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UN Special Rapporteur Report on Freedom of Expression and the Private Sector: A Significant Step Forward
On 6 June 2016, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, released a report on the Information and Communications Technology (“ICT”) sector and freedom of expression in the digital age. Vidushi Marda and Pranesh Prakash highlight the most important aspects of the report.
Smart City Policies and Standards: Overview of Projects, Data Policies, and Standards across Five International Smart Cities
This blog post aims to review five Smart Cities across the globe, namely Singapore, Dubai, New York City, London and Seoul, the Data Policies and Standards adopted. Also, the research seeks to point the similarities, differences and best practices in the development of smart cities across jurisdictions.
ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ: ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ବିଶାଳତମ ଅନଲାଇନ ଜ୍ଞାନକୋଷ ଗଢ଼ିବାର ଅଭିଯାନ
ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଏନସାଇକ୍ଲୋପିଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆକୁ ଆଜି ୧୪ ବର୍ଷ ପୂରିଲା । ଏ ଅବସରରେ ଏହି ପ୍ରକଳ୍ପ ଓ ତାକୁ ଗଢୁଥିବା ସ୍ୱେଚ୍ଛାସେବୀ ଉଇକିଆଳିଙ୍କ ବାବଦରେ ଏକ ଆଲେଖ ।
ଅନଲାଇନ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଜ୍ଞାନକୋଷ ଗଢ଼ା
I wrote this article in Samanya Kathan, an Odia-language portal on June 5, 2016. The article is about the journey of the Odia Wikipedia and was published on the day the contributor community was celebrating the 14th anniversary of the project.
CIS's Comments on the Draft Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016
The Centre for Internet and Society is alarmed by the Draft Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016, and has recommended that the proposed law be withdrawn in its entirety. It offered the following detailed comments as its submission.
Digital native: Control A, Backspace
The rewriting of textbooks should not be compared to the collaborations on Wikipedia, which only goes by evidence.
ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ: ଏକ ଅଭିଯାନ
The article which details Odia Wikipedia's 14 year-long journey was published in the Odia newspaper Suryaprava on June 3, 2016.
Tweak the Make in India Recipe
As an erstwhile journalist covering electronics technologies and IT a few years ago, I was privy to a litany of manufacturers' woes and their causes: Tangled tax laws and regulations, red tape, corruption, licence raj, unreliable infrastructure such as power and roads, and lack of skilled labour.
Criminal Defamation and the Supreme Court’s Loss of Reputation
The Supreme Court’s refusal, in Subramanian Swamy v. Union of India, to strike down the anachronistic colonial offence of criminal defamation is wrong. Criminalising defamation serves no legitimate public purpose; the vehicle of criminalisation – sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) – is unconstitutional; and the court’s reasoning is woolly at best.
Developing Open Educational Resources in Indian Languages
The Centre for Indian Languages in Higher Education (CILHE), Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), in collaboration with the Access to Knowledge (CIS-A2K) programme at the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), has been involved in organising workshops on developing open educational resources (OER) in Indian languages with undergraduate and postgraduate students across various partner institutions. The objective of these workshops is to introduce students to: a) tools of collaborative knowledge production on the Internet, and b) methods for generating new online content in Indian languages.
Comments on the RBI's Consultation Paper on Peer to Peer Lending
The Reserve Bank of India published a Consultation Paper on Peer to Peer Lending on April 28, 2016, and invited comments from the public. CIS submitted the following response, authored by Elonnai Hickok, Pavishka Mittal, Sumandro Chattapadhyay, Vidushi Marda, and Vipul Kharbanda.
Comments on the National Geospatial Policy (Draft, V.1.0), 2016
The Department of Science and Technology published the first public draft of the National Geospatial Policy (v.1.0) on May 05, 2016, and invited comments from the public. CIS submitted the following comments in response. The comments were authored by Adya Garg, Anubha Sinha, and Sumandro Chattapadhyay.
MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from IIT, Kanpur
This post provides a factual description about the operation of Ministry of Human Resource Development IPR Chair’s Intellectual Property Education, Research and Public Outreach (IPERPO) scheme in IIT, Kanpur.
RBI Consultation Paper on P2P Lending: Data Security and Privacy Concerns
On April 28, 2016 the Reserve Bank of India published a consultation paper on P2P Lending and invited comments from the public on the same. The Paper discusses what P2P lending is, the various regulatory practices that govern P2P lending in different jurisdictions and lists our arguments for and against regulating P2P lending platforms.
Submission by the Centre for Internet and Society on Draft New ICANN By-laws
The Centre for Internet & Society sent its comments on the Draft New ICANN Bylaws. The submission was prepared by Pranesh Prakash, Vidushi Marda, Udbhav Tiwari and Swati Muthukumar. Special thanks to Sunil Abraham for his input and feedback.
Celebrating 13 Years of the Kannada-language Wikipedia
The Kannada-language Wikipedia celebrated its 13th anniversary on February 14 in Mangalore. To celebrate the journey of the project and the community, Kannada Wikipedians gathered at Saint Aloysius College, Mangaluru on May 14.
Modi’s New Intellectual Property Rights Policy Will Only Benefit Players with Deep Pockets
The new policy fails to enact a balanced regime and instead is tilted in favour of rights-holders.
A four year, action-packed experience with Wikipedia
I consider myself to be an Odia Wikimedian. I contribute Odia knowledge (the predominant language of the Indian state of Odisha) to many Wikimedia projects, like Wikipedia and Wikisource, by writing articles and correcting mistakes in articles. I also contribute to Hindi and English Wikipedia articles.
ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଏନସାଇକ୍ଲୋପିଡ଼ିଆ "ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ" ବିକାଶ ପାଇଁ ଏକାଠି ହେଲେ ପୁରୀର ଛାତ୍ରଛାତ୍ରୀ
ସଂସ୍କୃତିର ସହର ପୁରୀରେ ଛାତ୍ରଛାତ୍ରୀମାନେ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଭାଷାକୁ ଅଧିକ ବ୍ୟବହାରଯୋଗ୍ୟ କରିବା ପାଇଁ ତଥା ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ଅଧିକ ପଠନଯୋଗ୍ୟ ଲେଖାର ବିକାଶ ଲାଗି ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆରେ ସମ୍ପାଦନା କରିବା ଆରମ୍ଭ କରିଛନ୍ତି । ପୁରୀର ୫ଟି ଭିନ୍ନ ଭିନ୍ନ ଶିକ୍ଷାନୁଷ୍ଠାନର ପାଖାପାଖି ୧୨ ଜଣ ଛାତ୍ରଛାତ୍ରୀ ନିୟମିତ ଭେଟି କର୍ମଶାଳା ମାଧ୍ୟମରେ ବିଭିନ୍ନ ବିଷୟରେ ତଥ୍ୟଭିତ୍ତିକ ଲେଖାମାନ ତିଆରି ଓ ସମ୍ପାଦନା କରୁଛନ୍ତି ।
