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After India, US aims to crackdown on VPN service providers

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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.

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ED arrests real estate firm MD in PMLA case, accused sent to 14-day custody

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New Delhi, Nov 15: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Ocean Seven Buildtech Pvt. Ltd. (OSBPL) Managing Director Swaraj Singh Yadav after conducting searches at nine locations across Delhi-NCR and other regions in a money-laundering probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, an agency statement said on Saturday.

The action stems from allegations that Yadav diverted and laundered funds collected from homebuyers across multiple projects, including those under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).

The searches on Thursday led to the recovery of Rs 86 lakh in cash, suspected to be proceeds of crime, along with incriminating documents and digital evidence.

According to the ED, Yadav orchestrated a large-scale diversion of homebuyer funds through fraudulent cancellation and resale of units at inflated prices, cash-based premiums collected outside banking channels, and misuse of escrow accounts.

He allegedly routed substantial sums into shell entities and concealed cash proceeds with relatives, the ED statement said.

Investigators also found a pattern of rapid liquidation of assets held personally and through company entities in Gurugram, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, which the agency believes was intended to secure illicit gains and evade legal scrutiny.

His wife and children have already relocated to the United States, the probe revealed.

The agency said Yadav operated a dual-payment mechanism in the resale of PMAY flats and even in the sale of parking spaces — routing only nominal amounts through banks while collecting the bulk in cash. These activities form part of a wider probe linked to multiple FIRs alleging cheating, forgery, and other predicate offences.

Following his arrest, Yadav was produced before the Court of ASJ-06 at Patiala House Courts on Friday, in compliance with Supreme Court directions.

After detailed submissions from both sides and a pass-over granted to allow him legal assistance, the court sent him to ED custody for 14 days, until November 28.

The agency has been directed to produce him before the court at 2 p.m. on the date of expiry of remand.

The ED said it is pursuing further investigation to trace, freeze, and attach assets acquired from the laundered funds, to ensure recovery and restitution to affected homebuyers.

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IndiGo to start flights from Navi Mumbai International Airport from Dec 25

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Mumbai, Nov 15: Low-cost airline IndiGo on Saturday announced flight operations from the newly-opened Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) starting December 25, connecting the airport to 10 cities across the country.

IndiGo will connect the future-ready airport to 10 cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, North Goa (Mopa), Jaipur, Nagpur, Cochin, and Mangalore, the airline said in a statement.

The airline said it plans to expand operations at NMIA progressively by adding direct routes to more destinations in due course.

NMIA, the second airport in the Mumbai metropolitan area, is designed to complement Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and meet growing demand for air travel from India’s financial capital.

NMIA is expected to enhance regional connectivity and support economic development in western India due to its strategic location.

By enhancing regional connectivity and supporting economic development in western India, the launch of IndiGo’s operations will connect the airport to its vast domestic network of 95 airports across the country, it added.

The Navi Mumbai International Airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month, as a major achievement in India’s economic development and “a symbol of Bharat’s aspirations”.

PM Modi said that Mumbai welcomed its second international airport, marking a significant milestone in its journey to becoming Asia’s premier connectivity hub. “Through this new airport, the farmers of Maharashtra will be able to connect with supermarkets in Europe and the Middle East as well,” he observed.

NMIA will ease congestion at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and significantly increase India’s aviation capacity.

The Navi Mumbai International Airport Private is designed to accommodate both domestic and international passengers, featuring state-of-the-art facilities. It includes a 3,700-metre runway capable of handling large commercial aircraft, modern passenger terminals, and advanced air traffic control systems.

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Stock markets end week on a strong note as NDA secures landmark win in Bihar

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Mumbai, Nov 15: Indian equity markets ended the week on a strong note, with benchmark indices gaining on the resolution of the US government shutdown, supported by strong domestic fundamentals, better-than-expected Q2 earnings, easing inflation and NDA’s historic victory in Bihar, according to analysts.

Record-low October inflation reinforced expectations of an RBI rate cut, adding momentum to domestic equities.

According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, sectoral momentum was broad-based, led by gains in IT, Pharma, healthcare and Auto stocks.

“Toward the week’s close, the NDA’s Bihar election victory bolstered investor confidence, but fading expectations of a U.S. Fed rate cut triggered profit booking in IT stocks, tempering their earlier gains,” he mentioned.

The indices remained under pressure for most of the session on Friday, oscillating between losses and brief recoveries, before a strong late-afternoon rebound pushed them into the green.

Volatility picked up as markets tracked the Bihar election outcome, the day’s key trigger.

Sentiment was also weighed down by weak global cues after Wall Street fell sharply overnight, led by declines in Nvidia and other tech majors as investors dialled back hopes of near-term rate cuts amid lingering inflation worries, according to a note by Bajaj Broking Research.

At close, the Sensex ended 84 points or 0.1 per cent higher at 84,563, while the Nifty finished 31 points up at 25,910. Sectoral trends were mixed, with PSU banks leading gains at 1.17 per cent, followed by firm moves in pharma and FMCG.

Energy and infrastructure saw mild upticks. On the downside, IT declined 1.03 per cent, while auto, metal, and realty ended lower.

Among the broader market space, Nifty Small-cap 100 rose 0.38 per cent, while the Midcap 100 gained 0.08 per cent.

According to analysts, Nifty on the weekly chart has formed a strong bull candle with a higher high and a higher low signaling pullback after two weeks of corrective decline, “in line with our expectations from the key support area of 25,400-25,300”.

Going ahead, bias continues to remain positive and a follow through strength above last month high of 26,100 will open upside towards the previous all-time high of 26,277 in the coming week.

Looking ahead, market direction will hinge on key macro triggers such as India’s PMI data, US jobless claims, FOMC minutes and progress on US–India trade negotiations.

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