The Chhattisgarh

Tag: Ministry of Home Affairs

  • Who Is Govind Mohan? IAS Appointed Next Union Home Secretary Replacing Ajay Bhalla |

    Senior IAS officer Govind Mohan has been appointed next Union home secretary replacing Ajay Bhalla. Mohan will assume charge as the Home Secretary on August 22, said an order from the 

    “The appointment committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Govind Mohan, IAS(SK:89), Secretary, Ministry of Culture as Officer on Special Duty in the Ministry of Home Affairs with immediate effect. The officer will take over as Home Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs vice Ajay Kumar Bhalla, IAS (AM: 84) on completion of his tenure on 22.08.2024,” said an order from the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.

    Who Is Govind Mohan?

    Govind Mohan, a senior IAS officer from the 1989 batch of the Sikkim cadre, will now hold one of the most important post in the Government of India. In addition to his current role, Mohan briefly served as the Secretary of the Department of Sports in 2024. Last year, Govind Mohan was serving as the Secretary, Ministry of Culture.

    Govind Mohan, who is set to turn 59 next month, is currently the Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, a role he has been in since March 27, 2024. His appointment comes at a pivotal moment, particularly with the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir elections. One of the key challenges he will face in his new position is managing security assessments and working closely with the Election Commission to ensure the elections are properly organized.

    Another challenge for Mohan will be to tackle terrorism, naxalism and helping the government  in its promise of implementing the Uniform Civil Code.

  • Google Removes 2,200 Fraudulent Loan Apps From Play Store: MoS Finance |

    New Delhi: The government on Tuesday informed Parliament that Google has suspended or removed more than 2,200 fraudulent loan apps from its Play Store between September 2022 and August 2023.

    The government is constantly engaged with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other regulators and stakeholders concerned to control fraudulent loan apps, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat K Karad said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.

    “As per the information received from MeitY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology), during April 2021-July 2022, Google had reviewed approximately 3,500 to 4,000 loan apps and suspended/removed over 2,500 loan apps from its Play Store,” he said. (Also Read: Three IPOs To Hit Primary Market On Wednesday; Aim To Raise Rs 1,700 Crore)

    Similarly, he said, during September 2022-August 2023, over 2,200 loan apps were removed from the Google Play Store. Google removes 2,200 fraudulent loan apps from Play Store: 

    “Further, Google has updated its policy regarding enforcement of loan apps on the Play Store and only those apps are allowed on the Play Store which are published by Regulated Entities (REs) or those working in partnership with REs. It has also deployed additional policy requirements with strict enforcement actions for loan apps in India,” he said.

    The Reserve Bank has issued regulatory guidelines on digital lending, which aims at firming up the regulatory framework for digital lending, while enhancing customer protection and making the digital lending ecosystem safe and sound, he said. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has been proactively analysing the digital lending apps on a continuous basis, he said.

    In order to facilitate the citizens to report cyber incidents, including illegal loan apps, he said, MHA has launched a National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (www.Cybercrime.Gov.In) as well as a National Cybercrime Helpline number ‘1930’. (Also Read: Company Loses Rs 200 Crore In Deepfake Scam Via Fake ‘CFO’ Video Call)

    To spread awareness against cybercrimes, he said, the government has been taking various initiatives from time to time which include cyber safety tips through social media accounts, publishing of handbook for adolescents/students, publishing of ‘Information Security Best practices’ for the benefit of government officials, organising cyber safety and security awareness weeks in association with states/Union Territories etc.

    In addition to these, he said, RBI and banks have also been taking cybercrime awareness campaigns through dissemination of messages on cybercrime through SMS (Short Messaging Service), radio campaigns, and publicity on prevention of ‘cybercrime’. Further, RBI has been conducting electronic banking awareness and training (e-BAAT) programmes, which focus on awareness about frauds and risk mitigation, he said.

    In a reply to another question, Karad said, JanSamarth Portal was launched to provide a common platform for availing loans under credit-linked government schemes. A total of 1,83,903 beneficiaries have availed loans under the said schemes linked to the JanSamarth portal since its launch till December 2023, he said. Karad, in a separate reply, said 7.25 cases of fraud related to UPI were reported during 2022-23. The amount involved in these fraud cases was Rs 573 crore.