The Centre has approved the health data management policy pertaining to National Digital Health Mission (NDHM), that sets out the minimum standard for data privacy protection that should be followed across the board in order to ensure compliance with relevant and applicable laws, rules and regulations. The policy will act as a guidance document across the National Digital Health Ecosystem. Data collected across the NDHE will be stored in at the central level, the state or Union Territory level and at the health facility level, by adopting the principle of minimality at each point.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will approach the Union Cabinet for approval of the structure of production-link incentives for telecom gear makers in India. In November, the Cabinet approved an incentive of Rs 12,195 crore (€1.5 bn) to introduce production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for telecom and network products. The Digital Communications Commission on December 1 approved the proposal for the scheme. The product lines that have been specified include core transmission equipment; 4G/5G, next-generation radio access network and wireless equipment; and access and customer premises equipment (CPE)

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, has given its approval for signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Communications of the Republic of India and the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) of United Kingdom Government on cooperation in the field of Telecommunications /Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The MoU will contribute in strengthening bilateral cooperation and mutual understanding in the field of Telecomm./ ICTs.  Post-Brexit, the MoU is also aiming for enhanced scope of cooperation and opportunities for India.

India is one of the top three choices for overseas investments in the next two-three years, said a survey conducted by Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and EY to assess India’s competitiveness in terms of certain parameters and give constructive suggestions to policymakers. The survey said that new investments will be driven by capacity expansion, digital transformation, research and development and greenfield investments. According to the respondents, market potential, skilled workforce and political stability are the top reasons to make India their favoured destination.

BIS is in the process of setting standards for services provided by e-commerce companies and aggregators like Flipkart, Ola, AirBnB among others. BIS, has been in discussion with various stakeholders to lay out standards for several issues ranging from standardisation of invoices and websites. It also plans to come out with certification for secure websites in order to curb the menace of fly by night operators in the digital commerce industry. The certification will help consumers in identifying the reliable ones," said an official who did not want to be identified.

IIT Madras Researchers have booted up ‘MOUSHIK,’ an indigenously-made Microprocessor, that can cater to the rapidly-growing IoT devices, an integral part of Smart Cities of a Digital India.  MOUSHIK is an Indigenous RISC-V Microprocessor and is the third chip of the SHAKTI family, all of which were conceptualized and developed by this Centre and were first time ‘silicon successes.’ The Field Applications of ‘MOUSHIK’ include:

• Smart cards including Credit cards, ID Cards, Debit cards, Travel Cards for Metros and Driving Licenses

• Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)

• Office Management Systems including Attendance, surveillance cameras and safe locks

• Personalized Health Management Systems

• Consumer Electronics including but not restricted to Washing Machines and Water pump monitoring systems

The White Paper highlights the Role of digital technologies for smart cities, discusses the key smart solutions, deliberates the need of Global Standardization and connectivity related aspects specific to smart cities, and tries to identify the framework for ICT Infrastructure for the success of Smart Cities Mission in India.