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Digital public infrastructure and platforms

India's digital public infrastructure and the rules for digital platforms: identity, payments, records and registries built as public goods, digital money, and the regulation of online selling, gaming, platforms and competition. It serves GS2 answers on e-governance and GS3 answers on the digital economy.

Showing 2 of 4 subjects, those that changed from 16 to 31 July 2026.Show all

Safe harbour and the Meta takedown

Prelims and Mains

Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 protects a platform from liability for what users post. In Shreya Singhal the Supreme Court held that a platform need remove content only on a court order or a government notification tied to Article 19(2). Blocking orders under Section 69A are confidential.

What changed

10 Aug 2026New subjectnewly added
- A video posted by the Prime Minister became inaccessible on Facebook for some hours on 28 July with a notice citing a legal request, and was restored as an operational error.
- A parliamentary committee demanded an apology and spoke of withdrawing safe harbour, which only Parliament can do by amending the law.
Mains: safe harbour fits hosting but not paid advertising, where the platform picks the audience and earns from each view, which is the case for independent audits of algorithms as the European Union requires of very large platforms.
Frontline, 10 Aug 2026 · Frontline, 18 Jul 2026
18 Jul 2026Updatealso in news
- NITI Aayog consulted technology firms on whether India's takedown and grievance timelines are workable for intermediaries of different sizes, as part of a wider deregulation exercise.
- Intermediaries must remove content and answer grievances within timelines set under the Information Technology rules.
The Indian Express, 18 Jul 2026: NITI Aayog asks technology firms whether India's content blocking and compliance timelines are workable (opens in a new tab)

Digital public infrastructure abroad

Mains

India offers its digital public infrastructure, such as DigiLocker and the payments and identity stack, to other countries through digital cooperation agreements and a fund for pilots in low and middle income countries.

What changed

29 Jul 2026New subject
- India has signed digital cooperation agreements with 24 countries. Kenya has concluded an implementation agreement for DigiLocker, and a Social Impact Fund will pay for pilots in low and middle income countries.
PIB, 29 Jul 2026: India Strengthens Global Digital Cooperation through Digital Public Infrastructure Partnerships with 24 Countries (opens in a new tab)

Also filed elsewhere

Deepfake labelling rules · on AI governance, safety and ethics
India reaches artificial intelligence through the platform that carries the content rather than through the model that made it.