Online Exams In India In Legal Tussles

Educational reforms in India are urgently required. However, the progress in this regard is far from satisfactory despite the best efforts of Ministry of Human Resource Development through Union Minister Mr. Kapil Sibal. The position is worst when it comes to online education in India. The educational reforms in India are victim of “Political Nepotism”, say experts like Praveen Dalal. Unless Government of India adopts an open mind approach and utilise the expertise of knowledgeable people, Indian educational reforms would always remain in doldrums.

Educational reforms in India are urgently required to maintain quality of education in India. The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can achieve this arduous task provided we acquire the expertise to use the same.

Online education requires both state of the art technologies as well as effective laws. Even if we have all the favorable condition still there may be technical glitches or legal wrangles. But what would happen if we have inadequate technical capabilities coupled with criminal friendly cyber laws? The net result would be a demise of the e-learning and online education capabilities. The same is happening in India due to myopic insight and criminal friendly nature of government of India. Even the ICT Trends In India 2009 gave a negative report in this regard.

Indian online education system is very bad in shape. On the one hand we lack technical capabilities whereas on the other hand cyber criminals are on a ride without any deterrent law to desist them from attacking the server and other computer resources of educational institutions providing online education and exams facilities. The natural outcome was very obvious, i.e. legal disputes.

A CAT candidate has filed a writ petition in the Karnataka High Court, asking for the cancellation of the online CAT 2009 and re-introduce the paper-and-pencil format of the exam. The petition states that even though the method of computerised test is claimed to be foolproof, there were several cases of cheating, mismanagement, leaks, rampant reboots, viruses and general all-round mismanagement.

If the GOI still does not wake up, it must forget about attracting foreign universities and their opening of campuses in India. In fact, such foreign universities must not open any centre in India till India is ready, both technically as well as legally.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

Law Enforcement And Cyber Forensics Training In India

The cyber forensics knowledge level of the police officers in India is much below the required level. On many occasions when the police teams have been asked to confiscate the computer found at the crime scene, they have ended up bringing the monitor only with them. Even they are not aware in which part of the computer does information resides. The police officers of cyber cells of various State police departments are not aware of the basics of computers. During a training session discussing Internet and other basics one of the constables enquired where the Internet building is located.

Recently Director-General of Police (Criminal Investigation Department and Training) D.V. Guruprasad confessed that the police have no clue how to handle cyber crime. In a marketing fraud case, the police had dumped desktops and laptops of the accused in a storeroom without realising they did not have the hard disks in them. When the head constable was asked about the hard disks, he did not know what they were. If this is the situation, there can be no cyber crimes conviction in India. With a weak cyber law, India has already become a safe heaven for cyber criminals, say experts.

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, “The police officers, lawyers and judges must be trained in “Techno-Legal” aspects so that cyber criminals may be suitably punished. In the absence of proper training, there is almost no conviction of cyber criminals in India”.

Time has come to take help of good techno-legal experts who can train the police officers, lawyers, judges, etc in this regard. Also the Information Technology Act 2000 must be suitable updated to so that it may cease to be a “criminal friendly legislation”.

SOURCE: MYNEWS

Security And Privacy Issues Of The Unique Identity Number Project Of India

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is not a “legally constituted” authority. In the absence of just and reasonable law(s) to support the same, it would violate the Human Rights and Fundamental Rights of the citizens of India, say techno-legal experts like Praveen Dalal. The interaction of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) with Human Rights is no more a science fiction and India must keep in mind the mandates of Human Rights Protection in Cyberspace while implementing projects that have no legal sanction and backing. The below mentioned opinion has raised some pertinent security and privacy violation issues in this regard.

The air is thick with schemes that will enable the state, and its agencies, to identify every resident, and to track what they are doing. The UIDAI, in its working paper, says that enrolment will not be mandatory, but acknowledges that in practice it is expected not to be voluntary. The ‘Registrars’, who will enroll people on to the data base, will be both private operators and government agencies, and they will be encouraged to insist that they will entertain only those who are willing to enroll. Over a short time, only those with UID numbers may find themselves able to access services.

That is the effort. Just on its own, it could even seem benign. There are two phenomena that take the innocence out of the exercise.

The first is ‘convergence’. ‘Convergence’ is about combining information. There are presently various pieces of information available separately, and held in discrete ‘silos’. We give information to a range of agencies; as much as is necessary for them to do their job. The passport agencies do not need to know how many bank accounts you have, or whether you drive a car. The telephone company need not know how you have insured your house. The police do not need to know how often you travel, not unless you are a suspect anyway. It is this that makes some privacy possible in a world where there are so many reasons why, and locations where, we give information about ourselves. The ease with which technology has whittled down the notion of the private has to be contained, not expanded. The UID, in contrast, will act as a bridge between these silos of information, and it will take the control away from the individual about what information we want to share, and with whom.

This is poised to completely change norms of privacy, confidentiality and security of personal information. The terms ‘security’ and ‘privacy’ seem to be under threat, where technological possibility is dislocating many traditional concerns.

The second phenomenon is ‘tracking’. Once the UID is in place, and convergence becomes commonplace, the movement of people, their monies, their activities can be brought together, especially since transactions from buying rice in a PDS shop to receiving wages to bank withdrawals to travel could begin to require the number. There is a difference between people tracking a state, and the state, and the ‘market’ tracking people. The UID is clearly not what it is presented as being: it is not benign, nor a mere number which will give an identity to those who the state had missed so far.

Interestingly, the working paper of the UIDAI starts with a claim that the UID will bring down barriers that prevents the poor from accessing services and subsidies by providing an identity, but soon goes on to clarify that the “UID number will only guarantee identity, not rights, benefits or entitlements”. Given that it is the powerlessness of the poor, inefficiency, the perception of the poor as not deserving of support, sympathy or rights, and the status of illegality foisted on them that stops them from getting what is due to them, and given that corruption and leakages in the system mutate and persist, this quick stepping back is wise indeed.

In the excitement about technology being deployed to do something that has not been done anywhere in the world, the importance of privacy and protection from misuse of personal information is getting eclipsed.

It is significant that the UIDAI working paper makes no mention of national security concerns, and the surveillance, and profiling, possibilities it will create. Yet, the UID is not a project in isolation. The NATGRID, which the UID will facilitate, places the whole population under surveillance; and the home minister is talking about a DNA bank.

Fallibility, the difficulties inherent in reaching those in extreme poverty, the choiceless existence on a database and the possibility of undesirable others getting hold of information only add to the scariness of the scenario that we seem to have accepted without discussion, challenge or debate. And, once accomplished, we would have reached a point of no return.

The writer is an independent law researcher.

SOURCE: INDIAN EXPRESS

India Needs Techno-Legal Capacity Development Says Praveen Dalal

Technical issues pertaining to cyber law, cyber security and cyber forensics have always haunted the law enforcement, lawyers and judges in India. As a result not much has been achieved either legally or judicially in this regard. Even the basic legal enablement of ICT systems in India is missing. Whether it is establishment of e-courts in India or cyber law and cyber forensics training of police officers, lawyers and judges in India, nothing is happening at the appropriate time and in the right direction. The results are very obvious. India is in emergent need of legal and judicial reform to sustain faith and trust in the law enforcement, legal and judicial system.

The problem gets further complicated when technical issues are merged with the complex legal problems. A “Techno-Legal Combination” of technical knowledge and legal acumen becomes an inevitable necessity in these circumstances. According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, “The situation is really alarming as India is ignoring the seriousness of cyber crimes and technology related issues. There is almost no conviction of cyber criminals in India. To make the matter worst, the Information Technology Act 2008 made almost all the cyber crimes “bailable”. This means that the technically advanced cyber criminals have neither a technical nor a legal fear to prevent them from committing various cyber crimes. Even the law enforcement, lawyers and judges need techno-legal training so that the menace of cyber crimes can be tackled with an iron hand in India”.

Recently Director-General of Police (Criminal Investigation Department and Training) D.V. Guruprasad confessed that the police have no clue how to handle cyber crime. In a marketing fraud case, the police had dumped desktops and laptops of the accused in a storeroom without realising they did not have the hard disks in them. When the head constable was asked about the hard disks, he did not know what they were. If this is the situation, there can be no cyber crimes conviction in India, say experts. Cyber crime labs/cells/police stations are on no use when the cyber criminals cannot be convicted. In the absence of governmental efforts in this regard, world renowned techno-legal firms like Perry4Law can be really helpful in fighting cyber crimes in India.

Issues pertaining to hacking, data thefts, data security, cyber terrorism, financial frauds, privacy violations, etc must not be taken as lightly as has been done by India. There is an emergent need of making proper amendments in the Information Technology Act 2000 of India. Time has come to abdicate targets achieved on “papers only” and do some constructive and actual grounds work in the techno-legal field.

SOURCE: GROUND REPORT

Methods To Stop Terrorism And Important Learned Lessons

In this wonderful piece of work, Muhammad Bilal Iftikhar Khan has analysed the common mistakes that are committed while dealing with terrorism. He has also mentioned some great lessons that have been learnt in the past by taking wrong policy decisions to tackle terrorism. This is a worth piece to consider by Indian government that is presently engaged in a fight against terrorism.

Observation I

You cannot destroy liquid. Stab a knife in glass of water and water will give way to knife. Then after some time the rusting process will start and ultimately solid knife will rust. But if you put fire under the glass, the water will start evaporating but will only change form. Soon glass will be empty but water will still remain same but in other form.

Lessons

You cannot defeat a liquid force by just utilizing power of muscle. The strategy of use of force is counterproductive. If you want to defeat a liquid force you need to break it at atomic and molecular level.

Al Qaeda and Taliban cannot be defeated by sheer use of Force. Lessons of Operation Khanjer have clearly taught that troop surge will be waste of time. Use of force will only help extremists. With every innocent dead they will get more support.

They are liquid force, they will give way but this giving way is not victory because soon the rusting process will start on those who fight them. It’s exactly what happened to Soviet forces

To break this extremist force you need to break it on atomic and molecular level. This means stop use of force which cause collateral damage. It also means eliminate the conditions which help extremist forces. It also means to reckon demographic and ground realities and correct the mistakes committed. It also means winning hearts and minds of Muslims by adopting just policies in Palestine and Kashmir and Muslim Ummah in which they don’t feel losers. It also means to respect Muslims and their choices. Don’t force dictators on masses by supporting them.

And most importantly don’t fight extremism with extremism. When a civilized person becomes extremist, he become idiot and commits stupid mistakes. When US president has announced troops surge in Afghanistan, reports are coming that al Qaeda is shifting to Yemen and Somalia.

Al Qaeda is showing better strategic thinking. They are widening the battle field and exploiting the effects of American policies. More battle fields means US and NATO to stretch more. This means dispersion of force and resources. Extremists have advantage of flexibility, where as this advantage is not enjoyed by other side. Fights against these extremists according to their own wishes have already brought global economic recession. People of our world are crushing between civilized extremists and religious extremists.

To defeat religious extremists first of all stop fighting war according to their wishes. Please throw pre conceive ideas about each other. The amount of Islam phobic people in west and Europhobic/ west phobic people in Islamic world are the reason rationality is getting defeated and extremism weather Islamic or Western is winning. West should forget its colonial thinking pattern. They must see non western people as equivalent. Their thinking pattern is causing their double standards which are adding fire to already tense situation.

Leaders of west have greater responsibility because they owe their wealth and advancement to East which they exploited fully when they were colonial masters. They should give a small amount of riches back by investing in their old colonies for development. Remember empty stomach and poverty forces people to crime and incubate the extremist ideologies.

Observation Number II

Water always flows from high ground towards low Ground. According to Law of Nature water will not flow back to mountains. From seas and rivers will get evaporated, form clouds and winds will push it towards mountains.

Lessons

Extremism starts from the advance nations. Palestine issue is one big example. Colonial era and treatment of people of colonies is also another example. Then western support of dictators and those disliked by their people is another example.

Recent example of Prophet’s cartoons on which Majority of west exhibited more extremism the third world extremists is another big example. In west denying Holocaust is crime but to degrade a person who have billions followers is freedom of speech. Like Bulleh Shah, the Famous Sufi Poet said

میری بکل دے وچ چور “Thief is in my clock”

West should understand that a real extremist lies in their ranks. Its only third law of motion which becomes a reality in many cases.

Observation Number III

A capitalist do everything for the love of capital. Money is cold and non living that’s why those who love money become cold.

Lessons

I agree that Human are selfish by nature. In East and West ideologies are sold not for betterment of people but to achieve interests. Here Mullah sells religion. They have big Madrassas big cars etc etc.

In west those who advocate war and advocate extremism versus extremism, have big commercial interests. Some want to sell their arms and ammunition, other have their eyes on resources.

In east we have religious extremists and in west we have economic extremists. Both exploit common man. These vulture control media and information outlets. They motivate common man to become fodder of their selfish interests. A common man in East, like his human brother in west wants an honest life with food and security and a good life. He doesn’t want war or insecurity. His leaders on other hand, weather economic, political/ religious or military, know if conflict ends how will he earn?

It’s surprising to see how thinking pattern of OBL, Ayman Al Zawahiri, Billy Graham, and Garry Fall well, GW Bush, Tony Blair, and BAL Thackeray etc is the same and on other side thinking pattern of a common man living in East or in West matches.

It’s really tough to create but very easy to destroy. Our leaders both in East and in West like to destroy not to build

Observation Number IV

If you have to walk a thousand mile or just 10 steps, 1st step counts the most.

Lessons

I am not socialist, but I agree with socialists on couple of Points. We, the citizens of World should understand how we all are being exploited by our religious, economic and political elite.

We must understand, Our God, call him Allah, God, El, Baghwan … honored us by making us humans. If we cannot become humans we can never become Muslims, Hindus or Christians. Becoming a human is best way to thank creator.

Secondly if my neighbor is not happy, I cannot become happy. We live in globalize world where world has become a global village. If there is suffering in Palestine, I cannot run away from its effects. I know my leaders will never like conflicts and real politics to end because that’s how they earn and become rich but as human it’s my duty to elect humans not cold capitalist, and force them to formulate policies which will bring peace and prosperity not only for me but my other brethren with whom I share common ancestry and world.

For Feed Back write to mbik14@gmail.com

SOURCE: GROUND REPORT

Cyber Crime Police Stations Of India In Bad Shape

The ICT Trends of India 2009 have proved that India has failed to enact a strong and stringent Cyber Law in India. On the contrary, the Information Technology Act 2008 (IT Act 2008) has made India a “safe heaven” for cyber criminals, say cyber law experts of India.

India has a very poor cyber crime conviction rate. As per DG of Corps of Detectives (CoD) D V Guruprasad the reason behind this is the officers themselves are clueless about cyber crime. It is of no use setting up cyber crime labs when the cyber criminals cannot be convicted. As for training judiciary and prosecutors this process should have initiated a long time back when the cyber-law was passed. The cyber crime police stations/cells/labs established by NASSCOM have absolutely failed to make any difference in this regard.

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, “This was bound to happen as the government of India is not at all serious about tackling the menace of cyber crimes in India. Rather than strengthening the cyber law of India, it has diluted the same and made it criminal friendly through the Information Technology Act 2008”.

In the absence of a stringent cyber law of India and lack of proper techno-legal training of lawyers, judges and police officers not much can be expected from Indian legal and judicial system of India. A special emphasis must be given to the training of police officers, lawyers and judges in the field of cyber forensics.

India must engage in good capacity development initiatives rather than merely opening cyber crimes cells and achieving cyber crimes tackling capacities on papers alone. The first step must be to strengthen cyber law of India and then steps must be taken to provide adequate training to the players involved in dealing with cyber crimes in India, says Praveen Dalal.

What Made India A Safe Heaven And Cyber Crime Harbour For Cyber Criminals?

Cyber Law in India is an essential part of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) regulations in India. ICT has brought before the government of India (GOI) certain challenges that it was not willing to accept and rectify. The worst among them are coming in the form of technology-assisted terrorism and cyber terrorism.

Cyber crimes in India are also increasing in the absence of a strong and stringent cyber law i.e. Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act 2000). The ICT Trends of India 2009 have proved that India has failed to enact a strong and stringent Cyber Law in India. On the contrary, the Information Technology Act 2008 (IT Act 2008) has made India a “safe heaven” for cyber criminals, say cyber law experts of India.

Even cyber law enforcement is a big challenge in India. The law enforcement and intelligence agencies in India seem to be helpless in front of modern technological crimes like cyber crimes in India, terrorism and cyber-terrorism. India needs to tackle this problem as soon as possible. However, nothing concrete is happening in this direction. So where does the problem lie?

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India “The problem seems to be multi-faceted in nature. Firstly, the cyber law of India contained in the IT Act, 2000 is highly deficient in many aspects. Thus, there is an absence of proper legal enablement of ICT systems in India. Secondly, there is a lack of cyber law training to the police, lawyers, judges, etc in India. Thirdly, the cyber security and cyber forensics capabilities are missing in India. Fourthly, the ICT strategies and policies of India are deficient and needs an urgent overhaul. Fifthly, the Government of India is indifferent towards the “ICT reforms” in India. This results in a declining ranking of India in the spheres of e-readiness, e-governance, etc. While International communities like European Union, ITU, NATO, Department of Homeland Security, etc are stressing for an enhanced cyber security and tougher cyber laws, India seems to be treading on the wrong side of weaker regulatory and legal regime.”

Although, the IT Act 2000 was not deterrent enough to prevent cyber crimes in India, yet with the IT Act 2008 the things have become worst. The IT Act 2008 made almost all the offences and cyber crimes “bailable” It means that even after committing hacking or practically any other and all cyber crimes in India, there is no deterrent effect to prevent them. There is nothing that would prevent India from becoming the cyber crime heaven of the World in these circumstances unless a suitable amendment in the IT Act 2000 is made as soon as possible, says Praveen Dalal.

We need to stress upon sound cyber laws with effective law enforcement. We need to train police, lawyers, judges, etc for ICT-related laws and procedures. However, nothing is going to happen till the matters are taken care of at the national policy level.

Law Enforcement Debacle In India

Law enforcement in India is conducted by numerous law enforcement agencies. At the Union (federal) level, the agencies are part of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, and support the States in their duties. Since the federal nature of the Constitution of India mandates law and order as a subject of the State, the bulk of the policing lies with the respective States and territories. Larger cities also operate metropolitan police, also under the State government. All senior police officers in the State police forces, as well as those in the federal agencies, are members of the Indian Police Service (IPS).

Law enforcement in India is passing through a bad phase. It is facing many challenges. For instance, there is an urgent need to “reconcile” the interests of State and Center while maintaining law enforcement problems in India. Further, Law enforcement and intelligence agencies are virtually governed by no law in India. The government of India has still to enact suitable laws in this crucial direction. In the absence of the same, there are great chances that instances of lack of mutual understanding and cooperation between Center and State police force may increase. Similarly, law enforcement in India is also not well equipped to tackle new age crimes like cyber crimes. In such eventuality it is difficult to believe that India can manage an ambitious project like Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS).

The law and order situation in India is under great strain. It is very important that law enforcement in India should be so equipped that they operate on the frontiers of modern knowledge. They should be well versed in subjects like cyber crimes, in the disaster management activities of the State because in India disasters are now becoming more and more frequent. At a time when the trust and respect for judiciary in India is declining, weak and deficient law enforcement machinery is the last thing India needs. There is an emergent need of legal, judicial and police reforms in India.

SOURCE: MYNEWS

India Strengthened Its Victimology Jurisprudence

The long awaited legal reforms in India have finally got attention of the government of India. The government has passed the Criminal Procedure Amendment Act 2009. According to experts like Praveen Dalal, the amendments have brought very pertinent and much needed legal reforms in the criminal jurisprudence of India. The best part about the recent amendments is that they have strengthened and reinforced the “Victimology Jurisprudence” in India, says Dalal.

The Centre on Thursday notified a significant amendment that will allow a victim to file an appeal against a court order in a move which can empower the common man who often fails to get justice because of inefficiency or corruption of prosecuting agencies. The new amendments to Code of Criminal Procedure -- that have been kept in abeyance for almost a year -- have also laid down procedures for the protection of rape victims seeking punishment for their tormentors.

The code gives victims the right to appeal against a court order acquitting an accused, or convicting the accused of a lesser offence. Under the amended Section 372 of CrPC, the victim will not need the permission of any law enforcement or prosecuting agency to appeal a court order. Currently, an appeal can be made only if the prosecution so decides -- a lacuna which allows the rich and the powerful who can influence the prosecution to get away, literally, with murder.

Public outrage over the acquittal of those accused of the murder of Jessica Lal and in other similar high-profile cases in the Capital and other big cities have lately pushed the government to appeal controversial orders. But these instances pale into insignificance when seen against the innumerable instances where prosecution has refused to go the whole length to help victims of crimes.

"The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 2008, except Sections 5, 6 and 21 (b) have been notified and they will come into force on December 31," home minister P Chidambaram said. The amended CrPC stipulates that an arrested person shall be examined immediately by a medical officer to protect the interests of the accused.

Another significant amendment is meant to encourage rape victims to report their oppressors. It has been laid down that the statement of a rape victim shall be recorded at her residence and, as far as practical, by a woman police officer in the presence of the victim's parents or guardian, or a social worker.

Trial in a rape case should be completed within two months as far as possible and provision has been made for video recording of statements or confessions. An important amendment has been incorporated in a new Section 357A making it mandatory for state governments to prepare a scheme for providing funds for compensating the victim of a crime or her dependents.

The government has, however, kept on hold certain provisions of CrPC that relate to the power of a police officer to make an arrest and the power of the court to grant or refuse adjournments. These amendments include barring police from arresting an accused for an offence that carries a maximum punishment of seven years without first issuing him/her a notice of appearance. The amendment to Section 309, aimed at speeding up trials, disallowed the granting of adjournments on flimsy grounds.

A statement issued by the home ministry said, "Representations were received against these provisions. Hence, they were referred to the Law Commission. The Law Commission held consultations and submitted its report... It could not be introduced in the last session of Parliament and will be introduced in the budget session. Pending the passage of the amendment bill and pending a debate in Parliament, it has been decided not to notify these three provisions for the present."

SOURCE: TOI

States Have Important Role To Play To Fight Terrorism In India

The initiatives of Home Ministry of India to streamline and strengthen the National Security and Internal Security of India are praiseworthy. But they seem to be too ambitious to achieve in the absence of both expertise as well as a good Centre-States relationship. It is a bad policy to impose law enforcement and intelligence agencies operations upon the States as they may be “unconstitutional” as per the Constitution of India. In the absence of good legal framework in this regard, the tussle between Centre and States may increase in the future.

The National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) proposed by Union home minister P Chidambaram would solve the problem of intelligence integration and dissemination that we discovered during our enquiry into the 26/11 terrorist attack in Mumbai.

Even after a year, there is no indication that the states have understood how to manage intelligence flowing from the Centre. A centralised clearing house to receive, digest and disseminate intelligence with clear directives for ground action is necessary.

However, Indian NCTC’s charter appears to be to be far more ambitious than the American NCTC, created under the US law in 2004. In the US, the NCTC has only a ‘strategic operational planning’ charter including assigning roles and responsibilities to lead US agencies. It does not have the power to ‘direct the execution of any resulting operations’. The Indian version reportedly wants to be singularly responsible for ‘preventing, containing and responding to a terrorist attack’ through intelligence, investigation and operations. Some central organs are to come under the NCTC fold that will oversee the functions of intelligence agencies. All these have to be achieved by 2010-end. This is a gigantic and controversial task.

There is no mention how this will be achieved at the state level. US security architecture allows units such as the FBI, emergency relief bodies and state police to operate according to their legal charter with ground-level coordination by the department of homeland security (DHS).

Beefing up resistance capacity of our state police is not enough, they also have to be in-sync with the thinking on anti-terrorist tactics, especially as our state police officials get rotated every three years. US achieved this by setting up Homeland Security State & Local Intelligence Community of Interest that constantly consult each other.

Our municipal and private bodies that control critical infrastructure and disaster relief have to be brought on board. DHS did this by decentralising public awareness and participation through Community Response Exercises under National Incident Management System with participation of local bodies, private sector and hundreds of Fema’s emergency relief centres under National Infrastructure Protection Plan. If we have to fight terrorism, some of these ideas have to be implemented.

SOURCE: ECONOMIC TIMES

Parliamentary Committee on Defense Not Satisfied With Indian Security

Pakistan is building 69 new bunkers on our Western borders, Chinese Army transgressing our Eastern Boundary in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh almost every second day as if on picnic and both these countries now openly joining hands against India, should have been sufficient enough reasons for Ministry of Defence (MOD) in India to wake up and take immediate corrective measures. Not so if the current report on functioning of MOD, tabled by the Parliamentary Committee on Defense in Parliament on 16 Dec 09 is taken into account.

Kudos to this body of Indian legislatures, who cutting across party lines have taken serious note of this lackadaisical attitude of people in power concerning India’s security. The report points out that while the three wings of Indian Armed Forces are working on the ‘Long Term Perspective Plan 2012-2027’ taking the ‘11th Five Year Defence Plan 2007-2012’ as their base, it is shocking that the Indian political masters and the bureaucrats straddling the MOD, have not yet approved this five year plan, even though it is three years over date.

Based on Kargil Committee recommendations the Indian Government in 2003 had approved the plan of setting up a federal Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) under MOD whose job was to oversee the functioning of the Intelligence Agencies of the three services, at the same time it was required to coordinate between the other central and state intelligence agencies. Even after six years have gone by, no effort has been made to make this operational.

Another decision aimed at better functioning of the MOD and timely decision making was that the three service headquarters will be fully integrated with the MOD and Armed Forces officers will also be posted on joint secretary and additional secretary posts which currently remains the exclusive domain of the bureaucrats. This proposal is also gathering dust.

We in India never tier off in telling all and sundry that we are a regional power in Asia on the way to become a global power. Nevertheless all the three wings of the Armed Forces are still functional on the organizations evolved prior to Second World War days. It is pathetic that our MOD has not thought it prudent till date to appoint an expert committee to recommend the reorganization of the three services keeping in view the modern technology and passage of time. This has been brought out by this Parliamentary Committee. Similarly when Chinese Navy is making stupendous accretions and China is busy ringing India with its operational bases in Pakistan, Myanmar, and SriLanka we in India continue to have critical shortages of manpower and equipment in our only Tri Service Andaman and Nicobar Command.

What is most shocking is that in 2003, based on the recommendations of the GOM, then NDA Government had decided to implement the Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) System in India also. This system is being followed in America, Britain, France and 67 other countries. The only rider was that before implementation, a political consensus will be obtained. The CDS system is required to coordinate the functioning of the three services which tend to pull in different directions and bring in synergy in them. What is most important is a common doctrinal platform.

Case in point is that currently Army is harping on the concept of Cold Start so that the surprise is not lost to Pakistan as it happened in Operation PARAKRAM in 2002.For this They want Air Force to provide them with close air support. Air Force is telling Army that they should use their own means like helicopter gunship’s and not burden Air Force initially with this role as they want to degrade the overall capability of Enemy Air Force. Both schools of thoughts have merit but who decides which one to adopt? This is where CDS comes in.

Another most important function of the CDS system is that it provides a single window military advice opportunity to the Government. CDS also resolves the procurement planning requirement of the three services thereby ensuring optimal usage of the Defense Budget. The Parliamentary Committee has also taken note of large scale shortage of officers in all the three Services. Need for establishing National Defense University has also been highlighted. This Committee has done a yeoman’s job, now it is for the people of India and Political class in power at the helm, who must pressurize the power that be to implement these recommendations at the earliest.

SOURCE: MERINEWS

Weak Cyber Law Of India Is Resulting In Increased Cyber Crimes In India

Cyber crimes in India are increasing in the absence of a strong and stringent cyber law i.e. Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act 2000). The ICT Trends of India 2009 have proved that India has failed to enact a strong and stringent Cyber Law in India. On the contrary, the Information Technology Act 2008 (IT Act 2008) has made India a “safe heaven” for cyber criminals, say cyber law experts of India. Even cyber law enforcement is a big challenge in India.

Although, the IT Act 2000 was not deterrent enough to prevent cyber crimes in India, yet with the IT Act 2008 the things have become worst. The IT Act 2008 made almost all the offences and cyber crimes “bailable” It means that even after committing hacking or practically any other and all cyber crimes in India, there is no deterrent effect to prevent them.

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, by making the offences and cyber crimes “bailable” India has made its cyberspace a “free zone” and “safe heaven” for cyber criminals and cyber offenders.

He says that now even after committing hacking in India a person would be entitled to “bail” as a matter of right. There is nothing that prevents such cyber criminals from committing cyber crimes in India in the absence of a deterrent law.

It is clear that by succumbing to “industrial lobbying” the government of India has done great damage to the national security of India and cyber security of India.

There is nothing that would prevent India from becoming the cyber crime heaven of the World in these circumstances unless a suitable amendment in the IT Act 2000 is made as soon as possible, says Praveen Dalal.

The worst part is that India has also enhanced e-surveillance to further aggravate the problem. The netizens are not safe from cyber crimes and now even the State would infringe their Human Rights and Fundamental Rights. The increased e-surveillance along with unregulated censorship powers has made India cyber law an instrumentality of cyberspace exploitation of netizens rights in India.

SOURCE: MYNEWS

Experts Doubt Constitutional Validity Of National Investigation Agency Act 2008 Of India

Center-State relationships are very delicate and are governed by the provisions of Constitution of India. The Constitution has conferred a special status to States as they are not “Inferior” to the Center. They are governed by constitutional provisions similar to the Center, say experts.

Recently the Goa police did not send details of the Diwali-eve bomb blast investigations to the National Investigating Agency (NIA) set up in 2008 to investigate terror-related crimes in the country. The Goa police had bypassed the NIA and sent updates of the Oct 16 investigations to officials in the ministry of home affairs. Now the Kerala Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has questioned the NIA reported decision to take over two terror cases in the State. Contending that such interference by the Central agencies would hurt the federal system of the country, Balakrishnan said the State government would examine the legal aspect of NIA’s decision. This has proved the apprehensions raised by experts like B.S. Dalal previously.

Law enforcement and intelligence agencies are virtually governed by no law in India. The government of India (GOI) never took pain to provide a viable and constitutionally sound legal framework for these institutions in India. The net result is that most of them are still governed by colonial and outdated laws. Surprisingly, this scenario has not been challenged in the Indian courts. But the situation may change very soon and the Centre-State Disputes regarding this aspect may be agitated before the courts in India.

The Constitution of India has mandated that law enforcement is a matter of “State List”. The Center cannot legislate on this crucial area. If the Center makes a law in this regard, the same would disturb the harmony between the Center and States relations. So does India has any constitutionally valid legal framework for law enforcement and/or intelligence agencies?

According to Praveen Dalal, the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India and Managing Partner of Perry4Law, “With the enactment of National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 some steps have been taken in this regard. However, the viability and constitutionality of this Act is yet to be checked. When the Center encroaches upon the powers of the States, constitutional crisis and disputes are bound to arise. Realising the seriousness of the issue, Perry4Law has provided a “10 Point Legal Framework for Law Enforcement and Intelligence Agencies in India” to the Government of India”.

The government of India has still to enact suitable laws in this crucial direction. In the absence of the same, there are great chances that instances of lack of mutual understanding and cooperation between NIA and State police force may increase.

In fact, to a great extent the State police may be well within its rights and power to ignore the mandates of the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 due to constitutional issues. It would be prudent for the Central government to give a serious thought to this ignored aspect that may raise numerous “Constitutional Issues” in the future.

SOURCE: MYNEWS

Perry4Law Suggested A Centralised ICT Control Mechanism For Intelligence Agencies Of India

National Security issues of India are too complicated to be resolved immediately. The problem has further been aggravated in the absence of a suitable ICT Policy for National Security issues of India. The sardonic failure of the e-governance projects in India has put at rest the hollow claims of Indian government to use ICT for national security purposes.

Even the ICT Trends of India 2009 have shown that Indian efforts regarding streamlining legal, judicial, administrative, law enforcement, intelligence agencies functions, etc through use of ICT have received serious setbacks in the year 2009. There is also little hope that the same would be rejuvenated in the year 2010. On what basis the government of India (GOI) would use ICT for national and internal security of India is still a big question.

According to Praveen Dalal, the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India and Managing Partner of Perry4Law, “Intelligence agency of a country plays an important role in its internal and external security. There must be a “Centralised ICT Control System” to govern intelligence agencies if there are more than one. If there are numerous intelligence agencies working for different government departments, there is a possibility of lack of coordination and inadequate and inappropriate information sharing. Nothing can be more beneficial than a “Centralised ICT Control Centre” for the Indian National and Internal Security.

The government of India has still to enact suitable laws governing intelligence agencies on the one hand and establish a centralised “Control System” for them on the other. India must forsake the practice of achieving targets on paper only and must be honest with and accountable to its commitments. Let us hope that GOI would come up with effective and authoritative national security measures regarding the suggestions provided by experts in this regard.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

E-Governance In India Has Failed

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is the core strength of business community of India. The same has, however, failed to find a place in the national policies and strategies of India and in governmental dealings. The ICT Trends of India 2009 showed the naked truth of the contrary claims of Government of India. Despite negative reports and progress in India, the Indian government is loyal to the “India Shining Syndrome” rather than concentrating upon real and effective ICT projects management in India.

According to Praveen Dalal, the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India and Managing Partner of Perry4Law “The Government and Indian Bureaucrats need to change their mindset and stress more upon outcomes and services rather than mere ICT procurement. India needs a services-based approach that is not only transparent but also backed by a more efficient and willing Government. Presently the Bureaucrats and Government of India are in a “resistance mode” towards novel and effective e-governance policies and strategies and they are merely computerising traditional official functions only. This is benefiting neither the Government nor the citizens and is resulting in wastage of thousands of crores of public money and UNDP/World Bank grants amount”.

The continued apathy, mismanagement and lack of accountability has finally shown its impact. The World Bank refused to operationalise the e-governance support project known as “E-Bharat” without its active management role in the same. The World Bank did not agree to the framework for implementation of E-Bharat as it was insisting on certain conditions to manage the project. For instance, against a hands-on project management approach being favoured by the World Bank, India was pushing for a programme mode where assistance could be linked to targets or milestones.

The expectations of World Bank are justified as there is a complete failure of e-governance projects in India barring few exceptions. In the absence of transparency and accountability, investing Crores of rupees in Indian e-governance projects is not a wise and profitable option. The World Bank must actively engage in day to day management functions of the projects it is sponsoring or funding.

In fact, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT, in its latest report noted that e-Bharat project was “in trouble”. Following the Government's decision not to establish a dedicated Special Purpose Vehicle (national e-governance agency), a requirement insisted on by the World Bank earlier, the Bank had advocated a newer look to be adopted inter-alia suggesting termination of the preparation of the E-Bharat Project. With the management controls in its hand, the World Bank may continue this much needed e-governance project of India. It would be good for Indian common man if other fund providing agencies like UNDP also take similar steps so that e-governance projects are not eaten up by corruption of Indian officials.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

Education Reforms In India Are Urgently Required

Educational reforms in India are urgently required. However, the progress in this regard is far from satisfactory despite the best efforts of Ministry of Human Resource Development through Union Minister Mr. Kapil Sibal. The position is worst when it comes to online education in India. The educational reforms in India are victim of “Political Nepotism”, say experts like Praveen Dalal. Unless Government of India adopts an open mind approach and utilise the expertise of knowledgeable people, Indian educational reforms would always remain in doldrums. In the below mentioned wonderful article (See article for full version), M D Nalapat has provided some of the reasons for failures of Indian educational sector reforms.

Today, the immense regulatory framework of Indian education has spawned corruption and sloth. Academic freedom is non-existent, and attempts at excellence and innovation are slapped down. Many within the regulatory agencies have enriched themselves, giving sanction to undeserving institutions on payment of bribes. It is such people who are resisting change.

In India selection to key committees depends on personal friendships rather than on professional expertise. The National Security Advisory Board is an example. The NSAB was set up to provide advice on security issues, and meets each month (if not more often).The members get to stay in 5-star hotels and travel Business Class on aircraft, and each meeting costs the Indian taxpayer millions of rupees. However, very little enlightenment comes out of such deliberations, for the reason that almost all the members have been chosen because of their personal connections. Each National Security Advisor fills the NSAB with friends and admirers, thus repaying old favours and generating new ones. Those who are honest in their criticisms, or are not favourites at the darbars of the powerful, get ignored. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has followed precedent in ensuring that several of his old friends have gotten accommodated in key committees An example is the Education Committee set up under the chairmanship of a close friend of the Prime Minister, Dr Yash Pal.

Unless the Prime Minister breaks out of the sociology that confines itself only to friends and admirers, and looks for talent from elsewhere than within such ranks, he will not succeed in creating the “education revolution” favoured by Union Minister. Kapil Sibal is trying to see that the all-powerful (and in many cases corrupt) regulatory bodies that control accreditation to medical and technical education in India are either removed or have their powers diluted. This stand has put him at odds with several politicians and officials, who are each making millions of rupees each year because of the vast powers the regulatory bodies have. However, unless he succeeds, Indian higher education will continue to be bereft of excellence, except in a few pockets such as the Indian Institutes of Technology. Another necessary step is to create a framework for foreign universities to come to India. At present, nearly 300,000 students go from India to other countries to study each year, at a cost of $12 billion. They seek the flexibility and excellence of institutions in the US, the EU and elsewhere. Should Kapil Sibal succeed in convincing the Prime Minister to back him in his efforts at getting foreign universities to set up campuses in India, then India could become a major international education provider, earning rather than losing billions of dollars each year. Standards in many parts of India are far better than in countries such as Australia (where racial attacks on Indian students has multiplied), but the complex web of controls that is shackling Indian education needs to be lifted. Education Minister Sibal is seeking just that, and hopefully he will succeed

Every student in India needs to have an education that is modern and which gives her or him skills that are useful in a modern economy. This includes familiarity with computers and the internet. Hopefully, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will look beyond the narrow circle of his friends and admirers to identify those who can suggest education reforms. Hopefully, he will ensure that his government puts in place such reforms. For that is the only way to generate more Indian Nobel Prizes, more cutting-edge R&D in India, so that the country develops an education sector as modern as its Information Technology industry.

National Security Of India Must Be Strengthened

National security of India is a crucial aspect that has been ignored by Indian politicians for long. The catastrophic consequences of the same are very apparent in the form of terrorists’ attacks and cyber terrorism in India. Time has arisen when we must rejuvenate the national security and internal security of India. The recent proposal by the Home Minister to strengthen Indian National Security and Internal Security must be strictly adhered to by the Indian government. It should not merely be another proposal with no actual implementation and execution.

National security of India has recently received a rejuvenation attempt by the Government of India (GOI). This is good news at a time where the national security issues are grossly ignored in India. The national security of India and internal security of India are suffering not only on the count of lack of political will but also due to absence of suitable policies and strategies.

The ICT Trends of India 2009 have also proved that India has failed on the fronts of Cyber law of India, Cyber Terrorism in India, E-Courts in India, E-Learning in India, Unique Identification Project of India, Serious Frauds and White Collar Crimes, National Security Issues, Crime Reporting by Media, Internet Banking Frauds, Cyber Security of Defense Forces, Cyber War in India, E-Surveillance in India, etc.

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, “Indian approach in this regard is not sensible at all. We should not invest thousands of crores of Indian rupees into security projects that can be manipulated and sabotaged in minutes. Rather we should first analyse the weaknesses and security holes of the same before buying and installing it.

After all security of a Nation is proper application of “common sense” rather than wasting unlimited amount of money. Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) of India, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI), Rs 800 crores centralised facility to control phone tapping activities in India, etc are some of the projects that require common sense application before their implementation. They have to be tested in a “limited environment” before using them in a full fledged manner, says Praveen Dalal.

It seems Indian security initiatives have to be holistically analysed and suitably applied. The Indian security infrastructure and workforces are not in good shape and require rejuvenation. We need a techno-legal security workforce and not personnel who do not have even the basic facilities and technological means and knowledge. The terrorist attacks have really shattered the deep pervasive false sense of security present in the Indian government mentality. We have to think and act against such internal and external threats by going beyond a "political debate". We can fool ourselves by bragging about India’s capabilities and victories against terrorism and cyber terrorism and keep on facing future attacks and bear the traumatic casualties. Alternatively, we must accept our weaknesses against such attacks and take constructive steps to anticipate, prevent and counter such future terrorist and cyber terrorism activities, warns Praveen Dalal.

With a new ray of hope shown by the recent stress upon national security of India we can expect some good results in this direction. However, India is famous for mere assurances and proposals without actually implementing them. Similarly, due to faulty management and policies even the implemented projects have failed in the past. Let us hope that this time India would do the proper homework before starting an initiative that it cannot implement and run.

Why Indian Government Does Not Curb Terrorism?

In this wonderful article, the author has cited many comprehensive reasons why Indian government fails to tackle terrorism and cyber terrorism in India. This is a must read article for all concerned. The author has also provided some good suggestions as well to tackle the nuisance of terrorism and cyber terrorism in India.

The Truth Behind Failure Of CAT Exams

In a wonderful investigative article the truth behind the failures of CAT online entrance test have been analysed. This is a must read for all concerned. It is clear that Indian online education system is very bad in shape. On the one hand we lack technical capabilities whereas on the other hand cyber criminals are on a ride without any deterrent law to desist them from attacking the server and other computer resources.

Online education requires both state of the art technologies as well as effective laws. Even if we have all the favorable condition still there may be technical glitches or legal wrangles. But what would happen if we have inadequate technical capabilities coupled with criminal friendly cyber laws? The net result would be a demise of the e-learning and online education capabilities. The same is happening in India due to myopic insight and criminal friendly nature of government of India.

Indian ICT Trends 2009 By Perry4Law and PTLB

Perry4Law and PTLBTM/SM have been providing ICT Trends In India, Cyber Law Trends in India, Cyber Security Trends in India, Cyber Forensics Trends in India, etc for long. This is the current ICT Trends of India 2009 by Perry4Law.

The trends report is covering topics like Cyber law of India, Cyber Terrorism, E-Courts in India, E-Learning in India, Unique Identification Project of India, Serious Frauds and White Collar Crimes, National Security Issues, Crime Reporting by Media, Internet Banking Frauds, Cyber Security of Defense Forces, Cyber War in India, etc.

According to the report India once again failed to cater the growing contemporary demands of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and their legal and judicial applications. The predominant reason for the same seems to be lack of political will to achieve the needful.

The report concludes that “Indian efforts for streamlining use of ICT have further degraded from 2008. The year 2009 saw some major ICT pitfalls and bad decisions were made by the GOI. Overall the year 2009 can be said to be “Blunder ICT Year” of India”.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

India Needs Good Broadcasting Laws And Regulations

A task force for broadcasting authority of India has been constituted by the government of India. This announcement has been made after the recent constitution of a committee by the Delhi High Court. There is an emergent need of formulating suitable policies and regulations in this regard. This requirement has been avoided by the government of India for a long period of time.

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, “The Delhi High Court has recently constituted a committee to formulate guidelines for crime reporting by the media. He informs that similar proposals were mooted by the government of India as well but they were strongly resisted by the media community. Now with the present direction the path for suitable guidelines and law in this regard has become clear.

It seems the government of India is avoiding suitable regulations for media in India. The stress upon self-regulation for the media is a pointer in this regard. The standards of media reporting in India are not only declining but they at times makes national security issues more complicated. While the government is extensively engaged in e-surveillance of the electronic media yet when it comes to print and traditional broadcasting media it has a soft corner for them. This would not be good in the interest of India.

The task force must provide suitable policies and strategies regarding broadcasting laws of India. If the purpose of the task force is to merely advance self regulation, then the Parliament of India must step in to formulate proper laws as soon as possible.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

Task Force For Broadcasting Authority of India

Union Information and Broadcasting minister Ambika Soni has recently told that a task force has been set up for the proposed Broadcasting Authority of India, which would look into issues related to media and broadcasting.

Broadcasting Authority would deal with issues pertaining to electronic media, broadcasting, spectrum and taxation, she said, adding that views and opinions of all the stakeholders are being sought in this regard. Soni favoured self regulation by electronic media instead of any regulation enacted by the government. This announcement came after the recent constitution of a committee by the Delhi High Court.

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, “The Delhi High Court has recently constituted a committee to formulate guidelines for crime reporting by the media. He informs that similar proposals were mooted by the government of India as well but they were strongly resisted by the media community. Now with the present direction the path for suitable guidelines and law in this regard has become clear.

It seems the government of India is avoiding suitable regulations for media in India. The stress upon self-regulation for the media is a pointer in this regard. The standards of media reporting in India are not only declining but they at times makes national security issues more complicated. While the government is extensively engaged in e-surveillance of the electronic media yet when it comes to print and traditional broadcasting media it has a soft corner for them. This would not be good in the interest of India.

SOURCE: MYNEWS

Internet Banking In India: Its Risks, Challenges And Solutions

The recent growths of credit cards and ATM frauds have raised certain crucial security questions before the banks and the regulatory authorities. According to experts India has not only weak cyber law but also inadequate Internet banking security procedures. This is resulting into hacking of bank account holder’s accounts and siphoning of their money.

Internet banking is a very important aspect of Indian banking industry. Internet banking not only provides instant banking facilities but it also confers mobility to the account holders. However, cyber security of internet banking infrastructure of India is the need of the hour. Instances of theft of money through hacking of accounts of the accounts holders are fast becoming a trend in India.

This is partly due to the ignorance of the accounts holders and partly due to the weak cyber laws of India. The account holders are increasingly targeted for phishing attacks that result in loosing of sensitive banking information.

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, the Information Technology Act 2008 has made most of the cyber crimes and cyber offences “bailable”. India has made its cyberspace a “free zone” and “safe heaven” for cyber criminals and cyber offenders. He says that now even after committing hacking in India a person would be entitled to “bail” as a matter of right. There is nothing that prevents such cyber criminals from committing cyber crimes in India in the absence of a deterrent law.

This has resulted in an increased spate of cyber crimes including hacking of the e-mail IDs of the Internet banking users and stealing of their money.

Further, India has also become one of the most endemic surveillance societies of the World. Confidential information is already vulnerable and with the proposed Indian plans of installing key loggers at cyber cafes, the same would exclude the use of cyber cafes for these purposes. Although cyber cafés are not a good place to transact confidential matters yet with a poor Internet penetration in India this may still happen, says Dalal.

With a weak cyber law, lack of cyber security awareness and increasing e-surveillance initiatives in India, Internet banking disputes are bound to increase in India. The government is least bothered about these issues and ultimately the account holders would have to bear the financial losses.

SOURCE: ITVOIR