The Civil Services Bill, 2009 And Discriminatory Protection

TO beat the Prime Minister’s 100-day governance agenda, the mandarins in his office are working overtime to evolve an efficient and effective public service to serve the UPA mascot ~ aam aadmi. As part of this new initiative, these reformers have placed on the fast track the enactment of a public service code that will lay down a strict performance evaluation regime for promotions and postings of senior civil servants. But even before the process has been initiated, one breed of civil servants ~ those who hail from ‘God’s Own Country’ ~ seem to be exempt from this code. The Civil Services Bill, 2009, a draft of which is being fine-tuned, will enunciate this code. It will provide for parliamentary scrutiny on all bureaucratic appointments, transfers and postings. It is believed to be an improved version of the Public Service Bill, 2007 which did not materialise during the UPA’s previous dispensation. These provisions will first be applicable to IAS and IPS officers and may later be extended to all services that come under the all-India service category, including the Indian Forest Service.

The Bill, which incorporates various suggestions of the second Administrative Reforms Commission, envisages the setting up of a new Central Public Service Authority (CPSA). It will not only manage the civil services in a professional manner, but also serve the interests of civil servants and citizens through checks and balances.

Fixed tenure

IF the Civil Services Bill becomes an Act in its present form, all bureaucrats will get a minimum fixed tenure of three years. If any bureaucrat is transferred before three years, he or she will have to be compensated for the inconvenience and harassment caused due to such a move. This is a vague provision. What sort of ‘inconvenience and harassment’ can an official claim if he is transferred ten times in three years within the same building and retains the same residence?

As regards the top-level appointments in states, the Chief Secretary and Director-General of Police will be selected out of a panel of suitable candidates by a committee comprising the Chief Minister, the leader of the Opposition and the home minister. Currently, the Chief Minister alone decides on such appointments.

Similarly, the leader of the Opposition will also have a say in the appointment of the Cabinet Secretary who will be selected from a panel by a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the leader of the Opposition and the home minister. If the government deviates from these norms while appointing bureaucrats, it will have to inform Parliament about the reasons for doing so.

The new Bill will put in place a different kind of performance evaluation system. Unlike the current practice of Annual Confidential Reports which take a panoramic and often prejudiced view of a civil servant’s work, the new performance management system will evaluate officials on their job-specific achievements and the number of tasks that they perform as a team leader in a particular department.

The system will be managed by the CPSA which will work under a chairman whose rank will be equivalent to that of the Chief Election Commissioner. The CPSA, comprising three to five members, will have the power to recommend action against the public servants who do not adhere to the codes and values of public service. The Authority will assist and advise the Centre in all matters concerning the organisation, control, operation and management of public services and public servants.

The CPSA will also be the custodian of the public service code for civil servants. It will be framed to facilitate civil servants ‘in discharging official duties with competence and accountability; care and diligence; responsibility, honesty, objectivity and impartiality; without discrimination and in accordance with the law’. The incubating Public Service Bill, 2007 contained certain Values of Public Services: (a) patriotism and upholding national pride; (b) allegiance to the Constitution and the law of the nation; (c) objectivity, impartiality, honesty, diligence, courtesy and transparency; (d) absolute integrity. It is a travesty that after six decades, a law has to be enacted to inculcate values in our elite civil servants, indeed values that are expected of any ordinary citizen.

The reforms to develop the public services as ‘a professional, neutral, merit based and accountable instrument for promoting good governance and better delivery of services to the citizens’ is a bold and assertive step by the Prime Minister and his team and, therefore, deserves to be welcomed.

Quite the contrary

BUT what is actually happening, presumably with the knowledge of the Prime Minister, is quite the contrary. Of late, a mini-replica of ‘God’s Own Country’ has been created in New Delhi’s corridors of power, originating from the Prime Minister’s Office itself. Almost every conceivable top civil service post has been captured either by those who belong to ‘God’s Own Country’ or speak the language of that ‘land of lagoons’. The list looks endless and impressive ~ National Security Advisor; Secretary to the President of India; Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister; Cabinet Secretary; Home Secretary; Foreign Secretary and the Secretaries to the Government of India in the Departments of Civil Aviation, Coal, Mines, Labour and Employment, Legal Affairs, Overseas Indian Affairs, Urban Development, Space, Textiles and Heavy Industries. It looks as if those who were involved in this process of selection and placement ran out of candidates. Otherwise, the list would have been much longer. These ‘selectors’ are forever alert. In anticipation of the retirement of the incumbent Foreign Secretary at the end of July they have already announced his replacement ~ another lady from ‘God’s Own Country’!

No public service code or reform initiative will have any meaning or credibility if this debilitating parochial inbreeding doesn’t stop. The least that the Prime Minister can do is to submit this ‘parochial’ agenda to parliamentary scrutiny as envisaged in the proposed Civil Services Bill. The question is: will he or can he?


AUTHOR: MG DEVASAHAYAM

SOURCE: STATESMAN

Indian National ICT Crisis Management Plan

The government of India (GOI) has accepted one more suggestion of Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the Leading Techno-Legal Expert of India. It has recently finalised a “National Crisis Management Plan”, in a bid to protect IT infrastructure in critical sectors such as petroleum, aviation, banking, power and telecom.

This plan is in conformity with the suggestions of Praveen Dalal regarding protecting critical ICT infrastructure of India as well as formulating good crisis management plan for India. The details of the plan are still awaited but it would require tremendous expertise to meet the challenging requirements of an ambitious plan like this.

However, issues of human rights in cyberspace, strong cyber law, secure e-governance base, adequate cyber security, effective cyber forensics capabilities, etc have still not been resolved by GOI. In the absence of strong cyber law and cyber security as well as inadequate e-governance infrastructure, the crisis management plan of GOI is bound to fail. Further, this ambitious plan requires domain specific techno-legal expertise that is presently missing in India.

However, at least a beginning has been made in the right direction. But only time will tell whether this would be useful initiative of just another wishful claim by the GOI.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

E-Governance In India: Interview Of Praveen Dalal

E-Governance in India has failed by and large. Despite spending many thousand crores of money, the e-governance projects of India failed to make any significant impact. Of course, in exceptional cases, very few e-governance projects were successful in India. What failed the e-governance projects of India? Why these projects are not taking a concrete shape? What steps must be taken by Indian government to implement successful e-governance projects in India?

SOURCE: ITVOIR

Failure Of 100 Days Workplan Of Indian Government: What Would Be The Next Carrot?

President of India has recently revealed the “Priorities” of Indian Government in the next five years/100 days. However as per experts within a week of time span (100 days starting from 5th June, 2009 and ending on 12th September, 2009) some of the “Promises” of the Indian government seems to be just “political jargon” alone.

Now even a larger community has shown its concerns regarding the feasibility and possible failure of the 100 days plan of Indian government. Even oppositions are coming from the government’s partners and ruling States themselves. For instance, human resource development minister Kapil Sibal had to clarify his stand on his reformative ideas when many States showed their concerns about the proposed reforms.

With the end result of 100 days agenda very apparent, various ministries are now trying to fool Indians by prolonging the “starting point” of the 100 days plan. The government is in no serious mood to actually implement the promises made by it on 4th June 2009. The actual period of 100 days started from 5th June 2009 and the government is just fooling Indians by now claiming that its ministries would release its 100 days plan very soon.

The 100 days period must expire on 12th September 2009. However, the ministries of UPA government have still not wakened to this reality. Rather they are in a mood to give another carrot to Indian citizens to chew by claiming that 100 days plan would be revealed very soon.

With the Parliament session in the corner, the true faces of many ministries would be revealed. The embarrassing moments for the Congress led government are definitely going to haunt the government till the next session of the Parliament. Further if the government is still not serious and honest than perhaps for the rest of its 5 years tenure. As far as carrots are concerned, the government must stop giving them to Indian citizens lest they complaint of perpetual indigestion.

AUTHOR: GUNJAN SINGH

SOURCE: MYNEWS

US Grappling With Privacy And Cyber Security Balancing Act

The Obama administration is moving cautiously on a new pilot program that would both detect and stop cyber attacks against government computers, while trying to ensure citizen privacy protections.

The pilot program, known as Einstein 3, was supposed to launch in February. But the Department of Homeland Security is still pulling the plan together, according to senior administration officials.

Einstein 3 has triggered debate and privacy concerns because the program will use National Security Agency technology, which is already being employed on military networks.

Any involvement of the NSA — the agency oversees electronic intelligence-gathering — in protecting domestic computer networks worries privacy and civil liberties groups who oppose giving such control to U.S. spy agencies.

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS

E-Commerce Law Of India Needs Urgent Amendment

E-commerce law in India is primitive says Praveen Dalal, India’s leading techno-legal expert. He has also suggested for enacting suitable cyber law, e-commerce law, e-governance law, etc to Union Minister for Law M Veerappa Moily.

E-commerce is in its preliminary stage in India. It has lots of potential but a weak and inadequate technology law regime is not allowing it to reap maximum benefits. If the government of India makes suitable laws, e-commerce can mature into a profitable industry in India.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

Information Technology Amendment Act 2009 Of India

Cyber law of India requires rejuvenation. In this interview with Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the Leading Techno-Legal Expert of India he suggested that the Government of India (GOI) must come up with the Information Technology Amendment Act, 2009. In fact he has been suggesting that there is a need to “reformulate” the Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008 (IT Act, 2008) as it is going to create lot of problems for India in future. Already “wrong prosecutions” have brought bad name for India in general and Indian law enforcement in particular.

Human Rights violations in cyberspace are bound to happen in India in the absence of good . It seems the GOI has finally woken up from its sleep and is plannlegal enablement of ICT systems in Indiaing to bring further amendments in the existing Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act, 2000). Union Minister for Law M Veerappa Moily said the Government will amend the existing laws, including the IT Act, 2000 to combat cyber crimes in the country. There was a misconception that the IT Act, 2008 which was passed last year, was for dealing with cyber crimes. It was mainly for legalising e-commerce, he added.

It is clear that GOI would come up with Information Technology Amendment Act, 2009 (IT Act, 2009) very soon. It has finally accepted the suggestions and recommendations of Praveen Dalal in the larger interest of India. It has accepted that India needs a strong and stringent legal regime to fight growing menace of cyber crimes in India. Perry4Law has welcomed this step of GOI and assured that it would provide all necessary expertise and assistance for the enactment of IT Act, 2009 so that the same may be introduced in the Parliament this year.

Effectiveness Of Indian Cyber Law Questioned

A million dollar question that may legitimately be raised is whether the technology law of India or cyber law in India is sufficient to protect information and communication technology (ICT) assets in India? In other words do we have good legal enablement of ICT systems in India? Does the cyber law of India protect valuable “civil liberties” effectively?

In this interview with Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the Leading Techno-Legal Expert of India we are exploring these issues. This interview is a part of the “series” of techno-legal interviews of Perry4Law. For a complete series of these interviews and other techno-legal news, views, opinions, articles etc. kindly see “Techno-Legal News and Views” and “Cyber Laws in India”.

This interview shows the weaknesses and lacunas of Indian cyber law. The cyber law of India falls under the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act, 2000). The IT Act, 2000 was long due for suitable amendments but the proposed Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008 (IT Act, 2008) further weakened and destablised the IT Act, 2000. As Praveen Dalal has intimated, the IT Act, 2008 has not been “notified” by the Government of India (GOI) due to large scale protests and inherent fallacies inbuilt in it. He also suggested a new Information Technology Amendment Act, 2009. Let us hope that this wake up call would finally awaken the GOI from the deep sleep it is indulging in.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

Judges, Prosecutors And Police Officials Must Be Cyber Law Aware

Judges, prosecutors and police officials have to keep themselves constantly updated on developments in widening application of science and technology to check criminal minds using the ever expanding sphere of cyber space, Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said. Inaugurating a southern regional workshop on `Cyber law: Issues and Challenges in Enforcement' here on Saturday, the Chief Minister said `intelligent criminals' would think and act ahead of others to stay in business. "The ever expanding sphere of cyber space has thrown up challenges and opportunities to the criminal minds. They outpace the barriers raised by technology and laws," he said. The Chief Minister thanked the Judges taking part in the workshop and hoped they would come up with suggestions for the government and the judiciary to put in place mechanisms to ensure that the justice delivery system could effectively cope with the new challenges before it. The workshop was organised by the State-run Centre for Development of Imaging Technology (C-DIT).

SOURCE: HINDU

TECHNO-LEGAL SERIES OF INTERVIEW OF PERRY4LAW

It is our pleasure to announce that we would be covering a “series of interviews” of Perry4Law, the Exclusive Techno-Legal ICT Firm of India. Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the Leading Techno-Legal Expert of India has accepted our request in this regard after we successfully complied with the “requirements” of Perry4Law.

The interview series would cover crucial issues like cyber law, cyber security, cyber forensics, hacking, ethical hacking, information technology act, 2000 (IT Act, 2000), proposed information technology amendment act, 2008 (IT Act 2008), wireless hacking, wireless security, defence forces and cyber security, e-governance, e-commerce, e-courts, etc.

As one may deduce from the width of areas involved, this series may span over for many months. All interested persons must keep a close watch upon these “exclusive and informative interviews”.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

Cyber Law Enforcement Facing Legal And Diplomatic Hurdles

The UK government's announcement last week that it will set up hacker teams to fight cyber attackers is the first public acknowledgment that crime on the internet is running out of control.

Robert Hannigan, the prime minister's security adviser, says the government can no longer rely on defensive measures alone to protect itself against cyber attacks, especially when it suspects that some attacks are sponsored by other governments.

The move coincides with a similar project in the US, where the US military plans a special unit to develop cyber-weapons to defend military networks and help safeguard civilian systems.

But the idea of launching counter attacks breaks new legal ground. In the past, UK law enforcement agencies have worked with the FBI on sting operations, such as Dark Market, which trapped hundreds of would-be hackers. Hannigan declined to speculate on other tactics that might be used.

SOURCE: COMPUTERWEEKLY

Europe Is Vulnerable To Cyber Crimes

Europe is particularly exposed to cybercrime because of its very success in connecting its citizens to the internet. It is now a top EU priority to roll out high-speed broadband to all 500m citizens wherever they are. An equally compelling priority must be to hand pan-European agencies the powers and means to combat growing criminal abuse of networks.

SOURCE: FT

Cyber Command Set Up By US Military

A Cyber Command is being set up by the US Military to oversee efforts to protect its computer networks. A new headquarters for the unit is to be established with the responsibility of defending US military systems. The command will be capable of launching offensive operations against attacks from hackers. Pentagon officials have recently become more concerned about military vulnerability to computer encroachments. The US Department of Defence runs over 15,000 electronic networks and 7 million computers and technology devices. US defence networks are constantly probed by outsiders, with millions of scans every day from from terrorist groups, organised crime and hacker activists. The White House last month said another office would be set up to protect government and essential private networks.

SOURCE: BRITAIN NEWS

Alan M. Ralsky Pleads Guilty To Fraud

The accused mastermind of a scheme that pumped up the value of "pink sheet" Chinese penny stocks through tens of millions of unsolicited e-mails pleaded guilty today to federal fraud charges.

Alan M. Ralsky, 64, of West Bloomfield Township, known as the "Spam King" for his years as a prolific e-mailer for hire, entered pleas to fraud and money laundering charges late today before U.S. District Judge Marianne O. Battani.

Also pleading guilty were Ralsky's son-in-law, Scott K. Bradley, 38, also of West Bloomfield Township, and co-conspirators James E. Fite, 36, of Culver City, Calif., John S. Bown, 45, of Fresno, Calif., and William C. Neil, 46, of Fresno, Calif., according to federal authorities.

SOURCE: DETNEWS

SEBI To Get More Powers

Capital market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), will soon be able to attach the properties of fraudsters, file application for winding up of market intermediaries under the Companies Act to recover money that investors have lost and will get powers similar to that of a civil court.

With these significant powers, which Sebi's board approved by recommending amendments to the Sebi Act and the Securities and Contract Regulation Act (SCRA), the market regulator will become stronger and more autonomous. There is also talk of doubling the amount of maximum penalty which Sebi can levy on wrong doers from the current Rs 50 crore.

SOURCE: BUSINESS STANDARD

Human Rights Framework For Cyberspace

Cyber law, cyber security, etc have acquired a different meaning in the contemporary society. They have also provided both the means as well as defense to fight State led censorship and e-surveillance.

Human Rights have also taken a newer shape due to cyberspace. New form of Human Rights violations are taking place these days. The State is turning into a “police state” and increasingly using censorship and e-surveillance.

Praveen Dalal, the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India and Managing Partner of Perry4Law, has started a very good initiative titled “Human Rights Protection In Cyberspace” (http://hrpic.blogspot.com/). This is a good place to keep a tack of those laws that violated the valuable “Civil Liberties” of Netizens.

All cyber law observers and Human Rights activists must consult it and strengthen this unique and exclusive initiative in India.

SOURCE: WEBNEWSWIRE

Face Off With Kevin Mitnick

There is no question who the most famous hacker is. One of the first computer hackers prosecuted, Kevin Mitnick was labeled a "computer terrorist" after leading the FBI on a three-year manhunt for breaking into computer networks and stealing software at Sun, Novell, and Motorola.

Known more for social engineering his way into networks than actually hacking them, Mitnick frustrated law enforcement not only by staying one step ahead of them but also with pranks like leaving doughnuts for them to find when they raided his empty home.

Finally arrested in 1995, Mitnick pleaded guilty to wire and computer fraud charges and was released from prison in 2002. His notoriety has helped him get lucrative speaking engagements and launch a security consultancy, where he gets paid for doing some of the very actions that landed him in jail.

In the first in a three-part Q&A series with hackers, CNET News talked to Mitnick, now 45, about what got him interested in computers in the first place, the differences between hacking today and three decades ago, and whether it's wise to hire a former black hat hacker to do security work.

SOURCE: NEWS CNET

Cyber Law Of India And Human Rights

Cyber law of India is incorporated in the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act, 2000). It is a weak piece of legislation that has been further degraded by the proposed Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008 (IT Act, 2008).

The protest against the “draconian” IT Act, 2008 have led in keeping the proposed IT Act, 2008 in infinite abeyance by the government of India (GOI). Till now the amendments have not been notified by the GOI making them useless and redundant.

The primary reason why such amendments were rejected by the GOI itself seems to be that it is violative of basic Human Rights and Fundamental Rights enshrined under the Constitution of India. The GOI cannot afford to take the blame of imposing a draconian law upon Indian citizens against their wishes.

However, there are some cyber law observers who have in fact supported these amendments. Even we can assume that there can be a “misuse of legislative power” by the GOI to push this draconian law in future.

Praveen Dalal, the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India and Managing Partner of Perry4Law, has started a very good initiative titled “Human Rights Protection In Cyberspace”. This is a good place to keep a tack of those laws that violated the valuable “Civil Liberties” of Indian citizens.

All cyber law observers and Human Rights activists must give a look at it and strengthen this unique and exclusive initiative in India.

SOURCE: MYNEWS

E-Governance In India Needs Expertise Not Size

The debate regarding “merit based execution” of e-governance projects in India is getting hotter. The crucial question is which criteria the government of India (GOI) must choose for selecting e-governance projects partners? Whether it should choose a “big company” (size) or it must choose a company or firm that can execute (expertise and merit) the project effectively?

The Public Private Partnerships (PPP) Model of India is “faulty” as it is based upon the reputation of the companies involved rather than their “expertise”. A company may be generally good in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) related issues but it may not be so regarding a particular aspect of e-governance. A question that we must ask to the GOI is whether size/reputation of a company is important or its expertise?

The government must take a hard look at its policies while allocating ICT projects to vendors. Its pre-qualification requirements regarding turnover and size of the players while inviting tenders for projects tends to create a situation where many a competitive but smaller player tends to get left out because they do not meet the stringent qualification criteria. Size should not be the sole parameter for allocating a project to an IT vendor, competence should be the most crucial parameter.

If the IT sector has to have a balanced growth, small and medium companies will have to be encouraged as well because they form the bulk of the industry in India Inc. This is not to say that smaller companies should be encouraged at the cost of competitiveness, however there should be a level-playing field for all.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

Human Rights Project For Protecting Cyberspace Launched In India

Cyber laws are meant to protect people from the ills of information technology. What will happen if these cyber laws are used by the “State” to harass the citizens through illegal e-surveillance and eavesdropping, website censorships and blocking, online privacy violations, etc? There is a disturbing trend all over the World where the governments are formulating “draconian laws” to oppress the citizens.

In the Indian context, the same has been done by introducing the Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008 (IT Act, 2008). Fortunately, the same has not been “notified” yet and has not becoming part of the law of India. The unamended Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act, 2000) still governs the position.

However, this reckless episode on the part of Indian government has clearly shown its intentions and plans for the future. There is an emergent need of protecting human rights in the cyberspace.

Praveen Dalal, the leading techno-legal expert of India and managing partner of Perry4Law, has come up with a very good initiative titled “Human Rights Protection In Cyberspace”.

It is providing valuable suggestions to both government and netizens for a repression free Internet environment. To government it suggests the limits of its e-surveillance and censorship powers whereas to the netizens it provides the techno-legal measures to avoid and counter illegal and unreasonable censorship, e-surveillance and eavesdropping.

The resource though in its infancy stage seems to be very promising and worth exploring in the future. Have a safe, secure and surveillance free surfing.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

Terrorist Are Planning The Cyber War

According to a top government official, terrorists are preparing for an Internet war, designed to take down systems and create havoc in financial markets and defense systems. The result may be of far greater consequence than bombing.The senior defense official, who gave information anonymously to MSNBC, declares extremist groups are recruiting Islamic extremists and seeking experts who can breach government or other sensitive network systems for travel, communication and finances. In addition Internet fraud is used to raise money for this. One of these is a forum called Mujadedeen Electronic Net which gives hacking instructions, along with a weekly course.

SOURCE: DIGITAL JOURNAL

Netizens Of Iran Fighting Back Internet Censorship

As the disturbing events unfold in Iran, with reports of Internet censorship and government crackdowns on communications as the political unrest continues, a search engine developed in India is providing a ray of hope for those trying to tunnel under the radar. Indian developed Yauba.com is touted as the world's first privacy safe, real-time search engine, offering Iranian protesters anonymous access to information from outside the country which would otherwise have been blocked by Iranian censors.

SOURCE: TWEAKDOWN

The Technical Assistance For Law Enforcement In The 21st Century Act Of Canada

The Conservative government is trying to give police better access to online communications, introducing a new bill Thursday that will force ISPs to hand over subscriber data without a warrant and implement intercept-capable technologies.

Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan introduced The Technical Assistance for Law Enforcement in the 21st Century Act in an effort to modernize Canada’s Criminal Code to keep up with the Internet and other emerging technologies. Without a legal requirement for ISPs to make their networks wiretappable, the Conservatives argued that criminals will continue to exploit online “safe havens.”

“What the government is proposing today is new legislation that will update our legal framework for interception that was designed nearly 40 years ago in the era of the rotary telephone,” Van Loan said at an Ottawa press conference. “We are simply seeking to modernize our laws to reflect the realities of a 21st (century) high-tech society.”

SOURCE: ITWORLDCANADA

US Congress Showed Concerns Over E-Mail Surveillance By NSA

The US' National Security Agency is facing scrutiny over the breadth of its domestic surveillance program. According to critics in Congress, its recent penetrations of private telephone calls and emails are broader than previously stated, The New York Times reports.

A new law, enacted by Congress in 2008, gave the NSA greater freedom to collect American's private messages as long as such collections were an incidental byproduct of investigating people "reasonably believed" to be overseas. But it is difficult to distinguish between email being sent by ordinary Americans and being sent from foreign countries — a gray area that's driven some lawmakers to question whether the privacy of Americans in general is being adequately protected.

SOURCE: MARKETINGVOX

Crime and Criminal Tracking Network And Systems Of India

With a view to ensure speedy and transparent stations through Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems. The Informatinvestigation, the Centre today cleared a Rs 2,000 crore project of interlinking all police ion Technology enabled project proposal — Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) — with an outlay of Rs 2,000 crore in the 11th Five Year Plan was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The CCTNS project aims at creating a comprehensive and integrated system for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of policing at the police station level by adopting principles of e-Governance, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram told reporters here. The objectives of the CCTNS project are streamlining investigation and prosecution processes, strengthening of intelligence gathering machinery, improved public delivery system, citizen-friendly interface and nationwide sharing of information on crime and criminals. "This is a critical requirement in the context of the present day internal security scenario," Chidambaram said.

It will facilitate collection, storage, retrieval, analysis, transfer and sharing of data and information among police stations, district, state headquarters and other organisation or agencies, including those at Government of India level, the Union Minister said.

The system will also help in enabling and assisting the senior police officers in better management of police force, besides keeping track of the progress of the crime and criminal investigation, he said.

People will also be able to file complaints to concerned police station and can get status of complaints or cases registered. Besides, copies of FIRs, postmortem reports and other permissible documents can also be obtained through this system, he said.

The project, to be completed in three years, would be initiated by the Ministry of Home Affairs and implemented by the National Crime Records Bureau. "The CCTNS project is to be implemented in a manner where the major role would lie with the state governments in order to bring in the requisite stakes, ownership and commitment...Apart from the required review and monitoring of project implementation on a continuing basis," he said.

With the launching of CCTNS, the erstwhile Common Integrated Police Application (CIPA) programme would be subsumed into it in a manner that the work already done there under is not disrupted. "CIPA had been initiated to computerize and automate the functioning of police stations with a view to bringing in efficiency and transparency in various processes and functions at the police station level and improve service delivery to the citizens," Chidambaram said. So far, 2,760 police stations, out of a total of around 14,000 police stations across the country, have been covered under the scheme.

SOURCE: BUSINESS STANDARD