LUCKNOW, Dec. 24 -- The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday said cyber offences, including the circulation of obscene and offensive content on social media, can face penalties of up to Rs. one crore and imprisonment of up to seven years. The government added that it has trained and certified 84,705 police personnel through a dedicated Cyber Crime Training Portal to tackle the surge in cyber fraud and high-tech crimes amid expanding digital transactions.

Assembly speaker Satish Mahana said the issue is of great importance, particularly for those in public and political life, who are often affected by misinformation and abusive online comments. Mahana urged the government to consider a strong policy framework so that exemplary punishment i...