Business
After India, US aims to crackdown on VPN service providers

After India, the US lawmakers have now asked the Lina Khan-led Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to address abusive and deceptive data practices by hundreds of companies providing Virtual Private Network (VPN) services for individuals.
A VPN is an online service that purports to give users more security when connecting to the Internet.
However, said the lawmakers, the consumer VPN industry is rife with deceptive advertising and abusive data practices.
The letter by Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) describe several abusive practices in the consumer VPN industry, including promoting false and misleading claims about their services, selling user data and providing user activity logs to law enforcement, despite promises of ‘total anonymity,’ and a lack of oversight of the industry in general.
“We urge you to use your authority to take enforcement actions against the problematic actors in the consumer VPN industry, focusing particularly on those that engage in deceptive advertising and data collection practices,” they said.
The VPN industry is extremely opaque, and many VPN providers exploit, mislead, and take advantage of unwitting consumers, the lawmakers added.
In India, a directive from the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has also sought additional compliance requirements for all VPN providers whose users are in the country.
The new rules, to be effective from September 25, require VPN service providers along with data centres and cloud service providers, to store information such as names, email IDs, contact numbers, and IP addresses (among other things) of their customers for a period of five years.
Leading VPN service providers NordVPN, Surfshark and ExpressVPN have removed their servers from India over the new directions.
The US lawmakers said it is extremely difficult for someone to decipher which VPN service to trust, especially for those in crisis situations.
“There are hundreds, if not thousands, of VPN services available to download, yet there is a lack of practical tools or independent research to audit VPN providers’ security claims,” the letter read.
Many popular VPN services also spread inaccurate information on their websites.
In December 2021, Consumer Reports (CR) found that 75 per cent of leading VPN providers misrepresented their products and technology or made hyperbolic claims about the protection they provide users on their websites, such as advertising a ‘military-grade encryption’ which doesn’t exist.
Advocacy groups have also found that leading VPN services intentionally misrepresent the functionality of their product and fail to provide adequate security to their users.
“VPN services have also been exposed for collecting, and, in some cases, abusing, user data. In 2020 it was revealed that a leading analytics firm used personal data from over 35 million people who had downloaded one of their 20 VPN and ad-blocking apps to power their analytics platform without consent,” the letter said.
Maharashtra
Thane Sessions Court Convicts Hawker For Brutal Attack On Civic Officer During 2021 Encroachment Drive

Thane: The Thane Sessions Court has convicted a hawker for attempting to murder a senior civic officer and against her security personnel during an anti-encroachment drive conducted by the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) in 2021.
The accused, Amarjitsingh Shivshankar Yadav, alias Amarjit Yadav, was found guilty under several sections of the Indian Penal Code — including Section 307 (attempt to murder), Section 353 (assault on a public servant), Section 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant), Section 333 (causing grievous hurt to deter public servant), and provisions under the Maharashtra Police Act.
About The Incident
The incident took place on August 30, 2021, at the Kasarvadavali junction during a routine anti-hawker and encroachment drive. Kalpita Pimple, Assistant Municipal Commissioner of the TMC’s Majiwada-Manpada ward, was overseeing the operation when Yadav, a hawker at the site, suddenly launched a violent assault on her.
In the unprovoked attack, Pimple suffered severe injuries — including the loss of three fingers and a head injury. A security guard accompanying her also suffered injuries while trying to shield her from the assault.
After a detailed trial, the court held Yadav guilty on all counts, reaffirming the severity of the offence and the need to protect public servants carrying out their lawful duties.
The public prosecutor Shishir Hirey said, “There were two victims in the case, in which Pimple lost three fingers while her security personnel suffered injuries in while trying to prevent the attack.”
Maharashtra
Kharghar Residents Stage Peaceful Protest Demanding Liquor Ban In Locality

Navi Mumbai: In a show of unity and resolve, residents of Kharghar gathered today at Shah Arcade, Sector 6, to participate in a sit-in protest demanding a complete ban on liquor outlets in the area.
Organised under the banner of the Liquor-Free Kharghar movement, the protest began at 11:00 AM and witnessed the participation of local citizens, social activists, and community leaders who voiced their concern over the increasing number of liquor shops and their adverse impact on the peace and safety of the neighborhood.
Protesters emphasised that making Kharghar a liquor-free zone is essential to safeguarding the area’s future and ensuring a safe, healthy environment for families and youth.
“Every responsible citizen must stand united to protect Kharghar from the ill effects of alcohol. This movement is not just for today but for the generations to come,” said one of the organizers during the protest.
The peaceful demonstration reflected the community’s collective demand for the authorities to take immediate action and revoke licenses of existing liquor shops to maintain the area’s sanctity and security.
Organisers have urged residents to remain vigilant and continue supporting similar initiatives until their demands are met.
Business
India’s house price index up 3.1 pc in Q4 FY25, Kolkata leads: RBI

New Delhi, June 21: The house price index (HPI) across India increased by 3.1 per cent in the January-March period (Q4 FY25), maintaining the same pace as the previous quarter (Q3).
The Reserve Bank released its quarterly HPI data for Q4, based on transaction-level data received from the registration authorities in 10 major cities.
“All-India HPI increased by 3.1 per cent (YoY) in Q4 2024-25 as compared with 3.1 per cent growth in the previous quarter and 4.1 per cent growth a year ago; annual HPI growth varied widely across the cities – ranging from a high growth of 8.8 per cent (Kolkata) to a contraction of 2.3 per cent (Kochi),” according to a RBI statement.
On a sequential basis, all-India HPI increased by 0.9 per cent in Q4.
Bengaluru, Jaipur, Kolkata and Chennai are the major cities recording a sequential rise in house prices during the latest quarter, the data showed.
Kolkata topped the chart with an 8.8 per cent increase, while Kochi was the only city to witness a contraction, recording a decline of 2.3 per cent. The 10 cities covered in the index include Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, and Mumbai.
“House is not just an asset but also a durable consumption good for households, providing shelter and other services. A change in the house price affects the households’ perceived lifetime wealth and hence influences the spending and borrowing decisions of households,” according to Central Bank.
An increase in the house price raises the value of the housing relative to construction costs; hence a new construction is profitable when house price rises above the construction costs.
Residential investment is, therefore, positively related with house price increase. House prices also affect bank lending and vice versa. Further, house price gains increase housing collateral.
The potential two-way link between bank lending and house prices give rise to mutually reinforcing cycles in credit and real estate markets. These indicate that house prices may affect economic activity through private consumption of households, residential investment and credit allocation of the financial systems. Thus, understanding the price trends of this segment of asset class is important for monetary policy formulation.
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