Wednesday, September 02
The Department of Telecommunications has directed over the top (OTT) communication apps, such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Snapchat, Signal, Arattai and others, to ensure SIM binding. This means the app will remain linked to the mobile number on a particular device. The move aims to check rising instances of frauds and digital arrests.The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), which issued the directions on November 28, asked these OTT firms to implement SIM binding within 90 days. Failure on the part of the OTT firms to implement the mandated SIM binding would attract penal provisions.The DoT also said that web or desktop versions of apps must automatically log users out every six hours and require reauthentication through QR code pairing. The mandate on SIM binding follows a nearly year-long
Hong Kong authorities say the death toll from the blaze in an apartment complex has risen to 146 after more bodies have been found.Shuk-yin Tsang, the head of the Hong Kong police casualty unit, told reporters at the scene on Sunday that another 100 people remain unaccounted for. Previously 128 deaths had been reported.Seven of eight buildings of the Wang Fuk Court complex burned in the blaze that started Wednesday afternoon and wasn't fully extinguished until Friday morning. So far, the police victim identification unit has searched through four of the buildings.A steady stream of people placed bouquets of white roses, carnations, lilies and other flowers Sunday at a makeshift memorial outside the blackened buildings of a Hong Kong apartment complex that went up in flames, killing at leas
Leading cement companies, buoyed by a high single-digit volume growth in the July-September quarter along with an increased sales realisation, expect a better performance in the second half of the current fiscal, betting big on the housing sector and the government's spending on key infra projects. Top five cement makers such as UltraTech, Ambuja Cement, Shree Cement, Dalmia Bharat and Nuvoco Vistas have reported up to 18 per cent growth in their revenue from operations in the second quarter ended September, backed by healthy sales realisations, benign costs and premiumisation. As prices of coal have declined and that of diesel stable on a year-to-year basis, even though the rate of petcoke increased, cement companies in their latest earnings calls said they expect a better performance in
