All Blogs
Why GST Is A Step Backward For The Disabled
Imposing taxes on assistive devices is unfair. The countdown has begun to the implementation of the GST in India. Over the past month, discussions about the GST have dominated the scene with several groups protesting in strong measure about the impact on their business.
Indian Patent Office updates Guidelines for Examination of Computer Related Inventions, yet again
By discarding a test brought into force last year, the updated Guidelines take no concrete position to help clarify the ambiguity around patentability of software inventions in India.
Asian Athletics Championships 2017 Edit-a-thon
Odia Wikipedians, in conjunction with Indian Athletics Federation and Sports and Youth Services collaborated to document the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships. Hundreds of photos were uploaded and new Wikipedia content added to inform the event’s fans.
Wikidata workshop (South India) conducted in Bangalore
Wikidata workshop (South India) has been conducted in Bangalore on 10 and 11 June 2017. 11 Wikimedians from 6 Indic Wikimedia communities participated in the workshop. Here is a report.
Digital Native: On mute, the Voice of the People
We are at the mercy of trigger-happy governments and profit-hungry corporations that hold our digital lives ransom. They have the capacity to censor, contain, control and eradicate all our digital data without our consent and without repercussions.
GST - A Barrier to Human Rights for Persons with Disabilities
The Centre of Internet & Society made a submission on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) which will be coming into play from July 2017 onwards. In this blog post Nirmita Narasimhan assesses the impact of GST on persons with disabilities.
Dalit History Month 2017 edit-a-thon in Delhi, India
Dalit History Month edit-a-thon was conducted in Delhi on 20 May 2017. Here is a report.
Cybersecurity Compilation: Indian Context
This document intends to serve as a comprehensive source compiling all the cyber-security related regulations, policies, guidelines, notifications, executive orders, court rulings, etc.
Report of the Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2017
Aditya Tejas attended the Global Accessibility Awareness Day event organized at NIMHANS Convention Centre in Bengaluru. The event had multiple panels and presentations, including a talk on coding for accessibility, a panel on why accessibility is necessary and how India is lagging behind in implementing it, and a presentation on how accessibility principles are integrated into the product life cycle at Cisco.
Digital Native: In digiville attention is Currency
The increased importance on attention and the lack of it on social media gives all the more reason why we need to be discerning about what we invest our attention upon.
Thematic Edit-a-thon at Yashawantrao Chavan Institute of Science, Satara
A Marathi Wikipedia edit-a-thon was held at Yashawantrao Chavan Institute of Science, Satara. The aim of the workshop was to edit and improve articles on Marathi Wikipedia under the theme "Environment and Local Biodiveristy". Participants were given an orientation on how to contribute to Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects. The Yashawantrao Chavan Institute of Science is housed under the Rayat Shikshan Sanstha, a century-old organization with the largest network of schools and colleges across Maharashtra. The management and local environmental group, Drongo, took the initiative to organize this thematic workshop in Satara, an area rich in terms of biodiversity in the Western Ghats. Noted ecologist and scientist Prof. Madhavrao Gadgil addressed the workshop as a resource person along with Prof. V.Y. Deshpande of the Institute. A total of 23 members from various like-minded organizations participated in the workshop.
Image by सुबोध कुलकर्णी/ CC-BY-SA 4.0
Tallapaka Pada Sahityam is now on Wikisource
Tallapaka Pada Sahityam, a compilation of over fourteen thousand Telugu compositions is now available on Wikisource. Tallapaka Annamacharya was a 15th-century Hindu saint and composer who was renowned for singing in praise of Lord Venkateswara. The Tallapaka lineage began with him, giving rise to many bards in the Telugu language from the family. The Tallapaka Pada Sahityam is a compilation of three generations of Tallapaka poets: Tallapaka Annamacharya, Tallapaka Peda Tirumalacharya, and Tallapaka China Tirumalacharya. This compilation, published by Annamayya Library, Guntur has been uploaded by the library on Wikisource as part of their efforts to digitize the library archives. These lyrical works, dealing with a variety of themes, are of immense literary and cultural significance to Telugu speakers the world over.
Owing to the large size of the file donated by the library, the works need to be separated into 29 volumes. These separated files would be uploaded and indexed on Commons as well. A Unicode version of the work needs to be published and proofread in addition to their print version. Telugu Wikimedians are also exploring the possiblity of re-licensing recitations of the poems by literary connoisseurs. On 9 June, an orientation of these activities was conducted for long time Telugu Wikipedia, te:user:శ్రీరామమూర్తి, who has begun publishing Unicode text and proof-reading on Telugu Wikisource.
The link to the work is here:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Tallapaka_pada_sahityam.pdf
Broadband Reforms for Local Manufacturing
Broadband in India needs reforms for local manufacturing and for infrastructure expansion and utilisation.
Comments from the Centre for Internet and Society on Renewal of .NET Registry Agreement
The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is grateful for the opportunity to comment on the proposed renewal of the .NET Registry Agreement.
34th SCCR: A Summary Report
The 34th session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) was held from 1st- 5th May 2017 at Geneva, Switzerland. Anubha Sinha attended the session and provides an update on the status of discussions and noteworthy emerging/unsolved debates in the Committee.
34th SCCR: Observer Statements on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives
Observers made the following statements on the agenda of limitations and exceptions for libraries and archives on 3rd May 2017.
34th SCCR: Observer Statements on Limitations and Exceptions for Educational and Research Institutions
Observers made the following statements on discussion around limitations and exceptions for educational and research institutions on 3rd May 2017.
34th SCCR: Observer Statements on Proposal for Analysis of Copyright related to the Digital Environment
Observers made the following statements on GRULAC's proposal on analysis of copyright related to the digital environment on 5th May 2017.
Digital native: Look before you (digitally) leap
Creating a digital future is great, but there’s a serious need to secure the infrastructure first.
Preliminary research result on Wikipedia gender gap in India
Since June 2016, Ting-Yi Chang from the University of Toronto has worked with the CIS-A2K team to conduct action research on the Wikipedia gender gap in India. The research aims to improve the understanding of the gender gap (imbalance) issue in the Indian Wikipedia communities while examining local interventions.
