On Juy 31, 2017, the Government of India appointed a 10-member Committee of Experts headed by Justice B.N. Srikrishna, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India "to identify key data protection issues in India and recommend methods of addressing them". The terms of reference of the Committee were to "to study various issues relating to data protection in India", and "to make specific suggestions for consideration of the Central Government on principles to be considered for data protection in India and suggest a draft data protection bill". In addition to Justice Srikrishna (Chairperson), the members of the Committee of Experts were: Mrs. Aruna Sundararajan, Secretary, Department of Telecom; Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO,Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI); Dr. Ajay Kumar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY); Prof. Rajat Moona, Director, Indian Institute of Technology, Raipur; Dr. Gulshan Rai, National Cyber Security Coordinator; Prof. Rishikesha T. Krishnan, Director, Indian Institute of Management, Indore; Dr. Arghya Sengupta, Research Director, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy; Ms. Rama Vedashree, CEO, Data Security Council of India (DSCI);  and the Joint Secretary, MeitY (Member-Convener).   The full report of the Committee of Experts can be accessed at the following link: A Free and Fair Digital Economy, Protecting Privacy, Empowering Indians [PDF 1.72 MB] Source: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India   The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018, which is available on the website of the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), can be accessed at the following link:   Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018 [PDF 723 KB] Source: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India

Over the last four years, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government has presided over a politics that has seen the countr

This Policy Report, The Politics and Governance  of Social Policies in Delhi : Comparing Cash and In-kind Transfers, acknowledges the potential contribution of social policies towards attaining a sustainable and inclusive human and social capital transformation as also social integration. Yet, exclusion errors, especially involving ineffective targeting methods, insensitive service providers, and poor public services, including the apathy of political representatives, tend to exacerbate social tensions in the community, affecting the well-being of citizens with the attendant risk of social disintegration. This study by O. Grace Ngullie highlights the decisive role of politics and governance in Delhi and its contribution towards reaping the prospective benefits of food security programmes through service delivery mechanisms of cash and in-kind transfers. It especially captures the narratives of those beneficiaries who benefited earlier from Cash Transfers programme known as Dilli Annashree Yojana and are now benefitting from the Public Distribution System under the National Food Security Programme. Resting on a two-fold attempt, the study gives the citizens’ perspective on service delivery of cash and in-kind transfers and examines the household’s access to food, education, and healthcare while evaluating the social relationships, including the nature of relationships they have with the service providers and political representatives. The study stresses the significance of psychosocial dimensions and advocates including them in the planning, implementation and evaluation of socio-economic welfare programmes. [PDF 5.76 MB]

One consistent undercurrent that directs the actions of the four-year old Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Union governme

There is no denying that the University Grants Commission (UGC) has failed to discharge its obligations towards higher education. However, the Higher

The Union government stunned the nation on June 10, 2018, when it opened up 10 senior civil services positions at the level of Joint Secretary for lat

Even after 70 years of Independence, India has not stabilised in the sphere of higher education. It continues to grapple with problems of unemployment

Thoothukudi, in southern Tamil Nadu, found its place in recorded history preceding even that of the State’s capital, Chennai. Famed as one among the world’s ancient seaports documented by the likes of Ptolemy, it is now in the news for all that can go wrong in the dynamic interplay of the state and citizenry, industrialisation and the environment, and governance and public interest. On May 22, 2018, police opened fire on unarmed demonstrators who had been protesting against a copper smelter plant, which for close to two decades was mired in controversy over its impact on the environment, public health, and the manner in which the state was seen as siding with corporate interests overriding public concerns. The police action on the 100 day of the protests went down as an emotive experience in which public voices were stilled by bullets, governance was all but abdicated by civil authorities, and, in a seeming response to the popular outcry, the smelter, run by Sterlite Copper, a subsidiary of Vedanta, a global mining conglomerate was shut down. In this Issue Brief , M.G. Devasahayam, former Indian Army and Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, puts together the pieces and focusses the spotlight on the failure of state mechanisms, leading to the government resorting to “Governance by Fear.” Drawing from his experience as an administrator and soldier he points out the serious flaws in the handling of the entire issue by the political leadership, executive and the judiciary. He dissects the order under Section 144 CrPC and exposes its illegality, draws attention to the procedural blunders and the disproportionate role played by the uniformed force of the State, and the manner in which what started out as an expression of collective dissent ended in a tragedy which claimed the lives of 13 people and the limbs of many more. The Issue Brief also delves into the growing trend of the seemingly democratic state becoming brazenly autocratic to facilitate the “ruling oligarchy grow richer while their less fortunate brethren suffer and starve” a sure sign of the State not being governed as per the mandate of the Constitution of India. Click to read this Issue Brief (HTML)

Thoothukudi, in southern Tamil Nadu, found its place in recorded history preceding even that of the State’s capital, Chennai. Famed as one among the w