FB unveils political ad transparency tool

New Delhi: Aiming to bring more transparency to ads related to politics in India ahead of General Election, Facebook on Thursday launched a tool that will allow its users to know people behind a particular political ad on the platform and how much they spent for it. Users will be able to see political ads with 'published by' or 'paid for by' disclaimers, it said. For the disclaimer, authorised advertisers can name themselves, a page they run or another organisation as the entity behind the ad. Enforcement of these new features will start on February 21, it said. IANS

IAS officer to spend Rs 36K on son's wedding

Visakhapatnam: Andhra IAS officer Patnala Basanth Kumar has yet again set an example for others by deciding to spend just Rs 36,000 on the marriage of his son scheduled on February 10. The families of bridegroom and bride will spend Rs 18,000 each on the ceremony, including lunch for guests. In 2017, the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority Commissioner had spent Rs 16,100 on his daughter's wedding. IANS

Seaplane services on anvil at six places

New Delhi: Seaplane and helicopter services are planned at six water aerodrome sites under the regional connectivity scheme (UDAN), Parliament was informed on Thursday. Minister of State for Shipping, Pon Radhakrishnan informed about it to the Lok Sabha in a written reply. He, however, said: “There is no proposal so far to start seaplane and helicopter operations on 1,680 km length of the Ganga for passenger transport.” The water aerodrome sites are Guwahati river front, Nagarjuna Sagar, Sabarmati river front, Shatrunjay Dam, Statue of Unity (Sardar Sarovar Dam) and Umrangso Reservoir. PTI