Jaipur, Aug 18: Panic gripped Jaipur after the Rajasthan Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) received a bomb threat on Tuesday.

A threatening phone call was received at the Jaipur Police Control Room, prompting police and administrative officials to step up security measures.

Soon after receiving the information, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), Rajarshi Raj, reached the spot and took stock of the situation.

Police teams have launched an investigation to identify the caller and determine the motive behind the threat.

Technical teams are also examining the call details and other available information to trace its origin.

Police officials are treating the threat seriously and are checking whether it poses any actual security risk.

Further details are awaited as the investigation continues.

This is not the first time that prominent locations in Jaipur have received bomb threats.

In July 2025, both the Chief Minister’s Office and Jaipur International Airport were reportedly threatened through emails.

Security agencies, including bomb disposal teams, conducted searches at the locations, but no explosives were found.

Jaipur has also witnessed several similar threats targeting schools, the airport, metro stations, court complexes and the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.

On May 30, 2025, a bomb threat was reported at Mansarovar Metro Station and the Metro Court-Family Court complex.

The Sawai Mansingh Stadium also received multiple bomb threats in May 2025.

Earlier in July 2025, Maheshwari Girls Public School in Vidhyadhar Nagar received a threatening email.

The school premises were evacuated and thoroughly searched by security teams. However, no explosive device was found.

The repeated threats have raised concerns over security in Jaipur, particularly as several high-profile government and public locations have been targeted in the past.

Police are now working to establish the identity of the person behind Tuesday’s call and determine whether the threat was genuine or a hoax.

Security agencies are maintaining heightened vigilance around the CMO and other sensitive locations in the city.

New Delhi, Aug 18: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre, sates and intermediaries to respond to a plea aimed at preventing police officials from uploading photos and videos of an accused on social media to safeguard the latter’s fundamental right to fair trial.

Taking note of the petitioner’ view that revealing identities of accused could prejudice their right to fair trial, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymala Bagchi and Justice V Mohana took note of a suggestion for having in place guidelines for use of social media by police organisations.

At the same time, CJI Surya Kant wondered how preventing police from sharing photos online could prevent the circulation of the content in the digital ecosystem.

“his is not a border that you can just close down,” CJI Kant said, agreeing with the need to prevent the uploading of content that reveals faces or identities of accused.

During the hearing, petitioner Hemendra Patel was represented by Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan who shared images and videos depicting accused in handcuffs or being made to kneel.

Stressing on the need for uniform guidelines at the national level, Sankaranarayanan said that there is a crying need for an operational mechanism to prevent police-generated content violating the rights of an accused, who is still to be proved guilty.

He added that similar issues have been examined in some High Courts earlier but there is scope for a uniform national framework to prevent police organisations from circulating photos and videos of the accused.

The petition, which made the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and social media platforms respondents in the matter, also sought a formal, transparent and structured mechanism for prompt removal of such content in case of an objection.

A reference was also made to a matter in Rajasthan High Court in January wherein the judges ordered a takedown of social media content related to an accused under arrest.

Following this case, the state police issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) curbing the practice of uploading or sharing of photos and videos of arrested persons on social media or with mediapersons.

New Delhi, Aug 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the fifth edition of SEMICON India 2026 on September 17 here as India seeks to accelerate the development of its domestic semiconductor ecosystem, an official statement said on Tuesday.

The three-day conference and exhibition — themed Silicon to Systems: Building the Ecosystem — will be held between September 17 and September 19 and is being jointly organised by the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) — under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) — and global industry association SEMI, the ministry said.

The event is expected to bring together policymakers, global semiconductor companies, industry executives, researchers, academics, start-ups and students to discuss developments across the semiconductor and electronics value chain.

In addition, the Centre recently approved Semicon 2.0 to strengthen the country’s semiconductor manufacturing and supply-chain capabilities.

The government said it is also supporting semiconductor research, innovation and design through access to advanced design tools for more than 332 academic institutions and 105 start-ups.

Moreover, 24 start-ups have been approved under the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme.

However, India’s semiconductor ambitions have gained momentum under the Semicon India Programme with 12 projects approved under Semicon 1.0 to help build a domestic semiconductor ecosystem, according to the ministry.

S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, said the 2026 edition comes at a significant stage in India’s semiconductor journey, noting that three of the 12 projects approved under Semicon 1.0 have commenced commercial production.

“The announcement of Semicon 2.0 with six major pillars further strengthens India’s commitment to build a robust and resilient semiconductor ecosystem,” he said.

Ajit Manocha, President and Chief Executive Officer of SEMI, said India is well positioned to expand its role in the global semiconductor industry through its talent pool, policy support and long-term vision.

Ashok Chandak, President of SEMI India and IESA, said the event reflects India’s efforts to build a comprehensive semiconductor value chain and has become a key platform for collaboration among industry leaders, policymakers, investors and researchers.

Additionally, the exhibition is expected to feature more than 500 exhibitors, including over 240 international companies, with delegations from more than 40 countries.

According to the ministry, the event will also include six country pavilions, 10 state government pavilions, a start-up pavilion, innovation showcase, start-up pitch competition, student hackathon and workforce development pavilion.