A new CIS division under MHA begins work; mandate includes weeding out child pornography

A NEW division called Cyber and Information Security (CIS) was created on November 10, 2017 under the ministry of home affairs (MHA) under which Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre and the Cyber Police Force are being set up. The CIS Division will have four Wings, namely…

security clearance, cyber crime prevention, cyber security and information security wings each headed by an under secretary level officer, according to a statement issued by the MHA on Wednesday, the day union home minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the progress of the functioning of the new division.

Singh expressed concern over the rising incidents of sharing pornography over the internet. The minister further directed the officials of the new division to create an effective mechanism to strictly monitor cyber space and block website flouting India’s laws, especially child porn, said the official statement.

An online portal for preparing, follow up and issue of advisory on financial fraud related matters is also in the offing.

Meanwhile, in an unrelated development, the government on Wednesday appointed Ms Swaranashree Rao Rajashekar, a 1997 batch Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) officer, as the Official Spokesperson for the ministry of defence.

Also, the central deputation tenure of Ms Veena Sinha, 1995 batch Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers officer, was on Wednesday extended for two years beyond November 22, 2017. Ms Sinha is a director in the ministry of new and renewable energy. 

Also, Pramod Kumar Sahoo, 1997 batch Indian Ordnance Factory Service officer, has been appointed as financial adviser and chief accounts officer under the department of commerce for five years. Meanwhile, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal of the department of empowerment of persons with disabilities (Divyangjan) for extension of Central deputation tenure of Mukesh Jain, 1989 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IPS and joint secretary and CEO of National Trust for a period of three months upto April 20, 2018.