Parliament passes Telecommunications Bill
New Delhi (PTI): Parliament on Thursday passed a bill that seeks to allow the government to temporarily take control of telecom services in the interest of national security, and provide a non-auction route for the allocation of satellite spectrum.
The Telecommunications Bill, 2023, was approved by the Rajya Sabha through a voice vote. It was passed by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday after a short debate.
The Bill seeks to allow the government to temporarily take control of telecom services in the interest of national security, and provide a non-auction route for the allocation of satellite spectrum.
It also allows the Centre to take possession of a telecom network in case of any public emergency or in the interest of public safety.
Besides, it provides for stopping transmission and intercepting messages in case of public emergency, in the interest of the public, to prevent incitement for committing offence.
According to the bill, the press messages of correspondents accredited to the Centre or state governments shall not be intercepted or detained unless their transmission has been prohibited under rules applicable to public emergency, and public order.
Replying to the debate, Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Telecommunications Bill 2023 is being brought keeping in mind the aspirations of the new India to replace two colonial-era laws.
"In the last nine-and-half-years, India's telecom sector has emerged from a very difficult period marred by scams to become a sunrise sector," the minister asserted.
He also said during the same period, the number of telecom towers has increased to 25 lakh at present from just 6 lakh in 2014 and the number of internet broadband users has increased to 85 crore today from just 1.5 crore before.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India made the fastest rollout of 5G technology in the world with the maximum equipment made in India, he said.
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Society will perish if population growth rate goes below 2.1: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat
Nagpur, Dec 1: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday stressed the importance of family and said if the population growth rate of a society goes below 2.1, then that society will perish by itself.
Addressing a gathering at the 'Kathale Kul (clan) Sammelan' in Nagpur, he said "kutumb" (family) is part of the society and every family is a unit.
"Decreasing population is a matter of concern because the Loksankhya Shastra says that if we go below 2.1, then that society perishes, no one will destroy it, it will perish by itself," he said.
"The population policy of our country, which was decided around 1998 or 2002, says that the population growth rate should not be below 2.1," the RSS chief said.
"We need more than two, that is three (as population growth rate), that's what the population science says. This number is important because it (society) should survive," he said.
