NEW DELHI, Oct 1 (Reuters) – The maker of the BlackBerry smartphone has granted India’s government manual access to its Messenger service and has promised automated access by Jan. 1, enabling authorities to track such messages in real time, the country’s top interior ministry official said on Friday.

India, one of the world’s fastest growing mobile telephone markets, also wants access to encrypted email traffic sent via Research In Motion’s enterprise servers. The BlackBerry maker says its system is designed so that only the sponsoring business or organization has the technical capability to grant such access.

India, among several countries to express concerns BlackBerry services could be used to stir political or social instability, has threatened RIM (RIM.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) with a ban if denied access to the data.

RIM (RIMM.O: Quote, Profile, Research) won a 60-day reprieve from India at the end of August after offering India a solution to monitor some BlackBerry data, a claim yet to be confirmed by the Canadian firm.

“We have manual access to the Messenger service. We want automated access and we are hopeful of getting it from January 1,” G.K. Pillai, India’s home (interior) secretary, told Reuters.

At the moment, security agencies are getting manual printouts of chat messages within four to five hours of placing their requirements with RIM, a home ministry source said, adding that once it gets automated access, it could track chat messages on a real-time basis. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

For a Q+A on BlackBerry technology, click [ID:nN12132220] ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The government has manual access to chat communication on BlackBerry messenger services and expects to get automated access from Jan. 1, Home Secretary G.K. Pillai said on Friday.

India, which along with several other countries has expressed concerns that BlackBerry services could be used to stir political or social instability, had threatened BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion(RIM.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) with a ban if it were denied access to the data.

RIM(RIMM.O: Quote, Profile, Research) won a 60-day reprieve at the end of August after offering India a solution to monitor BlackBerry data, a claim yet to be confirmed by the Canadian firm.

“We have manual access to the messenger service. We want automated access and we are hopeful of getting it from January 1,” Pillai told Reuters.

At the moment, security agencies are getting manual printouts of chat messages within four to five hours of placing their requirements with RIM, said a home ministry source, adding that once automated access is given, chat messages could be tracked on a real-time basis.

India wanted access for its security agencies to communication both in BlackBerry Messenger and secure corporate email services, and government officials have said the solution provided so far is limited to the messenger service.

RIM has repeatedly said that neither it nor any wireless network operator have the keys needed to read the encrypted data sent through its BlackBerry Enterprise Solution (BES) for corporate email services.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The Indian government has manual access to chat communication on BlackBerry messenger services and expects to get automated access from January 1, the country’s top interior ministry official said on Friday.

India, which along with several other countries has expressed concerns that BlackBerry services could be used to stir political or social instability, had threatened BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion with a ban if it were denied access to the data.

RIM won a 60-day reprieve at the end of August after offering India a solution to monitor BlackBerry data, a claim yet to be confirmed by the Canadian firm.

“We have manual access to the messenger service. We want automated access and we are hopeful of getting it from January 1,” G.K. Pillai, India’s home (interior) secretary told Reuters.

At the moment, security agencies are getting manual printouts of chat messages within four to five hours of placing their requirements with RIM, said a home ministry source, adding that once automated access is given, chat messages could be tracked on a real-time basis.

India wanted access for its security agencies to communication both in BlackBerry Messenger and secure corporate email services, and government officials have said the solution provided so far is limited to the messenger service.

RIM has repeatedly said that neither it nor any wireless network operator have the keys needed to read the encrypted data sent through its BlackBerry Enterprise Solution (BES) for corporate email services.

NEW DELHI, Oct 1 (Reuters) – The Indian government has manual access to chat communication on BlackBerry messenger services and expects to get automated access from Jan. 1, the country’s top interior ministry official said on Friday.

India, which along with several other countries has expressed concerns that BlackBerry services could be used to stir political or social instability, had threatened BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) with a ban if it were denied access to the data.

RIM (RIMM.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) won a 60-day reprieve at the end of August after offering India a solution to monitor BlackBerry data, a claim yet to be confirmed by the Canadian firm.

“We have manual access to the messenger service. We want automated access and we are hopeful of getting it from January 1,” G.K. Pillai, India’s home (interior) secretary told Reuters.

At the moment, security agencies are getting manual printouts of chat messages within four to five hours of placing their requirements with RIM, said a home ministry source, adding that once automated access is given, chat messages could be tracked on a real-time basis.

India wanted access for its security agencies to communication both in BlackBerry Messenger and secure corporate email services, and government officials have said the solution provided so far is limited to the messenger service.

RIM has repeatedly said that neither it nor any wireless network operator have the keys needed to read the encrypted data sent through its BlackBerry Enterprise Solution (BES) for corporate email services.

AYODHYA, India (Reuters) – A court will rule on Thursday whether Hindus or Muslims own a disputed religious site in northern India, a judgment many fear could trigger an outbreak of communal rioting.

The government has appealed for calm after the court in Uttar Pradesh state decides on the ownership of the site of a 16th century mosque, a flashpoint which flared in 1992, triggering some of India’s worst riots that killed about 2,000 people.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called the verdict one of the country’s biggest security challenges, and it comes at an already tense time when India worries about its international image days before the Commonwealth Games start in New Delhi.

The issue haunts the ruling Congress party, a left-of-center group with secular roots, which will have to stand by a verdict that is likely to upset one or other major voter bloc.

“I think that India has moved on. Young people have moved on, and young people recognize that the India story is more than a dispute about a place entitled to one religious group or another,” Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said.

“People realize that the India story must not be derailed by a dispute over one place,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

Hindus and Muslims have quarreled for more than a century over the history of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya, a town in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

NEW DELHI, Sept 22 (Reuters) – India is aiming to finalise a $5.8 billion defence agreement with the United States before the November visit of President Barack Obama in a deal that would mark the biggest India-U.S. defense deal ever.

The two countries are in talks for India to acquire 10 Boeing Co’s (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) C-17 Globemaster III planes, senior government officials said on Wednesday, adding the parties hope to make the announcement during Obama’s visit.

“The $5.8 billion deal along with all potential support services and spares is the biggest-ever defence deal between the two countries till now,” a senior government official told Reuters.

Another official said the actual announcement could be made during President Obama’s visit.

India and the U.S. are building a strategic alliance and security experts say New Delhi’s growing ties with Washington are seen as a counterweight against China’s growing military clout.

India and the United States signed a landmark civilian nuclear deal in 2008 and another pact in July last year, facilitating the entry of U.S. companies like Lockheed and Boeing into India’s lucrative defence market.

New Delhi expressed its interest in January to buy the heavy-lift C-17 Globemaster aircraft, capable of carrying large combat equipment and troops.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India is in talks with Research In Motion(RIM.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) for access to BlackBerry corporate emails, a senior government source said on Tuesday, adding that its current access was only for the messenger services.

“They have started giving us access to messenger service from September 1,” the source said. “Discussions are under way so that we get access to the other service which is corporate email so that we can read it in readable format.”

A source had earlier told Reuters the Indian government had been granted access to data effective Sept 1, but the nature of the access was unclear until now.

Robert Crow, a vice president at the Canadian maker of popular BlackBerry phones, met interior secretary Gopal Pillai and other senior officials on Tuesday. Crow refused to comment on the nature of discussions after the meeting.

(For Slideshow: Evolution of the BlackBerry, click here)

A spokeswoman for RIM was not immediately available for comment.

India had threatened to shut off RIM’s encrypted email and instant messaging services unless it gained access to them, in a campaign driven by fears that unmonitored email and messaging puts the country’s security at risk.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India is in talks with Research In Motion for access to BlackBerry corporate emails, a senior government source said on Tuesday, adding that its current access was only for the messenger services.

“They have started giving us access to messenger service from September 1,” the source said. “Discussions are under way so that we get access to the other service which is corporate email so that we can read it in readable format.”

A source had earlier told Reuters the Indian government had been granted access to data effective Sept 1, but the nature of the access was unclear until now.

Robert Crow, a vice president at the Canadian maker of popular BlackBerry phones, met interior secretary Gopal Pillai and other senior officials on Tuesday. Crow refused to comment on the nature of discussions after the meeting.

A spokeswoman for RIM was not immediately available for comment.

India had threatened to shut off RIM’s encrypted email and instant messaging services unless it gained access to them, in a campaign driven by fears that unmonitored email and messaging puts the country’s security at risk.

In addition to India, several other countries, mostly in the Middle East, have raised concerns that the popular BlackBerry device could be used to aid terrorism or peddle pornography.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Australia and the United States issued travel warnings on Monday a day after two Taiwanese nationals were shot at near India’s main mosque in the capital and a car exploded at the same place.

Police said they found traces of explosives in the car that went up in flames minutes after two men wearing helmets and raincoats fired at a tourist bus on Sunday outside the historic Jama Masjid mosque, before fleeing into a narrow street.

“We have found traces of ammonium nitrate and parts of a pressure cooker inside the car,” Rajan Bhagat, the Delhi Police spokesman said. “The probe is still on.”

Indian authorities played down Sunday’s shooting and said it could be the work of local criminals, but a government source said militant action could not be ruled out.

“We are not ruling out anything. we are looking at all possible angles,” said a senior interior ministry official, who spoke on conditions of anonymity because of the sensitivity.

Interior ministry officials said the two incidents may be connected and the government has directed the police to step up investigation and tighten security across the city, which will host the Commonwealth Games between October 3-14.

An email purportedly from the Indian Mujahideen, a home-grown Islamist group with links to militants in Pakistan, was sent to BBC and some local media after the attack. The statement threatened attacks on the Games.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India has asked mobile phone operators to upgrade their networks to help security agencies intercept communication on BlackBerry devices, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday, as the government wants access to highly-secure data.

India had threatened to shut off RIM’s encrypted email and instant messaging services unless it gained access to them, in a campaign driven by fears that unmonitored email and messaging puts the country’s security at risk.

In addition to India, several other countries, mostly in the Middle East, have raised concerns that the popular BlackBerry device could be used to aid terrorism or peddle pornography.

(For Slideshow: Evolution of the BlackBerry, click here)

The Indian interior ministry said on Aug. 30 that the Canadian firm had offered several ways to allow authorities to monitor BlackBerry communications. The government said it would check their feasibility over the next 60 days.

“(Mobile) service providors will have to upgrade so that access to BlackBerry services are smooth,” said a senior government source with knowledge of the developments on Monday.

An India-based spokesman for RIM declined to comment on whether the government had started accessing BlackBerry traffic.