crore each on RCOM, Reliance Telecommunication and Reliance Infratel that would be deposited with the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee (SCLSC). 

In case of default the Chairman of all three companies would have to undergo sentence of one month each. 

The bench ordered this as it did not accept the “unconditional apology” tendered to the court by the RCOM Chairman.

RCOM Chairman Anil Ambani was present in the court when the order was announced. 

Nasheman News :  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday flagged off the world’s first diesel to electric converted locomotive here.

Modi was received at the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport by Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Mahendra Nath Pandey and other senior officials.

After the flag-off from the Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW) campus, he also interacted with differently abled persons.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to spend around six hours in Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency, during which he will launch projects worth Rs 3,300 crore.

He will also visit the Sant Ravidas temple.

This is Modi’s 17th visit to the temple town after becoming its representative in 2014. 

Nasheman News : The Government on Monday said that a sum of Rs 46 crore has been collected and dispersed as part of the “Bharat Ke Veer” initiative for CRPF troopers who lost their lives in the February 14 Pulwama attack.

Over 80,000 people came forward in the last few days since Thursday to contribute over Rs 20 crore, a statement said.