Ravi Shankar Prasad, Telecom minister, has made an announcement that Government has withdrawn draft of "encryption policy" on Tuesday, adding that the National Encryption Policy raised several apprehensions, when kept online.

"In view of the concerns raised over the encryption policy, I have asked the draft to be withdrawn, made changes to and then re-released," the minister said.

It was clarified by the minister that National Encryption Policy is not a government policy rather it is just a draft. He also made it clear that ordinary consumers would not be affected by the encryption policy and the purpose behind the encryption is not concerned with Facebook, WhatsApp and other social media messaging platforms commonly used by people.

As there is a huge rise in cyberspace transactions, there is a need for the government to bring a new policy to make then safer. The social media freedom would be supported by the Union government, said Prasad.

The telecom minister said, "We are very proud of the initiatives taken by the government under leadership of PM Narendra Modi for promotion of social media.”

-Sumana