NEW DELHI: The Indian government on Saturday directed social media platforms to prevent the dissemination of hoax bomb threats targeting airlines, schools, hospitals and hotels across the South Asian country, reported Xinhua.

In an advisory issued to social media companies, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology instructed them to promptly remove hoaxes, report threats, and cooperate with authorities.

More than 300 flights in the country have reportedly received such threats, leading to some being diverted.

India's federal civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said earlier this week that safety remains the government's top priority and rules were being amended to put people who make such calls on the no-fly list.

In June, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, India's civil aviation security body, proposed a five-year flying ban on those who issue such threats.

--BERNAMA-XINHUA