Centre for Internet & Society

MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from IIM, Bangalore

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 IIM, Bangalore.

Read More…

Sectoral Innovation Councils on Intellectual Property Rights – RTI Requests + DIPP Responses

CIS filed an RTI application on August 11, 2015, seeking information regarding the functioning of the Sectoral Innovation Council (SInC) on Intellectual Property Rights. This post documents the responses received.

Read More…

Call for Essays: Studying Internet in India

As Internet makes itself comfortable amidst everyday lives in India, it becomes everywhere and everyware, it comes in 40 MBPS Unlimited and in chhota recharges – though no longer in zero flavour – the Researchers at Work (RAW) programme at the Centre for Internet and Society invites abstracts for essays that explore how do we study internet in India today.

Read More…

Women's Safety? There is an App for That

“After locking ourselves in a room for more than 6 days, this is what we came out [sic] with. Join us in helping make WOMEN feel SAFE,” read a gloating press release about a smartphone app for women to notify their near ones that they were in distress. It was one among many such PRs frequently landing in my mailbox after the rape and murder of a young student on board a private bus in Delhi in 2012.

Read More…

New Modes and Sites of Humanities Practice

An extended survey of digital initiatives in arts and humanities practices in India was undertaken during the last year. Provocatively called 'mapping digital humanities in India', this enquiry began with the term 'digital humanities' itself, as a 'found' name for which one needs to excavate some meaning, context, and location in India at the present moment. Instead of importing this term to describe practices taking place in this country - especially when the term itself is relatively unstable and undefined even in the Anglo-American context - what I chose to do was to take a few steps back, and outline a few questions/conflicts that the digital practitioners in arts and humanities disciplines are grappling with. The final report of this study will be published serially. This is the sixth among seven sections.

Read More…

Train-a-Wikipedian and policy discussion meetup in Hyderabad

Train-a-Wikipedian and policy discussion meetup in Hyderabad

The first on-ground Train-a-Wikipedian and policy discussion meetup was conducted in Hyderabad on 15 May 2016. 14 editors from 5 Indian Wikimedia communities participated in this event.

Read More…

RBI Consultation Paper on P2P Lending: Summary

The Reserve Bank of India published a Consultation Paper on Peer-to-Peer Lending on April 28, 2016. The Paper proposes to bring the P2P lending platforms under the purview of RBI’s regulation by defining P2P platforms as NBFCs under section 45I(f)(iii) of the RBI Act. Once notified as NBFCs, RBI can issue regulations under sections 45JA and 45L. The last date for submission of comments to the Consultation Paper is May 31, 2016. In this post, Pavishka Mittal presents a summary of the Paper.

Read More…

Protecting the Territory, Killing the Map

The politics of making and using maps in India has taken a sudden and complex turn with the publication of the draft Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016. Contrary to the expectations arising out of several government schemes that are promoting the development of the new digital economy in India – from start-ups to the ongoing expansion of connectivity network – the Bill seems to be undoing various economic and humanitarian efforts, and other opportunities involving maps. This article by Sumandro Chattapadhyay and Adya Garg was published by The Wire on May 16, 2016.

Read More…

MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from IIM, Ahmedabad

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 IIM, Ahmedabad.

Read More…

Draft Law Would Prohibit Showing ‘Disputed Areas’ on Maps of India

Maps that label geographic areas of conflict as “disputed” territories in India could put one behind bars for seven years with 1B Indian Rupees (US$15M) penalty if a recently proposed bill becomes law.

Read More…

MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from Delhi University

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 Delhi University.

Read More…

MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from NUJS

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 the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences.

Read More…

MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from NALSAR

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 NALSAR.

Read More…

MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from IIT, Kharagpur

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 the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.

Read More…

MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from JNU

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 the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.

Read More…

Kannada Wikipedia edit-a-thon organised at Sagara, Karnataka

A two-day-long Kannada Wikipedia edit-a-thon was organised at Sagara, Karnataka during January 26-27. A photowalk was also organised on the 25th to cover places of encyclopedic importance.

Read More…

Legal Challenges to Mapping in India #1 - Laws, Policies, and Cases

Responding to the draft Geospatial Information Regulation Bill and the draft National Geospatial Policy made public recently, this post provides an overview of the present configuration of laws, policies, and guidelines that provides the legal framework in India for governance of creation and sharing of geospatial data in India. The post also studies these policies in action by describing the key legal cases around the creation and use of geospatial data. The next post of this series will document the reflections and opinions of the key geospatial industry actors in India, as well as the free and open source mapping community.

Read More…

Wikipedia’s 15th birthday inspires Bangla translators; Odia-language Women’s History Month edit-a-thons

Bangla-language Wikipedians translated about 600 articles for their language’s Wikipedia; Odia-language Wikimedians hosted their second annual Women’s History Month edit-a-thon.

Read More…

Indian Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion Discussion Paper on Standard Essential Patents

India’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (“DIPP”) released in March, earlier this year, a discussion paper on standard essential patents and their availability on fair, reasonable and non discriminatory terms.

Read More…