All Blogs
Praja - Enhancing Democracy Through Access to Open Data: What Are the Roles of Government and Civil Society? (Delhi, Sep 08)
Open Government Data (OGD) is widely seen to be a key hallmark of contemporary democratic practice and is often linked to the passing of freedom of information legislation. OGD is a philosophy—and increasingly a set of policies—that promotes transparency, accountability and value creation by making government data available to all. Public bodies produce and commission huge quantities of data and information. By making their datasets available, public institutions become more transparent and accountable to citizens. By encouraging the use, reuse and free distribution of datasets, governments promote business creation and innovative, citizen-centric services. Praja is organising a symposium on "open data and civil society" on Friday, Sep 8, which is supported by European Union and Friedrich Naumann Stiftung fur die Freiheit. Sumandro Chattapadhyay (Research Director) will take part in this event as a speaker in the session on "data centric approach and role of stakeholders in the urban governance ecosystem."
MediaNama - #NAMAprivacy: The Future of User Data (Delhi, Sep 6)
MediaNama is hosting a full day conference on "the future of user data in India", on the 6th of September 2017, which is particularly significant given the recent Supreme Court ruling on the fundamental right to privacy, and two government consultations: one at the TRAI, and another at MEITY. This discussion is supported by Facebook, Google, and Microsoft. Sumandro Chattapadhyay, Research Director, will participate as a speaker in the session titled "regulating storage, sharing and transfer of data."
The Digital Humanities from Father Busa to Edward Snowden
What do Edward Snowden, the whistle-blower behind the NSA surveillance revelations, and Father Roberto Busa, an Italian Jesuit, who worked for almost his entire life on Saint Thomas Aquinas, have in common? The simple answer would be: the computer. Things however are a bit more complex than that, and the reason for choosing these two people to explain what the Digital Humanities are, is that in some sense they represent the origins and the present consequences of a certain way of thinking about computers. This essay by Dr. Domenico Fiormonte, lecturer in the Sociology of Communication and Culture in the Department of Political Sciences at University Roma Tre, was originally published in the Media Development journal.
CIS Statement on Right to Privacy Judgment
In an emphatic endorsement of the right to privacy, a nine judge constitutional bench unanimously upheld a fundamental right to privacy. The events leading to this bench began during the hearings in the ongoing Aadhaar case, when in August 2015, Mukul Rohatgi, the then Attorney General stated that there is no constitutionally guaranteed right to privacy.
Digital native: You are not alone
Away from the guidance of adults, the internet can be a lonely place for youngsters, pushing them towards self-harm.
Infographic: The Impending Right to Privacy Judgment
The ruling will be important not just for the immediate Aadhaar case but also numerous other matters to do with state intrusions, decisional autonomy and informational privacy.
Here’s why we need a lot more discussion on India’s new DNA Profiling Bill
The DNA Profiling Bill 2017 is still missing a number of safeguards that would enable individual rights. The implications of creating regional and national level DNA databanks need to be fully understood and publicly debated.
Dataset for "Patent Working Requirements and Complex Products: An Empirical Assessment of India's Form 27 Practice and Compliance"
Dataset of the first comprehensive and systematic analysis of 4,916 valid Statements of Working (Form 27) corresponding to 3,126 patents pertaining to mobile technology in India. Licensed CC-BY-SA 4.0.
Wikipedia Workshop on Template Creation and Modification Conducted in Bengaluru
A Wikipedia workshop on template creation, modification was conducted in Bengaluru on 30 July 2017. Here is a report.
Privacy is not a unidimensional concept
Right to privacy is important not only for our negotiations with the information age but also to counter the transgressions of a welfare state. A robust right to privacy is essential for all citizens in India to defend their individual autonomy in the face of invasive state actions purportedly for the public good. The ruling of this nine-judge bench will have far-reaching impact on the extent and scope of rights available to us all.
High Level Comparison and Analysis of the Use and Regulation of DNA Based Technology Bill 2017
This blog post seeks to provide a high level comparison of the 2017 and 2015 DNA Profiling Bill - calling out positive changes, remaining issues, and missing provisions.
Should an Inability to Precisely Define Privacy Render It Untenable as a Right?
The judges may still be able to articulate the manner in which limits for a right to privacy may be arrived at, without explicitly specifying them.
A New Telecom Policy That Works
A sound NTP-2018 requires sustainable, integrated policies that address our realities.
RCEP IP Chapter: A Serious Threat to Access to Knowledge/ Cultural Goods?
Negotiators from sixteen countries are currently meeting in Hyderabad for discussing a free trade agreement titled Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
CIS-A2K Co-Facilitates Punjabi Wikimedians Wikimedia Strategy Meeting
On 15 July 2017, Punjabi Wikimedia User Group, conducted Punjabi Wikimedia Strategy Meeting at Patiala. CIS-A2K members Tanveer Hasan and Tito Dutta attended the event as co-facilitator and resource person. The event was followed by a meeting on the next day when active Punjabi Wikimedians and CIS-A2K representatives discussed different plans and strategies for the Punjabi Wikimedian projects in the coming months.
Marathi Wikipedia Workshop in Sangli, Maharashtra
A Marathi Wikipedia workshop was recently held in Sangli, Maharashtra
Digital native: Ever on the go
It is time to insist that the infrastructure of digital India is accompanied by the infrastructure of care for the digital Indian.When the telephone was first introduced as a mass communication tool, one of the biggest fears was that it would allow people to lie and cheat at will.
Telugu Wikisource Workshop
Recently, a Telugu Wikisource Workshop was conducted in Hyderabad between 22- 23 July, 2017
Aadhar: Privacy is not a unidimensional concept
Right to privacy is important not only for our negotiations with the information age but also to counter the transgressions of a welfare state. A robust right to privacy is essential for all Indian citizens to defend their individual autonomy in the face of invasive state actions purportedly for the public good.
