Centre for Internet & Society

A Comparison of the Draft DNA Profiling Bill 2007 and the Draft Human DNA Profiling Bill 2012

by Maria Xynou

In this post, Maria Xynou gives us a comparison of the Draft DNA Profiling Bill 2007 and the Draft Human DNA Profiling Bill 2012.

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Summary of the CIS workshop on the Draft Human DNA Profiling Bill 2012

by Maria Xynou

On March 1st, 2013, the Centre for Internet and Society organized a workshop which analysed the April 2012 draft Human DNA Profiling Bill and its potential implications on human rights in India.

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Unique Identification Scheme (UID) & National Population Register (NPR), and Governance

by Elonnai Hickok

This post examines the UID, NPR and Governance as it exists in India. The background note gives a summary of what is the NPR, the legal grounding of NPR, its objectives, and the information which could be collected under the NPR. The post also throws light on the UID, its objectives, process of enrollment in UID, how UID is being adopted by different states in India, and finally the differences and controversies in UID and NPR.

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Draft Human DNA Profiling Bill (April 2012): High Level Concerns

by Elonnai Hickok

In 2007 the Draft Human DNA Profiling Bill was piloted by the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, with the objective of regulating the use of DNA for forensic and other purposes. In February 2012 another draft of the Bill was leaked. The February 2012 Bill was drafted by the Department of Biotechnology. Another working draft of the Bill was created in April 2012. The most recent version of the Bill seeks to create DNA databases at the state, regional, and national level.

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An Introduction to Bitfilm & Bitcoin in Bangalore, India

by Benson Samuel

An event at the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) was organized on January 23, 2013. The all star team at CIS was awesome at organizing this event for Bitcoin. Live streaming, mainstream newspaper coverage and Twitter based Q&A made this the first Bitcoin event in India that leveraged these mediums of information transfer.

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Don’t SLAPP free speech

by Sunil Abraham

IIPM is proving adept at the tactical use of lawsuits to stifle criticism, despite safeguards. THE DEPARTMENT of Telecommunications, on 14 February, issued orders to block certain web pages critical of the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM).

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Women in the IT Industry: Request for Data

by Jadine Lannon

For CIS's research on indicators of female economic empowerment in the IT industry in India, we have sent formal request for participation in a short survey to the six largest IT companies based in India. A copy of the letter of request and survey as well as some details of the request for data can be found in this post.

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Research Initiative: Women in India's IT Industry

by Jadine Lannon

CIS has begun a brief research project which will examine indicators of female economic empowerment in the IT industry in India. Though the gathering of quantitative and qualitative data from the six largest publicly-traded Indian software companies, we hope to provide insight into state of female employment in one of the most important and rapidly growing economic sectors in the country.

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BigDog is Watching You! The Sci-fi Future of Animal and Insect Drones

by Maria Xynou

Do you think robotic aeroplanes monitoring us are scary enough? Wait until you read about DARPA´s new innovative and subtle way to keep us all under the microscope! This blog post presents a new reality of drones which is depicted in none other than animal and insect-like robots, equipped with cameras and other surveillance technologies.

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Surveillance Camp IV: Disproportionate State Surveillance - A Violation of Privacy

by Elonnai Hickok

This is the fourth in a series of posts mapping global surveillance challenges discussed at EFF's State Surveillance and Human Rights Camp in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This article has been co-written with Elonnai Hickok — Centre for Internet and Society India, and a speaker at EFF's Camp.

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