Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to arrive in Kerala on January 11 to attend various programmes in the state and meet party leaders.
BJP Kerala president Rajeev Chandrasekhar had recently said that Shah, also the Union Minister of Cooperation, will arrive in the state capital on Sunday, January 11, to kick off the party's campaign for the assembly polls to be held this year.
According to the itinerary of the union minister given in the release, there will be a 'darshan and pooja' by him at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in the morning and thereafter, he will meet the newly elected local body representatives in Kerala.
Subsequently, in the afternoon, he will attend a conclave and then hold a meeting with NDA leaders at the BJP state office here in the evening, a government release said on Saturday.
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Bengaluru: The Karnataka government is considering a ban on the use of social media for children below the age of 16, taking inspiration from steps taken by countries such as Australia and Finland, The New Indian Express reported.
Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj and IT-BT, Priyank Kharge, informed the Assembly on Friday that the issue is under discussion. Responding to senior BJP leader and MLA S Suresh Kumar, who expressed concern over the abuse of social media, Kharge admitted that it is a serious issue.
Finland has taken action, the UK is considering similar steps, and Australia imposed a ban two months ago. “We too in the state have launched a digital detoxification programme for responsible use of AI and social media. The IT-BT department, in collaboration with Meta, has been running it by involving over three lakh children and one lakh teachers,” TNIE quoted him as saying.
Kharge said that in March 2025, the government launched the ‘Beyond Screens’ programme to help people dealing with digital addiction. The initiative was announced during the GAFX 2025 summit, along with the opening of a ‘Beyond Screens’ digital detox centre and the launch of an official website.
The detox centre serves as a dedicated hub for resources, counselling and intervention programmes for healthier digital habits.
During the Assembly session, Suresh Kumar also referred to the Economic Survey 2025-26, which was presented in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The survey recommended that governments consider age-based restrictions on social media use for children.
