Home ministry asks Department of Telecom to levy fine on two companies

The home ministry has asked the DoT to initiate "strict" action and levy fine on two telecom companies for failing to provide exact details of people using internet. In an internal communication to DoT Secretary R Chandrashekar, a joint director of a central security agency, working under the home ministry, said internet protocol addresses were provided along with exact dates and timings to some telecom service providers. However, the two firms - a private telecom company and a foreign company - providing internet solution in India, were "unable to provide us with exact details and actual user in case of communication" used through mobiles phones. "As a result, we have been unable to trace our targets. Lack of timely and precise input from the telecom service provider hampers operational effectiveness of the data sought which results in operational ineffectiveness and failure of the ongoing operation, thus undermining the importance of national security," the note said.