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Tech Honcho Proposes India's Own Social Media to Rival Facebook

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Indian entrepreneur Anand Mahindra has called upon start-ups to come up with suitable proposals for establishing an India-based social networking site to replace Facebook that has, of late, found itself in a soup over the alleged data breach.

New Delhi (Sputnik): Owner of Indian tech giant Mahindra Group Anand Mahindra tweeted on Tuesday that he would like to fund an Indian start-up to rival the social media giant Facebook. The offer comes in the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal that shook Facebook last week. In his open offer, Mahindra wondered if the time was right to build an alternative social networking platform based in India. 

The noted industrialist, known for his philanthropy and support to startups, has promised seed capital to an Indian start-up that can professionally manage an Indian version of Facebook. 

Mark Zuckerberg-owned Facebook has been accused of breaching the privacy of fifty million users by sharing their details with British data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica. There were also reports that the firm used the data to allegedly manipulate the US elections. The scandal also hit the Indian social and political realm, with two of the biggest political parties — the ruling BJP and the Congress — accusing each other of having covert links with Cambridge Analytica. 

There have been strong calls from activists for the ban on Facebook and other social media platforms, especially in government offices or other establishments dealing with sensitive data, citing the example of Singapore.

Furthermore, India's minister for information and technology (IT) has threatened to take stringent action against Facebook if the allegations are found to be correct. 

However, a photograph of the IT minister with an official of Facebook has gone viral, evoking a strong response from the media and the public.

 

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