Facebook’s encryption plans
Child-protection organisations say Facebook's decision to
strongly encrypt messages will give offenders a place to hide. The
company is moving ahead with plans to implement the measure
on Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct. But more than
100 organisations, have signed an open letter warning the plans
will undermine efforts to catch abusers. They say Facebook
has failed to address concerns about child safety. End-to-end
encryption, already used on Facebook-owned WhatsApp, means
no-one, including the company that owns the platform, can see
the content of sent messages. And the letter urges the company
to stop the rollout of its plans until "sufficient safeguards" are in
place. A spokesman for Facebook said protecting the wellbeing
of children on its platform was "critically important" to it. "We
have led the industry in safeguarding children from exploitation
and we are bringing this same commitment and leadership to
our work on encryption," he said.
Bagful of
opportunities for
SME sector
Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal
has urged the SME sector manufacturers
to produce high quality goods following
international standards, so that exports from
the SME sector may become a part of the
global value chain.
He said the sector has better adaptability to
cater to the export market due to its smaller
size and can adapt to market change sooner.
The Ministry has directed Small Industries
Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and the
Credit Guarantee Funds Trust for Micro and
Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) to set up a
framework that will enable them to process
loans to SME units faster and also provide
insurance cover to the SME exporters.
The other important issues that the sector
face include difficulty in accessing credit
from banks, delay in payments from Public
Sector Units and Government departments,
the issue of GST refund, the dearth of skilled
manpower and the issue of differing wages in
States across the country.
In order to mainstream the 8 million
Indian women who have started and
are running their own businesses, the
Government e-Marketplace may handhold
the women led SMEs and onboard these
enterprises on the GeM portal.
The MSME sector in India employs over
100 million people and accounts for 45% of
manufacturing output and more than 40% of
the country’s exports.
With 63.4 million units throughout the
country, MSMEs contribute around 6.11% of
the manufacturing GDP and 24.63% of the
GDP from service activities.
www.smartgovernance.in | February 2020 45