Centre for Internet and Society

Intellectual Property Rights — Open Access for Researchers

nehaa — 2015-03-24T01:22:20Z

In the year 2013, Nehaa Chaudhari had worked on a module on Intellectual Property Rights for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)'s Open Access Curriculum (Curriculum for Researchers) as part of a project for the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia. UNESCO published the module this year. Nehaa Chaudhari and Varun Baliga were among the Module preparation team. Nehaa Chaudhari was the writer for Units 1, 2 and 3: Understanding Intellectual Property Rights, Copyright and Alternative to a Strict Copyright Regime.

This publication is available in Open Access under the Attribution - ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/). By using the content of this publication, the users accept to be bound by the terms of use of the UNESCO Open Access Repository (http://www.unesco.org/open-access/terms-use-ccbysa-en).

Module Introduction

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are set of rights associated with creations of the human mind. An output of the human mind may be attributed with intellectual property rights. These are like any other property, and the law allows the owner to use the same to economically profit from the intellectual work. Broadly IPR covers laws related to copyrights, patents and trademarks. While laws for these are different in different countries, they follow the international legal instruments. The establishment of the Wold Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has established the significance of IPR for the economic growth of nations in the knowledge economy.

This module has three units, and while the Unit 1 covers the basics of IPR, Unit 2 expands in detail the components of copyright and explains the origins and conventions associated with it. Unit 3 discusses the emergence of liberal licensing of copyrighted work to share human creation in the commons. In the last unit, we discuss the Creative Commons approach to licensing of creative works within the structures of the copyright regime that permits the authors to exercise their rights to share in the way they intend to. Creative Commons provides six different types of licenses, of which the Creative Commons Attribution license is the most widely used in research journals part of the Open Access framework.

At the end of this module, you are expected to be able to:

Understand intellectual property rights and related issues
Explain copyright, authors’ rights, licensing and retention of rights; and
Use the Creative Commons licensing system

Acknowledgements

Nehaa would like to thank Varun Baliga and Anirudh Sridhar for their research and writing support in Unit 1, and Samantha Cassar for Unit 2.

Click to download the PDF containing the Modules. Also read UNESCO’s Open Access (OA) Curriculum is now online

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/unesco-nehaa-chaudhari-march-19-2015-communication-and-information-resources-news-and-in-focus-articles-unesco-open-access-curriculum-is-now-online

Institutional Partnership with Tribal Research & Training Institute

subodh — 2018-05-07T16:29:02Z

CIS-A2K has been building partnerships with major state government departments in Maharashtra to promote free & open knowledge resources. One such effort resulted into official Govt.Resolution of Tribal Research & Training Institute under State Tribal Development department on Expert's Study Group Formation for developing Open Knowledge Platforms.

Community Advocate for Marathi Language is representing CIS-A2K in this group. The mandate of the group is given in GR. We will be facilitating primarily No.1 & 2, which says - Developing new and utilising existing Open & free platforms like Wikimedia Projects to build knowledge resources on Community Forest Management, Development of training modules in Unicode & make it accessible by common man, Digitisation of reference books, training booklets, govt docs, archives,images etc and making it accessible.

Plan

The Tribal Research & Training Institute(TRTI), Pune was established on 1st May, 1962.The Institute undertakes research studies on various aspects of tribals. It has Tribal Cultural Museum located in its premises. All facets of life of tribals of Maharashtra are displayed in the Museum.The Institute has got a rich Library which serves as reference library on tribals. This is a very good opportunity to explore various aspects of open knowledge with research organisation like TRTI.

After extensive discussions, the project proposal on Van Bodh (a free & open knowledge repository on Biodiversity, Forest Management for Tribal communities) is prepared. The implementing agency is Vrikshamitra under leadership of Prof. Madhav Gadgil. Three other organisations - Mumbai University's Economics department, Vigyan Ashram, Dataspect, Datameet are other partners in this project. The content generation on free & open source platforms & Wikimedia Projects would be facilitated by A2K.

Impact

Many tribal communities have started managing their Community forests vested under Forest Rights Act 2006. All the information pertaining to this field is not easily available in local language. The online content is also not available. Under this project, the knowledge resource would be created in collaboration with grass-root communities in tribal areas. The youth will be trained in unicode, open source applications and content generation in Wikimedia projects. The knowledge resource thus created would be accessed by people in 2500 villages active in community forest management.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/institutional-partnership-with-tribal-research-training-institute

Institute on Internet and Society

praskrishna — 2013-11-20T05:52:02Z

The Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore is pleased to announce the Institute for Internet and Society to be held in Bangalore from June 8 to June 14, 2013 at the Golden Palms Resort, Bangalore.

With financial support and visionary guidance from the Ford Foundation, this initiative represents an important opportunity to bring together various stakeholders in a neutral forum and share ideas. The week-long residential institute will cover topics surrounding the internet and society.

Course Content

History of the Internet (This session will cover brief history of the Internet, its early stages and growth. It will also cover origins of internet in India and its impact on the Indian GDP. It will also focus on hot topics/debates surrounding the Internet).
Internet Technologies and Infrastructure (The session infrastructure, purpose and function of an ISP, advantages and disadvantages of different modes of Internet access).
E-Governance (This session will cover the various e-governance initiatives).
Principles and Values of the Internet (This session will cover various principles that underpinned the creation of the Internet, the threats they face and the need for a truly “open internet”).
Ownership and Management (This session will cover ownership and market distribution).
Internet Activism (This session will deal with various initiatives which have successfully used the Internet to build movements and campaigns).

Institute Highlights

Guest Lectures by Experts & CIS Staff
Interactive Panel Discussions
Case Studies
Surveys
Breakout Sessions
Demonstrations
Product Walkthroughs
Networking Opportunities and much more…

At the end of the week long residential course, attendees will have:

Acquisition of knowledge on Internet in the Indian society.
Appreciation of the role of community and other stakeholders in issues surrounding the Internet.
Creation of a starting point for improved communication of research findings, innovations, information and new technologies in Internet to evolve a community comprising academicians and policy makers.
Appreciation of the need to bridge the gap between policy and implementation.

Agenda

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Timings	Topics for Discussion
09:30 11:00	INTRODUCTION Dr. Ravina Aggarwal & Dr. Nirmita Narasimhan
11:00 11:30	Tea / Coffee Break
11:30 13:00	HISTORY AND GROWTH OF INTERNET IN INDIA Madan Mohan Rao (This session will deal with the advent of the internet and its growth in India).
13:00 14:00	Lunch Break
14:00 15:30	DOMESTIC BODIES AND MECHANISMS Pranesh Prakash (This session will give an overview of the roles, which different government bodies play in regulating the Internet).
15:30 16:00	Tea / Coffee Break
16:00 17:30	EMERGING TRENDS IN INTERNET USAGE IN INDIA Nandini C and Vir Kamal Chopra (This session will cover key trends and issues with regard to internet usage in India).
20:00 22:00	Dinner

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Timings	Topics for Discussion
09:30 11:00	WIRED TECHNOLOGIES Dr. Nadeem Akhtar (This session will deal with the various technologies involved in establishing a wired connection to the internet).
11:00 11:30	Tea / Coffee Break
11:30 13:00	WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES Michael Ginguld (This session will deal with the various technologies involved in establishing a wireless connection to the internet).
13:00 14:00	Lunch Break
14:00 15:30	BUILDING KNOWLEDGE BASES AND PLATFORMS VIA MASS COLLABORATION ON THE INTERNET Vishnu Vardhan T (This session will deal with the various online knowledge bases and platforms with special emphasis on Wikipedia).
15:30 16:00	Tea / Coffee Break
16:00 17:30	AFFORDABLE DEVICES AND INTERNET ACCESS IN INDIA Ravikiran Annaswamy (This session will deal with affordable devices and their role in increasing internet access in India).
20:00 22:00	Dinner

Monday, June 10, 2013

Timings	Topics for Discussion
09:30 11:00	HOW INTERNET WORKS? Dr. Nadeem Akhtar (This session will deal with various technologies related to the backbone of the internet).
11:00 11:30	Tea/Coffee Break
11:30 13:00	ASSIGNMENT
13.00 14.00	Lunch Break
14:00 18:00	OFFSITE / FIELD VISIT
20:00 22:00	Dinner

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Timings	Topics for Discussion
09:30 11:00	UNIVERSAL ACCESS Archana Gulati (This session will cover an overview of universal access and universal service).
11:00 11:30	Tea/Coffee Break
11:30 13:00	FREE AND OPEN INTERNET Pranesh Prakash (This session will cover fundamental rights to freedom of speech and expression, reasonable restrictions on freedom of speech in context of internet access in India).
13.00 14.00	Lunch Break
14:00 15:30	OPENNESS Pranesh Prakash and Sunil Abraham (This session will cover issues related to openness and access to the internet).
15:30 16:00	Tea / Coffee Break
16:00 17:30	OPEN CONTENT Professor Subbiah Arunahalam (This session will discuss open access to content and its implications on internet access).
17:30 18:30	QUICK TALK: COPYRIGHT LAW AND ACCESS Pranesh Prakash (This short session will deal with implications of copyright law on internet access).
20.00 22.00	Dinner

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Timings	Topics for Discussion
09:30 11:00	PRIVACY ON THE INTERNET IN INDIA Elonnai Hickok and Sunil Abraham (This session will discuss online privacy, data protection, use of encryption, value of anonymity online, UID, etc).
11:00 11:30	Tea/Coffee Break
11:30 13:00	E-ACCESSIBILITY BASICS Dr. Nirmita Narasimhan (This session will deal with key requirements for making internet accessible for persons with disabilities).
13.00 14.00	Lunch Break
14:00 15:30	INTERNATIONAL BODIES AND MECHANISM Tulika Pandey and Gaurab Raj Upadhyay (This session will deal with various international bodies and multi-stakeholder processes involved in formulation of internet related policies).
15:30 16:00	Tea / Coffee Break
16:00 17:00	E-GOVERNANCE Sunil Abraham (This session will deal with e-Governance strategies and relevant initiatives).
20.00 22.00	Dinner

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Timings	Topics for Discussion
09:30 11:00	GLOBAL HISTORY OF THE INTERNET Dr. Nishant Shah (Inception of internet and the main events which led to the growth of the internet).
11:00 11:30	Tea/Coffee Break
11:30 13:00	STRATEGIES FOR POLICY INTERVENTION Chakshu Roy (This session will look at various ways in which policy intervention can be made and the various factors necessary to successfully engage in policy forums).
13.00 14.00	Lunch Break
14:00 15:30	PROFILE OF INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS Satyen Gupta (This session will discuss profiles of various ISPs and their share in the market).
15:30 16:00	Tea / Coffee Break
16:00 17:30	COMPETITION IN THE MARKET Helani Galpaya (This session will discuss structure and competition in the broadband market, wireless market, etc).
20.00 22.00	Dinner

Friday, June 14, 2013

Timings	Topics for Discussion
09:30 11:00	LEVERAGING INTERNET FOR ACTIVISM Ananth Guruswamy (This session will look at various initiatives which have used the internet to build successful movements and campaigns).
11:00 11:30	Tea/Coffee Break
11:30 13:00	“INTERNET ACCESS” ACTIVISM Parminder Jeet Singh (This session will discuss how people can contribute to initiatives for improving internet access).
13.00 14.00	Lunch Break
14:00 15:30	ENSURING ACCESS TO THE INTERNET A K Bharghava (This session will discuss strategies to enhance access to the internet in India with special focus on National Optical Fibre Network).
15:30 16:00	Tea / Coffee Break
16:00 17:30	Winding Up

Speakers

A.K Bhargava
A. K. Bhargava is a Telecom Engineer with more than 35 yrs of experience in various fields of Telecommunication, Installation, Operation, Maintenance, Software and Management. Prior to joining BBNL as Director (Operations), he was working as Executive Director (Wireless Services) with Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) Delhi.
Ananth Guruswamy
Ananth Guruswamy is the director of Amnesty International India. Previouly, he was the Programme Director at Green Peace. Ananth joined Greenpeace India in 2001 at its very beginning and played a key role in moulding Greenpeace India into one of the leading stakeholders in the NGO sector in India.
Archana Gulati
An Indian Civil Service Officer, she has worked as a Universal Service Policy Expert with respect to Access to ICTs for Persons with Disabilities for the International Telecommunications Union. She also successfully pioneered the e-government system in her previous posting as Joint Controller Communication Accounts, Department of Telecommunications (DoT). At present she is posted as the Financial Advisor with the National Disaster Management Authority of India.
Chakshu Roy
Chakshu Roy heads technology initiatives at PRS Legislative Research (PRS), New Delhi. PRS is a unique initiative that provides non-partisan analysis to all Members of Parliament in India. Chakshu is developing a comprehensive technology strategy to engage large sections of the population in the policy process. He has conceptualised and developed India’s only online database of all state laws. Chakshu has conducted capacity-building workshops for over 1000 journalists on tracking the work of legislators.
Elonnai Hickok
Elonnai Hickok works as a Programme Manager at the Centre for Internet and Society. Her main areas of work are Privacy and Data Security.
Gaurab Raj Upadhaya
Gaurab has a long record of volunteerism and commitment to the Asia Pacific Internet Community. Gaurab is one of the 14 global Trusted Community Representatives who cryptographically sign the root of the domain name system in ICANN Root DNSSEC Key ceremonies. In 2001, he was the founder of the Nepal Internet Exchange (NPIX), the first IX in the South-Asian region.
Helani Galpaya
Helani Galpaya is the Chief Executive Officer at LIRNEasia. She holds a Masters in Technology and Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor’s in Computer Science from Mount Holyoke College, USA.
Dr. Madan Mohan Rao
Dr. Madan Mohan Rao is the research director at the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre. He is the editor of a three book series: “The Asia Pacific Internet Handbook”, “The Knowledge Management Chronicles” and “AfroDotEdu”.
Michael Ginguld
Michael Ginguld is the Chief Executive Officer at AirJaldi. He has more than 15 years of experience working with ICT, community and rural development projects in India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Nepal, and Israel.
Dr. Nadeem Akhtar
Dr. Nadeem Akhtar is currently working as Principal Research Engineer at the Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology (CEWiT). He leads the network layer research team at CEWiT and also represents CEWiT at 3GPP Radio Access Networks Working Group meetings. His research interests lie in the field of mobile and broadband wireless access technologies. Dr. Akhtar is a member of IEEE Standards Association and ITU-APT Foundation of India.
Nandini. C
Nandini. C is a Research Associate with IT for Change (www.itforchange.net), and is part of a team that is engaged in research studies in the area of gender and ICTs, democratic governance and ICTs, and the political economy of the information society. She holds a Masters in Urban and Rural Community Development from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
Dr. Nirmita Narasimhan
Dr. Nirmita Narasimhan is a Policy Director at Centre for Internet and Society and works on policy research and advocacy related to IP reform and technology access for persons with disabilities.
Dr. Nishant Shah
Dr. Nishant Shah is the Director-Research at CIS. He is a recipient of the Asia Scholarship Foundation's fellowship for comparative research at the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China. Nishant is a regular columnist with the Sunday Eye, the national edition of Indian Express, Delhi, GQ India and DML Central. He has authored/co-authored many peer-reviewed articles in several journals.
Parminder Jeet Singh
Parminder Jeet Singh is Executive Director of IT for Change. He was recently appointed as a member of Task Force set up by the Indian government on implementation of proactive disclosures provisions of the Right to Information Act. He was also associated with Department of IT's Sub-group on e-governance for the 12^th Five Year Plan. He recently authored a report on 'Community Knowledge Centers' for the Karnataka Knowledge Commission.
Pranesh Prakash
Pranesh Prakash is a Policy Director at CIS and works on policy research and advocacy around intersections of technology and law focusing on access to knowledge (primarily copyright reforms), promoting 'openness' (including open government data, open standards, open access, and free/libre/open source software), freedom of expression, privacy, and internet governance.
Ravikiran Annaswamy
Ravikiran Annaswamy is an entrepreneur learning to create the next big business. He is very excited about the opportunities at the cusp of social media, mobile Internet and Big Data. Currently, He is nurturing a unique concept called Teritree, which brings social shopping into mainstream business.He has vast experience of making successful telecom solutions for global markets, mainly in the area of Online Billing and Charging, OSS, Innovative 3G/4G applications, Media and Security Solutions.
Dr. Ravina Aggarwal
Dr. Ravina Aggarwal works on media issues in India from the Ford Foundation's New Delhi office. Her grant making advances issues of democratic expression and media access among marginalized communities. She holds the position of Programme Officer in Ford Foundation, India
Satyen Gupta
Satyen Gupta is a veteran in the field of telecommunications, drawing from his vast experience in telecom regulation as well as industry. Among other accomplishments, he was a member of the NGN Regulation review group of ITU and also worked as advisor with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India at the level of Additional Secretary and is heading the Converged Network Division dealing with regulatory, technical and economic aspects of Data Networks and Services.
Dr. Subbiah Arunachalam
Dr. Subbiah Arunachalam is a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Internet and Society. Improving information access both for scientists and for the rural poor; scientometrics, ICT-enabled development and open access are among his current research interests.
Sunil Abraham
Sunil Abraham is the Executive Director of the Centre for Internet and Society. He is also a social entrepreneur and Free Software advocate.
Tulika Pandey
Tulika Pandey is an Electronics and Telecommunications Engineer. She has been with the Government of India since 1992 and is currently Director with the Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, Government of India. She is involved in implementation strategy and action plan formulations for wider reach of ICT facilitated benefits; Integration of appropriate technology interfaces between human and cyber world; Steering of Research and Development projects for development of contextual ICT technology, tool, applications and content.
Vir Kamal Chopra
Vir Kamal Chopra is currently the Sr. General Manager (QA) with BSNL at New Delhi. He started his career in teaching. He has played a vital role in providing telecommunication facilities and shaping BSNL and is also responsible for finalization of high value products which are purchased at the central level of BSNL. He is credited with introducing e-tendering for the first time at BSNL.
Vishnu Vardhan
Vishnu Vardhan is the Programme Director of the CIS-A2K Team which works with Wikipedians and also conducts workshops and meetups in order to build Wikipedia community for Indic languages.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/telecom/knowledge-repository-on-internet-access/institute-on-internet-and-society

Institute on Internet and Society

praskrishna — 2014-02-16T03:00:17Z

The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), Bangalore is pleased to announce the second "Institute on Internet and Society" to be held in Yashada, Pune from February 11 to 17, 2014.

With financial support from the Ford Foundation, this initiative represents an important opportunity to bring together various stakeholders in a neutral forum and share ideas.

This is a week-long residential institute which will cover topics surrounding and exploring the gamut of internet and society. Various topics that explore the ambit and the intersection between Internet and Society will be explored with guest speakers and experts in these fields anchoring the sessions. The lectures will be insightful and few, with interesting case studies and interactive modes of teaching. There will be breakout sessions where participants will get the chance to partake in interactive technology sessions and instructive demonstrations.

There will be off-site experiences where the participants can go on field trips and view the actual spaces that will be discussed.

The institute will feature:

Guest lectures by experts and CIS staff.
Interactive panel discussions.
Case studies.
Breakout sessions.
Interactive demonstrations.
Networking opportunities, field trips/off-site experience and much more...

At the end of the course, attendees will have:

Acquisition of knowledge on internet in the Indian society.
Appreciation of the role of community and other stakeholders in issues surrounding the internet.
Creation of a starting point for improved communication of research findings, innovations, information and new technologies in internet to evolve a community comprising academicians and policy makers.
Appreciation of the need to bridge the gap between policy and implementation.

Who can apply?

Any members from the civil society (students, research scholars, academicians, scientists, legal professionals, etc.) who engage in issues concerning Internet and Society.

How to apply?

The application form available at http://internet-institute.in/form needs to completed in all respects and uploaded along with a brief bio and a 250-300 word abstract on why the applicant feels he/she must attend the Institute on Internet and Society.

Selection criteria

Originality of application.
Evidence of interest and/or prior engagement in Internet and Society related research and policies.
Gender, regional and stakeholder representation.

Twenty participants shall be chosen to attend the Institute on a first come, first served basis. Please ensure that your applications are submitted to CIS well before the closing date.

Attendance

Attendance for the full duration of the Institute (February 11 to February 17, 2014) is mandatory. Please provide assurance that you will be able to commit to the full duration of the institute.

What costs will be covered?

CIS has a number of scholarships that will cover the course fees, travel, accommodation and food. Please note that scholarships will be given on a first come first serve basis to deserving applicants and is available for persons based within India.

Important Dates

Registrations Open: November 15, 2013

Registrations Close: December 15, 2013

Draft Agenda

Time	Detail
Day 1 (February 11, 2014)
09.30 09.40	Introduction: Sunil Abraham, Executive Director Centre for Internet and Society / Ravina Aggarwal, Program Officer, Ford Foundation
09.30 09.40	Introduction of Participants
10.00 12.00	Internet Governance and Privacy: Sunil Abraham
12.00 12.30	Tea-break
12.30 13.00	Keynote: Bishakha Datta, Filmmaker and Activist, and Board Member, Wikimedia Foundation
13.00 14.00	Lunch
14.00 16.00	Pecha Kucha sessions
16.00 17.30	Histories, Bodies and Debates around the Internet: Nishant Shah, Director-Research, Centre for Internet and Society and International Tandem Partner at the Centre for Digital Cultures, Leuphana University, Germany
Day 2 (February 12, 2014)
Time	Detail
09.30 11.00	Wireless Technology: Ravikiran Annaswamy, CEO and Co-founder at Teritree Technologies
11.00 11.30	Tea-break
11.30 13.00	Wired Technology: Ravikiran Annaswamy
13.00 14.00	Lunch
14.00 15.00	Network, Threats and Securing Yourself: Kingsley John, Independent Consultant
15.00 15.15	Break
15.15 16.15	Practical Lab: Kingsley John
16.15 16.30	Tea-break
16.30 17.00	Wrap-up Session: Sunil Abraham
Day 3 (February 13, 2014)
Time	Detail
09.30 11.00	Free Software: Prof. G. Nagarjuna, Chairperson, Free Software Foundation
11.00 11.30	Tea-break
11.30 13.00	Open Data: Nisha Thompson, Independent Consultant
13.00 14.00	Lunch
14.00 16.00	Freedom of Expression: Bhairav Acharya, Advocate and Adviser, Centre for Internet and Society
16.00 16.30	Tea-break
16.30 17.30	Copyright: Nehaa Chaudhari, Program Officer, Centre for Internet and Society
Day 4 (February 14, 2014)
Time	Detail
09.30 11.00	E-Accessibility and Inclusion: Prashant Naik, Union Bank
11.00 11.30	Tea-break
11.30 13.00	Patents: Nehaa Chaudhari
13.00 14.00	Lunch
14.00 17.00	Field Trip
Day 5 (February 15, 2014)
Time	Detail
09.30 11.00	E-Governance: Manu Srivastav, Vice President, eGovernments Foundation
11.00 11.30	Tea-break
11.30 13.00	Market Concerns: Payal Malik, Economic Adviser, Competition Commission of India
13.00 14.00	Lunch
14.00 15.30	Domestic and International Bodies: Chinmayi Arun, Research Director, Centre for Communication Governance, National Law University, Delhi and Fellow, Centre for Internet and Society
15.30 16.00	Tea-break
16.00 17.30	Digital Natives: Nishant Shah
Day 6 (February 16, 2014)
Time	Detail
09.30 11.00	Wikipedia: Dr. Abhijeet Safai
11.00 11.30	Tea-break
11.30 13.00	Open Access: Muthu Madhan
13.00 14.00	Lunch
14.00 15.00	Activity / Mock Conference
15.00 15.30	Tea-break
15.30 17.30	Activity / Mock Conference
Day 7 (February 17, 2014)
Time	Detail
09.30 11.00	Internet Activism: Laura Stein, Associate Professor, University of Texas and Fulbright Fellow, Centre for Culture, Media & Governance, Jamia Millia Islamia
11.00 11.30	Tea-break
11.30 13.00	Digital Humanities: Nishant Shah
13.00 14.00	Lunch
14.00 15.00	Participant Presentations
15.00 15.30	Tea-break
15.30 16.30	Final Exercise: Mapping Learning Feedback

Speakers Profiles

Bishakha Datta
Bishakha is an Indian film maker and activist. She is a former journalist who also serves on the board of nonprofit organizations, such as Point of View, Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action, and (as of 2013) the Wikimedia Foundation. In 1998, Datta edited And Who Will Make the Chapatis?, an overview of the all-women political panchayats formed in Maharashtra, India. In 2003, her documentary In the Flesh: three lives in prostitution was released.

Nishant Shah
Nishant is the founder and Director of Research for the Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society. His doctoral work at the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society, examines the production of a Technosocial Subject at the intersections of law, Internet technologies and everyday cultural practices in India. As an Asia Scholarship Fellow (2008-2009), he also initiated a study that looks at what goes into the making of an IT City in India and China. He is the series editor for a three year collaborative project on “Histories of the Internet(s) in India” that maps nine alternative histories that promote new ways of understanding the technological revolution in the country.

Prof. G. Nagarjuna
Prof. Nagarjuna is the chairperson of the Free Software Foundation. He has been an activist for free knowledge and free softwares and has more than 20 publications on related issues. He is interested in understanding the structure and dynamics of knowledge (epistemology, knowledge organization, knowledge representation, biological roots of cognition, and education), nature of life and evolution. This interest is executed in the respective domains: Information Technology, History and Philosophy of Science, and Biology Education. The social, economic and political aspects of information technology also engages his serious attention.http://www.hbcse.tifr.res.in/people/academic/nagarjuna-g.

Sunil Abraham
Sunil is the Executive Director of Bangalore based research organisation, the Centre for Internet and Society. He founded Mahiti in 1998, a company committed to creating high impact technology and communications solutions. Sunil was elected an Ashoka fellow in 1999 to 'explore the democratic potential of the Internet' and was also granted a Sarai FLOSS fellowship in 2003. Between June 2004 and June 2007, Sunil also managed the International Open Source Network, a project of United Nations Development Programme's Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme serving 42 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

Nisha Thompson
Nisha Thompson: Nisha Thompson has a background in online community organisation. She has worked for the Sunlight Foundation in Washington DC, with online communities to use US government data to hold elected officials accountable. She moved to Bangalore, Karnataka in October 2010. She worked on an Open Government Data report for the Centre for Internet and Society and now works full-time with the Portal, on the Data Project. The Data Project aims to collect and open up water and related data, so that citizens and practitioners can use it to improve and keep track of projects and progress in the water sector.

Payal Malik
Payal Malik: Payal Malik is currently advisor to the Competition Commission of India. She had also done considerable research in the ICT sector. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2013727. In addition to teaching Microeconomics Theory at the University of Delhi she has several years of research experience in the areas of economic policy, competition and regulation in network/infrastructure industries and has been actively engaged in competition policy research. Her research and professional collaborations have been with National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER), New Delhi, Indicus Analytics, New Delhi, LIRNEasia, Sri Lanka, OECD, Orbicom, IDEI, University of Toulouse, University Of Québec at Montreal, CEPR, JRC, European Commission, IPTS Seville, ICEGEC, Hungary, Department of Information Technology, TRAI, Ministry of Power, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Planning Commission of India, Competition Commission of India, CSO, India, WSP-SA, World Bank and AFD, Paris.

Chinmayi Arun
Chinmayi Arun is the Research Director of the Centre for Communication Governance at National Law University, Delhi. She is also an Assistant Professor of law at the university and teaches specialised courses on Internet Governance, privacy and media policy. She is the research coordinator of the Oxford India Media Law Research Project, a member of the Multi-stakeholder Advisory Group formed by the Government of India for the India Internet Governance Forum, and one of the academic experts for the Internet & Jurisdiction Project's Observatory. She works with media regulation and internet governance, particularly in the context of the rights to free speech and privacy. Chinmayi interacts with industry bodies and government officials and envisages the Centre for Communication Governance as a key contributor to policy in the years to come.

Laura Stein
Laura is an assistant Professor at the University of Texas in the College of Communication. Her research focuses upon alternative and public media and she has a course on communication technology and society. She is currently working on an edited collection, titled "Making Our Media: Global Initiatives Toward a Democratic Public Sphere," about grassroots attempts to transform the policy and practice of information and communication media around the world.

Prashant Naik
Prashant is working as an Assistant Manager with the Union Bank of India, one of the largest public sector banks in India. He is placed in the Alternate Channels and New Initiative Department. In his role with Union Bank of India, he has made a major contribution in developing a Truly Accessible Talking ATM, ‘First’ of its kind in India which has set a benchmark on accessible ATM for the blind. Since 2002 he is contributing on a large scale in the area of technology access for the visually impaired persons with his inputs in accessible content creation, access technologies training, accessibility and advocacy. Through his work with NGOs he undertook many accessibility testing and development projects. He received National Award as ROLE MODEL from Honorable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee on 6th February 2013. He holds a degree in computer applications and he is a Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist. He has low vision since birth due to albinism condition.

Ravikiran Annaswamy
Ravikiran is the Co-founder and CEO of Teritree Technologies - a Social commerce technology venture. He also dedicates his time to startup ecosystem as Advisor, Mentor and Angel investor. He has over 17 years of business experience at Nokia Siemens Networks and Siemens AG. He was Business Head for Indian market, led Global Product Management and was General Manager for Asia Pacific Solutions. He championed Intrapreneurship by working as Innovation head for Bangalore site of over 1000 employees. He has vast experience of making successful Technology solutions for global markets, mainly in the area of Social commerce, Online Billing and Charging, Innovative 3G/4G applications, Multimedia and Security Solutions. He is an engaged Professional volunteer, currently the Vice Chairman for IEEE Bangalore section. He was the previous Chairman for IEEE Communication Society of Karnataka.

Manu Srivastava
Manu is a Vice President at the eGovernments Foundation. He brings 14 years of experience in web native product development and database applications. He worked at Oracle and GlobeTrades Inc on various internet based products before joining eGov. He has architected, developed and rolled out many of the eGov products which are running successfully in cities such as Chennai, Bangalore and Delhi.

Muthu Madhan
Muthu Madhan is a practicing librarian in India for about 15 years and is currently the Manager for ICRISAT Library and Information Services. Before joining ICRISAT in 2010, he worked for M S Swaminathan Research Foundation and the National Institute of Technology Rourkela. Since 2004, he has been an advocate for open access movement in India. Apart from open access, his other interests are open data, open education, and open source software.

Dr. Abhijeet Safai
Dr. Abhijeet is Medical Officer–Clinical Research at Symbiosis Centre of Health Care in Pune. He has been editing Wikipedia for more than 3 years, has edited more than 3700 articles and has created 30 new articles. He is interested in editing articles related to medicine and inspiring personalities. He was a speaker at IT expo in Pune in 2012 and has conducted workshops on Wikipedia Editing in GNUnify in 2013 and 2014 at Symbiosis Institute of Computer Science and Research, Pune. He likes to edit Wikipedia because of passion, for gaining the knowledge and as a social contribution. His user profile on Wikipedia can be accessed at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Abhijeet_Safai http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Abhijeet_Safai

About CIS India and Ford Foundation

CIS critically engages with concerns of digital pluralism, public accountability and pedagogic practices, in the field of Internet and Society, with particular emphasis on South-South dialogues and exchange.

Through multidisciplinary research, intervention, and collaboration, we seek to explore, understand, and affect the shape and form of the internet, and its relationship with the political, cultural, and social milieu of our times.

The Ford Foundation supports visionary leaders and organizations on the frontlines of social change worldwide. Their goals for more than half a century have been to:

Strengthen democratic values
Reduce poverty and injustice
Promote international cooperation
Advance human achievement

The Ford Foundation believes all people should have the opportunity to reach their full potential, contribute to society, and have voice in the decisions that affect them.

Contact

Dr. Nirmita Narasimhan, Policy Director (nirmita@cis-india.org)

Ajoy Kumar, Administrator (ajoy@cis-india.org)

Anirudh Sridhar, Consultant (anirudh@cis-india.org)

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/events/institute-on-internet-and-society-2

Institute on Internet & Society: Event Report

srividya — 2013-10-15T06:48:00Z

The Institute on Internet and Society organized by the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) with grant supported by the Ford Foundation took place from June 8 to 14, 2013 at the Golden Palms Resort in Bangalore.

A total of 20 participants spent the seven days in a residential institute, learning about the fundamental technologies of the Internet and topics on which CIS has expertise on such as Accessibility, Openness, Privacy, Digital Natives and Internet Governance.

The participants belonged to various stakeholder groups and it provided a common forum (first of its kind in India) to discuss and share ideas. Twenty-four expert speakers from various domains came to share their knowledge and speak about their work, so as to encourage activity in the field and supply resources from which participants could learn to increase their accessibility, range and funding possibilities, as well as network with the speakers and amongst themselves.

The Institute has triggered a number of follow-up events — those that the participants organized themselves with the help of CIS staff, including Crypto Parties in Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai, that taught netizens to keep their online communication private. In addition to that, the CIS Access2Knowledge (A2K) team could rope in eight new Wikipedians who will contribute to Wikipedia in Indic languages.

The day wise talks and activities that took place are listed below:

Day 1: June 8, 2013

The seven day residential Institute began on Saturday, the 8th of June with a warm welcome by Dr. Ravina Aggarwal and Dr. Nirmita Narasimhan. They outlined the purpose of the residential institute and briefly went over the topics which would get covered over the week long duration. This was followed by each of the participants introducing themselves briefly and also stating their expectations from the Institute, why they were attending the same and what they hope to get at the end.

Session 1: History of the Internet

(by Pranesh Prakash and Bernadette Längle)

Above is a picture of Pranesh Prakash speaking about the History of the Internet during the first session on Day 1.	The Institute proceedings kicked off with the first session, History of the Internet by Pranesh Prakash and Bernadette Längle. Participants learned where the Internet originally came from and how it is organized, as well as different technologies surrounding the Internet. Pranesh Prakash and Bernadette Längle set the start point of the Internet in the late 50's when the Russians send the first satellite in space (Sputnik) and the US founded the DARPA(Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), a research agency that was tasked with creating new technologies for military use. DARPA is credited with development of many technologies which have had a major effect on the world, including computer networking, as well as NLS, which was both the first hypertext system, and an important precursor to the contemporary ubiquitous graphical user interface (GUI). A few years later the first four computers were connected to a network.

After the Network Control Protocol (NCP, later replaced by the TCP/IP) was invented in 1970, the first applications were made: email (connecting people), telnet (connecting computers) and the file transport protocol (FTP) (connecting information) — all of these are still in use today. Participants were surprised to learn that the Web, most commonly used today, known to be invented by one single person in the 90's, actually existed for a long time prior to the '90s.

VIDEO

Session 2: Domestic Bodies and Mechanisms

(by Pranesh Prakash)
After lunch, Pranesh Prakash led the second session about Domestic Bodies and Mechanisms and he started with some of the problems associated with the Domestic Regulatory Bodies:

Lack of coherence and consistency in Internet related policies
Rather than co-operating, the different agencies compete with each other.
Communication with the public is of different degrees and openness of different agencies varies.

Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY), is one of the most important public agencies & the CERT-in focuses on issues like malware and content regulation. There is also the STQC (Standard Setting and Quality Setting Body).
The work of these organizations is to govern the Internet, bring about better privacy policies and ensure freedom of speech.
Other governing bodies include DOT (Department of Telecommunications) which governs the telecom and internet policies of India. In India, certain content regulation takes place under a notification as part of the IT Act, 2003.
TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) also looks into the tariff, interconnections and quality of telecom sector, spectrum regulation and so on.
The USOF (Universal Service Obligation Fund) seeks to provide funds for setting up telecom services in rural areas.
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has been extending copyright restrictions to online publications.

VIDEO

Session 3: Emerging trends in Internet usage in India

(by Nandini C and Vir Kamal Chopra)
Emerging Trends in Internet Usage with specific focus on BSNL offerings (by Vir Kamal Chopra)
Some of the salient points discussed were:

In 1995, the VSNL provided internet in 4 metros of India, by 1998 DOT had provided internet in 42 cities.
Some of the facilities internet provides include Tele-education, Tele-medicine, mobile banking, payment of bills via mobile internet, etc.
BSNL has got maximum broadband market share in India.
Present Scenario, there are 900 million mobiles in India, 430 million wireless connections with capability to access data.
The total broadband connections are 15 million in country, 10 million provided by BSNL.
Total internet users are 120 million with a growth rate of 30%.
Public access is not only about network intermediaries but about info-mediaries who understand internet.
BSNL lost Rs 18,000 crores from 3G license.
2G to 3G shifting is not seamless and leads to lot of packet loss, and 3G coverage is not as extensive as 2G. Thus 3G is not efficient however; the government has made a lot of money from selling 3G licenses.
Future trends include technology trends for internet access, optical fiber technologies, fiber to the curb, fibre to the home, metro Ethernet, etc.
Internet has created an online Public sphere.
In 2000 Parliament passed the Information Technology Act 2000 and the dot.com boom is seen.

Making internet access meaningful in the Indian Context (by Nandini.C)
(Click to see the presentation slides)
Some of the salient points discussed were:

Status of internet access today sees low level of overall penetration of internet, high rate of household mobile penetration and huge rural-urban divide in internet access.
Relationship b/w women and internet in India
8.4% of women in India have access to internet in India and 43% of women using internet in India perceived it as being an important part of their life.
Some area of concerns include ensuring adequate access of internet for the women, entrenched patriarchies, contextual relevance, the imaginary of ‘public access’.
The importance of an existing strong social support network, ITC itself cannot open up economic/social empowerment opportunities for women
ICT-enabled micro-enterprises may also force the burden of double work on women, who undertake both productive activities for the micro-enterprise and re/productive activities for the household.
The Internet today has created an online public sphere.
Countering the threat of online violence.
Censorship and content regulation.
Women’s rights and the spaces of internet governance.
Arbitrary censorship and self-regulation by the corporate and slide towards an illusory freedom; state is used as a bogeyman by corporate to create an online culture that is suitable to the corporate values.

VIDEO

Activity
Day 1 featured an interesting activity called the Creative Handshake. The goal of the game was to teach the participants the concept of "Handshake" in Internet terms and why it is important to make sure that integrity of data transferred is maintained.

Day 2: June 9, 2013

The focus of the second day was more on the nuts and bolts behind the working of the Internet by Dr. Nadeem Akhtar, Wireless Technologies and a case-study in Air Jaldi by Michael Ginguld, Collaborative Knowledge base building by Vishnu Vardhan and Affordable Devices on the Internet by Ravikiran Annaswamy.

The salient points of each of the talks are listed below.

Session 1: How Internet Works

(by Nadeem Akhtar)
Click to read the presentation slides

Internet structure and hierarchy:
1. Data Networks comprise of set of nodes, connected by transmission links, for exchange of data between nodes.
2. Some of the key principles which underpin data networks include digital transmission, multiplexing and data forwarding/routing.
Data networks through ownership include public and private networks.
Data networks through coverage include local area networks (small area), metro area networks (may comprise of a city) and wide area networks (wide geographic area across cities).
Protocols include:
1. Open systems interconnection (OSI) model divides a communication system into smaller parts. Each part is referred to as a layer. Similar communication functions are grouped into logical layers.
2. OSI model defines the different stages that data must go through to travel from one device to another over a network & this enables a modular approach towards developing complex system functionality i.e. functionality at layer X does not depend on how layer Y is implemented.
Above is a picture of Dr. Nadeem Akhtar speaking on the working of the internet on Day 2
Internet networks or connections.
Internet backbone refers to the principal data routes between large, strategically interconnected networks and core routers on the internet and these data routes are hosted by commercial, government, academic and other high-capacity network centers, the internet exchange points and network access points. The internet back bone is decentralized.
Transit Service - Passing information from small ISP to large ISP.
Peering Service - The passing of information between two similar ISP’s os similar size to let network traffic pass.
Three levels of network Tier1, Tier2 and Tier 3. TATA Company is the only Tier 1 Indian Company.
Backhaul- Transport Links which connects access edge networks with the ‘core’ network. The transmitters have to be mounted on a high level.


Above is a picture of Dr. Nadeem Akhtar speaking on the working of the internet on Day 2

VIDEO

Session 2: Wireless Technologies

(by Michael Ginguld)
Click to read the presentation slides

We are surrounded by electromagnetic radiation
All about transmission waves and there are both advantages and disadvantages of the same:
1. Pros: higher reach for lower price, overcomes topographic challenges, lower maintenance, less to damage/lose
2. Cons: limited resources, maintenance (energy), physical limitations to transfer rates.
Satellite/VSAT is a very small aperture tech: a small satellite dish that connects to a geo-static satellite.
Strength: globally usable, can connect from anywhere.
Weakness: signal problems, relatively high installation charge, upstream connection is lower than the downstream, transmitter on satellite is extremely expensive, hence limitation on transmission capacity of the satellite.
VSATs are not scalable. It is a dead-end tech for usages where data transmission volume is expected to grow.
2G Technology for mobile connection.
Limitation in transfer of data, due to technology and encryption limitations but great availability and reasonable price.
3G Technology has a problem in India; low uptake, leading to low investment, leading to low speed, leading to low uptake. The technology allows for high-speed data transfer but the market condition in India still does not make adequate infrastructural support feasible.
4G license auction.
A company bought the country-wide 4G license in the auction. Mukesh Ambani bought the company after some days.
The present legislation does not allow for VoIP-based Telco operation but that is expected to change soon.
Wifi technology is wireless technology. It is low cost wireless transfer of data. The Public dissemination of the ranges in which data transfer using the WiFi protocol can take place. It was made public in India in January 2005.
1. Limitations: needs line of sight, limit to data transfer.
2. Strength: cheap, de-licensed spectrum usage, easily deployable.
2G spectrum, 3G spectrum and now 4G spectrum all are part of the wireless technology.
Air Jaldi started in Dharamshala; building wifi connection spanning campuses.
Three types of consumer categories: (1) no coverage, (2) under-served, and (3) ‘deserving clients’. #2 is the most common group. #3 are people who should be served but cannot pay fully for the service, hence are cross-subsidised by group #2.
Deployed and managed by local staff, trained by AirJaldi.
Customer premise equipment: Rs. 3-4k.
User charges: Rs 975 per month for 512 kbps, Rs 1500 per month for 1 mbps.
Content: by and large, AirJaldi brings infrastructure on which content can ride on, teams with various content providers (like e-learning, rural BPOs, local e-banking etc) for the content side. The biggest drivers are local BPO, banking and retail. The next big driver coming up is entertainment.
WiMax includes 4g spectrum.

VIDEO

Session 3: Building Knowledge Bases and Platform via Mass Collaboration on the Internet

Click to read the presentation slides

The session started off with some physical activity in the form of "Kasa Kasa Warte, Chan Chan Warte" to break off the lunch induced sleep and a mental activity where the participants were divided into two groups and both the groups were asked to collect information on "Water". One group was left to itself while the other had some expert inputs from Vishnu Vardhan on how to collaborate and organize the data. After the activity, both teams presented the information that they had collected on "Water". The benefits of collaborative authoring such as "everyone's voice is heard", "various inputs leading to a multi-dimensional thinking" etc were evident as against a single dimensional thought process that was seen from the group that was un-assisted.	Given above is a picture of the participants involved in a group activity

Salient points discussed during the presentation:

The Concept of Knowledge today is not something of modern phenomena, but it is something which has been existent since print culture was developed. Print technology shapes what we consider as knowledge, and hence as knowledge platform
Techno-sociality of knowledge production
The Concept of Knowledge today is not something of modern phenomena, but it is something which has been existent since print culture was developed. Print technology shapes what we consider as knowledge, and hence as knowledge platform
Techno-sociality of knowledge production
Examples of knowledge platforms:
1. Baidu baike
2. English wikipedia
3. Hudong
4. Catawiki
5. Wikieducator
6. Open street map
7. Pad.ma
8. Sahapedia
9. Internet archive
10. Jstor
11. Dsal
12. Dli
In 1994 Cunningham developed the ‘Wiki Wiki Web’ also known as the ‘Ward Wiki’. Basically it is a knowledge platform.
Internet since then has been used for dissemination of information especially in the education sector. Digital Archived have developed over the years which provide information across various platforms like Wikipedia.
The spread of the internet has made possible the building of knowledge bases by seamless and mass collaboration.

Generic challenges for Wikipedia

Quality, relevance, consistency of knowledge
Suitable motivation of the contributors
Another issue is the scalability

Some of the problems faced by Indian Wikipedian pages:

Technical infrastructure for Indian languages
Typing in the regional language
OCR: complexity of Indian language scripts
Various other technical troubles like browser compatibility, font display, etc., which deter new users
Dearth of quality content available in digital format
Different standards/formats/generations (gov.in/DLI)
Relative lack of research/academic standards, which is transferred on to Indic wikipedias.
Lack of knowledge sharing culture.
Building a mass knowledge platform is the need of the hour.
The platform should be user friendly, easily available and adoptable; offline outreach is key to effective use of online platforms.
The programme should have feedback loop key, behavior statistics data, reinvent and replicate the programme, multi-channel awareness, ‘user connect’ programmes.
The people should communicate knowledge sharing objectives, make knowledge sharing fun, appoint ambassadors; virtual volunteer community building looks simple but its complex and leads to failure.

VIDEO

Session: 4 Affordable Devices to access the Internet

(by Ravikiran Annaswamy)
Click to read the presentation slides


Given above is a picture of the speaker Ravikiran Annaswamy giving a demo of the low cost Akash tablet.

Overview of Affordable Mobile Phones such as Lava Iris, Karbonn A1, Nokia Asha, etc.
Overview of Affordable Tablets such as Aakash, Ubislate, Karbonn Smart A34, etc.
The number of Internet users in India is expected to nearly triple from 125 million in 2011 to 330 million by 2016, says a report by Boston Consulting Group.
How Internet Penetration impacts society.
Demo of the devices.
Need for Mobile Internet
Sugata Mitra & Arvind Eye Care examples.

VIDEO

Day 3: June 10, 2013

The third day of the Institute focussed on Wired means of accessing the Internet, the technology involved followed by an assignment time where the participants were introduced to 2 topics and asked to work on an assignment. This was followed by a site visit in the afternoon to MapUnity. MapUnity develops technology to tackle social problems and development challenges. Their GIS, MIS and mobile technologies are used mostly by government departments and civil society organisations and in the R&D initiatives of commercial ventures.

Session 1: Wired Access Technology

(by Dr. Nadeem Akhtar)
Click to read the presentation slides

Some of the salient points discussed were:

Wired and Wireless

Wired:

Separate communication channel for each users
Low signal attenuation
No interference
Fixed point-of-attachment

Wireless:

Shared medium of communication
Signal is attenuated by a number of factors
Interference between adjacent channels
Points-of-attachment can be changed on-the-fly

Ethernet:

A family of computer networking technologies for LANs which was Invented in 1973 and commercially introduced in 1980. The systems communicating over ethernet divide a stream o data into individual packets called frames. Each frame contains source and destination addresses and error-checking data so that damaged data can be detected and re-transmitted.
Ethernet, by definition, is a broadcast protocol
Any signal can be received by all hosts
Switching enables individual hosts to communicate

Digital subscriber line (DSL):

DSL uses existing telephone lines to transport data to internet subscribers and the term xDSL is used to refer to a number of similar yet competing forms of DSL technologies which includes ADSL, SDSL, HDSL, HDSL-2, G.SHDL, IDSL, and VDSL. DSL service is delivered simultaneously with wired telephone service on the same telephone line and this is possible because DSL uses higher frequency bands for data.

Asymmetric DSL (ADSL):

ADSL is the most commonly installed technology and an ADSL tech can provide maximum downstream speeds of up to 8 mbps.

Modem and router:

Modem is specific to a technology
Modem is de/modulator, it takes bits coming from one protocol/technology, demodulates it (converts it into original data), and re-modulated the original data to another protocol/technology.
Router allows creation of a local area network, allowing multiple devices to connect to the network and access internet together through the router. It has very high bitrate DSL (VDSL) and goes up to 52 mbps downstream and 16 mbps upstream. The length of the physical connection is limited to 300 meters and the second generation VDSL (CDSL2) provides data rates up to 100 mbps simultaneously in both direction, but maximum available bit rate is still achieved about 300 meters.

Cable:

Cable broadband uses existing CATV infrastructure to provide high-access internet access; uses channels specifically reserved for data transfer
Support simultaneous access to broadband and TV programs
Cable access tech is built for one-way transmission; hence some congestion takes place for bi-way data transfer, leading to much lower upstream connection relative to downstream connection for data.

Fiber:

It is a generic term for any broadband network architecture using optical fiber; fiber to the neighborhood; fiber to the curb; the street cabinet is much closer to the user’s premises, typically within 300m, thus allowing ethernet or radio-based connection to the final users; fiber to the basement; fiber to the home (BSNL already providing); fiber to the desktop
Passive optical networks (PON)

Advantages of fiber:

Immunity to electromagnetic interference.
Provides very high data rates at long distances.
When network links run over several 1000s of meters (e.g., metro area networks), fiber significantly outperforms copper.
Replacing at least part of these links with fiber shortens the remaining copper segments and allows them to run much faster.
The data rate of a fiber link is typically limited by the terminal equipment rather than the fiber itself.

Assignment
Participants were given two options for an assignment to work on in the coming days and they could choose either one.

Assignment A
The Universal Service Obligation Fund of India has put out a Call for Proposals under two schemes:

Mobile Connectivity and ICT related livelihood skills for womens’ SHGs (http://www.usof.gov.in/usof-cms/pdf21may/Concept_Paper.pdf), and

Access to ICTs and ICT enabled services for persons with disabilities in rural India. (http://www.usof.gov.in/usof-cms/usofsub/Concept%20paper_USOF%20Scheme_PwDs_A.G.Gulati.pdf)

Your NGO is committed to the task of facilitating access to the Internet for women/ persons with disabilities in rural parts of Kerala and wishes to submit a proposal/ project idea in partnership with a service provider to the USOF.

Assignment B
You are a member of the ancient tribe of Meithis residing in Manipur. Over the years, there is a strong feeling in your community that although the Government has rolled out projects to connect the rural areas throughout India, these have not been successful for your tribe and there is still even a lack of basic fixed telephony, let alone mobile and broadband services. You have hence come to the conclusion that there is a need for focused efforts to target such communities as yours and have decided to submit a concept note to the USOF requesting that ‘ethnic and rural tribal communities’ be specifically included within the mandate of the USOF’s activities by defining them as an ‘underserved community’.


Given above is a picture of the participants engaged in a discussion.

Field Trip - Destination: MapUnity.
MapUnity develops technology to tackle social problems and development challenges. Their GIS, MIS and mobile technologies are used mostly by government departments and civil society organisations, and in the R&D initiatives of commercial ventures. MapUnity presented their product offerings to the participants.

VIDEO

Day 4: June 11, 2013

Session 1: Universal Access

(by Archana Gulati)
Click to read the presentation slides

Given above is a picture of Archana Gulati speaking on Universal Access.	Tuesday revolved around questions of access and openness. The day kicked off with Archana Gulati, a policy expert in access to ICTs for people with disabilities talking on Universal Access. Ms. Gulati stressed the importance of ICTs for social development. ICTs are a necessary aid in development structures including education, health and increased citizen participation in national affairs & they provide crucial knowledge inputs into productive activities. However, even with the Telecom boom, there still exists an access gap in India, which cannot be covered by commercially viable systems.

This 'actual access gap' exists because of geographic (scattered population, low income, low perceived utility of service, lack of commercial/industrial customers, lack of roads, power, difficult terrain, insurgency), economic (urban poor) and social inequality (gender, disabilities) differences. To achieve Universal Access or Universal Service, additional efforts must be made, so as to include these groups. However, Universal Access and Universal Service, while they may imply the same thing, are very different approaches to deal with the problematic access gap.

Universal service, a term coined by Theodore Vail, president of AT&T in 1906, argued that the government should enforce the usage of only one network. This approach suggests a monopolization of the market and goes against the liberal market principle.

Universal access on the other hand suggests cross-subsidizing the low and no profit service areas by high profit service areas. However, this results in the urban population to get over-charged while the rich rural areas benefit from rural subsidizing.

So how do we enable a fair and inexpensive network to be able to create access for a large number of people equally?
Ms. Archana Gulati went on to introduce the Sanchar Shakti scheme as a contribution to national access in India. It was initiated with the objective of improving rural SHG access skills, knowledge, financial services and markets through mobile connections and involved several stakeholders like NABARD, handset/modem manufacturers, DoT USOF, Mobile VAS Providers, Lead NGOs, Mobile Service Providers.

This scheme shows how important is, for the commercial, private and public sector to work together on obtaining accessibility to ITCs.

Session 2: Free and Open Internet

(by Pranesh Prakash)
The following session by Pranesh Prakash on Free and Open Internet showed how the internet can still be a restrictive place which does not allow for internet equality. His talk focussed on the concepts of free and open Internet. Prakash started by stating the Freedom of Speech and Expression Article of the Indian Constitution and in an interactive round it was discussed, how these articles are fundamental for securing other basic human rights. This was demonstrated by an example in which the distribution of food did not proceed equally, as misinformation and restrictions led to an inappropriate hoarding of goods. Therefore, it is important for everyone to have that right. In fact, the Indian constitution formulates Article 19 in a positive way, implying not only everyone should have that right, but that the government must promote the upholding of these rights.

However, in the case of Article 66a, the law actually caused a problem with freedom of speech in itself, as it penalizes sending false and offensive messages through communication services. This is a massive impediment on free speech, as outsiders decide upon what is offensive and what is false.

The other side of freedom of speech and expression is censorship. Online, the removal of websites and editing of content often happens quietly and obscures the fact that someone or something is being censored. Unlike book burnings in the past, which were always made a big political spectacle, often websites are simply removed without a trace, or one is faced with a 404 error, when trying to access it. Because of the offensive content law, journals and magazines are quick to remove supposedly offensive content, as it seems more difficult to engage in argument with the people claiming offense. The CIS proposed a counter-law to secure for this to happen less, as freedom of speech includes the freedom to receive that speech.

VIDEO

Session 3: Openness

(by Sunil Abraham)

Next to ensuring freedom of speech and access, the third session of the day focussed on Openness in terms of Open Source software. Sunil Abraham, CIS executive director, stated the importance of free software and open access of data, as they ensure what he called the four freedoms of internet usage, namely the freedom to use for any purpose, the freedom to study, to modify and to share (freely or for a fee). Proprietary software imposes on these freedoms, as it only has restrictive use and a strong copyright. However, there are alternatives that have moderate copyrights, or so-called copy centred perspectives, or even copyleft, including the above mentioned rights into the terms of the software usage.	Above is a picture of Sunil Abraham speaking on Openness

In alignment with Sunil Abraham’s talk Pranesh Prakash criticized copyright law cutting into accessibility rights, as copyright infringements include translation into other languages, audio versions and also integral parts of education. The key is not to have a "one size fits all" copyright solution, as it is impossible to treat twitter content the same as a blockbuster movie. However, the government of India is doing exactly that and needs to interlink questions of access with copyright law.

VIDEO

Session 4: Open Content

(by Prof. Subbiah Arunachalam)
Prof. Subbiah Arunachalam, who led the next session, discussed Open Content. He had seen during the course of his experience India's poor performance in Science & Technology and outlined the reasons for the same. The lack of access to information essential in scientific research and knowledge production, he said, was the major limiting cause.

VIDEO

Session 5: Quick Talk on Copyright Law and Access

This short session dealt with implications of copyright law on internet access.

Activity

The participants were divided into two groups, and they were asked build as huge a network as possible with their personal belongings and present their creations. The participants had good ideas. One group placed their mobiles and laptops into the network to have them as nodes. The other group implemented the re-routing around censorship.

VIDEO


Given above is a picture of the participants in an activity making the longest network possible with their personal belongings.

Day 5: (June 12, 2013)

Session 1: Privacy on the Internet in India

(by Sunil Abraham and Elonnai Hickok)

Click to view the presentation slides

Given above is a picture of Elonnai Hickock speaking about privacy	The following day, June 12th started off with “Privacy” as the theme. The session Privacy on the Internet in India was led by CIS privacy experts Sunil Abraham and Elonnai Hickock. In an exchange of anecdotes, it was made clear how there needs to be a certain degree of state surveillance to secure the citizens safety. This can happen through off air interception and active or passive cell phone towers that can track mobile devices. However, encryption is an important tool to secure one’s own privacy against cyber espionage.

Some of the salient points discussed were:

Off-the Air Interception
Possible to set up active or passive cell phone tower.
The signal strength will be strong and everyone looks for it.
Capacity to identify itself as a service provider.
Interception can begin with encryption Technology today used by security agencies.
NTRO- national technical Research Org and Outlook

VIDEO

Session 2: E-Accessibility

(by Nirmita Narasimhan)
Click to view the presentation slides


Given above is a picture of Dr. Nirmita Narasimhan speaking on e-accessibility

The second session was on “E-Accessibility” led by Dr. Nirmita Narasimhan. Some of the salient points discussed were:

Problems arising out of disability
Accessibility-Infrastructure and ICT
Assistive technologies for PWD’s.
Reasonable accommodation (not available or cannot be and requires extra effort and putting up an accessible copy up) and universal Design (for both for PWD’s and non-PWD’s).
Web Content Accessibility is operable and easily understandable.
Accessibility standards include; Daisy (6 types of books including audio and text books) is all about marking up the documents. Really a good way to read but is expensive and time consuming, also need Daisy tools and player to make it work.
In 1808 the first typewriter was developed to help the blind.
Considerations involved in Web Accessibility
Overlap b/w mobile accessibility and web accessibility.
Example- Raku Raku phone captured 60% of market share in Japan. It has many assistive features.
Relay Services has a middle man who passes on the message b/w different PWD’s in many countries, but it is not yet available in India.
PWD’s communicating with customer care – the issues involved.
Accessibility Policy- very few people are adopting accessible technologies. There is a need to have a strong policy. U.K. and U.S. already have strong policies related to accessible and assistive technology for PWD’s.

Video

Session 3: International Bodies and Mechanisms

(by Tulika Pandey and Gaurab Raj Upadhyay)
Activity
Gaurab incorporated an Activity into his talk to enable the students to have a clearer understanding of International Bodies and Mechanisms.


Given above is a picture of the speaker Gaurab Raj Upadhaya explaining the International Bodies and Mechanisms

Some of the salient points discussed during his talk were:

Definition: “Internet Governance is the development and application by Govt., the private sector and civil society, in their respective roles, of shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making procedures and programmes which shape the evolution and use of internet.”
It should be multilateral, transparent and democratic
Enhanced cooperation means to enable govt…

Technical issues to keep in mind while talking about internet:

Critical internet resources
Root server locations
Open Standards (CIS leads the initiative)
Interoperability
Search Engines
Internationalized Domain names (in own script & language)
Content

Virtual yet real space and most important question to be understood is that whether, the governance of internet is possible?
Public Policy- to monitor cross-border data flow, Openness vs Privacy
India’s Outlook in internet policies-Pillars of Internet which is not fully addressed by the Indian government today.
Established an Inter- Ministerial Group by including various government departments into the arena.
Layer 0-7 Names and Numbers
Layer 8 and above
Applications and Usage
Legal business, policy, etc.

Session-4: E-Governance

(by Tulika Pandey and Sunil Abraham)


Given above is a picture of the speaker Tulika Pandey speaking about e-Governance

Some of the salient points discussed were:

Making policies in India is difficult because the population is huge and implementation at rural level is difficult.
Bombarded by Techno utopians- who believe in technology’s ability to change lives.
Techno determinants- Corruption solved through technology through open government data. More technology is better, the most sophisticated ones are the best are gross misconceptions.
Bhoomi project tried to deal with corruption at village level. Important policy change made all paper work illegal and digitized the land records etc. every action and request will be logged. But this led to creation of new corruption. Bribes were taken even before data was logged!
UID Project (Cobra Post Scam) around 20 public sector and 30 private banks were involved in money laundering scams.
People who design the systems in Delhi prepare sub-contracts.

VIDEO

Day 6: (June 13, 2013)

Session 1: Critical Perspectives of the Internet

(by Dr. Nishant Shah)
Click to view the presentation slides

The sixth day of the Institute kicked off with Nishant Shah, director of research at CIS, looking into Critical Perspectives of the Internet. Nishant made a very important distinction between the internet as infrastructure and as social network constructing alternative universes. Nonetheless it was important to stress that technology should not be alienated in the process of this separation but seen as an integral part of it, as the digital is as much part of reality as any other technology and has become essential as a technology of change that it brings about not only in scientific but also in social development. Quoting Michel Foucault, Shah argued that technology becomes influential when it changes life, labour and language, which is why research in the field should involve critical ways of thinking about body, space and community.	Above is a picture of Dr. Nishant Shah speaking on Critical Perspectives of the Internet.

The body perception can be perceived through the way bodily agencies change through technology. Technology does not necessarily taint or corrupt the body, but can also be a way to escape its confines. To put it to a point, we are all born into technology and cannot free ourselves from them, as for example pregnancy already starts with nutritional supplements, regulatory diets and exercise and essentially ends with birth technologies that do not necessarily involve only the digital - we must remember, speech is one of the oldest technologies available today.

VIDEO

Session 2: Strategies for Policy Intervention

(by Chakshu Roy)
The second session on “Strategies for Policy Intervention” was led by Chakshu Roy. This session dealt with various ways in which policy intervention can be made and the various factors necessary to successfully engage in policy forums.

VIDEO

Session 3: Profile of Internet Service Providers

(by Satyen Gupta)
Click to view the presentation slides


Given above is a picture of Satyen Gupta speaking about Internet Service Providers

Satyen Gupta during his talk on “Profile of Internet Service Providers” discussed the nature, offerings and profile of various ISPs in India, their market share and dynamics.

The salient points discussed were:

National Broadband Plans
Spectrum Issues “Management”
Reality check of Indian ISPs
Broadband Definition & Penetration
Roadblocks for Broadband in India, Governments Role, Regulation
Institutional Framework for the Indian Telecom
Broadband Access in India- Technology-Neutrality
Satellite based DTH Services offer alternate for the Broadband via Receive Only Internet Service (ROIS)
Broadband using DTH for Receive-only Internet
VSAT has the potential for significant impact on Broadband Penetration in Remote Areas
Fixed Wireless Access- an important access technology
Facilitating Radio Spectrum for Broadband Access
Fiscal measures to reduce the cost of access devices, infrastructure and broadband service
Reduction in the cost of connectivity
National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) -National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) has been set up on recommendation of TRAI by DIT, Government of India to ensure that Internet traffic, originating and destined for India, should be routed within India.
Emerging Broadband Services
Broadband Commission for Digital Development (BCDD)-UN Targets for Universal Broadband,2015
NOFN India-Existing Fiber Infrastructure and Coverage by Various Service Providers
National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2012- Salient Features
State of Internet Services and ISPs in India:
1. India’s Ranking on Key Broadband Indicators
2. Regulator’s Report – Growth of Internet in India
3. Internet Subscribers Base & Market share of top 10 ISPs
4. Technology trends for Internet/Broadband Access
5. Internet/broadband Subscribers for top 10 states
6. Tariff Plans for USO funded Broadband
7. Contribution of Telcos in Development of Internet Services
8. Incumbent’s Role in Growth of Broadband
9. Plugging rural missing link- BBNL
Internet Subscribers Base & Market share of top 10 ISPs

VIDEO

Session 4: Competition in the Market by Helani Galpaya

Helani Galpaya during her talk on “Competition in the Market” discussed about what competition meant, Herfindahl–Hirschman Index to measure how competitive a market is, what are the dangers of monopoly markets and the landscape of the Telecom market in India.


Above is a picture of Helani Galpaya speaking about Competition in the Market

Day 7: (June 14, 2013)

The final day of the Institute focussed on how the Internet can be used to effect change on society – Activism was the theme.

Session 1: Leveraging Internet for activism

(by Ananth Guruswamy)
Click to read the presentation slides


Above is a picture of Ananth Guruswamy speaking during the session on leveraging internet for activism

Some of the salient points discussed were:

Digital Activism
Target Omar Abdullah. It is about an act called Administrative detention Act. One can be detained without act i.e. The Preventive Detention Act. He directly responded to the threat.
Twitter seems to be a place where the political leaders are actually accessible. This kind of access was not possible in day to day life earlier if one was a common man. This phenomenon is developing. Even in Corporate setup writing a mail directly to the CEO seems possible.
Strengths: Wide reach, Freedom of speech, Data collection is made easy, Issues can be tackled swiftly, Global communities, singular identities have lot of power. Eg: 190 Million people stood up against Poverty; this kind of mobilization impossible without internet.
Besides local issues even Global issues are addressed an collection of funds becomes easy. Onion.com once a struggling publication in U.S., but now with a global audience it is thriving and it has a healthy reader base today.
The Earth Hour helps people connect across space and time.
Weakness: More popularity, more attention; Traditional/Real Protest has become rare and a threat; There is no real action beyond internet, threat of movement is low, there is no real commitment involved in digital activism and just one click is enough to make one ‘feel good’.
Opportunities: Recruitment of protestors for real protests. Diff. b/w real and virtual blurred; anything that affects the mind space is real. The intersection is interesting.
Threats: Total removal of privacy, Government intervention in private issues and there could be misinterpretation of people’s thoughts by certain people.
Traditional vs Digital activism: Traditional fails to provide results whereas clicking a button is as easy as wearing a badge.
Facebook activism: ‘Like Buttons’, People moving away from reading emails, a shift towards use of facebook; creates a sense of belongingness which the traditional activism failed to achieve.
India against Corruption: used mobile phone effectively.
Social Media has changed the way protests happen globally and in India, one example is Twitter. Change.org is a website which gives freedom to anybody to start a petition without any external source; Awaaz.org another such petition website.
Green Peace launched a Green peace X which was a runaway success. YouTube is another platform for the masses. People today are more interested in watching rather than reading.
Pakistan in 2007: “Flash protests”; Free Fraizan Movement on Twitter.
Something to keep in mind regarding while launching a campaign online is to think who the audience is and what we want them to do and how will the campaign help our objectives?
How to measure success of a social media campaign?
Reach
Engagement- likes, tweets, comments, etc.
Influence
Attrition Score

VIDEO

Session 2: Internet Access Activism

(by Parminder Jeet Singh)
The next session on “INTERNET ACCESS” ACTIVISM by Parminder Jeet Singh dealt with how people can contribute to initiatives for improving internet access amongst masses.

VIDEO

Session 3: Ensuring Access to the Internet

(by A.K. Bhargava)
Click to view the presentation
The last session on “Ensuring Access to the Internet” by A.K. Bhargava discussed strategies to enhance access to the Internet in India with special focus on National Optical Fibre Network.

The salient points discussed were:

-    Role of Broadband in Nation Building
-    Policy Aspiration of Broadband - How do we meet aspiration?
-    Telecom Network Layers‐Gaps in OFC Reach
-    BBNL Interconnection
-    NOFN - Bridging The Gap
-    Digital Knowledge Centres (DKCs)
-    Architecture of BBNL
-    NOFN Impact

Societal
- Bridging the digital divide
Business
- Job creation, indigenous industry growth
Sectoral
- Improved connectivity, data growth
Technological
- Differentiators
VIDEO

Speaker Presentation Slides
All the presentation aids/slide shows barring a few have been uploaded to the website at http://internet-institute.in/repository

Presentation of Assignments
The participants presented their assignments which were given to them to work on the 3rd day. The participants were presented with Wikipedia T-Shirts as a token of appreciation.


Given above is a picture of the participants presenting their assignments

Participant Feedback
All participants were asked to fill a "Session Feedback Form" for each of the sessions and also an "Overall Feedback Form". They were also constantly encouraged to come up with suggestions and inputs on how to make the Institute more interesting.

The key findings from the Quantitative Feedback provided are:
(The figures below are averaged scores (out of 5) provided by participants in the Overall Feedback Forms)

S.No.	Parameter	Score (Out of 5)
1	Relevance of Content	3.6
2	Comprehensiveness of Content	3.44
3	Easy to Understand	3.55
4	Well Paced	3.33
5	Sufficient Breaks	3
6	Duration of Talks	3.2
7	Mix between Learning & Activities	3

The key findings from the Qualitative Feedback provided are:

S.No.	Points observed
1	Presentations – Participants felt sessions with accompanying slides/aids were most helpful. Some felt that accompanying notes could also be useful for future reference.
2	Use of Examples/Case Studies – Participants felt concepts can be better assimilated if case-studies/examples are used. Some also felt that for the technological advancements discussed, it would have been better had the social/economic impact of the same was discussed too.
3	Implementation Gaps– One participant, who is working at the field level in Kolkata had a specific thing to say about the talk about BSNL and its offerings– Although BSNL has so many options available on paper to connect to the Internet, common service centres in West Bengal are mostly run on Tata Indicom’s network even though the board outside says “BSNL” etc. She felt that the reality is far different from what exists on paper.
4	Interactive sessions were most appreciated than speaker led sessions.
5	There were many responses to the question “How will you apply this new information in the future” and it is very encouraging. People have given thought to contributing to Wikipedia in their mother tongue, take the knowledge to the field work that they are associated with, continue with their research, change their Internet connections, to help file RTIs, to adopt more open source software, sharing with students, advocacy efforts, etc
6	The responses to the question “What did you learn from the session/workshop that was new?” elicited more responses for the following sessions Domestic Bodies and Mechanisms Case-studies such as Air Jaldi Low cost devices in India USOF Free & Open Internet Copyright laws Privacy Accessibility Digital Natives ISPs
7	Field Trip – One participant said “One or two of the persons from MapUnity could have made the presentation at the institute venue itself. A visit to an underserved or un-served community with interactions with the people there could also have given a good understanding of on-ground challenges and needs.”
8	Follow-up Session –One participant had ideas about having a follow-up session “A follow-up call [webinar?] after 6 months to see if any of these concepts were useful would be an interesting exercise to take up”
9	Assignment – Participants felt that the assignments were good but they needed more time to work on the same.

Other Feedback:

The food and the facilities were enjoyed and appreciated by all.
The remote location of the Golden Palms Resort was a concern for most of the participants.

Participation Certificates
Participation Certificates (template shown below) have been mailed to all the participants in the third week of July 2013.


Given above is the certificate declaring the successful completion of the event

Institute Expenses

A total of Rs. 19, 91,889 (Rupees nineteen lakhs ninety one thousand eight hundred and eighty nine only) was spent towards organizing and conducting the Internet Institute. A breakup of the Institute Expenditures is given below:

S.No.	Type of Expense	Description	Total
1	Venue – Golden Palms Resort	Accommodation for participants, speakers and food	12,91,176
2	Travel	Cost of Air tickets	2,94,515
3	Local Travel	Airport Pickup/Drop, Local City Travel	1,41,001
4	Gifts & Printing	Gifts for speakers and ad hoc document printing charges	24,000
5	Infrastructure	Telephony, Audio, Video, Stage	1,05,000
6	Participant Bags		10,650
7	Reimbursements	Reimbursements to participants and speakers	1,25,547
Total Expenses			19,91,889

What the participants had to say

Sangh Priya Rahul – “One of my organisation's work is more or less related to empowerment of rural areas so knowledge about USOF will be useful there.” (On USOF)

Rashmi. M – “Makes me more sensitized towards the disabled people.” (On e-Accessibility)

Preethi Ayyaluswamy – “Would help me in strategically planning for an online campaign” (On digital activism).

Conclusion

The Institute was highly engaging and enabled the participants to explore the various facets of Internet & Society. As was evident from the feedback forms, participants had given thought to contributing to Wikipedia in their mother tongue, take the knowledge to the field work that they are associated with, continue with their research, change their Internet connections, help file RTIs, adopt more open source software, sharing with students, advocacy efforts etc. There was a very high level of expertise amongst speakers at the Institute which was apparent from the participatory discussions and a lot of insightful perspectives were brought forth. There was a common consensus amongst all participants that inclusive growth across all dimensions would take efforts from all stakeholders.

We hope to learn from the findings of this Institute and work towards a better second Institute.


Above is a group picture of all the participants and the organizers

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/telecom/knowledge-repository-on-internet-access/institute-on-internet-and-society-event-report

Institute on Internet & Society

praskrishna — 2013-05-21T09:39:55Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/institute-on-internet-and-society.pdf

Institute for Internet & Society 2014, Pune

samantha — 2014-04-07T11:31:23Z

Last month, activists, journalists, researchers, and members of civil society came together at the 2014 Institute for Internet & Society in Pune, which was hosted by CIS and funded by the Ford Foundation. The Institute was a week long, in which participants heard from speakers from various backgrounds on issues arising out of the intersection of internet and society, such as intellectual property, freedom of expression, and accessibility, to name a few. Below is an official reporting summarizing sessions that took place.

Day One

February 11, 2014

Time	Detail
9.30 a.m. – 9.40 a.m.	Introduction: Sunil Abraham, Executive Director Centre for Internet and Society
10.00 a.m. – 10.15 a.m.	Introduction of Participants
10.15 a.m. – 12.00 p.m.	Internet Governance and Privacy: Sunil Abraham
12.00 p.m. – 12.30 p.m.	Tea-break
12.30 p.m. – 1.00 p.m.	Keynote: Bishakha Datta, Filmmaker and Activist, and Board Member, Wikimedia Foundation
1.00 p.m. – 2.00 p.m.	Lunch
1.30 p.m. – 3.00 p.m.	Participant Presentations
3.00 p.m. – 3.15 p.m.	Tea Break
3.15 p.m. – 4.45 p.m.	Histories, Bodies and Debates around the Internet: Nishant Shah, Director-Research, CIS

This year’s Internet Institute, hosted by the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS), kicked off in Pune to put a start to a week of learnings and discussions surrounding internet usage and its implications on individuals of society. Twenty two attendees from all over India attended this year, from backgrounds of activism, journalism, research and advocacy work.

Attendees were welcomed by Dr. Ravina Aggarwal, Program Officer for Media Rights & Access at the Ford Foundation, the event’s sponsor, who started off the day by introducing the Foundation’s initiatives in pursuit of bridging the digital divide by addressing issues of internet connectivity.

Internet Governance & Privacy, Sunil Abraham
The Institute’s first session was led by Sunil Abraham, Executive Director of CIS, and engaged with issues of internet governance and privacy with reference to four stories: 1) a dispute between tweeters from the US and those in South Africa over the use of hashtag #thingsdarkiesays, which is said not to be as racially derogatory as it is in the US; 2) Facebook’s contested policies on photos featuring users breastfeeding, 3) a lawsuit between Tata and Greenpeace over the organization’s use of Tata’s logo in a video game created for public criticism of their environmentally-degrading practices, and lastly, 4) the case of Savita Bhabhi, an Indian pornographic cartoon character which had been banned by India’s High Court and which had served as a landmark case in expanding the statutory laws for what is considered to be pornographic.

Each of these stories has one major thing in common: due to their nature of taking place over the internet, they are not confined to one geographic location and in turn, are addressed at the international level. The way by which an issue as such is to be addressed cuts across State policies and internet intermediary bodies to create quite a messy case in trying to determine who is at fault. Such complexity illustrates how challenging internet governance can be within today’s society that is no longer restricted to national or geographic boundaries.

Sunil also goes on in explaining the relationship between privacy, transparency, and power, summing it up in a simple formula; privacy protection should have a reverse relationship to power—the more the power, the less the privacy one should be entitled to. On the contrary, a direct correlation goes for power and transparency—the more the power, the more transparent a body should be. Instead of thinking about these concepts as a dichotomy, Sunil suggests to see them as absolute rights in themselves—instrumental in policies and necessary to address power imbalances.

The Web We Want, Bishakha Datta
The Institute’s kickoff was also joined by Indian filmmaker and activist, Bishakha Datta, who had delivered the keynote address. Bishakha bridged together notions of freedom of speech, surveillance, and accessibility, while introducing campaigns that work to create an open and universally accessible web, such as the Web We Want and Sexuality and Disability. Bishakha stresses how the internet as a space has altered how we experience societal constructs, which can be easily exhibited in how individuals experience Facebook in the occurrence of a death, for example. Bishakha initiated discussion among participants by posing questions such as, “what is our expectation of privacy in this brave new world?” and “what is the society we want?” to encompass the need to think of privacy in a new way with the coming of the endless possibilities the internet brings with it.

Histories, Bodies and Debates around the Internet, Nishant Shah
CIS Research Director, Nishant Shah, led a session examining internet as a technology more broadly, and our understandings of it in relation to the human body. Nishant proposes the idea that history is a form of technology, as well as time, itself, for which our understanding only comes into being with the aid of technologies of measurement. Although we are inclined to separate technology from the self, Nishant challenges this notion while suggesting that technology is very integral to being human, and defines a “cyborg” as someone who is very intimate with technology. In this way, we are all cyborgs. While making reference to several literary pieces, including Haraway’s Cyborg: Human, Animus, Technology; Kevin Warwick’s Living Cyborg; and Watt’s small world theory, Nishant challenges participants’ previous notions of how one is to understand technology in relation to oneself, as well as the networks we find ourselves implicated within.

Also brought forth by Nishant, was the fact that the internet as a technology has become integral to our identities, making us accessible (rather than us solely making the technology accessible) through online forms of documentation. This digital phenomenon in which we tend to document what we know and experience as a means of legitimizing it can be summed in the modern version of an old fable: “If a tree falls in a lonely forest, and nobody tweets it, has it fallen?”

Nishant refers to several case studies in which the use of online technologies has created a sense of an extension of the self and one’s personal space; which can then be subject to violation as one can be in the physical form, and to the same emotional and psychological effect—as illustrated within the 1993 occurrence referred to as “A Rape in Cyberspace.”

Attendee Participation
Participants remained engaged and enthusiastic for the duration of the day, bringing forth their personal expertise and experiences. Several participants presented their own research initiatives, which looked at issues women face as journalists and as portrayed by the media; amateur pornography without the consent of the woman; study findings on the understandings of symptoms of internet addiction; as well as studies looking at how students engage with college confession pages on Facebook.

Day Two

February 12, 2014

Time	Detail
9.30 a.m. – 11.00 a.m.	Wireless Technology: Ravikiran Annaswamy, CEO and Co-founder at Teritree Technologies
11.00 a.m. – 11.15 a.m.	Tea-break
11.15 a.m. – 12.45 p.m.	Wired Technology: Ravikiran Annaswamy
12.45 p.m. – 1.30 p.m.	Lunch
1.30 p.m. – 3.00 p.m.	Network, Threats and Securing Yourself: Kingsley John, Independent Consultant
3.00 p.m. – 3.15 p.m.	Tea Break
3.15 p.m. – 4.45 p.m.	Practical Lab: Kingsley John
4.45 p.m. – 5.00 p.m.	Wrap-up: Sunil Abraham

Day Two of the Institute entailed a more technical orientation to “internet & society” across sessions. Participants listened to speakers introduce concepts related to wired and wireless internet connectivity devices and their networks, along with the network of internet users and how one may secure him or herself while “online.”

Wireless & Wired Technology, Ravikiran Annaswamy
Senior industry practitioner, Ravikiran Annaswamy had aimed to enable the Institute’s participants to “understand the depth and omnipresent of telecom networks” that we find ourselves implicated within. Ravikiran went through the basics of these networks—including fixed line-, mobile-, IP-, and Next Generation IP-networks—as well as the technical structuring of wired and wireless broadband. Many participants found this session to be particularly enriching as their projects aimed to provide increased access to internet connectivity to marginalized areas in India, and had been without the know-how to go about it.

Network, Threats and Securing Yourself, Kinglsey John
An instructional session on how to protect oneself was given by Kingsley John, beginning with a lesson on IP Addresses—what they are and the different generations of such, and how IP addresses fit into a broader internet network. Following, Kingsley demonstrated and explained email encryption through the use of software, Kleopatra, and how it may be used to generate keys to encrypt emails through Thunderbird mail client.

Evening Discussion

A handful of participants voluntarily partook in an evening discussion, looking at the role of big players in the global internet network, such as Google and Facebook, how they collect and utilize users’ data, and what sorts of measures can be taken to minimize the collecting of such. Due to the widely varying backgrounds of interest among participants, those coming from this technical orientation towards the internet were able to inform their peers on relevant information and types of software that may be found useful related to minimizing one’s online presence.

Day Three

February 13, 2014

Time	Detail
9.30 a.m. – 11.00 a.m.	Free Software: Prof. G. Nagarjuna, Chairperson, Free Software Foundation
11.00 a.m. – 11.15 a.m.	Tea-break
11.15 a.m. – 12.45 p.m.	Open Data: Nisha Thompson, Independent Consultant
12.45 p.m. – 1.30 p.m.	Lunch
1.30 p.m. – 3.00 p.m.	Freedom of Expression: Bhairav Acharya, Advocate and Adviser, Centre for Internet and Society
3.00 p.m. – 3.15 p.m.	Tea-break
3.15 p.m. – 4.45 p.m.	Copyright: Nehaa Chaudhari, Program Officer, Centre for Internet and Society

The third day of the Internet Institute incorporated themes presented by speakers ranging from free software, to freedom of expression, to copyright.

Free Software, Prof. G. Nagarjuna
Chairman on the Board of Directors for the Free Software Foundation of India, Professor G. Nagarjuna shared with the Institute’s participants his personal expertise on software freedom. Nagarjuna mapped for us the network of concepts related to software freedom, beginning with the origins of the copyleft movement, and also touching upon the art of hacking, the open source movement, and what role software freedom plays in an interconnected world.

Nagarjuna looks at the free software movement as a political movement in the digital space highlighting the user’s freedoms associated to the use, distribution, and modification of software for the greater good for all. This is said to distinguish this movement from that of Open Source—a technical and more practical development-oriented movement. The free software movement is not set out to compromise the fundamental issues for the sake of being practical and in that sense, ubiquitous. Instead, its objective is “not to make everybody use the software, but to have them understand why they are using the software,” so that they may become “authentic citizens that can also resonate why they’re doing what they’re doing. We want them to understand the ethical and political aspects of doing so,” Nagarjuna says.

Open Data, Nisha Thompson
Participants learned from Nisha Thompson on Open Data; what it is, its benefits, and how it is involved in central government initiatives and policy, as well as civil society groups—generally for uses such as serving as evidence for decision making and accountability. Nisha explored challenges concerning the use of open data, such as those pertaining to privacy, legitimacy, copyright, and interoperability. The group looked at the India Water Portal as a case study, which makes accessible more than 300 water-related datasets already available in the public space for use from anything from sanitation and agriculture to climate change.

Freedom of Expression, Bhairav Acharya
Bhairav Acharya, a constitutional lawyer, traced the development of the freedom of speech and expression in India. Beginning with a conceptual understanding of censorship and the practice of censorship by the state, society, and the individual herself, Bhairav examines the limits traditionally placed by a nation-state on the right to free speech.

In India, modern free speech and censorship law was first formulated by the colonial British government, which broadly imported the common law to India. However, the colonial state also yielded to the religious and communitarian sensitivities of its subjects, resulting in a continuing close link between communalism and free speech in India today. After Independence, the post-colonial Indian state carried forward Raj censorship, but tweaked it to serve to a nation-building and developmental agenda. Nation-building and nationalism are centrifugal forces that attempt to construct a homogenous 'mainstream'; voices from the margins of this mainstream (the geographical, ethnic, and religious peripheries) and of the marginalised within the mainstream (the poor and disadvantaged), are censored.

Within this narrative, Bhairav located and explained the evolution of the law relating to press censorship, defamation, obscenity, and contempt of court. Free speech law applies equally online. Broadly, censorship on the internet must survive the same constitutional scrutiny that is applied to offline censorship; but, as technology develops, the law must innovate.

Copyright, Nehaa Chaudhari
CIS Programme Officer, Nehaa Chaudhari examined the concept of Copyright as an intellectual property right in discussing its fundamentals, purpose and origins, and Copyright’s intersection with the internet. Nehaa also explained the different exceptions to Copyright, along with its alternatives, such as opposing intellectual property protection regimes, including the Creative Commons and Copyleft. Within this session, Nehaa also introduced several cases in which Copyright came into play with the use of the internet, including Hunter Moore’s “Is Anyone Up?” website, which had showcased pornographic pictures obtained by submission bringing rise to the phenomenon of “revenge porn.” Instances as such blur the lines of what is commonly referred to as intellectual property, and what specific requirements enables one to own the rights to such.

Day Four

February 14, 2014

Time	Detail
9.30 a.m. – 11.00 a.m.	E-Accessibility and Inclusion: Prashant Naik, Union Bank
11.00 a.m. – 11.15 a.m.	Tea-break
11.15 a.m. – 12.45 p.m.	Patents: Nehaa Chaudhari
12.45 p.m. – 1.30 p.m.	Lunch
1.30 p.m. – 2.00 p.m.	Fieldwork Assignment

Day Four of the Internet Institute introduced concepts of eAccessibilty and Inclusion on the internet for persons with disabilities, along with patents as an intellectual property right. Participants were also assigned a fieldwork exercise as a hands-on activity in which they were to employ what they’ve learned to initiate conversation with individuals in public spaces and collect primary data while doing so.

eAccessibility and Inclusion, Prashant Naik

Prashant Naik started off the day with his session on E-Accessibility and Inclusion. Prashant illustrated the importance of accessibility and what is meant by the term. Participants learned of assistive technologies for different disability types and how to create more accessible word and PDF documents, as well as web pages for users. Prashant demonstrated to participants what it is like to use a computer as a visually impaired individual, which provided for an enriching experience.

Patents, Nehaa Chaudhari
Nehaa Chaudhari led a second session at the Internet Institute on intellectual property rights—this one looking at patents particularly and their role within statutory law. Nehaa traced the historical origins of patents before examining the fundamentals of them, and addresses the questions, “Why have patents? And is the present system working for everyone?” Nehaa also introduced notions of the Commons along with the Anticommons, and perspectives within the debate around software patents, as well as different means by which the law can address the exploitation of patents or “patent thickets”—such as through patent pools or compulsory licensing.

Fieldwork Assignment, Groupwork
Participants were split into groups and required to carry out a mini fieldwork assignment in approaching individuals in varying public spaces in Pune in attempts to collect primary data. Questions asked to individuals were to be devised by the group, so long as they pertained to themes examined within the Internet Institute. Areas visited by groups included the Pune Central Mall, MG Road, and FC Road.

Day Five

February 15, 2014

Time	Detail
9.30 a.m. – 11.00 a.m.	E-Governance: Manu Srivastav, Vice President, eGovernments Foundation
11.00 a.m. – 11.15 a.m.	Tea-break
11.15 a.m. – 12.45 p.m.	Market Concerns: Payal Malik, Economic Adviser, Competition Commission of India
12.45 p.m. – 1.30 p.m.	Lunch
1.30 p.m. – 3.00 p.m.	Digital Natives: Nishant Shah
3.00 p.m. – 3.15 p.m.	Tea-break
3.15 p.m. – 4.45 p.m.	Fieldwork Presentations

Day Five of the Internet Institute brought with it sessions related to themes of e-governance, market concerns of telecommunications, and so called “Digital Natives.”

eGovernance, Manu Srivastava
Vice President of the eGovernments Foundation, Manu Srivastava led a session on eGovernance—the utilization of the internet as a means of delivering government services communicating with citizens, businesses, and members of government. Manu examined the complexities of the eGovernance and barriers to implementation of eGovernance initiatives. Within discussion, participants examined the nuanced relationship between the government and citizens with the incorporation of other governing bodies in an eGovernance system, as well as new spaces for corruption to take place.

Market Concerns, Payal Malik
Payal Malik, Advisor of the Economics Division of the Competition Commission of India shared her knowledge on market concerns of the telecommunications industry, and exclaimed the importance of competition issues in such an industry as a tool to create greater good for a greater number of people. She demonstrated this importance by stating that affordability as a product of increased access can only be possible once there is enough investment, which generally only happens in a competitive market. In this way, we must set the conditions to make competition possible, as a tool to achieve certain objectives. Payal also demonstrated the economic benefits of telecommunications by stating that for every 10% increase in broadband penetration, increase in GDP of 1.3%. She also examined the broadband ecosystem in India and touched upon future possibilities of increased broadband penetration, such as for formers and the education sector.

Digital Natives, Nishant Shah
Nishant Shah shed some light on one of the areas that the Centre for Internet & Society looks at within their research scope, this being the “Digital Native.” As referred to by Nishant, the Digital Native is not to categorize a specific type of internet user, but can be said for simply any person who is performing a digital action, while doing away with this false dichotomy of age, location, and geography.

Nishant examines varying case studies in which “the digital is empowering natives to not merely be benefactors of change, but agents of change,” from the Blank Noise Project’s “I NEVER Ask for it…” campaign in efforts to rethink sexual violence, to Matt Harding’s foolish dancing with groups of individuals from all over the world.

As occurrences in the digital realm, however, these often political expressions may be rewritten by the network when picked up as a growing phenomenon, in order to make it accessible to online consumers by the masses. In doing so, the expression is removed from its political context and is presented in the form of nothing more than a fad. For this reason, Nishant stresses the need to become aware of the potential of the internet in becoming an “echo-chamber”—in which forms of expression are amplified and mimicked, resulting in a restructuring of the dynamics surrounding the subject—whether it be videos of boys lipsyncing to Backstreet Boys in their dorm room going viral, or a strong and malicious movement to punish the Chinese girl who had taken a video of her heinously and wickedly killing a kitten after locating her using the Human Flesh Search Engine.

Fieldwork Presentations, Groupwork

To end off the day, participant groups presented findings collated from the prior evening’s fieldwork exercise, in which they were to ask strangers in various public places of Pune questions pertaining to themes looked at from within this year’s Institute. Participants were divided into four groups and visited Pune’s FC Road, Mahatma Gandhi Road, and Central Mall.

Groups found that the majority of those interviews primarily accessed the phone via the mobile. There was also a common weariness of using the internet and concern for one’s privacy while doing so, especially with uploading photos to Facebook and online financial transactions. People were also generally concerned about using cyber cafes for fear of one’s accounts being hacked. Generally people suspected that so long as conversations are “private” (i.e. in one’s Facebook inbox), so too are they secure. Just as well, those interviewed shared a sense of security with the use of a password.

Day Six

February 16, 2014

Time	Detail
9.30 a.m. – 11.00 a.m.	Wikipedia: Dr. Abhijeet Safai
11.00 a.m. – 11.15 a.m.	Tea-break
11.15 a.m. – 12.45 p.m.	Open Access: Muthu Madhan (TBC)
12.45 p.m. – 1.30 p.m.	Lunch
1.30 p.m. – 3.00 p.m.	Case Studies Groupwork
3.00 p.m. – 3.15 p.m.	Tea-break
3.15 p.m. – 4.45 p.m.	Case Studies Presentations

As the Institute came closer to its end, participants got the opportunity to hear from speakers on topics pertaining the Wikipedia editing in addition to Open Access to scholarly literature. Participants also worked together in groups to examine specific case studies referenced in previous sessions, and then presented their conclusions.

Wikipedia, Dr. Abhijeet Safai
The Institute was joined by Medical Officer of Clinical Research at Pune’s Symbiosis Centre of Health Care, Dr. Abhijeet Safai, who led a session on Wikipedia. Having edited over 3700 Wikipedia articles, Dr. Abhijeet was able to bring forth his expertise and familiarity in editing Wikipedia to participants so that they would be able to do the same. Introduced within this session were Wikipedia’s different fundamental pillars and codes of conducts to be complied with by all contributors, along with different features and components of Wikipedia articles that one should be aware of when contributing, such as how to cite sources and discuss the contents of an article with other contributors.

Open Access, Muthu Madhan
Muthu Madhan joined the Internet Institute while speaking on Open Access (OA) to scholarly literature. Within his session, Muthu examined the historical context within which the scholarly journal had arisen and how the idea of Open Access began within this space. The presence of Open Access in India and other developing nations was also examined in this session, and the concept of Open Data, introduced.

Case Studies, Groupworks

Participants were split up into groups and assigned particular case studies looked at briefly in previous sessions. Case studies included #thingsdarkiessay, a once trending Twitter hashtag in South Africa which had offended many Americans for its use of “darkie” as a derogatory term; the literary novel, The Hindus, which offers an alternative narrative of Hindu history had been banned in India for obscenity; a case in which several users’ avatars had been controlled by another in a virtual community and forced to perform sexual acts, referred to as A Rape Happened in Cyber Space; and lastly, a pornographic submission website, Is Anyone Up?, for which content was largely derived from “revenge porn.” Each group then presented on the various perspectives surrounding the issue at hand.

The Cyborg, Nishant Shah
Nishant Shah led an off-agenda session in the evening looking more closely at the notion of the human cyborg. Nishant deconstructs humanity’s relationship to technology, in suggesting that we “think of the human as produced with the technologies… not who produces technology.” Nishant explores the Digital Native as an attained identity for those who, because of technology, restructure and reinvent his or her environment—offline as well as online. Among other ideas shared, Nishant refers to works by Haraway on the human cyborg in illustrating our dependency on technology and our need to care for these technologies we depend on.

Day Seven

February 17, 2014

Time	Detail
9.30 a.m. – 11.00 a.m.	Internet Activism: Laura Stein, Associate Professor, University of Texas and Fulbright Fellow
11.00 a.m. – 11.15 a.m.	Tea-break
11.15 a.m. – 12.45 p.m.	Domestic and International Bodies: Chinmayi Arun, Research Director
12.45 p.m. – 1.30 p.m.	Lunch
1.30 p.m. – 3.00 p.m.	Participant Presentations
3.00 p.m. – 3.15 p.m.	Tea-break
3.15 p.m. – 4.45 p.m.	Hot Question Challenge

The last day of the week-long Internet Institute examined concepts of Internet Activism and Domestic and International Bodies. Some participants led presentations on topics of personal familiarity, before a final wrap-up exercise, calling upon individuals to share any new formulations resulting from the Institute.

Internet Activism, Laura Stein

Associate Professor from the University of Texas, Laura Stein, spoke on activism on the internet. Laura examined some grassroots organizations and movements taking place on the online and the benefits that the internet brings in facilitating their impact, such as its associated low costs, accessibility and possibility for anonymity. Despite the positive effects catalyzed by the internet, Laura stresses that the “laying field is still unequal, and movements are not simply transformed by technology.” Some of the websites exemplifying online activism that were examined within this session includes the It Gets Better Project, which aims to give hope to LGBT youth facing harassment, and the national election watch by the Association for Democratic Reforms. Additionally, Laura spoke on public communication policy, comparing that of the US and India, and how this area of policy may influence media content and practice.

Domestic and International Bodies, Chinmayi Arun
As the Internet Institute’s final speaker, Research Director for Communication Governance at National Law University , Chinmayi Arun, explores the network of factors that affect one’s behavior on the internet—these including: social norms, the law, the markets, and architecture. In referring to Lawrence Lessig’s pathetic dot theory, Chinmayi illustrates how individual’s—the pathetic dots in question—are functions of the interactions of these factors, and in this sense, regulated, and stresses the essential need to understand the system, in order to effectively change the dynamics within it. It is worth noting that not all pathetic dots are equal, and Google’s dot, for example, will be drastically bigger than a single user’s, having more leveraging power within the network of internet bodies. Also demonstrated, is the fact that we must acknowledge the need for regulation by the law to some extent, otherwise, the internet would be a black box where anything goes, putting one’s security at risk of violation.

Hot Question Challenge
The very last exercise of the Institute entailed participants asking each other questions on demand, relating back to different themes looked at within the last week. Participants had the chance, here, to bridge together concepts across sessions, as well as formulate their own opinions, while posing questions to others that they, themselves, were still curious about.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/institute-for-internet-society-2014-pune

Infrastructural Needs of Indian Language Wikisource Projects

Puthiya Purayil Sneha — 2022-10-21T13:21:20Z

This is a short study on identifying the infrastructural gaps on Indian language Wikisource projects, and potential strategies to address the same. The study was undertaken by Jayantha Nath, Puthiya Purayil Sneha and Satdeep Gill, with writing and editorial oversight by Puthiya Purayil Sneha and an external review by Divyank Katira. This is part of a series of short-term studies undertaken by the CIS-A2K team in 2021-22.

Read this report on Wikimedia Meta-Wiki here.

Introduction

This research project is an effort to understand some of the infrastructural needs of Wikisource platforms in India. With a focus on technological capacity, resources and training, this short pilot study collected baseline data from Indian language Wikisource communities to identify key knowledge gaps and areas of improvement. The final report here offers an overview of the current challenges in this space, and some learnings and recommendations on potential strategies to address these gaps, including through collaborative intervention and training.

Context

Wikisource projects have been an important part of the open knowledge movement in India, as it is a hub of out of copyright and freely licensed texts in a number of languages from across the world. With a focus on creating a ‘growing free content online library of source texts, as well as translations of source texts in any language', it functions as an important open knowledge repository that supports content development on various sister projects such as Wikipedia, Wikiquote etc. Wikisource projects in Indian languages have seen tremendous growth, especially over the last decade with increased efforts in content donation under free licences, digitization initiatives and availability of source texts. There have also been several advancements in Indic language computing and availability of digital infrastructure, such as more Indian language fonts, many with Unicode support, and increased flexibility in working with texts due to Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technologies. There has also been a general growth in awareness about the need for sourcing and making available more content in Indian languages, and better access to platforms like Wikisource has aided these efforts to a great extent.

However, several Indian language communities also continue to grapple with persistent challenges in this space, across diverse Wikimedia projects. Similarly, with Wikisource, there have been concerns about a lack of active participation and efforts towards bringing more content on the platform, including translations, and encouraging the use of source texts across projects among others. While a majority of the contributors are comfortable with transcribing texts, more technical tasks such as importing new books, creating Index pages and transcluding books are left to a very small number of contributors. These point to a lack of not just awareness and resources, but also a need for capacity-building efforts to address the skill gaps, improvements in digital infrastructures to resolve basic issues with platforms, and diversification of the scope of work undertaken. For instance, the most recent Community Wishlist Survey 2022 highlights some basic fixes that need attention− such as bugs with the search and replace function to improve search and mass uploads −to more advanced work such as expanding existing functionality in indexing, integrating structured data and translation tools and functionalities across Indian languages, to name a few.

A research needs assessment survey conducted by CIS-A2K last year also highlighted the need for better technological support for Wikimedia projects, and capacity-building in important areas of work in the Indian language communities. While this is not specific to Wikisource alone, observations by community members and active Wikisource contributors over the last few years illustrate that many of these concerns and knowledge gaps are prevalent in this community as well. This study was therefore an attempt to identify these challenges, by collecting baseline data on key areas of work in Indian language Wikisource projects, beginning with a focus on selected language communities, and areas of interest. The attempt was also to enable contributors to achieve a more detailed understanding of the requirements of communities, in the contexts of certain languages, and aid in developing potential strategies to address them.

Research objectives

The study had two areas of focus:

What are the key challenges with working on Indian language Wikisource projects currently? These may include anything from obstacles in Wikisource workflow, policies and open licences, to challenges such as quality of content and lack of community engagement?
What are gap areas and spaces for improvement in the infrastructure of these platforms, especially related to technological capacity, resources and training?

Research methods

The study adopted a mixed methods approach, comprising a survey and interviews with community members. The survey focussed on key areas of ongoing work, and potential challenges for Wikisource projects in India - including technological support, skill-building, policies on content donation and curation, and open access and licensing. The survey was opened to all Wikisource communities and publicised on relevant mailing lists and community platforms. Simultaneously, a detailed interview questionnaire was also prepared, along with the selection criteria for interviews with community members. The project team worked with one short-term research assistant over a 2–3-month period for the data collection through interviews and surveys. The research assistant also provided translation support as needed and worked closely in coordinating with community members.

The criteria considered for selection of the language communities for the study were language family and size, amount of content on Wikisource (according to bytes/number of proofread pages), recent activity and a good track record/sustained progress and challenges with the same over the last several years. External factors, such as visibility and prevalence of the languages on other online platforms, technical and cultural resources and complexities of working with certain languages etc. were also considered during the selection process. Keeping these in mind, the languages selected for this study were as follows:

Tamil Wikisource (One of the largest Wikisource communities in India, which has considerable content, is active and has seen steady growth over the last few years)
Assamese Wikisource (A growing Wikisource community, which has also seen a lot of activity in recent years)
Malayalam Wikisource (A large and active Wikisource community, which in recent years has some decline in engagement, despite good resources and activity on other Wiki platforms)

Using a purposive sampling technique, the team identified community members for interviews across these three languages and reached out over the course of six months in order to conduct semi-structured interviews. The criteria for selection of interviewees included a mix of senior/experienced and new contributors, those working across several projects and languages, those with expertise in specific/advanced technical areas of Wikisource, licensing and content donation efforts, and keeping in mind gender parity within the sample. There were however several challenges with this exercise, including basic barriers such as bad internet and phone connectivity, digital fatigue and unavailability of people due to the second wave of the pandemic, and limited time on Wikimedia projects. As a result, this method was unsuccessful, as it managed to gather very limited data for the study. The timeline of the survey was also extended as a result, and it received a total of 21 responses. The survey data offers several insights into some of these key areas of work and challenges, and the following is a report based on an analysis of this limited data set and observations on the same. Given the limited sample size and final dataset, it would be important to note that we may need several steps before the observations/findings may be considered to be representative at any scale.

Observations and Learnings

As mentioned earlier, the dataset comprised of 21 respondents on the survey, many of them contributors across diverse Wikimedia projects including English and Indian language Wikipedia projects, Wikisource, Wikibooks, Wikidata, Wikiquote, Wiktionary, Wikivoyage, Wikimedia Commons, software such as Media Wiki, and initiatives like Wikimedia in Education. The respondents ranged across nine languages (in alphabetical order) – Assamese, Bengali, English, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, Punjabi, Telugu and Tamil. Several of them are also part of user groups working in some of these languages. The experience of the contributors’ ranges from 6 months to 12 years. Almost all the respondents note that contributions towards proofreading, and bringing more content on the Wikisource projects (including work on related processes by the Volunteer Response Team, previously known as Open Source Ticket Request System, and OCR) have been key milestones in their work, either as individuals or communities. Some respondents have also pointed out some new work such as audio books, and working on technological aspects, especially with gadgets and best practices shared by other global communities. The data offers some key insights into the kinds of challenges currently faced by Indian language Wikisource contributors, and what could be potential areas of improvement. As noted in Fig.1, an overwhelming percentage of the respondents noted that ‘capacity-building and training’ (81%) is an area that needs the most improvement, followed closely by ‘community engagement’ (66%) and ‘technological infrastructure’ (57%). These are key areas that show repetitive patterns across the data set, in terms of recurring challenges as well. As noted by respondents, training in Wikisource workflows, procedure and guidance, learning to use advanced templates/techniques, recruiting new volunteers etc. have been key challenges. Community engagement has seen a dip, especially over last year with the pandemic and related decline in activity on projects, as well as events and therefore opportunities to meet. There is a need for more contributors and strategies to encourage work and retain them on the projects. Scanning and post-production processing of scans emerged as a significant challenge, given lack of resources and infrastructure, and related issues such as poor quality of scanned work and no uniformity in the book selection criteria. There are also some areas of technical support such as broken tools on Wikisource projects, missing symbols in some language tool bars, and an abundance of formatting tags which could present barriers for new contributors. The following are some of the responses and observations in specific areas mentioned above:

As mentioned earlier, the dataset comprised of 21 respondents on the survey, many of them contributors across diverse Wikimedia projects including English and Indian language Wikipedia projects, Wikisource, Wikibooks, Wikidata, Wikiquote, Wiktionary, Wikivoyage, Wikimedia Commons, software such as Media Wiki, and initiatives like Wikimedia in Education. The respondents ranged across nine languages (in alphabetical order) – Assamese, Bengali, English, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, Punjabi, Telugu and Tamil. Several of them are also part of user groups working in some of these languages. The experience of the contributors’ ranges from 6 months to 12 years.

Almost all the respondents note that contributions towards proofreading, and bringing more content on the Wikisource projects (including work on related processes by the Volunteer Response Team, previously known as Open Source Ticket Request System, and OCR) have been key milestones in their work, either as individuals or communities. Some respondents have also pointed out some new work such as audio books, and working on technological aspects, especially with gadgets and best practices shared by other global communities. The data offers some key insights into the kinds of challenges currently faced by Indian language Wikisource contributors, and what could be potential areas of improvement.

As noted in Fig.1, an overwhelming percentage of the respondents noted that ‘capacity-building and training’ (81%) is an area that needs the most improvement, followed closely by ‘community engagement’ (66%) and ‘technological infrastructure’ (57%). These are key areas that show repetitive patterns across the data set, in terms of recurring challenges as well. As noted by respondents, training in Wikisource workflows, procedure and guidance, learning to use advanced templates/techniques, recruiting new volunteers etc. have been key challenges. Community engagement has seen a dip, especially over last year with the pandemic and related decline in activity on projects, as well as events and therefore opportunities to meet. There is a need for more contributors and strategies to encourage work and retain them on the projects. Scanning and post-production processing of scans emerged as a significant challenge, given lack of resources and infrastructure, and related issues such as poor quality of scanned work and no uniformity in the book selection criteria. There are also some areas of technical support such as broken tools on Wikisource projects, missing symbols in some language tool bars, and an abundance of formatting tags which could present barriers for new contributors.

The following are some of the responses and observations in specific areas mentioned above:

Capacity-building and training

As most contributors would be well aware, capacity-building and technological infrastructure are two closely connected aspects of Wikimedia projects. The responses under this thematic reflect the same, in terms of a need for better training in optimising the use of available and advanced technical skills for Wikisource projects. This includes training on specific skills and processes such as scanning, text conversion, formatting, sourcing, transclusion, creating gadgets, writing bots. There is a need for better writing and spelling skills to improve the quality of content generated. The survey also suggested potential ways to address these skill gaps, all of which were seen as relevant by a majority of respondents (66.7%). [See Fig 2]

Community Engagement

Community engagement ranked second in terms of the challenges noted by respondents on the survey. The survey also looked at engagement in comparison with Wikipedia projects, as it has been observed that the latter see more active participation. This was confirmed by some of the responses as well. Some of the main reasons for lack of participation as noted by respondents is that Wikisource is a specialised project, that needs a specific skill-set and demands time and effort, hence may not appeal to all contributors. Also, it has lesser content and visibility compared to some of the Wikipedias or other projects which may be more easily updated. Thus, there is a need for actively recruiting new volunteers, and capacity-building to enable more contributions, as well as targeted outreach efforts in spaces related to literature and books to enhance discoverability. Some respondents also mentioned that a lack of awareness, coordination and interaction among contributors could be potential reasons. Finally, there are also external factors such as balancing volunteer work with other commitments such as family and financial problems, many contributors being students who move on to full-time careers, effects of the pandemic and paucity of time and interaction, and loss of interest over time in the projects.

Again, efforts to address community engagement need some strategic measures, including but not limited to community interaction, incentives and better visibility for work in, as noted in Fig.3.

Technological infrastructure

Technological infrastructure, which is one of the key areas of focus for this study, has also been a persistent challenge for Indian language communities, also given the resource-heavy work any form of computing with Indic languages entails. While some respondents did not notice any specific issues in their communities, there were some patterns or gaps that were reflected across communities. There is a need for basic hardware like scanners and good computers, or rather centralised facilities for scanning and good internet connectivity in order to cover more collections and regional areas. In addition to this, there is also a need for technical improvements such as easy-to-use widgets, gadgets and better tags to enhance formatting work as part of the transcription of texts, incorporating certain signs and symbols within toolbars, spell-checker, full list of syntaxes while proofreading, and stages for fixing mistakes and adding formatting tags. An important observation was that some language communities access and edit Wikisource on mobile phones, so there is a need for a mobile application that can provide a seamless editing experience, and connect more people with the projects. As mentioned earlier, there are also several technical fixes such as a number of pending bugs in projects. A related requirement therefore is for MediaWiki developers with good language skills to work on translation of interfaces. A few respondents also mentioned additional challenges such as improvement of new books, Graphical User Interface (GUI) and page layout, and the functionality to view Wikisource in other formats as well.

Some specific areas of improvement were also assessed on the survey, drawing upon a review of the community wishlists for the last few years. These included Optical Character Recognition (OCR), translation, visual editor, transclusion, user interface, search function and export of books. While all these functionalities did not receive responses from the entire set, many found these to be key challenges. OCR received the most responses (19), with 31.6% assessing this at 1 (needs minimal updates, functional with space for innovation). Translation received 18 responses, with 38.9% marking this at 4 (major challenges, requires focused work). Similarly, transclusion also received 18 responses with about 27.8% voting at 5 (significant challenges, requires long-term effort and resources). Visual editor, search function and export of books all received 17 responses each, with a majority in all three assessing these as 5. Of these search function had more people assessing the functionality at 5 (41.2%), followed closely by visual editor and export of books (35.3% each). User interface received 16 responses, with 31.3 % of respondents assessing it at 5 as well.

Open Access and Content Creation

In addition to the above, content curation and related aspects of open access and relicensing are also spaces with prevalent knowledge gaps in terms of protocols and best practices, which poses a challenge for content generation on Wikisource projects. Lack of awareness about Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and relicensing in fact has been a significant impediment in content donation efforts, across projects. In this survey, a large number of respondents (42.6%) also said they were either unaware of these issues with Wikisource or about IPR itself, or mentioned that it was not applicable in this context. Among the challenges/issues mentioned, the need for simple, easily accessible advocacy material in print about open access was prominent, in order to encourage content creators/authors to share work on open licences. It was also noted that this process may be difficult for people who are not well-versed in the technical/legal aspects of the project, especially in terms of tracking down individual creators for consent to re-license and share their work. Respondents also noted that this work needs support from institutions to help set up collaborations, such as with educational organisations, publishing houses and authors, as also an understanding of official documentation and wider promotion etc. which may encourage more people to share content on open licences.

All of these aspects are further reflected in terms of strategies to address these issues as well, as observed in Fig. 4.

A similar disparity exists with content curation best practices as well, with a majority of respondents noting that their respective communities do not have clearly defined protocols for content curation. While such benchmarking is naturally difficult given several socio-cultural and linguistic subjectivities of each project, this also means that what makes it to Wikisource in a particular language can be defined by many factors, which also informs the quality, types and formats of content produced. Potential methods to address this include developing guidelines for content creation, and forms of review by experts as well as community members, all of which ranked high in the survey responses. ( See Fig 5)

As we did not receive enough responses on the interview questionnaires, there was not much additional qualitative data that could be gathered. There are however resonances with the survey responses, namely in terms of technical/hardware challenges such as poor quality of scanning, and the need for an app which is user-friendly and will further facilitate mobile editing, especially in areas with limited digital infrastructure and access. Some observations include the importance of the OTRS process in adding new content, and the need for better online and offline training, especially for new volunteers, in technical skills. Similarly, collaborations with educational institutions and local print media could be useful in creating more awareness, and therefore tapping into more content and resources in terms of new volunteers. Additionally, there are also some interesting observations on individual communities working on connecting work across projects, for example Wikisource and Wikiquote.

Conclusions and Recommendations

While the scope of the study had to be reduced significantly given several methodological challenges and external factors as mentioned earlier, the analysis of data does offer some significant learnings on the current challenges prevalent across Indian language Wikisource projects. Needless to say, many of these are also fairly contextual and nuanced, depending on how well-resourced certain languages are, given factors such as basic internet connectivity and digital literacy. The following is a short summary of key recommendations from this exercise.

Technological Infrastructure: Across the board, gaps in development of technological infrastructure have been prominent, ranging from basic fixes to advanced tools and user-friendly apps that may help mitigate some of the issues related to access. It is also notable that early challenges such as OCR and translation do not present as significant obstacles here (but continue to remain areas of ongoing work); features such as the visual editor, search and export functionalities emerged as continual challenges. The need for a user-friendly mobile app is also an important observation here. Some of this work is also quite resource-intensive in terms of funding; it would be prudent to look at collaborations with related organisations and local fundraising efforts that may help facilitate the same.

Capacity-Building: Similarly, capacity-building efforts need to be strengthened within communities, given the nature of work which is specialised and often quite technical( for example the process of transclusion). In addition to bringing in new volunteers, and equipping them with the requisite skill-sets to contribute effectively, there is a need for contributors with advanced skill-sets who may be able to address more technical challenges. Efforts here could include reaching out to the wider free and open source communities for external expertise, and working on a collaborative model of workshopping around strategic issues, and developing relevant skill-sets. Community-engagement: As noted by many respondents, bringing in new volunteers and their retention on projects has been a continual challenge, also due to the factors mentioned above. Improvements in technical infrastructure and capacity-building would help address some of these challenges as well. In addition to this, as noted by respondents, developing proactive collaborations with diverse institutions and individuals (educational/media/creative practice) would help widen networks, hence creating better awareness and visibility for work, such as through social media content and may also foster better engagement.

Content Curation and Open Access: As is widely understood, discourse around open access and relicensing is layered, and the protocols often vary widely depending on linguistic factors and cultural context. Instead of developing benchmarks, it may be prudent therefore to develop accessible content on existing, global relicensing protocols, in translation across languages. These may be further used by communities to understand and engage better with efforts in content donation. Guidelines for content curation will again need to be similarly developed and modified, keeping in mind how policies also evolve and change. An important consideration here in addition to quality, is also that of ethics of access and use, especially by communities themselves.

This short study was an effort to map some of the prevalent infrastructural challenges that underlie work on Indian language Wikisource projects. The observations from this report may offer useful insights in thinking through and developing strategies to address these gaps, through collaborative efforts in training and building resources for projects.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/research-infrastructural-needs-of-indian-language-wikisource-projects

Information Security Practices of Aadhaar (or lack thereof): A documentation of public availability of Aadhaar Numbers with sensitive personal financial information

Amber Sinha and Srinivas Kodali — 2017-05-01T13:13:33Z

In this paper, we highlight four government projects run by various government departments with publicly available financial data and Aadhaar numbers.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/information-security-practices-of-aadhaar-or-lack-thereof-a-documentation-of-public-availability-of-aadhaar-numbers-with-sensitive-personal-financial-information

Information Security Practices of Aadhaar (or lack thereof)

aditya — 2017-05-17T06:20:14Z

A documentation of public availability of Aadhaar numbers with sensitive personal financial information (updated)

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/information-security-practices-of-aadhaar-or-lack-thereof

Information Influx Conference

praskrishna — 2014-07-28T06:31:40Z

Malavika Jayaram was a speaker at the event organized by the Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam from July 2 to 4, 2014.

Click to read the full details here.

When IViR set up its research 25 years ago, the digital transition was just starting to gather speed. Since then, our societies have been undergoing enormous changes in the modes of expression, organization and (re)use of information. Traditional roles of producers, intermediaries, users and governments blur and are recast. Information is the central building block of market economies. New ways of creating, disseminating and using it impact the workings of democracy, of science and education, creativity and culture.

Information Influx will bridge disciplines, regions and institutional perspectives to confront the major challenges of developing the rules that govern the expression, organization and re(use) of information in our society – as the central aspects of IViR’s Research Programme.

Wednesday 2 July

13.00 – 16.30

Information Influx Young Scholars Competition:

13.00 – 15.00

Welcome by Prof. Mireille van Eechoud & Dr. L. Guibault

Catherine Doldirina (Joint Research Centre EC) – Open data and Earth observations: the case of opening access to and use of EO through the Global Earth Observation System of Systems
Comments by Prof. Mark Perry

Jenny Metzdorf (University of Luxembourg) – The implementation of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive by national regulatory authorities – National reponses to regulatory challenges
Comments by Dr. Tarlach McGonagle

Harry Halpin (MIT/W3C) – No Safe Haven: The Storage of Data Secrets
Comments by Dr. Philippe Aigrain

15.00 – 15.15
Refreshments break

15.15 – 16.30

Ellen Wauters (ICRI – University of Leuven) – Social Networking Sites’ Terms of Use: addressing imbalances in the user-provider relationship through ex ante and ex post mechanisms
Comments by Dr. Chantal Mak

Nicolo Zingales (Tilburg University) – Virtues and perils of anonymity: should intermediaries bear the burden?
Comments by Prof. Joel Reidenberg

Closing remarks

17.00 – 18.30

Information Influx public opening:

Welcome Louise Gunning-Schepers (University of Amsterdam), Edgar du Perron (University of Amsterdam) and Bernt Hugenholtz (Institute for Information Law)
Keynote – Degrees of Freedom: Sketches of a political theory for an age of deep uncertainty and persistent imperfection – prof. Yochai Benkler (Harvard Law School)
Young Scholars Award ceremony
Speech by Neelie Kroes (Vice-President of the European Commission) – Our Single Market is Crying out for Copyright Reform!

19.00 – 22.00

IViR 25th birthday soirée – by invitation

Thursday 3 July

9.00 – 10.00

Keynote – Governance, Function and Form – prof. Deirdre Mulligan (University of California, Berkeley)

As data and technology to wield it become pervasive, privacy protection must take new forms. Traditional models of governance centered on state actors, and human oversight do not scale to today’s challenges. Drawing from several research projects Mulligan suggests that focusing on roles and functions, rather than traditional forms and actors, can assist us in leveraging the potential of a range of human and technical actors towards privacy’s protection.

10.30 – 12.30

Parallel sessions:

12.30 – 13.45

Lunch

13.45 – 14.30

Julian Oliver & Danja Vasiliev

14.30 – 16.30

Parallel sessions:

17.00 – 18.00

Keynote – Copyright as Innovation Policy – Fred von Lohmann (Google)

Copyright has historically been concerned with encouraging commercial cultural production. Thanks to digital technology, however, copyright law today finds itself called upon to take on additional unfamiliar roles, including fostering technological innovation and encouraging amateur creative expression. The talk will suggest some ways that copyright can successfully grow into these new roles.

19.00 – 22.00

Conference Dinner

Friday 4 July

9.00 – 10.00

Keynote – Datafication, dataism and dataveillance – prof. José van Dijck (University of Amsterdam)

The popularization of datafication as a neutral paradigm is carried by a widespread belief and supported by institutional guardians of trust. That notion of trust becomes problematic when it leads to dataveillance by a number of institutions that handle people’s (meta)data. The interlocking of government, business, and academia in the adaptation of this ideology (“dataism”) prompts us to look more critically at the entire ecosystem of connective media.

10.30 – 12.30
Parallel sessions:

12.30 – 14.00

Buffet Lunch, plus: Brown bag lunch with Rob Frieden – Net Neutrality: One step beyond

14.00 – 15.00

Keynote – Intellectual Property: Two Pasts and A Future – prof. James Boyle (Duke Law School)

Twenty years from now, will our children look up from their digital devices and ask “Daddy, did anyone ever own a book”? In his keynote speech, James Boyle will trace the past lives of intellectual property, the battles fought, the technologies regulated. Can we find hints of the future in the battles of our past? Boyle’s answer is yes, and that answer should give us pause.

15.30 – 17.30

Parallel sessions:

17.30 – 18.30

Farewell drinks

Parallel sessions

Rights in the mix

Among amateur and professional creators alike there is a manifest need to not only share but also remix existing works. The panel discusses how adequately open content licensing systems support these needs. It also looks to how well this licensing system fits in the wider legal framework.

prof. Séverine Dusollier (University of Namur) (moderator)
Paul Keller (Kennisland)
prof. Daniel Gervais (Vanderbilt Law School)
prof. Volker Grassmuck (Lüneburg University)

Behavioural targeting – If you cannot control it, ban it?

The discussion about the potential pitfalls of behavioural targeting practices and the problems it may create for users and user rights continues in full force. The growing evidence of the ineffectiveness of the existing informed-consent-approach to regulation can no longer be ignored. Is it time for the regulator to move to more drastic means and ban certain behavioural targeting practices, and if so, which practices?

prof. Chris Hoofnagle (University of California, Berkeley) (moderator)
prof. Neil Richards (Washington University)
Frederik Borgesius (Institute for Information Law)
prof. Joseph Turow (University of Pennsylvania)
prof. Mireille Hildebrandt (University of Nijmegen)
dr. Tal Zarsky (University of Haifa)

Tomorrow’s news: bright, mutualized and open?

As public debate becomes more diversified, crowded, interactive, noisy and technology-dependent than ever before, what survival strategies are being devised for the news as we know it? Are existing expressive and communicative rights, and related duties and responsibilities, fit-for-purpose in increasingly digitized and networked democratic societies? Will tomorrow’s news still be worth tuning into?

dr. Tarlach McGonagle (Institute for Information Law) (moderator)
dr. Susanne Nikoltchev (European Audiovisual Observatory)
Aidan White (Ethical Journalism Network)
dr. Luís Santos (University of Minho)
dr. Eugenia Siapera (Dublin City University)
Gillian Phillips (The Guardian)

Filtering away infringement: copyright, injunctions and the role of ISPs

Can technology solve the problem of intermediary liability for online copyright infringement? If so, should technology be allowed to determine law? This panel shall focus on the issue of injunctions imposed on online intermediaries to force them to adopt measures that filter or block copyright infringements by third parties on their websites.

prof. Bernt Hugenholtz (Institute for Information Law) (moderator)
prof. Dirk Visser (University of Leiden)
Remy Chavannes (Brinkhof)
Fred von Lohmann (Google)
Sir Richard Arnold (High Court UK)
prof. Niva Elkin-Koren (University of Haifa)
prof. Reto Hilty (Max Planck Institute)

Mass-digitization and the conundrum of online access

Cultural heritage institutions face difficulties providing online access to digitized materials in their collections. This session examines a number of pressing issues, taking a trans-Atlantic perspective. When does digitization in public-private partnerships pose a threat to access to public domain materials? What ways are there to manage rights clearance of copyrighted materials and deal with territoriality?

prof. Martin Senftleben (VU University Amsterdam) (moderator)
prof. Pamela Samuelson (University of California, Berkeley)
dr. Elisabeth Niggemann (Deutsche Nationalbibliothek)
prof. Martin Kretschmer (Glasgow University)

The algorithmic public: towards a normative framework for automated media

In the online media, decisions about what users get to see (or not to see) are increasingly automated, through the use of smart algorithms and extensive data about users’ preferences and online behaviour. This raises a number of fundamental questions about freedom of expression, editorial integrity and user autonomy. Leading thinkers will debate algorithmic decision-making in online media and explore the contours of a much needed normative framework for automated media.

prof. Natali Helberger (Institute for Information Law) (moderator)
dr. Joris van Hoboken (New York University)
prof. Wolfgang Schulz (Hans-Bredow-Institut)
prof. Niva Elkin-Koren (University of Haifa)
dr. Bernhard Rieder (University of Amsterdam)

Accountability and the public sector data push

Initiatives to make governments more ‘transparent’ abound. Freedom of information laws are reconfigured to push out ever more information to citizens and businesses. Promises of benefits abound too: better accountability and increased participation, as well as efficiency gains and new business opportunities. Can and should the next generation of freedom of information laws serve both political-democratic objectives and economic ones?

prof. Mireille van Eechoud (Institute for Information Law) (moderator)
Chris Taggart (Open Corporates)
Helen Darbishire (Access Info)
prof. Deirdre Curtin (University of Amsterdam)
dr. Ben Worthy (Birkbeck University College London)
Jonathan Gray (Open Knowledge Foundation / University of London)

A new governance model for communications security?

Today, the vulnerable state of electronic communications security dominates headlines across the globe, while money and power increasingly permeate the policy arena. 2013 has seen no less than five sweeping legislative initiatives in the E.U., while the U.S. seems to trust in the market to deliver. Amidst these diverging approaches, how should communications security be regulated?

Axel Arnbak (Institute for Information Law) (moderator)
prof. Deirdre Mulligan (University of California, Berkeley)
prof. Ian Brown (Oxford University)
prof. Michel van Eeten (Delft university of technology)
Amelia Andersdotter (European Parliament)
Ashkan Soltani (independent researcher)

Global information flows and the nation state

Information flows contest the physical spaces in which the nation state has been deemed a sovereign for almost five centuries. This tension dominates nearly all areas of information law, from data protection and IP enforcement to mass surveillance by national intelligence agencies. This session reflects on the broader challenges that territoriality presents for information law today.

prof. Urs Gasser (Harvard) (moderator)
prof. Joel Reidenberg (Fordham Law School)
prof. Graeme Dinwoodie (Oxford University)
Malavika Jayaram (Harvard)
Hielke Hijmans (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)

United in diversity – the future of the public mission

Digital technologies and the information economy create fascinating new opportunities but also pose fundamental challenges to the fulfilment of the public mission of the media, public archives and libraries alike. This panel is a step towards establishing a dialogue between the three institutions: to explore the congruence between their missions, and their responses to critical issues such as technological convergence, the changing habits of users, the growing abundance of content and their relationship to new information intermediaries, such as search engines, social networks or content platforms.

prof. Natali Helberger (Institute for Information Law) (moderator)
prof. Klaus Schönbach (University of Vienna)
prof. Frank Huysmans (University of Amsterdam)
prof. Egbert Dommering (Institute for Information Law)
Maarten Brinkerink (Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision)
Richard Burnley (European Broadcasting Union)

Legalizing file-sharing: an idea whose time has come – or gone?

Alternative compensation systems are designed to legalize and monetize online copyright restricted acts of distributing and consuming content. Empirical evidence shows that end-users strongly support paying flat-rate fees for the ability to legally download and share content. So what prevents us from introducing such schemes? The group of experts convened debates the future of alternative compensation systems in light of current legal, business and technology trends.

prof. Bernt Hugenholtz (Institute for Information Law) (moderator)
prof. Neil Netanel (University of California, Los Angeles)
prof. Alexander Peukert (University of Frankfurt)
dr. Philippe Aigrain (Quadrature du Net)
prof. Séverine Dusollier (University of Namur)

Assembly (Information influx)

Taking legal cases and controversies involving intellectual property, art collective Agency composes a growing list of “Things” that resist the split between “nature” and “culture”, a split that intellectual property relies upon. From the list of over a 1,000 Things, Agency calls forth Thing 002094, the copyright controversy Être et Avoir, to jointly speculate upon. The purpose is less to re-enact the judgment and more to prolong hesitation.

Agency
Severine Dusollier
Wilco Kalff
Sanne Rovers
Margot van de Linde
Arnisa Zeqo

Big brother is back

The debate about the pervasive surveillance of the online environment is roaring. Considering what we know now, what better metaphor is there than to conclude that we live in the world of Big Brother? This session will bring together leading thinkers and doers related to power and control in the communication environment, who will provide critical input on the way we think and speak about information freedom and control. Should we aspire to tame Big Brother or should we think differently about the problem?

Axel Arnbak (Institute for Information Law) (moderator)
dr. Joris van Hoboken (New York University) (moderator)
John McGrath (National Theatre of Wales)
dr. Seda Gürses (New York University)
Hans de Zwart (Bits of Freedom)

Who owns the World Cup? The case for and against property rights in sports events

Sports have important economic, social and cultural dimensions. What is the optimal form of legal protection of sports events considering the public-private nature of sports? The focus of debate will be on football because of its major relevance in Europe in terms of diffusion, commercial exploitation, and social impact; but we can expect many insights to hold true for other sports as well.

prof. Bernt Hugenholtz (Institute for Information Law) (moderator)
prof. Lionel Bently (University of Cambridge)
prof. Dirk Voorhoof (Ghent University)
prof. Peter Jaszi (American University Washington)
prof. Graeme Dinwoodie (Oxford University)
prof. Egbert Dommering (Institute for Information Law)
prof. Alan Bairner (Loughborough University)

Associated events

Invitation only:
Wednesday 2 July: Big Breakfast with Joseph Turow & Tal Zarksy – Ethical, normative, social and cultural implications of profiling & targeting in an era of big data – towards a research agenda, Institute for Information Law (IViR) & Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR), East India House, room E0.02, 09.00-12.00 a.m.

Public event:

Friday 4 July: Lecture James Boyle & Marjan Hammersma about cultural heritage and the public domain
More information and registration at:
Cultural heritage institutions as guardians of public domain works in the digital environment, Rijksmuseum & Kennisland in cooperation with IViR, Rijksmuseum Auditorium, 18.00-20.00 p.m.

About IViR

The Institute for Information Law (IViR) is a centre of excellence in academic research which consistently seeks to further our understanding of how legal norms reflect and shape the creation, dissemination and use of information in our societies. That is the ambition at the heart of the many research initiatives IVIR has undertaken since its foundation in 1989. The urgency of taking an interdisciplinary and international approach has only grown in the past decades. It is crucial if we want to understand and evaluate the rapidly evolving complex and myriad legal norms that govern information relations in markets, in social and in political spaces. With over 30 researchers, teachers and support staff based in our offices in the historic centre of Amsterdam, we have the critical mass to broach key regulatory challenges of today’s information society.

Our focus on information relations deliberately cuts across traditional boundaries in legal scholarship. We bring together insights from constitutional law, human rights, public administration, intellectual property, contract and property law, and competition law. Our functional approach enables fruitful collaboration with experts from an array of academic disciplines, in information and communications technology, economics, media studies, political science and the arts.

Continuing a long Dutch tradition of openness towards the world, our work has a strong international orientation. It shows in the topics we study, the strong global network of affiliations we have in academia and the wonderful dynamic mix of upcoming and experienced researchers from all over Europe and beyond that make up IViR.

With each consecutive research programme we prioritize legal developments that fascinate us, and translate them into a variety of research projects. This includes doctoral research, research for policymakers at national, European and international level, and projects funded through national and European research grant programmes. Our current research programme and an overview of research projects can be found here. Doctoral dissertations, journal articles, books, case comments, studies, reports, lectures, debates, workshops, conferences and summer schools are the staple means of communicating what we do. Browse our publications here.

Media reports and conference outputs will be posted on the IViR website

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/information-influx-conference

Information Activism - Tactics for Empowerment (TTC)

Denisse Albornoz — 2015-04-17T10:36:01Z

This is the first of a two-part analysis of information activism for the Making Change project. This post looks at the benefits and limitations of increasing access to information to enable citizenship and political participation.

CHANGE-MAKER: Maya Ganesh

PROJECT: 10 Tactics for Information Activism

METHOD OF CHANGE: 
Information activism at the intersection of data, design and technology

STRATEGY OF CHANGE:
-Demystify the technology, strategy and tactics behind information activism.
-Train people on how to use them for their projects.
-Empower people and increase political participation at the grassroots

I came into the office today and CIS Director gifted me the Red House edition of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: ‘We are All Born Free”. Skimming through it, I found a series of graphics and artistic interpretations of Articles 1 to 30:


							Article 5 Photo courtesy of Library Mice blog: http://bit.ly/1cAMpYy


							Article 24 Photo courtesy of Illustration Cupboard: http://bit.ly/1kI5EBd

The purpose of this book is to find “exciting ways to socialize young people to very real issues”, rewrite human rights in a “simple,accessible form” and stimulate imagination to “observe and absorb details in a way that words struggle to express”. While specifically targeted for 12+ children, these images create associations and connections that trump the dullness of black and white texts for any audience; offering an alternative way of presenting complex bodies of knowledge crucial for our survival, such as the Declaration of Human Rights.

Change: information interventions to inspire and facilitate change-making among civil society networks.

In the same spirit, Tactical Technology aims to use information design strategies to create similar associations in the field of activism. The Tactical Technology Collective is an organization dedicated to the intersections of data, design and technology in campaigning. Its has two main programs: Evidence & Action that works with data management in digital campaigning; and Privacy & Expression that provides digital security and privacysupport advice to activists. The collective envisions change as a creative and pragmatic intervention that inspires and facilitates change-making among civil society networks. We interviewed Maya Ganesh, who is part of the E&A program, and our conversation shed light on benefits and the challenges of using visual advocacy strategies to create social change.

On this opportunity, I will explore the potential of information activism to create opportunities and spaces of engagement. Following Saussure’s dyadic model of the sign, it will be split in two parts. The first entry will look at the ‘signified’: the ideas, associations and cultural conventions derived from information and how these could solve crises of civic engagement and citizen action. The second entry will look at the ‘signifier’ -the shapes and sequences that compose the knowledges navigating political activism. These will be viewed from the strategic, design and technological point of view. Both parts will be informed by our conversation with Maya and complemented by literature on political engagement in the digital age. On a less academic note, the posts will also refer to the experience of graphic designers, artists and bloggers who are experimenting with information design to express dissent in transnational platforms.

Part 1: Is Information Power?

‘Transforming Information into Action’ is Tactical Technology’s take on the traditional idiom ‘Knowledge is Power’. The collective’s experience shows there are a number of steps to transform raw data into political power and for the purpose of this analysis, I will only look at information disseminated with this particular intention. This will aid to understand the relationship between increasing information availability and having it trigger civic action in contemporary activism. According to Fowler and Biekart, acts of public disobedience and activism after 2010 share the objective of reclaiming active citizenship through ‘novel ways’ that counter traditional political participation mechanisms (2013). Hence, we want to know if information activism is one of these ‘novel’ strategies enabling citizenship in the digital era.

More power to whom?

Overcoming information inequity
If information activism is “the strategic and deliberate use of information within a campaign”, the first step is to question the type of information used in these campaigns. While many scholars claim that access to political opinion increases participation in the democratic process by fostering debate and inclusive deliberation on policy issues (Dahl, 1989, Bennett, 2003, 2008; Montgomery et al. 2004,) Brundidge and Rice’s exploration of Internet politics shows that strategies that merely increase access to information are flawed by design. They claim that increasing information mainly benefits the middle class, who counts with previous exposure to political knowledge and hence processes it with greater ease. This group ultimately dominates the public discourse widening -what they call- the ‘knowledge gap’ between socioeconomic classes (Brunridge and Rice, 2009, Bimber et al. 2005). This is the ‘information’ version of the gentrification of politics explored by Shah in the Whose Change is it Anyway thought piece, and a definite deterrent of collective action at the grassroots level.

A basic example to show how this manifests in the information environment is this info-graphic on Social Activism created by Column Five and Take Part and presenting the findings on their 2010 study on Social responsibility:

Example 1:
Social Activism Study (2010): How can brands engage Young Adults in Social Responsibility?

Access complete info-graphic here: http://www.2012socialactivism.com/images/infographic.png

The information is clear, the presentation is clean. This graphic could mobilize the middle class citizen who works in a company and has time and money to spare in donations and fund-raising activities. The graphic is informational yet it does not offer alternative participation avenues for groups outside of the politically savvy, young, educated and affluent circle (Brundidge and Rice, 2009) Instead, it reiterates socioeconomic inequalities from the offline community into the information landscape. With this in mind we asked Maya whether gentrification was a barrier for info-activism interventions at the grassroots:

MG: The things we are documenting are by citizens with socioeconomic barriers and obstacles. It is not our mandate to reach out to the ‘common citizen’ but it is very much our mandate to look at what is happening and what is happening to people with socioeconomic barriers who are lower on the ladder. If you look at Syrian info-activism, these are people facing the worst situations you can imagine, and they are doing it [...] and we document what they are doing, trying to understand it, pull out trends and then showing people.

Empowering information communities

Offline networks support information dissemination
In this respect, offline community networks are key to bridging the knowledge gap cited above. The relationship between organizations like Dawlaty, SMEX and Alt City and groups in the Arab region function as a core of ideas and resources from which localized methods and solutions emerge (read more here). This flow of information, coupled with the offline support, makes information from less visible demographics visible, deepens democracy and creates opportunities for these actors to participate and set the public agenda (2009). We asked Maya in what other ways information activism facilitates this process:

MG: We have moved on a lot from information activism. 10 Tactics is quite old for us now but it is still interesting to see how this stuff works. This material was produced in 2008-9 and is very popular with our audience. A lot of our work now is [...] take this material to newer communities of activists or people who have been around for a long time but are getting involved with the digital for the first time. That’s one part of our work and it’s sort of self-sustainable that way.

Therefore the value of information activism, rather than increasing the quantity of available data, is how it enables diversity and visibility of political opinion in the public sphere. One of the better known examples of information design interventions that gloat inclusiveness is:

Example 2
Occupy Design: the collective that builds “visual design for the 99%”:

2011

2011
Images courtesy of Experimenta Magazine: http://bit.ly/1hGpvOP

By presenting income and unemployment statistics about the American middle and lower class in the public space, activists from Occupy Design made the claims of the Occupy Wall Street Movement visual and visible. This enabled this group, the 99%, to reclaim the space not only through physical mobilization but also through the expression of subjectivities and open -graphic- power contestation. According to Pleyers, the pervasiveness of the movement both at the offline, online -and in this case, visual- levels created opportunities of horizontal participation, asserting spaces of democratic experience (2012).

From Information to Action

Is information enough?
Nevertheless, exposure to powerful images does not necessarily guarantee impact and influence, much less civic engagement. We asked Maya what she thought motivated civic action:

MG: External things push you over the edge. A flash-point issue could tip you over to do something different, even if you are that someone that has never been involved in anything. The gang rape in Delhi for example: it has sparked a lot of people who have never been involved and are now pushed to [act]. There are different precipitating factors and that’s why the stories of people: what people do, how they do it and why they do it, matters.

Women protesting in Bangalore after the Delhi gang rape. Photo courtesy of Dawn: http://bit.ly/1cAFLRP

Whether it is ‘external things’, a ‘flash-point issue’ or ‘precipitating factors’; the individual must make a connection between new events and how they affect the current status quo. A set of critical skills must be in place, as well as a desire to participate in civic life. (Brundidge and Rice 2009, as well as Montgomery et al. 2004) Richard Wurman, the american graphic designer, refers to this in his book ‘Information Anxiety’. He posits that there is an ‘ever-widening gap’; a ‘black hole’ between data and knowledge that limits our ability to make sense of information; even if it is vital for our context and survival. “The opportunity is that there is so much information; the catastrophe is that 99 percent of it isn’t meaningful or understandable” (Wurman et. al 2001) How do we reconcile this challenge with Tactical Technology’s mandate? What is the turning point between exposure to information and engagement in civic action?

In this post two issues behind information dissemination have been explored:

The risk of creating homogeneous political discussions by catering only to middle class’ interests; overlooking diversity of political expression in the public discourse.
The need for offline communities to facilitate information dissemination on the ground and mainstream the technical and financial support offered by collectives such as Tactical Technology.

The next question is how info-activism creates the connections between data and information to trigger civic engagement, and on this note, we proceed to analyse the role of the ‘signifier’ in information dissemination on the next post. Part two post will look at the strategy, design and technology behind the symbols and sequences of information, and how these determine the citizen’s perception of its ability to create change.

Access Part 2: Information Design, following this link:

Sources:

Biekart, Kees, and Alan Fowler. "Transforming Activisms 2010+: Exploring Ways and Waves." Development and Change 44, no. 3 (2013): 527-546.
Brundidge, J.S. & Rice, R.E. (2009). Political engagement online: Do the information rich get richer and the like-minded more similar? In Chadwick, A. and Howard, N.H. (eds.), Routledge Handbook of Internet Politics (pp. 144-156). New York: Routledge
Bennett, Winston. "Communicating global activism." Information, Communication & Society 6, no. 2 (2003): 143-168.
Bennett, W. Lance. "Changing citizenship in the digital age." Civic life online: Learning how digital media can engage youth 1 (2008): 1-24.
Dahl, Robert A. Democracy and its Critics. Yale University Press, 1989.
Kathryn Montgomery et al., Youth as E-Citizens: Engaging the Digital Generation. Center for Social Media, 2004. Retrieved February 15, 20
Pleyers, Geoffrey. "Beyond Occupy: Progressive Activists in Europe." Open Democracy: free thinking for the world 2012 (2012): 5pages-8.
Shah, Nishant “Whose Change is it Anyways? Hivos Knowledge Program. April 30, 2013.
Wurman, Richard Saul, Loring Leifer, David Sume, and Karen Whitehouse. Information anxiety 2. Vol. 6000. Indianapolis, IN: Que, 2001.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/tactical-technology-information-is-power

Information about Schemes for Disabled Persons in Haryana

praskrishna — 2013-03-14T05:47:25Z

Find below copies of the notifications received from the Government of Haryana regarding schemes and policies for persons with disabilities.

HARYANA GOVERNMENT

SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT HARYANA

No. GA.I SW. 71, Dated, Chandigarh

The Governor of Haryana is pleased to make the following rules for the administration of the two blind institutions; namely (i) Government Institute for the Blind, Panipat and (ii) Training Centre for the Adult Blind Sonipat . These rules shall come into operation with immediate effect.
The aim of these rules is to regulate the administration of the blind institutions referred above in order to provide maintenance, education and training to such of the blind children and adults who do not have adequate mans for the maintenance, Education or training so as to enable them to become self sufficient, The sanctioned capacity of each Home shall be 100 or such other number as may be fixed by Government from time to time.
(i) The following categories of persons shall be eligible for admission to these institutions:-
(a)   Blind children of the age group of 6-18 in the Government Institute for the Blind, Panipat, and
(b)   Adult blinds of the age group of 16-40 years in the Training Centre for the Adult Blind, at Sonepat.
Provided that the monthly income of parents of such boys/adults do not exceed RS. 500/- p.m where the income of a parents/guardian exceeds the prescribed limit, admission shall be allowed if the parents/guardians fare willing to pay maintenance charges of the boys at the rate of RS. 30/- p.m.
(ii)   Admission to these institutions shall be open to the persons belonging to the State of Haryana or those who have domiciled and have resided in the State for the past six months or over.
Application for admission to these Homes shall be submitted in form Annexure A’ by the father or guardian of the intending applicant which shall be accompanied with the following documents, to the Deputy Commissioners or S.D.O (Civil) or Tehsildars concerned. The requisite application from shall be obtainable fee of charge from any of the aforementioned authorities or the office of the Director, Social Welfare Haryana, Chandigarh.
(i)   A certificate from a Government Doctor stating that the applicant is blind within the meaning of the following definitions;
(ii)   Total absence of sight;
(iii)   Visual equity not exceeding 3/60 or 10/200 (Snellen) in the better eye with correcting lenses.
It shall be the responsibility of the Authorities mentioned in par 4 above to carry out detailed enquiries into the financial position of each applicant and into other particulars given in the application form. These authorities shall forward the application with their detailed recommendations to the Director, Social Welfare. The application received in the Social Welfare Directorate shall be registered.
The Director Social Welfare shall be the authority competent to Sanction or reject the request for admission on the basis of the recommendations made by the local officers mentioned in para 4 above or such other authority as the sanctioning authority may consider appropriate. Decision of the Director, Social Welfare shall be final.
The persons admitted into the Government institutions for Blind, Panipat shall be eligible for maintenance up to the age of 16 years or till they complete their education upto middle standard, which ever is earlier, while those admitted into the Training Centre for the Adult Blind, Sonepat shall eligible for maintenance/training for a period of 2 years form the date of their admission. Extension in the period of maintenance in the Tanning centre for the Adult Blind beyond the limit of 52 years shall be allowed six months by the Director, Social Welfare.
All those who are allowed admission to these Homes shall be provided with free food, care, education or training. Medical aid and other facilities as are essentially required. The maintenance chares which are presently Rs. 22.50 per menses per head can be reduced or increased according to prevailing conditions.
The amount of maintenance charges from the inmates whose parents/Guardians have a monthly income exceeding Rs. 500/- p.m. shall be recoverable as in Rule 3 above, each month is advance and the amount thus realized shall be credited into Government Treasury under the appropriate receipt head of account.
The inmates of the Government Institute for the Blind, Panipat, who after passing their Middle Standard Examination want to continue their studies in other local schools functioning in the State, will be granted a monthly scholarship of Rs. 70/ p.m. per head, to cover their educational, boarding and lodging expenses etc till they complete their education upto metric or Higher Secondary Part II, provided a student is below the age of 24 years.
The Director, Social Welfare, Haryana will be the authority competent to sanction or reject the request for scholarship . Decisions of the Director, Social Welfare, Haryana shall be final.
A scholarship shall normally be cancelled if the scholar fails to pass in an annual examination of if his/her progress continues to be unsatisfactory for a periods of one year in spite warning.
In the case of renewal of scholarship of the succeeding year, scholarship will be paid from the months following that for which the scholarship was paid during the previous academic year.
The scholarship will be available form the date of admission up to the months of annual final examination for the first academic year.
These rules have been framed in consultation with the Finance Department vide the U.O advice No. ____________________________________ dated__________________________.

Sd/-
Secretary to Government, Haryana. Social Welfare Department.

DIRECTORATE OF SOCIAL WELFARE,
HARYANA, NOTIFICATION

No. 1971 /DDSW-GA-II/71 The Governor of Haryana is pleased make the following rules namely “Scholarships to the physically handicapped” which will come into force wit effect from Ist April, 1968. These rules are incorporating the amendments made from time to time and shall be applicable throughout the State of Haryana.

DEFINITIONS

The blind are those who suffer from the following conditions:-

The Blind

a) Total absence of sight.

b) Visual acuity not exceeding 3/60 to 10/200 (Sheller ) in the better eye with correcting.

The Deaf

The deaf are those in whom the sense of hearing is on functional for the ordinary purpose in life.

The Orthopaedically Handicapped

The orthopaedically handicapped are those who have a physical defect or deformity which cause an interference with the normal functioning of the bones, muscles and joints.

2. AIMS AND OBJECTS

The main purpose of these scholarships is to assist physically handicapped persons to secure such edu.cation, technical or professional training as would enable them to earn a living and become useful member or Society.

3. SUBJECT OF SCHOLARSHIPS

a) The Blind students upto the age of 20 years shall be eligible for scholarships for general education upto Metric/Higher Secondary.
b) The deaf. The Dear students upto the age of 20 years shall be eligible for scholarships for general education upto Metric/Higher Secondary.
c) The Orthopaedically Handicapped. The Orthopaedically Handicapped students upto the age of 20 years shall be eligible for scholarships upto Matric/ Higher Secondary stage. For further education the stipends are granted by the Government of India, Department of Social Welfare. The rate of Scholarships will be as under:-

4. Rate of Scholarships pear month.

Category of

1.8.72
Handicapped

Existing rates
Upto From High/ Pri- 5^th to Higher marry Middle Secondary
(From standard Ist to 4^th Class)

Revised rates w.e.f
Upto from High/ Primary 5^th Higher (From Middle Secondary Ist to Stand Classes. 4^th Class.)

i) Deaf & Dumb	Rs.35/-	Rs. 40/-	Rs. 45	40/-	45/-	50/-
ii) Orthopaedically handicapped	Rs.35/-	Rs. 40/-	Rs. 50/-	40/-	45/-	50/-
iii) Blind	Rs. 35/-	Rs. 50/-	Rs.70/-	45/-	55/-	75/-

Note:- There is no school for deaf & Dumb in Haryana State, the scholarships shall be paid to such students who shall received education in the schools/ institutions outside the Haryana State.

5. CONDITIONS.

A)      The candidate applying for scholarships under this scheme shall be resident of Haryana State and shall be blind, dear or orthopaedically handicapped as defined in rule I.
B)   Scholars selected for a scholarship under this scheme shall not be on receipt of assistance from any other Voluntary or State / Central source either in cash or by way of free board or lodging. Exemptions from fees shall not, however, be taking into account. Before the amount of scholarships is actually released, the father/guardians will have to be furnished a certificate in the prescribed form (Appendix A) duly attested by Gazetted Officer in the State or Central Government or by a first Class Magistrate.
C)   Scholarships under this scheme shall be tenable to any educational institutions recognized or approved by the State Governments or affiliated to a University. No scholarship under this scheme shall be awarded for study outside the State.
D) The Government will have the power to relax the conditions of grant of scholarships where it considers that a particular rule operates harshly upon a student in any way.

6. APPLICATIONS.

A) Applications shall be invited by the Director, Social Welfare Haryana, through announcements in the press. All applications should be made in the prescribed form (Appendix) B( ) and should reach the Director, Social Welfare, Haryana, by the date prescribed.
B) Preference shall be given to candidate who are already studying in recognised education institutions. The applications should be forwarded through the Heads of the Institutions in which the candidate is studying.

7. DOCUMENTS TO ACCOMPANY EACH APPLICATION
Every application shall be accompanied by the following documents.

a) MEDICAL CERTIFICATE.
A certificate that he applicant is blind, deaf or orthopaedically handicapped within the manning of the definition given in the rules from a registered medical practioner. If an applicant is selected, he shall be required to produce a Medical Certificate ( Appendix C-I, C-II, C-III) from a Government or private eye specialist, E.N.T. Specialist or orthopaedic surgeon as the case may be.

b) INCOME CERTIFICATE
A certificate in from Appendix upto from a Revenue officer not below the rank of Naib Tehsildar or any other officer of equivalent status, or an affidavit attested by first Class Magistrate or a certificate from a Gazetted Officer indicating the monthly income of both the parents or guardians of the scholar. The rate of scholarship from the various income groups is under:-

Income of both parents /guardians	Rate of scholarship
Upto Rs. 500/- P.M.	Full Rate
Between Rs. 501/- to 750/- P.M.	Two third rate (2/3)
Between Rs. 751/- to Rs. 1,000/-	Half Rate (1/2)

No. scholarship shall be paid to a candidate in case the monthly combined monthly income of this/ her parents/ guardians exceeds Rs. 1,000/

c ) EVIDENCE OF AGE

Any of the following shall be accepted as an evidence of age.

CERTIFICATE FROM

I) The Head of the educational institution last attended.

II) a gazetted officer.

III) a member of the State legislature, or

IV) an affidavit attested by a First Calls Magistrate.

Note:- At the time of applying for the grant of scholarship for the first time the Medical Certificate will be required and thereafter no Medical Certificate will be required for the subsequent years.

8. AWARDS
A) All application shall be considered by the Social Welfare Directorate. The orders of the Director, Social Welfare, regarding the grant of scholarships or rejection or suspension, through final, shall be subject to appeal to the Government.
B) Every selected scholar shall be informed of the duration for which he has been awarded a scholarship. The scholarships shall normally be available for the completion of Matric/ Higher Secondary Education subject to the availability of funds and to the scholars satisfactory conduct and progress.

9. PAYMENT
The Scholarship will be available from the month of admission upto the month of annual /final examination for the first academic year.

PROVIDED THAT:-

I) If a scholar joins an institution on or before the 20^th day of a month full scholarship money will be paid to him/ her for that month. But if he/ she joins the institution after the 20^th day of the month, no scholarship money will be paid to him/ her for that month.
II) In the case of renewal of scholarship for the succeeding year scholarship will be paid from the month following that for which the scholarships was paid during the Previous academic year.
III) The Head of the Institution shall obtain from the scholarship stamped receipt (Appendix Age) in duplicate in taken of having received the amount and shall forward a copy thereof to the Director, Social Welfare, Haryana, Chandigarh by the 10^th of each month for record.
IV) In case of misutilisation of any grant, Government shall reserve the right or recovering the same.

10. LEAVE DUE TO ILINESS.
a) For continue absence for a periods not exceeding three months. the scholarships shall be paid in full provided the request for leave is supported by a certificate from a registered medical practitioner.

11. PROGRESS REPORT
a) The Head of the Institution shall forward to the Director, Social Welfare, Haryana, Chandigarh, separately in respect of every scholar in his/her charge a quarterly progress report in the form given in Appendix age.
b) If the progress of a scholar is not satisfactory it shallow, be responsibility of the Head of the Institution where the scholar is studying to issue monthly warnings to him/ her to the effect that unless the scholar improve is/ her scholarship shall be cancelled.

12. RENEWAL AND CANCELLATIONS
a) A scholarship shall normally be cancelled if the scholar fails to pass in an annual examination of if his/ her progress continues to be unsatisfactory for a period of one year inspire warnings.
b) It shall be discretion of the Director, Social Welfare, Haryana, to renew the scholarship for such period as he considers fit if it is found that the failure of a scholar or his/ her unsatisfactory progress was due to circumstances beyond, his/ her control. Such renewals shall normally be made on the advice or the Head or the Institutions where the scholar is studying.

13. GENERAL
The State Government reserve the right to amount these rules without notice.

Sd/-
Secretary to Government, Haryana
Social Welfare Deptt.

The Financial Commissioner, & Secretary to Govt. Haryana, Social welfare Department.

The Director,
Social Defence & Security Department,
Haryana, Chandigarh.

No. 992 SW-(3)/93
Chandigarh, dated the 13/5/93

Subject:- Grant of scholarship under state sector- Amendments therein.

In continuation of Haryana Govt. Social Welfare Deptt. Sanction order No. 3924- SW-(I)-85 dated 25.10.85 on the subject.

Sanction of Governor of Haryana is hereby accorded to amend the rules and income criteria under the scheme scholarship to physically handicapped students under state sector who are receiving education in various Govt. / recognised educational institutions in the state under subject to the condition that the expenditure involved would be met from the savings of the department :-

Rule-I:- Definitions The blind are those who suffer from the flowing.

The Blind conditions:

a) Total absence of sight.

b) Visual acuity not exceeding 3/60 to 10/200 (Snallen in the better eye with correcting lenses.

The Deaf: The deaf are those whom the sense of hearing is non functional for the ordinary purpose in life.

Orthopaedically The orthopaedically handicapped are those who handicapped. have physical defect or deformity which cause an interference with the normal functioning of bones, musicales and joints.

(Scholars having disability less than 40% will not be awarded scholarship.

Rule-6(i) Rule-6 may be under as rule 6(i)

Rule (ii) Corse of studying:

a) The education from Ist class to Middle standard is divided into tow study courses i.e. from Ist Primary class to Vth class VIth to class VIIIth (Primary and Middle courses respectively)

b) The students will apply only once in a particular course of study for scholarship n particular class and will continue to receive scholarship on the basis of the annual Progress Report till the completion of the particular course of study. He/she will have to the particular course of study. He/ she will have to apply afresh only on the change of course of study i.e. in 6^th class (Middle course of study).

Rule-7: Documents to accompany each application.
Evert application shall be accompanied by the following documents at the start of the particular course of study i.e. from Ist class and VIth class.

b) A certificate in form (Appendix-D) from a Revenue officer not below the rank of Naib Tehsildar or any other officer of equivalent status, or an affidavit attested by a Ist class Magistrate or a certificate from a Gazetted officer indicating the monthly income of both the parents or the Guardians of the scholar. The rate or the Guardians of the scholar. The rate of scholarship for the various income groups is as under:-

Sr. No.	Income of both the parents	Rate of scholarship per month.
1	Income upto Rs. 4000/- P.M.	Full rate
2	Income above Rs. 4000/- P.M.	No scholarship will be awarded.

No scholarship will be awarded to a candidate in case of monthly combined income of his/ her parents/ guardians exceeds Rs. 4000/- per month.

Rule 11. Progress Report

a) The Head of the Institution shall forward to the Director, Social Defence & Security, Haryana, Chandigarh Separately in the succeeding year of the course of study i.e. 2^nd,3^rd, 4^th and 5^th year of the primary course of study ad in VII and VIII the year of the Middle course of study in respect of every scholar in his/ her Annual Progress Report of every scholar in his/ her Annual Progress Report in the form given in appendix- F (Revised Performa attached.

3. The expenditure involve would be debatable out of the following head of accounts:

i) “2235- Social Security & Welfare -02- Social Welfare- Part-I-State Pla Scheme-101- Welfare of Handicapped Social Defence & Security Directorate-(i) – Scholarship to physically handicapped students – scholarships.”

ii) “2235-Social Security & welfae-02- Social Welfare- 101- Welfare of handicapped – Social Defence & Security Directorate-(v) – Scholarships to physically handicapped students scholarship-Non-Plan.”

This issues with the concurrence of Finance Department conveyed vide their U.O. No. 1/122/85-FG/2841 dated 18.12.92.

Sd/-

Joint Secretary, for Financial Commissioner & Secy. to Govt.Haryana, Social Welfare Department.

Endst. No. 992/SW/-(I)- 97, Chandigarh the 13/5/93

A copy as above is forwarded for information and necessary action to the:-

Accountant General ( A&E) , Haryana, Chandigarh.
Accountant General (Audit), Haryana, Chandigarh.
All District Social Welfare Officers in the State.

Sd/-

Joint Secretary, for Financial Commissioner & Secy. to Govt. Haryana, Social Welfare Department.

From

The commissioner & Secy. to Govt. Haryana.
Social Welfare Department.

The Director,
Social Defence & Security Department,
Haryana, Chandigarh.

Memo No. 1508 SW/Dated, Chandigarh the 1-8-94

Subject:- Grant of Scholarship under State Sector- Amendments there of.

In continuation of Haryana Govt. Social Welfare Deptt. sanction order NO. 992-SW(i)/93, dated 13.5.93 on the subject.

Sanction of the Governor of Haryana is hereby accorded to amend the Rules under the Scheme “ Scholarships to Physically Handicapped Students under State Sector who are receiving education in various Govt. / recognized Educational Institutions in the State, as under, subject to the condition that he expenditure involved would be met from the savings of the Department:-

Rules -9 payment

The scholarship will be available to each students from the month of April to the month of March i.e. for full academic years, subject to the condition that fee is paid for full academic year.

provided that

(i) & (ii) deleted.

(iii) The head of the Institution shall obtain from the scholar stamped receipt ( Appendix ‘E’) in duplicate in taken of having received the amount and shall forward a copy there of to the District Social Welfare officer of the respective district by the 10^th of the next month, for record.

(iv) No Change.

Sd/-

Joint Secretary, for Commissioner & Secy. to Govt. Haryana
Social Welfare Department.

Endst. NO. Dated, Chandigarh the

A copy is forwarded to the following for information and necessary action:-

1. Accountant General ( A&E) Audit) Haryana, Chandigarh.

2. All District Social Welfare officer in the Haryana.

Sd/-

Joint Secretary,

for Commissioner & Secy. to Govt. Haryana

Social Welfare Department.

TO BE SUBSTITUTED BEARING SAME NO. & DATE.

From

The Commissioner & Secy. to Govt. Haryana.
Social Welfare Department.

The Director,
Social Defence & Security Department,
Haryana, Chandigarh.

Memo NO. 758-SW(1) 95
Dated, Chandigarh, 31-3-95

Subject:- Grant of Scholarship to the Physically Handicapped students from Ist class to and the class to higher studies.

In continuation of Haryana Government Social Welfare Department sanction order No. 8550-53-GA-ii (SW-72 dated 2.8.72 and Memo No. 3924-SW(1)-85, dated 25.10.85, No. 992- SW(1)93, dated 13.5.93 and NO. 1258-SW(1)94, dated 13.694, sanction of the Governor of Haryana is herby accorded to revise the rates of scholarship to the physically Handicapped students receiving education in the various Govt. / Recognised Schools/ Colleges in the State with effect from 1.10.94 as desired by P.A.C. as under, subject to the condition that the expenditure involved on this account would be met from the savings of the department:-

Rates of Scholarship from Ist Class to VIII Class.

Sr. No.	Nature of the Disability		Upto Primary Class from Ist to IV Class & V Class	Upto Middle from VI Class to 8^th Class.
1	Deaf & Dumb	Rs. 100/-	120/-	120/-
2	Orthopeadically	Rs. 100/-	120/-	120/-
3	Blind	Rs. 100/-	150/-	150/-
4	Mentally Retarded Children	Rs. 100/-	100/-	100/-

Rates of Scholarship from IX Class to Higher studies

Type of Courses	Rates of Scholarship per month for day scholars	Rates for month hostellers	Readers allowance for Visually6 Handicapped only pr month
Class IX, X Pre- University Course and IA/ SC	Rs. 125/-	Rs. 150/-	Rs. 50/-
BA/B.Sc. / B.Com. etc.	Rs. 200/-	Rs. 225/-	75/-
B.E/ B.Tech./ M.B.B.S./L.L.B./ B.Ed. Diploma in professional and Engineering Studies etc. in plan Training	Rs. 250/-	Rs. 300/-	Rs. 100/-
M.A./ M.Sc. / M. Com. L.L.M. / M Ed. etc.	Rs. 300/-	Rs. 400/-	Rs. 100/-

The expenditure involved would be debatable out of the saving under the head: “2235-Social Security & Welfare-02-Social Welfare (SDS-101-Welfare of Handicapped )- (iii) Scholarship to Physically Handicapped students –Non- Plan and

“2235-Social Security & Welfare- 02-Social Welfare (SDS)-101-Welfare of Handicapped Part-I-State Plan Scheme (i) Scholarship to physically Handicapped students Plan”

This issues with the concurrence of Finance Department conveyed of their U.O. No. 3/2/92/3FG-II/741 dated 31.3.95.

Sd/-

Joint Secretary for Commissioner & Secy. to Govt. Haryana,
Social Welfare Department.

From

The Commissioner & Secy. to Govt. Haryana.
Social Welfare Department.

The Director,
Social Defence & Security Department,
Haryana, Chandigarh.

Memo NO. 219-SW(1) 96
Dated, Chandigarh, 31-2-96

Subject:- Enhancement of Income Criteria of the parent / guardians from Rs. 2000/- to 6000/- per month for the grant of scholarships to Physically Handicapped students studying in the higher classes/ diploma course.

In continuation of Haryana Govt., Social Welfare Deptt. order No. 750-SW(1)-95, dated 31-3-95 the Governor of Haryana is pleased to increased income Criteria of the parents/guardians from RS. 2000/- to 6000/- per month for the grant of scholarships to physically handicapped students studying in the higher classes, diploma courses with effect from 1.4.95, (9^th class onward.)

2. This issues with the concurrence of Finance Deptt. conveyed vide their U.O. No 3/2/92-3FG-II/2610, dated 4.1.96.

Sd/- Joint Secretary

for Commissioner & Secy. to Govt. Haryana,
Social Welfare Department.

Endst. No. 219-SW(1) -96 Dated, 13.2.96

A copy is forwarded to the following for information for a necessary action:-

Accountant General (ASE/ AUDIT), Haryana, Chandigarh.
All Deputy Commissioner in the Haryana state.
All District Social Welfare Officers in the Haryana Sate.
All Deputy Director at Head Quarter.
All Superintendent at Head Quarter.
Senior Accounts Officer, Head Quarter.

Sd/- Joint Secretary
for Commissioner & Secy. to Govt. Haryana, Social Welfare Department.

From

The Commissioner & Secy. to Govt. Haryana.
Social Welfare Department.

The Director,
Social Defence & Security Department,
Haryana, Chandigarh.

Memo NO. 3422-SW(1) 2002
Dated, Chandigarh, 25.11.2002

Subject:- Enhancement in the rates of Scholarships for Blind students Hostlers & Readers allowance to Blind students studying in the higher classes, diploma course w.e.f. 1.11.2002

In continuation of Haryana Govt. Social Welfare Department order No. 758-SW(1) 95 dated 31.3.95 and 219 SW(1) 96 dated 13.2.96. The Governor of Haran is pleased to increase the rates of scholarships (Hostlers & Reader’s allowances) to only blind students studying in the higher classes, diploma course w.e.f 1. 11..2002 (9^th class onwards) as under:-

Rates of scholarship from 9^th class to higher studies.

Rates of Scholarship

1	2	3	4
Type of Course	Rate per month for day scholars Not revised	Rate per month for hostellers Revised w.e.f. 1.11.02 (only for Blinds)	Readers allowance for Visually (blinds) Handicapped only per month

1. Class IX, X, Pre-University Course and I.A./I.Sc.	125/-	300/-	150/-
2. B.A/ B.Sc / B.Com. etc.	200/-	400/-	200/-
3. B.Ed/ B.Tech. / MBBS/ L.L.B/ B.Ed. Diploma in Professional and Engineering studies etc./ In Plan training	250/-	500/-	250/-
4. M.A/ M. Sc/ M.Com/ LLM/ M.Ed etc.	300/-	500/-	250/-

The expenditure would be debatable out of saving under the head “ 2235- Social Security & Welfare -02 Social Welfare- 101-Welfare of Handicapped- (iv) Scholarship to Physically Handicapped students Non Plan (SJE)” and “ 2235—Social Welfare -101- Welfare of Handicapped Part I State.

Plan Scheme – (iii Scholarship to Physically Handicapped students Plan (SJE).

The issues with concurrence of Finance Department conveyed vide of their U.O. No. 3292 3 FG II(2397) dated 29.10.02

Sd/-
Joint Secretary for Commissioner & Secy. to Govt. Haryana,
Social Welfare Department.

Endst. No. 3422- SW(1) 2002 dated 25.11.2002

Accountant forward to the following for information & necessary action:-
1.    Accountant General ( A&E Audit, Haryana, Chandigarh.
2.    All Deputy Commissioners in the Haryana State.
3.    All Distt. Social Welfare Officers in the Haryana State.
4.    All Deputy Director at Headquarter.
5.    Senior Accounts Officer Head Quarter.

Sd/-
Joint Secretary for Commissioner & Secy. to Govt. Haryana, Social Welfare Department.
A copy is forwarded to the Finance Commissioner & Secretary to Govt. Haryana Finance Department with reference to his U.O.No 3292 3 FG II(2397) dated 29.10.02 F.G.
Sd/-
Joint Secretary for Commissioner & Secy. to Govt. Haryana, Social Welfare Department.

To
Financial Commissioner Secretary Govt.
Haryana Finance Department
No. 3422   SW(1) 2002 dated 25.11.2002

From

The Financial Commissioner & Principal Secretary,
to Govt. Haryana, Social Justice & Empowerment Department.

To
The Director, Social Justice & Empowerment Department, Haryana.
Memo No. 483-SW(I)-10
Chandigarh, dated 20-10-2010.

Subject: Enhancement in the Rates of Scholarship and income criteria of the parents/guardians for the Handicapped Students.
In continuation of Haryana Govt. Social Justice & Empowerment Department letter No. 3422-SW(I)2001 dated 25-11-2002 and instructions issued thereof from time to time, the Governor of Haryana is pleased to increase the rates of scholarship to the physically Handicapped Students of Haryana State studying in various classes of various Govt./Recognized Schools, Colleges in the State w.e.f. 1-4-2010, as per details given below:-

Sr. No.	Type of class	Rates of Scholarship for day scholars per month	Rate of scholarship for hostellers per month	Reader allowance for visually handicapped only per month.
1	Class I-IV	300/-	-	-
2	Class-V-VIII	400/-	-	-
3	Class- IX-XII	500/-	600/-	300/-
4	B.A/B.Sc/B.Com	600/-	800/-	400/-
5	B.E/B.Tech./MBBS/LLB/B.Ed and diploma in professional & engineering studies etc.	800/-	1000/-	500/-
6	MA/MSC/M.Com/LLM/M.Ed/M.Tech, etc	1000/-	1000/-	500/-

2. The revised Rates of the scholarship will be subject to the condition that income criteria of the parents/guardians of handicapped students is hereby fixed Rs. 10,000/- p.m.

3. The expenditure involved would be debitable to the head"2235 Social Security and welfare-02-Social welfare (Social Justice & Empowerment Department Haryana) 101-Welfare of Handicapped-97(iv) Scholarship to Physically Handicapped Students-Non Plan 2010-11.

4. This issue with the concurrence of Finance Department conveyed vide their U.O. NO. 3/2/92-3FG-II/1950 dated 24-9-2010.

Sd/- Deputy Secretary,
Financial Commissioner & Principal Secretary, to Govt. Haryana,
Social Justice & Empowerment Department

Endst. NO. 483-SW(I) 2010 Chandigarh, dated the 20-10-2010

A copy of above is forwarded to the following for information and necessary action;-
1.    Accountant General (A&E)/Audit, Haryana, Chandigarh.
2.    Joint Director, at Headquarter.
3.    Chief Account Officer, Budget, at Headquarter.
4.    All District Social Welfare Officer in the State.

Sd/-
Deputy Secretary,
Financial Commissioner & Principal Secretary to Govt. Haryana,
Social Justice & Empowerment Department

A copy forwarded to the Financial Commissioner & Principal Secretary to Govt. Haryana, Finance Department with reference to his U.O. No. 3/2/92-3FG-II/1950 dated 24-9-2010.

Sd/-
Deputy Secretary,
Financial Commissioner & Principal Secretary, to Govt. Haryana,
Social Justice & Empowerment Department

To
The Financial Commissioner & Principal Secretariat to Govt. Haryana, Finance Department.
No. 483 -SW(1) 2010 Chandigarh, dated the 20-10-2010

From
The Financial Commissioner & Principal Secretary,
to Govt. Haryana, Social Justice & Empowerment Department.

To
The Director, Social Justice & Empowerment Department,
Haryana.

Memo No. 848-SW(4)-2011
Chandigarh, dated 28-11-2011.

Subject: Enhancement in the Rates of Scholarship and income criteria of the parents/guardians for the Handicapped Students.
In continuation of Haryana Govt. Social Justice & Empowerment Department letter No. 483-SW(I)2010 dated 20-10-2010 and instructions issued thereof from time to time, the Governor of Haryana is pleased to increase the rates of scholarship to the physically Handicapped Students of Haryana State studying in various classes of various Govt./Recognized Schools, Colleges in the State w.e.f. 2012-2013 as per details given below:-

Sr. No	Type of class	Rates of Scholarship for day scholars per month	Rate of scholarship for hostellers per month	Reader allowance for visually handicapped only per month
1	Class I-IV	400/-	-	-
2	Class-V-VIII	500/-	-	-
3	Class- IX-XII	600/-	600/-	300/-
4	B.A/B.Sc/B.Com	600/-	800/-	400/-
5	B.E/B.Tech./MBBS/LLB/B.Ed and diploma in professional & engineering studies etc	800/-	1000/-	500/-
6	MA/MSC/M.Com/LLM/M.Ed/M.Tech etc	1000/-	1000/-	500/-

2. The revised rates of the scholarship will be subject to the condition that income criteria of the parents/guardians of handicapped students is hereby fixed Rs. 10,000/- p.m.
3. The expenditure involved would be debitable to the head"2235 Social Security and welfare-02-Social welfare (Social Justice & Empowerment Department Haryana) 101-Welfare of Handicapped-97(iv) Scholarship to Physically Handicapped Students-Non Plan 2012-13.
4. The issued with the concurrence of Finance Department conveyed vide their U.O. NO. 3/2/92-3FG-II/1865 dated 18-10-2011.

Sd/-
Deputy Secretary,
Financial Commissioner & Principal Secretary, to Govt. of Haryana,
Social Justice & Empowerment Department

HARYANA GOVERNMENT
SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT

No. 1344- SW(1) -81:- The Governor of Haryana is pleased to formulate the following rules governing the scheme for the grant of Unemployment Allowance to the Physically Handicapped persons.

Objectives
It is observed that the Employment of the Handicapped is very meagre. The employers show reluctance to employ them even if the handicapped possess requisite qualifications. Their period of wait after the completion of education and training is also unduly long. In order to mitigate the economic difficulties faced by the handicapped, maintenance grant will be given to all the educated physically handicapped persons who are qualified to get jobs but are not able to find employment due to various reasons.
The department is also implementing a scheme for grant of educational scholarship to the blind. Financial assistance being given under the state Govt. and Govt. of India’s Scheme. The rate of unemployment allowance Rs. 50/- to matriculates, Rs. 100/- to Graduate / Diploma holders and Rs. 150/- to post-graduate will not in any way discourage the handicapped persons from seeking further education. This scheme is to be implemented with effect from 1-4-1981.

II-Eligibility
All educated unemployed, applicants shall be eligible for the grant of unemployment allowance who are physically handicapped in accordance with the criteria given in Appendix-I and are enrolled:-
(a) An applicant should not be availing of financial assistance under any pension, maintenance or scholarship scheme of the State or Central Government or from any other organisati0on or agency;
(b) State/ Central Govt. employees and also those of the public Sector understanding, local bodies and quasi-Govt. institutions, who may have been dismissed from service or are in receipt of pensions form such employers and persons convicted of cognisable offences involving moral turpitude shall not be eligible for the benefits under this scheme.

III- Rate of Unemployment Allowance.
The following shall be the rates for the payment of unemployment allowance:-
Matric Rs. 50/-P.M.
Graduate/Diploma Holders Rs. 100/-P.M.
Post Graduates Rs. 150/- P.M.

IV- Duration
Financial assistance will be given for a period of six year from the date of application or registration in the Employment.

V- Application for Unemployment Allowance.

Applications for Unemployment allowance shall be submitted to the Director, Social Welfare, Haryana, on the prescribed form as at Appendix –II, Applications will be processed and submitted in his office and the decision of the Director, Social Welfare, Haryana shall be final.

VI- Power to sanction Unemployment Allowance.

The power to sanction Unemployment Allowance shall vest in the Director, Social Welfare or an officer not below the rank of class II officer who may be delectated such authority by him.

VII- Stoppage or Recovery of the Unemployment Allowance

The authority empowered to sanction the Unemployment Allowance may:-

(a) Step the payment of the unemployment allowance to any recipient, if the said allowance is no more payable to any change in the circumstances in which the some was sanctioned:
(b) Withdraw or with held the payment of unemployment allowance if at any stage it is discovered that the unemployment allowance was not admissible in the first instance and it was sanctioned by mistake or an false information or in disregard of any condition subject to which it could be sanctioned. The amount of unemployment allowance already paid may also be recovered without prejudice to an action, whether civil or criminal to which the recipient may be liable.
ii) In the event of the death of the recipient the un-employment allowance shall cease to the payable and if the recipient died before receiving any payment the amount not disbursed shall lapse to the Government.
iii) If at any time, a money order retaining to the disbursement of the unemployment allowance is received back undelivered due to any reasons whatsoever, the amount shall be predicted to the Government account unless it is claimed person all by the recipient within on month of its receipt.

VIII- Remittance of unemployment allowance.

The unemployment allowance shall be remitted to the recipient by money order on quarterly basis at the cost of the Government.
XI- Unemployment Allowance not enforceable through court of law.
The unemployment allowance under these shall not be enforceable though the court of law.

X- Yearly affidavit.
To draw the unemployment allowance in a subsequent year, the handicapped will be required to give an affidavit at the beginning of every financial year that they contained to be unemployment.

TIRLOCHAN SINGH
Commissioner & Secretary Officer
Haryana Social Welfare Department

(Extract Haryana Government Gazette, dated the 5th December, 1995)

HARYANA GOVERNMENT

SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT

Notification

The 13^th November, 2003

No. 1935-SW(1) 95 In partial modification of Haryana Government, Social Welfare Department Notification No. 3144-SW(1) 81, dated the 7th December, 1981, the Governor of Haryana is pleased to amend para 3 of the rules governing the Scheme for the grant of unemployment allowance to the Physically Handicapped Persons with effect from Ist April, 1996 as under:-

(III) Rates of Unemployment Allowance

The following shall be the rates for the payment of unemployment allowance :-

1.      Matric/ Middle Pass Diploma Holder                           Rs.150/-
2.      Graduate/ Matric Pass Diploma Holder                       Rs. 200/-
3.       Post Graduate, Graduate Diploma Holder                   Rs. 250/-

3. This issues with the concurrence of Finance Department conveyed vide their U.O.No 1/88/95-3 FG-II/2374/01, dated 28th November, 2003.

VEENA EAGLETON,

Commissioner and Principal Secretary to
Government of Haryana, Social Welfare Department.

Extract Haryana Government Gazette, dated the 23rd December, 2003

HARYANA GOVERNMENT

SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT

Notification

The 8^th December, 2003

No. 3012-SW(1)2003. In partial modification of Haryana Government, Social Welfare Department Notification No. 3144-SW(1)81, dated the 7th December, 1981, the Governor of Haryana is pleased to increase the rates of unemployment allowance under para 3 of the rules governing the scheme Unemployment allowance to Educated Physically Handicapped Persons w.e.f. 3rd December, 2003 as under:-

(1) Rates of Unemployment Allowance

The following shall be the rates for the payment of unemployment allowance :-

1. Matric/ Middle Pass Diploma Holder Rs. 200/- p.m

2. Graduate/ Matric Pass Diploma Holder Rs. 250/- p.m.

3. Post Graduate, Graduate Diploma Holder Rs. 300/- p.m.

This issues with the concurrence of Finance Department conveyed vide their U.O.No 1/88/95-3 FG-II/2374/01, dated 28th November, 2003.

VEENA EAGLETON,
Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary to Government of Haryana
Social Welfare Department
Chandigarh
The 28th November, 2003

Haryana Government Gazette, dated the 13^th February, 2007

HARYANA GOVERNMENT

SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT

Notification

The 24^th January, 2007

No. 94-SW(1)2007. The Governor of Haryana is pleased to increase the rates of Unemployment Allowance to 100 percent Handicapped Persons ( Blinds/ Orthopaedically Handicapped/ Deaf and Dumb) only under para-3 of the governing the scheme. Unemployment Allowance to the Educated Physically Handicapped Persons w.e.f First April, 2006 would be as under:-

1. Matric/ Middle Pass Diploma Holder Rs. 1000/- p.m

2. Graduate/ Maric Pass Diploma Holder Rs. 1500/-p.m.

3. Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma Holder Rs. 2000/-p.m.

This issues with the concurrence of Finance Department conveyed vide their U.O.No 1/68/95-3 FG-II/2510.. dated 9^th January, 2007.

Sd/-

ANURADHA GUPTA,
Commissioner and Secretary to Government Haryana
Social Welfare Department.

HARYANA GOVERNMENT

SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT

NOTIFICATION

No. 2066- SW(4)2003 - In suppression of Haryana Government Notification No. 2187—SW(4) 95 Dated 15.12.95, the Governor of Haryana pleased to constitute. The State Selection Committee for period of three years w.e.f. 15.2.2003 (i.e. 15.2.2003 to 14.2.2006) for the selection of persons in the Haryana State consisting of the following members.

1. Minister Social Welfare Department, Haryana Chairman

2. Financial Commissioner & Principal Secretary Member

to Govt. Haryana, Social Welfare Department.

3. Director of Industries, Haryana Member

4. Labour Commissioner, Haryana Member

5. Director General, Health Service Haryana Member

6. Director, Employment, Haryana Member

7. Director, Social Justice & Empowerment Deptt. Member

Haryana. Secretary

Non- Official Member

1. Dr. V.J.S Vohra NEVEDAC Prosthetic Centre Member

Near Airport, Chandigarh.

2. Dr. Smt. Mamgam, General Secretary, Social Member

Health in India, Haryana State Branch, Chandigarh.

1. The main function of the committee will be select the handicapped persons for the National State Awards during the year.

2. The terms of the members of committee will be for three years.

3. The Head Quarter of the committee will be at Chandigarh.

4. The members of the committee will draw travelling allowance daily allowance as under:-

(i) Non-official members of the committee shall be entitled to the actual expense and daily allowance as admissible to Haryana Govt. Servants in accordance with the instruction issued by the Haryana Govt. from time to time.

(ii) The travelling and daily allowance to the Non-official members will be admissible on producing of a certificate to the effect that no Travelling allowance in respect of the journey or daily allowance for the period mentioned in the bill has been or will be claimed by them from any other source.

(iii) The travelling allowance for meeting of the committee will be allowed to the members from their permanent residence to the place of the meeting. If, however a member attend meeting from a place other than the place of his permanent residence, T.A bill be allowed to him either from the place of his residence or from where he attends the meeting whichever the distance loss.

(iv) The Non- official member of the committee who resides at the place where meeting of the committee was held will not entitled Travelling allowance / Daily allowance.

5. The entire expenditure involved will be incurred under the head “2235-Social Security & Welfare-02- Social Welfare -101- Welfare of Handicapped viii State Award to outstanding employer placement officers/ Handicapped 7 most efficient Handicapped employed/ self employed handicapped person Non- Plan 2003-04.

VEENA EAGLETON
Financial Commissioner & Principal Secretary to
Govt. Haryana, Social Welfare Department.

Endst. No. 2066- SW(4) 2003 Dated 9-9-2003

A copy is forwarded to the Chairman/ All members of the Committee for information and necessary action.

Sd/-

Joint Secretary,

For Financial Commissioners & Principal Secretary

to Govt. HaSd/-ryana, Social Welfare Department.

Endst. No. 2066- SW(4) 2003 Dated 9-9-2003

A copy is forwarded to the Accountant General Haryana Chandigarh for information and necessary action.

Sd/-

Joint Secretary,

For Financial Commissioners & Principal Secretary

to Govt. Haryana, Social Welfare Department.

Endst. No. 2066- SW(4) 2003 Dated 9-9-2003

A copy is forwarded to the Controller. Printing and Stationary Department Haryana, Chandigarh for publishing the notification in the Haryana Government Gazette. Part- I One hundred spare copies or the notification may please be supplied to the undersigned at the earliest.

Sd/-
Joint Secretary,
For Financial Commissioners & Principal Secretary to Govt. of Haryana,
Social Welfare Department.

SCHEMES REGARDING CONFERING TE STATE AWARDS TO 16 OUTSTANDING EMPLOYERS/PLACEMENT OFFICERS OF THE HANDICAPPED AND MOST EFFICIENT HANDICAPPED EMPLOYERS/ SELF EMPLYED HANDICAPPED PERSONS.

INTRODUCATION

Since the advent of independence, State Govt./Government of India have been taking keen interest to solve various problems of handicapped persons. In order to enable then to become self reliant in life special emphasis has been laid on education, training and rehabilitation of the handicapped. Despite educational and training opportunities for the handicapped for numbers of years. Our efforts for placing them inn suitable employment have been some what sporadic. Experience in the economically advanced countries had clearly demonstrated that both economic and human values of placing trained handicapped persons properly in modern industry, business agriculture and public service could bring useful results.

Realising the importance of discovering avenue of employment for handicapped and need for a concerned efforts in this direction, special employment exchanges were set up for the handicapped persons. In the wide range of occupation both in public and private sections. This was, however, a relatively shall achievement and much greater efforts were needed to stimulate the efforts to the placement of trained handicapped persons in suitable employment. As an incentive since 1069 the resident of India has been giving away annually awards to outstanding employer of the handicapped / handicapped employees / self employed handicapped persons and the placement officers of the handicapped. This has produced encouraging results.

With a view to increase the avenues of placement/ employment for handicapped persons, it has decided by the State Government to confer state awards as are awarded by the Govt. of India.

Under the scheme being operated by the G9overnment of India a National Selection Committee stands constituted at the Central Level for considering the cases of handicapped persons for National Awards recommended by the State Selection Committee, which will be constituted every year by the department, . The composition of the committee will be as under:

1	Minister for Social Welfare Department	Chairman
2	Secretary, Social Welfare Department	Member
3	Director, Industries Haryana	Member
4	Commissioner, Labour Department	Member
5	Director, General Health Department	Member
6	Two prominent experts in the rehabilitation of handicapped (non officials, will be nominated by the Chairman.)	Member
7	Director, Social Justice & Empowerment	Member Secretary

This committee shall also be responsible for the selection of candidates for the conferring of State Awards.

SCOPE
Separate awards will be presented to outstanding employers of the handicapped and to the most efficient handicapped employees including self employed handicapped persons and placement officers from the following section:-
1.    The State Govt. Statutory bodies etc.
2.    Public Sector undertaking of the State Government.
3.    Private sector including self employed handicapped persons.
Nature of Awards.

a)	Employees/ Self Employed	10 Prizes
	First Prize	Rs. 5000/- and certificate
	Second Prize	Rs. 4000/- and certificate
	Third Prize	Rs. 3000/- and certificate (2 Nos)
	Fourth Prize	Rs. 2000/- and certificate.(2Nos)
b)	Employees of the Handicapped	Two Prizes
	First Prize	A big shield and certificate of merit
	Second Prize	A small shield and certificate of merit
	Placement Officers	One Prize
	One Prize	Rs. 4000/- and certificate of merit

Production of Selection

Initially selection for presentation of State Awards will be made by the departmental committee consisting of Director, Social Justice & empowerment and all Deputy Directors of the Department. The departmental committee will submit its recommendations to the State selection committee for making final selection.

Since selection is to be receipt of applications on the prescribed from will be fixed by Government of India.

The State government may at its discretion invite recommendations from institutions for the handicapped administered directly by it.

Criteria for Selection of Employers
Employers are proposed to be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:-

i) That at least 2% of their employees are disabled subject to a minimum of three persons in a given establishment. In case of larger establishment employing 15 handicapped persons or more.
ii) That whatever necessary minor adjustments in the meeting have been made.
iii) That the disabled are offered in same conditions of service. Including the rates of the pa is given to other employees.
iv) That the employees have shown sympathetic consideration understanding of the problems of handicapped and.
v) That were necessary and feasible, such additional facilities as accommodation are provided.

For Handicapped Employers including Self Employed Handicapped Persons.
The employees and self employed handicapped persons are proposed to be accessed on the basis of the following criteria:-
i) That he has placed at least 20o o of the number of people registered with him during the last one years.
ii) His fellow up during the last given year coupled with placement of the people registered with him upto the end of the last year is outstanding.
iii) That the attitude f the placement officer towards the registered handicapped persons has been sympathetic.
Due regards be given to the performance and hard work put in the placement officer keeping in view the larger number of beneficiaries handed by him.

Procedure for Presenting The Awards.

The Awards may be received personally be selected employers, placement officers and self employed persons in Chandigarh or a place as decided by the chairman in consultation with the Governor of Haryana. They will be paid travelling and daily allowance by the social Justice & Empowerment. The Government may on this occasion give a reception to which may be invited prominent citizen including the representatives of employers, with a view to giving stimulus to the campaign for the placements f handicapped persons in suitable employment.

From

The Financial Commissioner & Principal Secretary to Govt. Haryana, Social Justice & Empowerment Department.
To
The Director Social Justice & Empowerment Department.
Haryana, Chandigarh.

No. 1759 SW(1) /2008 Chandigarh, Dated the 4-02-2008

Subject:- Revision of Rates of States Awards to the Physically Handicapped Persons.

Sanction of the Governor of the Haryana is hereby accorded to revise the rates of the State Awards in connection with the Presentation of Annual Awards to the Handicapped Persons of the States under the Scheme “ Scheme regarding conferring the State Awards for Outstanding Employers / Placement Officers of the Handicapped and the most efficient Handicapped Employees/ Self Employed Handicapped Persons”. The rates are revised as under:-

S.No	Category of prize	Nature of the prize No. of prize	Present rates and certificate	Revised rates and certificates
1	Employee/ Self Employed	First Prize (one) Second Prize (one) Third Prize (two) Fourth Prize(three)	Rs.5000/- and certificate Rs. 4000/- ad certificate Rs. 3000/- and certificate Rs. 2000/- and certificate	Rs. 10000/- and certificates. Rs. 8000/- and certificate Rs. 6000/- and certificate Rs. 4000/- and certificate.
2	Employers of the Handicapped	First Prize (one) Second Prize (one)	A big shield and certificate of merit. A small shield and certificate of merit.	Rs. 5000/- and certificate of merit. Rs. 3000/- and certificate of merit.
3	Placement Officer of the Handicapped	One Prize	Rs. 4000/- and certificate of merit.	Rs. 8000/- and certificate of merit

2. The Expenditure involved would be debatable to the Head “2235- Social Security and Welfare-02- Social Welfare- Social Justice and Empowerment, Haryana-101- Welfare of Handicapped-X State Award to Outstanding Employer / Placement officer of the Handicapped and most efficient Handicapped Employees/ Self Employed Handicapped Persons – other charges Social Security and Welfare –NON PLAN during the year 2007-08.
3. This issues with the concurrence of Finance Department conveyed vide their U.O. No. 1/6/94-3 FG-II (1944) dated 27-11-2007.

Sd/-
Joint Secretary,
for Financial Commissioner & Principal Secretary to
Govt. Haryana, Social Justice & Empowerment Deptt.
Endst. NO. 1759 SW(1) / 2008,
Chandigarh, dated the
A copy is forwarded to the Accountant General (Audit)/ A&E Haryana Chandigarh for information and necessary action.
Sd/-
Joint Secretary,
for Financial Commissioner & Principal Secretary to Govt
Haryana, Social Justice & Empowerment Deptt.

A copy is forwarded to the Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary to Govt. Haryana, Finance Department with reference to their U.O No. 1/6/94-3FG-II(1944) dated -27-11-2007.

Sd/-
Joint Secretary,
for Financial Commissioner & Principal Secretary to
Govt. Haryana, Social Justice & Empowerment Deptt.

To
The Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary to Govt.
Haryana, Finance Department,
U.O.No. 1759 SW(1) /2008 Chandigarh, dated the

ANNEXURE-A
PARTICULARS OF RECOMMENDED EMPLOYEE/SELF EMPLOYED WITH DISABLITIES FOR STATE AWARD

1.	Name(a) in English(in BLOCK Capital letters
	(b) in Hindi
2.	Address: (a) Residential
	(b)Office
3.	Telephone numbers: (a) Residential
	(b) Office
4.	FAX Number: (a) Residential
	(b) Office
5.	E-mail address, if any
6.	Sex
7.	Date of Birth/Age
8.	Nature/Category of disability
9.	Percentage of disability (Certificate of competent authority to be attached)
10.	Qualification: (a) Academic
	(b) Technical
11.	Trainings received, if any:
12.	Details of experience gained informally
13.	Whether employee or self-employed
14.	If employee:
	(a) Name of the Employer
	(b) Designation or Post held
	(b) Scale of pay and salary drawn
	(c) Nature of work engaged on
	(d) How does his/her productivity compare to that of his non-disabled counterparts in percentage of 10% more or less.
	(e) Rehabilitation with fellow – employed
	(f) Independence in work(encircles the grading option)	Very Good Good Poor
	(g) Mobility and self care remarks including a brief life sketch of about 200 words of the candidate highlighting his struggle against the disadvantages created by his disability ( encircle the grading option)	Very Good Good Poor
	(h) Punctuality ad regularity in attendance (encircle the grading option)	Very Good Good Poor
	(i) Whether any incentive/ rewards/ certificate given to the employee by the employer for his work during last three years. If yes, details thereof.
	(j) General assessment of the employee for last three years ( encircle the grading option)	Very Good Good Poor
15.	If self-employed:
	(a) Trade/ Professional with which associated
	(b) Monthly Income ( Attach copy of last income Tax Return filed/ Income Certificate)
	(c) How far you have upgraded your skill in that trade/ profession with a view to absorb yourself fully as a self-employed entrepreneur?
	(d) Social- economic problems/ constraints being faced in the existing trade/ profession to become a sustainable self- employed entrepreneur
	(e) (i) Whether taken loan from any bank/ financial institution of State/ Central Government (give full details)
	(ii) .If yes, indicate the balance amount of loan to be repaid
	(f) Have you ever been declare to be a defaulter to any nationalized bank/ financial institution/cooperative bank.
16.	If any National or State Level Award received during last five years, then please mention: (a) Name of the Award (b) Conferring Agency (c) Year of conferment

NOTE:

In case of self-employed persons with disabilities, the particulars may be duly certified by a gazette Officer of the Central/ State Govt. / Member of Parliament/ Member of State Legislature / Municipal Corp. etc.
Three copies of the photographs clearly showing disability of recommended employees/ self-employed with disabilities, with bio- data be enclosed.
Application should be supported by a Medical certificate indicating the degree of total disability.

ANNEXURE- B
PARTICULARSOF EMPLOYERS FOR STATE AWARDS

1	Name in English ( Block Capital letters ) and Hindi
2	Postal and telegraphic address of the organization with telephone & fax number.
3	Web- site address, if any
4	E-mail address, if any
5	Whether Government/ public Sector Undertaking/ Private
6	Nature of work undertaken by the organization
7	Total number of employer in the organization	Male Female Total
8	Number of employees with disability in the organization category-wise and sex- wise	Male Female Total
9	Number disability of the employees (if the organization has employees with various disabilities, please indicate the number of employees with each disability)
10	Percentage of employers with disability as Compared with the total number of Employees.
11	Nature of work in which Persons with disability are employed.
12	Whether their service conditions are the same as those for others.
13	Whether any modifications are made in the machinery and access is provided in the built environment.
14	Special effort made to train and employee persons with disability so far and plans for future.
15	How does the productivity of Employees with disability compare with that of non- disabled employees.
16	Remarks

Signature of the recommending authority with date

ANNEXURE- C

PARTICULARS OF THE AGENCY/OFFICER RESPONSIBLE FOR PLACEMENT OF THE PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES FOR STATE AWARDS

1. PERSONAL DATA

1	Name in English ( in Block Capital letters) and Hindi
2	Date of Birth
3	Educational qualification
4	Postal address
5	Telegraphic address/ FAX No.
6	Telephone Number : Office: Residence:
7	Web-site / E-mail address, if any
8	Name of the employer with complete address (Give all the employers with whom employed during the last five years, last name to be given first).
9	Total service in the capacity

PERFOMANCE DATA: Placement and follow- up Give the information for the last five years.

S.No.	Year	No. of Persons with Disabilities Registered Placed Male Female Male Female (Disability wise)	No. % age of placement to Registration	No. of cases followed up	% of dropouts from employment with brief reasons
(1)	(2)	(3) (4) (5) (6)	(7)	(8)	(9)
1	2003
2	2004
3	2005
4	2006
5	2007

III. Brief particulars of the Placement Officer:

Signature of applicant with date

Signature of the recommending authority with date

Broadly, “Placing” means an employers acceptance of a persons into a remunerative job as a result of the following Employment Exchange operations as a result of the ---
i) Booking on an order prior to submission;
ii) Pre-submission of the persons to be referred to the employer.
iii) Submission of the selected persons and verification / that the persons have been engaged.
(Defining as given in the National Employment Service Manual.)

SCHEME OF ASSISTANCE TO DISABLED
PERSONS FOR PURCHASE/FITTING OF AIDS/APPLIANCES (ADIP SCHEME)

Applicable w.e.f. April 2005

Govt. of India
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment,
Shastri Bhawan
New Delhi

SCHEME OF ASSISTANCE TO DISABLED PERSONS FOR PURCHASE/FITTING OF AIDS/APPLIANCES (ADIP SCHEME)

1. INTRODUCTION

It has been the constant endeavour of the Government to provide the disabled persons with aids/appliance at minimum costs. The requirement for providing of aids/appliances, which are essential for the social, economic and vocational rehabilitation of the disabled persons, has come into sharp focus, particularly after the enactment of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, which came into force in 1996. Various surveys conducted from time to time have made it clear that India has a very large number of disabled persons. Many of them come from low-income groups. Disability restricts their opportunities for leading functionally productive lives. From the application of modern technology, there have emerged a number of aids, which can reduce the effects of disabilities and enhance the economic potential of the disabled. To illustrate a wheel chair, an artificial limb, crutch, a brace, a splint can greatly improve the mobility of physically disabled individual. Similarly, with the help of a powerful hearing aid, persons with some residual hearing can be helped to carry on many activities of daily living. Low vision to read, print and undertake other activities resulting in their rehabilitation. However, a large number of disabled persons are deprived of the benefits of these appliances because of their inability to find funds to purchase them.

In the light of the Government’s growing stress on helping disabled persons and in bringing the aids and appliances within their reach, it has been decided in continue the ADIP Scheme and modify it in such a way that it becomes more user-friendly and the needy are not deprived of aids/appliances, which are essential for their social, economic and vocational rehabilitation. If they can, thereby, become earning members they would be much closer to achieve economic self-dependence and also be able to live and pursue their activities dignity.

2. THE SECHME AND ITS OBJECTIVES

The Scheme aims at helping the disabled persons by bringing suitable, durable, scientifically-manufactured, modern, standard aids and appliances within their reach The estimates, according to 58^th Sample Survey conducted by NSSO in 2002, indicate that there are about 18.04 million persons with various types of disabilities in the country. Their disabilities restrict the opportunity for their economic and social growth. In addition, about 3% of the children below 14 years of age suffer from delayed development. Many of them are mentally retarded and cerebral palsied and require some aids/appliances to attain the capacity for self-care and independent living.

The main objective of the Scheme is to assist the needy disabled persons in procuring durable, sophisticated and scientifically manufactured, modern, standard aids and appliances that can promote their physical, social and psychological rehabilitation by reducing the disabilities and enhance their economic potential. The aids and appliances supplied under the Scheme must be ISI.

3. DEFINITIONS

Definitions of various types of disabilities as given in The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (PWD ACT)

4. SCOPE

The Scheme will be implemented through the Implementing Agencies as listed in the following para. The Agencies will be provided with financial assistance for purchase fabrication and distribution of such standard aids and appliances that are in conformity with objective of the Scheme. The Implementing Agencies will take care of/make suitable arrangements for fitting and post-fitting care of the aids and appliances distributed under ADIP Scheme. The scope of the Scheme has been further enlarged to include use of mass media, exhibitions. workshops etc, for exchange of information and promoting awareness and distribution and use of aids/appliances.

The Scheme shall also include under its ambit, medical/surgical correction & intervention, which is essential prior to fitment of aids and appliances. The cost could range from Rs. 500/- for hearing & speech Impaired to Rs. 1,000/- for visually disabled and Rs. 3,000/- for orthopacidcally disabled.

5. ELIGIBILITY OF IMPLEMENTING AGENCY UNDER THE SCHEME

The following agencies would be eligible to implement the Scheme on behalf of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, subject to fulfilment of laid down terms and conditions:

i Societies, registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and their branches, if any, separately.

ii Registered charitable trusts.

iii District Rural Development Agencies, Indian Red Cross Societies and other Autonomous Bodies headed by District Collector/Chief Executive Officer/District Development Officer of Zilla Parishad.

iv National/Apex Institutes including ALIMCO functioning under administrative control of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment/Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

v State Handicapped Development Corporations.

vi Local Bodies-Zilla Parishad, Municipalities, District Autonomous Development Councils and Panchayats.

vii Nehru Yuvak Kendras.

Grant-in-aid under the Scheme will not be given for commercial supply of aid/appliance.

The NGOs should preferable possess professional/technical expertise in the form of professionally qualified staff (from recognized courses) for the identification, prescription of the required artificial aids/appliance, fitment and post fitment care of the beneficiaries as well as the aid/appliance.

The NGOs should preferable possess infrastructure in the form of machinery/equipment for the fabrication, fitment and maintenance of artificial aid/appliance to be given to a disabled person under ADIP Scheme.

Implementing Organisations should network and establish linkages with medical college/district hospitals/ rural hospitals/ PHCs/ fitment centres of ALIMCO/DDRCs/ any other professionally competent agency to acquire/avail the requisite infrastructure for fitment and maintenance of aids/ appliances distributed under ADIP Scheme available with these bodies. The implementing Agencies shall also avail of the professional/technical expertise of above mentioned agencies for fitment and post-fitment ALIMCO and DDRCs functioning under the administrative control of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment shall also assist DRDAs and other autonomous organizations to develop requisite manpower and infrastructure over a period of time to provide satisfactory service to the beneficiaries under the Scheme. Such organizations while applying of the grant under the Scheme shall produce sufficient proof of linkages with the professional agencies preferably in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding.

6. ELIGIBILITY OF THE BENEFICIARIES.

A Person with disabilities fulfilling following conditions would be eligible for assistance under ADIP Scheme through authorized agencies.

He/she be an Indian citizen of any age.
Should be certified by a Registered / Medical Practitioner that he/ she is disabled and fit to use prescribed aids/ appliances.
Person who is employed / self-employed or getting pension and whose monthly income from all sources does not exceed RS. 10,000/- per month.
In case of dependents, the income of parents/ guardians should not exceed Rs. 10,000/- per month.
Persons who have not received assistance from the Government, local bodies and Non- Official Organisations during the last 3 years for the same purpose. However, for children below 12 years of age this limit would be 1 year.

7. QUANTUM OF ASSISTNACE TO DISABLED

Only those aids/ appliances which do not cost more than RS. 6,000/- are covered under the Scheme. However, for visually mentally, speech & hearing or multiple disabled, the limit should be Rs. 8,000/- during their study period aftaer IX standard. The limits will apply to individuals items of aid and where more than one aid is required, the ceiling will apply separately. The amount of assistance will be as follows.

Total Income	Amount of Assistance
(i) Upto Rs. 6,500/- per month. (ii) Rs. 6,501/- to Rs. 10,000/- per month	(i) Full cost of aids/ appliances. (ii) 50% of the cost of aids/ appliances

Further, travelling cost would be admissible limited to bus fare in ordinary class or railway by second class sleeper subject to limit Rs. 250/- for beneficiary irrespective of number of visits to the centre and a Certificate from Doctor or Rehabilitation Professional, travel expenses subject to the same limit would be admissible to an attendant/ escort accompanying the beneficiary. The beneficiary should attend the Rehabilitation Centre nearest to hi/ her place of residence, except in the North- Eastern Region where he may be allowed travel cost for travelling outside the Region till such facilities becomes available within that Region.

8. TYPES OF AIDS/ APPLIANCES TO BE PROVIDED.

Types following aids and appliances may be allowed for each type of disabled individual. However, any other item as notified from time to time by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for the purpose will also be allowed.
LOCOMOTOR DISABLED.

i.    All types of prosthetic and orthotic devices.
ii.    Mobility aids like tricycles, wheelchairs, crutches walking sticks and walking frames/ rolators. Motorised tricycles for persons with locomotors disability that are likely to cost more than Rs. 6,000/- may be procured and provided in exceptional cases subject to prior approval of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on case to case basis. Extent of subsidy would however continue to be Rs. 6000/- For all other devices ceiling is Rs. 6,000/-
iii.    All types of surgical footwears and MCR Chappals.
iv.    All types of devices for ADL (activity of daily living).

VISUALLY DISABLED
i.    Learning equipments like arithmetic frame, abacus, geometry kits etc. Giants Braille dots system for slow-learning blind children. Dictaphone and other variable speed recording system. CD player / Tape recorder for blind student fro Xth standard.
ii.    Science learning equipments like talking balances, talking thermometer, measuring equipments like tape measures, micrometres etc.
iii.    Braille writing equipments including Bailers, Braille shorthand machines, typewriters for blind students from X Class. Talking machines, calculators, Geography learning equipment like raised maps and globes.
iv.    Communication equipment for the deaf-blind. Braille attachments for telephone for deaf-blind persons.
v.    Low vision aids including hand-held stand, lighted and unlighted magnifiers, speech synthesizers or Braille attachments for computers.
vi.    Special mobility aids for visually disabled people with muscular dystrophy or cerebral palsy like adapted walkers.
vii.    Soft- ware for visually handicapped persons using computers that are likely to cost more than Rs. 6,000/- may procured ad provided in exceptional cases subject to prior approval of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on case to case basis. The extent of subsidy would however continue to be Rs. 6,000/-. For all other devices ceiling.

HEARING DISABLED.

i.` Various types of hearing aids.

ii. Educational kits like tape recorders/ CD player etc.

Assistive and alarming devices including devices for hearing of telephone, TV, doorbell, time alarm etc.
Communication aids, like, portable speech synthesizer etc.

MENTALLY DISABLED.

Any suitable device as advised by Rehabilitation Professional or treating physician.

9. PROCEDURE FOR RECIPT OF GRANT-IN-AID BY AN IMPLEMENTING AGENCY.

The organisation will submit their application in the prescribed format ( Annexure- I& II) to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment through concerned State Government / UT Administration/National Institute/ Regional Rehabilitation Training Centre/ District Rehabilitation Centre/ any other agency authorized by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, every year. The application should be accompanied with following documents/ information (dully attested)

A copy of Registration Certificate u/s 51/ 52 of Persons Disabilities (Equal Opportunities Protection of Rights and Full Participation Act (PWD Act), 1995.
A copy Registration Certificate under Societies Registration Act, 1860 and their branches, if any, separately, or Charitable Trust Act.
A copy of Rules. Aims and Objectives of the Organization.
A copy of Certified Audited Accounts and Annual Report for the last Year.
Names of the Members of Management Committees of the Organisation.
List of identified beneficiaries and types of aids/ appliances required by the organisation for supplying / getting to the identified beneficiaries.
Estimated expenditure for distribution/ fitting of aids/ appliances amongst the identified beneficiaries.
And Undertaking that the funds will not be utilized for any other purposes.
An Undertaking to maintain a separate account of the funds received from the Ministry under the scheme.
The implementing Agencies already receiving grant-in-aid under the Scheme should also furnish the list of beneficiaries assisted from the grant-in-aid released to them in the previous year as per Performa given in Annexure- V may be given.
A calendar of activities for entire financial year including probable dates for holding caps etc. for distribution of aids/ appliances and also maintain separate account for that.
An Undertaking that the organisation will provide post – distribution care to the beneficiaries as well as aids/ appliances, on demand.

m. Organisation should be financially should ad viable and has requisite capability to mobilize the resources.

The organisation shall have working rapport with the District available with District Administration for identification of aids/ appliances.
The implementing agencies shall keep manuals/ literature on main features, maintenance and upkeep of devices, one year free maintenance would be provided by them for assistive devices 2% of the annual allocation will be earmarked for monitoring and evaluation of expenses.
The organisation will provide reservation to SC/ST/OBC and disabled persons in accordance with instructions issued by GOI from time to time if it employees more than 20 persons on a regular basis.

10. RECOMMENDATION

The State Government/UT Administration/ National Institute/RRTC/DRC/any other agency authorized by the Ministry should send its recommendation with specific remarks about.

i) Professional competence, credibility, integrity and existing infrastructural facilities for satisfactory implementation of the Scheme by the NGO/organisation.

ii) Eligibility of the organisation as laid down by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

iii) Rapport with target groups, capacity and willingness to network with other NGOs and Panchayati Raj institution etc.

The recommendation should also include whether the NGOs is getting grant-in-aid from other Ministry/ State Government etc. for the same purpose.

However, no recommendation is required in case of National Institute and ALIMCO working under the administrative control of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

11. QUATUM OF ASSISTANC3E TO AN IMIPLEMENTING AGENCY.

No ceiling should be imposed on the quantum of assistance to be released to an Implementing Agency and it branches (separately) during a particular financial year However, while deciding on the amount of grant to be given, the performance, professional expertise, capacity, tack record and outreach capabilities of the agency shall be kept in view.

12. SANCTION / RELEASE OF GRANT-IN-AID

The Implementing Agencies will be sanctioned grant-in-aid in particular financial year after receiving recommendation from State Government/ UT Administration/ National Institute/ RRTC/ DRC/ an other agency authorized by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The subsequent financial a assistance would be sanctioned after receipt of audited accounts and list of beneficiaries with their permanent addresses in the prescribed poroma for the previous year’s grant shall be furnished before the end of second quarter of each financial year, positively.

The recommending authority should create the field agencies who shall strive to conduct sample checking of beneficiaries regarding utilization of grant-in-aid by NGOs and distribution of aids and appliances by the Implementing Agency. The sample checking of beneficiaries regarding utilization of grant –in- aid by NGOs and distribution of aids and appliances by the Implementing Agencies. The sample checking would cover at least 5 to 10 percent of the beneficiaries, which are covered under the Scheme in the previous year.

The grant-in-aid would normally be released in tow instalment after process of audited accounts and list of beneficiaries furnished by the organisation/ implementing Agency to the satisfaction of the Ministry.

13. CONDITIONS FOR ASSISTANCE.

i. The implementing agency will be fully competent to satisfy about the monthly income of the beneficiaries and shall obtain a certificate from the concerned competent authority. The identification of the beneficiaries has to be done by an expert in accordance with guidelines issued by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in this regard

ii. The implementing agency will maintain a register in the prescribed performa ( Annexure-III) about the beneficiaries assisted under the Scheme.

The implementing agency shall maintain a separate accounts of funds received and utilized from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment under the Scheme. The fund should be kept in separate bank account to be operated under ADIP Scheme.
A certificate from the Head of the Implementing Agency to the effect that the funds have been utilized. A list of beneficiaries as per proforma given in Annexure- IV assisted by the organisation that the funds given by the Ministry will be furnished along with the yearly application as per procedure indicated in para 9 in CD in Excel programme.
The final accounts for a financial year will be rendered through utilization certificate and audited accounts signed by chartered accountant within six months of the close of the financial year.
The agency implementing the scheme will obtain an undertaking from the beneficiary that he/ she has not obtained such aid from any other agency/ source during last tow years ad that he/ she not obtained such aid from any other agency/ source during last three years and that he/ she will keep it for his/ her bona fide use.
The agency implementing the scheme will be open to inspection by an officer/ agency authorized by Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment or the State Government / UT/ Administrative / National Institute/ DRCs etc.
When the Government of India has reasons to believe that the sanction is not being utilized for the approval purpose the amount would be recovered from the implementing agency with interest and no further assistance would be given to the agency.
The quantum of assistance to be given to an implementing agency during a particular year will be decided by the Government of India. The implementing agencies would, therefore, not incur any liability under the Scheme unless the funds have been sanctioned to them fort the purpose.
At least 25% beneficiaries should be girl child/ women.

Annexure-I

Application for Central Scheme of Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/ Fitting of Aids/ Appliances.

From Date:

The Secretary to the Government of India,

Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment,

Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi

Subject:- Assistance under the Central Scheme of Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/ fitting of aids/appliances.

I submit herewith an application for a grant for the year under the Scheme of Assistance to Disabled persons for purchase/fitting of aids/appliances. I certify that I grant is given. Should the Institutions/ Organisation cease to exist at any time, such properties shall revert to the Government of India.

(a) All assets acquired wholly or substantially out of the Central grant shall not be encumbered or disposed off or utilized for purpose other tan those for which the grant is given. Should the Institutions/ Organisation cease to exist at any time, such properties shall revert to the Government of India.

(b) The accounts of the project shall be properly and separately maintained. They shall always be open to check by an officer deputed by the Govt. of India or the State Government of India at his discretion.

(c) If the State or the Central Govt. have reasons to believe that the grant is not being utilized for approved purpose, the Govt. of India may stop payment of further Instalments and recover earlier grants in such a manner as they may decide.

(d) The Institution shall exercise reasonable economy in the implementation of the scheme.

(e) The Organisation will obtain an undertaking from the beneficiaries as required under the scheme, before fitting/ giving of aids/ appliances.

Yours faithfully,

(Signature)
(Designation)
(Office Stamp)

Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment

Name of the Scheme

1. Organisation

Name

Address (office) :

(Project) :

Phone (office) :

(Project) :

Fax (office) :

(Project) :

Telex (office) :

(Project) :

E-mail (office) :

(Project) :

Grams (office) :

(Project) :

2. (i) Name of the Act :

Under which registered :

(ii) Registration No. and :

Date of Registration :

Any other Organisation/ Institute :

Body, if applicable, give details

3. Registration under Foreign : (Yes/ No)

Contribution Act

4. Memorandum of Association :

And Bye-Laws.

5. Name & Address of the :

Members of the Board of

Management/ Governing

Body

6. List of Documents to be attached :

(a) A copy of the Annual Report

For the previous year which

Should contain the balance sheet (including receipt and payment account ), income and Expenditure Account.

7. Details of the project for which the :

Grant-in-aid is being applied.

8. Grant-in-aid applied for in :

the current year.

9. Details of beneficiaries .

(a) Number of disabled benefited :

From previous years grant.

(b) Proposed number of disabled :

Expected to be covered during

Current financial year.

10. Details of the staff available :

Details of GIA received under other Schemes of

State Govt…………………………….

Central Govt………………………..

Other sources…………………….

Programme / Project run grant-in-aid received Total Location of the

By the NGO (other than amount service Expenditure Project

The one applied for ) agency on the

Projects.

13. List of Additional Papers.

(if any given)

I have read the scheme ad fulfil the requirement and conditions of the scheme. I undertake to abide by all the condition of the Scheme.

Signature ………………………………..

Name…………………………………

Address……………………………

……………………………………..

Date……………………………..

(Seal)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: Wherever not applicable, specially in case of new Organisation, please write – N.A.

MINISTRY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE & EMPOWERMENT.

Name of the Scheme:

1. APPLICATION FORM FOR THE IIND INSTALLEMMENT

1. Organisation

Name

Address (office) :

(Project) :

Phone (office) :

(Project) :

Fax (office) :

(Project) :

Telex (office) :

(Project) :

E-mail (office) :

(Project) :

Grams (office) :

(Project)

2. Grant-in-aid(in. Rs.)

Total

A. Applied in the current year :

B. Received as Ist Instalment :

C. Applied for IInd Instalment :

3. Annual Report of the previous year.

ii) Audited statement of accounts of previous year ( Receipts and Payments statement, Income & Expenditure Statement) and Balance sheet.

iii) Audited utilization certificate with itemise expenditure as per the sanctioned items of grant.

iv) Details of staff available.

v) Details of beneficiaries as per Annexure IV

vi) Assets acquired wholly or substantially out of government grants under GFR 19

vii) An other information considered necessary b the organisation of a asked for:

Signature ………………………………..

Name…………………………………

Address……………………………

……………………………………..

Date………………………

(Seal)

Annexure- III

Register to be maintained by the agencies implementing the Scheme Assistance to Disabled for purchase/fitting of Aids/ Appliances.

Sr.No	Name of beneficiaries	Address	Male/ female	Age	Income	Type of aid(given)	Date on which given	Cost of Aid
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Fabricating/ Fitment charges	Total cost of Aid	Subsidy provided	Travel cost paid to outstation beneficiaries	Board and expenses paid	Whether any surgical correction undertaken	Total 12+13+14+15
10	11	12	13	14	15	16

No. of days for which stayed	Signature of Beneficiary	Whether Accompanied by escort
17	18	19

Annexure- IV

List of beneficiaries assisted by the agencies implementing the Scheme of Assistance to Disabled for purchase/fitting of Aids/ Appliances to be furnished to Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment

Sr.No	Name of beneficiaries	Address	Male/ female	Age	Income	Type of aid (given)	Date on which given	Cost of Aid
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Fabricating/ Fitment charges	Total cost of Aid	Subsidy provided	Travel cost paid to outstation beneficiaries	Board and expenses paid	Whether any surgical correction undertaken	Total 12+13+14+15
10	11	12	13	14	15	16

No. of days for which stayed	Whether Accompanied by escort
17	18

To be accompanied by certificate from Rehabilitation Professional / Physically for every case.

Annexure- V

Scheme of Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/ Fitting of Aids/ Appliances.

UTILISATION CERTIFICATE.

(See Government of India’s Decision (1) below Rule 150 )

Sr.No	Letter number and date	Amount.

Certified that out of Rs. ................................. /- of grant-in-aid sanctioned during the year ...................................................in favour of ................................................ NO. given in the margin and Rs. / on account of unspent balance of the pervious year, a sum of Rs. ....................................../ has been utilized for the purpose of ............................................................... for which it was it was sanctioned and that the balance of Rs. ................................................................/ remaining unutilized at the end of the year has been surrendered to Government (vide NO............................................... dated will be adjusted towards the grant-in-aid payable during the next year.

2. Certified that I have satisfied myself that the conditions on which the grant-in-aid was sanctioned have been duly fulfilled/ are being fulfilled and that I have exercised the following checks to see that the money was actually utilized for the purpose for which it was sanctioned.

Kinds of checks exercised

Duly certified by a Chartered Signature.........................

Accountant/ Auditor

Designation.....................

Date..............................

Annexure- VI

SCHEME OF ASSISTANCE TO DISABLED PERSONS FOR PURCHASE/ FITTING OF AIDS/ APPLIANCES

(ADIP SCHEME)

STATEMENT SHOWING COMPOSITION OF THE MANAGING COMMITTEE.

NAME AND POSTAL ADDRESS THE

ORGANIZATION______________________________________________________________

Sr.No.	Name of the Member of the Managing Committee	S/o D/o W/o	Complete residential address	Nature of occupation	Status in the Managing Committee
1	2	3	4	5	6

Note: (i) Certified that the composition of the above Managing Committee is in accordance with the approved Bye Laws and Memorandum of Association of the organization.

(i) Certified that the above Managing Committee was elected by the General Body in its meeting held on .................................................................The life of the Committee is form .............................................. to................................................

Signature

Name of President/ Secretary (in capital letters)

Office stamp of the Organisation

HARYANA GOVERNMENT

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT DEPARTMENT

NOTIFICATION

Dated Chandigarh 30-1-2009

No. 2351-SW(4)-2008: The Governor of Haryana is pleased to make the following scheme namely “Financial Assistance to the Non-School Going Disabled Children Scheme” which will come into force with effect from 1.12.2008 .This scheme incorporating the amendments made from time to time and shall be applicable throughout the State of Haryana .

DEFINITIONS

The Mentally Retarded Children who suffer from following conditions :-

1) Mental Retardation with I.Q. not exceeding 35.

2. AIM:-

Presently Haryana Govt. is providing Financial Assistance in the form of scholarship to such disabled children of state who are below 18 years of age and are getting formal education in different schools, colleges, technical institutions and universities etc. and those disabled persons who are above 18 years of age are being provided financial assistance in the form of Handicapped Pension

But there are some mentally retarded children in the age group of 0 to 18 years who are in the category of Profound & Severely retardation, who are not able to attend formal education, training etc. due to their disability. They are totally dependent on their parents or relatives and need constant supervision and care of their families. Some of them require nursery care also. These children because of their severity of M.R. are looked down upon in society and are also forced to live in deplorable and humiliating environment. Their Parents also some time find it difficult to look after them properly either due to financial difficulties or otherwise. Therefore it is felt imminent that in order to boost the morale of these children as well as provide support to their parents some financial assistance should be given to them for their welfare and respectful up bringing. Keeping this in view a scheme named “Financial Assistance to the Non- School going disabled Children” is conceived aiming at to providing financial assistance to such parents who cannot send them for formal schooling and boarding of their disabled wards in the age group of below 18 years because of financial constraints or because of the returns of their Mental Retardation.

3. ELIGIBILITY:- Eligibility conditions are as follows:-

( i ) A person having physical disability in the age-group of below 18 years shall be eligible for grant of Assistance.

(ii) The applicant should be a domicile of Haryana State and should be residing in Haryana State for the last three years at the time of submission of application. He /She will have to submit domicile proof for this purpose issued by the competent authority.

(iii) The applicant’s close relatives and parents are not in a financial position to support him/ her and the income of his/ her parents, close relatives or his/ her own income from all sources is less than the income as prescribed under the Minimum Wages Act, i.e. Rs. 3510/- p.m.as in 2008. He/She will have to submit proof of income verified by the competent authority.

(iv) The assistance would not be given to such children who are already receiving assistance under the Scholarship, Unemployment Allowance and Handicapped Pension Schemes being implemented by the Social Justice& Empowerment Department, Haryana.

(v) The applicant should have the following disabilities:-(a) Mental Retardation with I.Q not exceeding 35.

Medical Certificate duly issued by the Civil Surgeon will have to be produced for (i) to (v) above.

(b) The applicant shall submit proof regarding age of the ward/child in the form of:

(i) Birth Certificate issued by the Registrar of Births & Death; or

( ii) Affidavit by the applicant attested from the First Class Magistrate; or

( iii) A certificate from any Gazetted Officer of the State/.Central Govt.

4. CONSTITUTION OF COMMITTEE FOR SCRUTINY :

(a) Committees will be constituted for scrutinizing the eligibility for grant of financial assistance in the rural and urban areas. In the rural areas, the Committee will consist of District Social Welfare Officer or his representative, Circle Revenue Officer and Medical Officer of Health Department. In the urban areas, the Committee will consist of Officer In charge of the Municipal Committee or the Executive Officer or the Secretary of Municipal Committee and District Social Welfare Officer or his representative and a Medical Officer of Health Department.

5. SUPERVISION & COORDINATION COMMITTEE :

A District Level Committee comprising of Civil Surgeon as a Member, District Social Welfare Officer as Member Secretary and Deputy Commissioner of the District or his representative as Chairman will be constituted, for overall supervision, coordination and implementation of the Scheme in the District . District Social Welfare Officer will be the convener of the Committee. It will meet once every quarter to review the performance of the scheme.

6. VERIFICATION:-

(i) During its visit to the village/ ward for the purpose of verification of fresh applicants Committee for Scrutiny may also ensure that no beneficiary eligible for assistance is left-out. For this purpose, all the beneficiaries will be required to present themselves before the Committee. Assistance to those persons who fail to present themselves before the Committee will not be considered. Financial Assistance will be sanctioned by the concerned District Social Welfare Officer on the recommendations of the Scrutiny Committee.

(ii) In those cases where Committee comes to a definite conclusion that beneficiary is no longer eligible for assistance, the Committee will recommend to terminate the assistance of such beneficiaries and will send intimation to District Social Welfare Officer of such termination, for further necessary action. However, the committee shall exercise reasonable judgment to decide these cases. The District Social Welfare Officer shall intimate the fact of termination of assistance to the beneficiary. An appeal shall lie, within 3 months from the intimation of such termination to the District Level Committee against such termination of assistance. The decision of the District Level Committee shall be final and will not be subjected to any further investigation./ appeal.

(iii) In those cases where the beneficiary has not presented himself/ herself before the Committee at the time of disbursement for two consecutive months and the Committee suspects the eligibility of a beneficiary, the Committee may recommend to District Social Welfare Officer to stop the further disbursement of assistance to such beneficiary. District Social Welfare Officer shall issue a notice to the beneficiary asking him/ her to show cause why his/ her assistance should not be terminated. If the beneficiary fails to satisfy the District Social Welfare Officer regarding his/ her continued eligibility of assistance, An appeal shall lie, within 3 month from the intimation of such termination to the District Level Committee against such termination of assistance. Otherwise, the assistance shall be resumed after the beneficiary satisfies the District Social Welfare Officer about his/ her eligibility for assistance.

(iv) Initially verification will be done village wise by the Committee for scrutiny. However, special verification may be done in case of complaints or as per decision of the Govt. from time to time.

7. MODE OF PAYMENT:-

(a) Assistance shall be disbursed through the Panchayati Raj under the supervision of Block Development and Panchayat Officer or by any other means of payment to be decided by the Government from time to time. The financial assistance shall become payable from the 1^st day of the month in which it is sanctioned.

(b) The periodicity of payment of assistance shall be decided by Director, Social Justice and Empowerment from time to time.

(c) No further payment shall be made if the acknowledgement of disbursement/payment has not been received for two consecutive instalments.

(d) The assistance which have remained unpaid for two consecutive instalments or more shall be enquired into by the concerned District Social Welfare Officer who will take necessary action in this regard. Payees acknowledgement shall be recorded and kept under lock and key by the District Social Welfare Officer till the accounts have been audited by Accountant General, Haryana.

(e) Handling cash payment to the disbursing officials shall be made, as far as possible, through bank drafts issued in favor of them.

(f) All the un disbursed amount shall be received by the District Social Welfare Officer concerned. A proper record of such amounts shall be kept in a separate register. The undisguised amount received back shall be taken in the cash book and the entire amount thus received shall be refundable by short drawl from subsequent assistance bill.

(g) The Director Social Justice and Empowerment Haryana shall be over-all in charge of the “Financial Assistance to the Non-School Going Disabled Children Scheme” and necessary instructions in regard for proper enforcement and accounting procedure shall be issued by him/her from time to time.

Note: The payment of financial assistance shall be made to the parent /guardian of the disabled child who applies for the financial assistance in respect of his/ her children/wards and not direct to the children.

8. PROCEDURE FOR MAKING APPLICATION:

The application for Financial Assistance shall be submitted in the prescribed form which would be available with the District Social Welfare Officer or Director Social Justice & Empowerment Department, Haryana Chandigarh free of cost and can be submitted to the respective District Social Welfare Officer up to 10^th day of every month.

9. RATE OF ASSISTANCE :

Financial assistance shall be admissible under the scheme at the rate of Rs. 300/- per month to every disabled child in the family of the applicant. Every non school going disabled child in a single family would be eligible for this assistance. Government will have the right to change the rate of assistance from time to time.

POWER OF SANCTION :

The District Social Welfare Officer dealing with the scheme shall be the sanctioning authority who shall pass orders on each case on the basis of the spot verification conducted by the Committee for scrutiny or in case of complaint etc. Investigation Officer or any other official deputed for the purpose by the sanctioning authority. The decision of the Director Social Justice and Empowerment shall be final. The order passed by District Social Welfare Officer in each case shall be communicated to the applicant and the Accountant General, Haryana, Chandigarh.
11. STOPPAGE OF ASSISTANCE :

(i) Assistance shall be payable from the date of sanction till the beneficiary completes the age of 18 years. However the District Social Welfare Officer shall have the right to stop payment of assistance, if at any stage it is found that it was sanctioned on a wrong ground or false information or the condition for which the assistance was granted no longer existed..

(ii) Assistance shall cease to be payable on the death of a beneficiary and if the grantee dies before receiving assistance for a particular period, the same shall also lapse.

(iii) In case assistance is sanctioned on the basis of wrong information given by the applicant in his /her application form, the amount given would be recovered as arrears of land revenue .In case of deliberate wrong information the beneficiary shall be liable for prosecution .

(iv) Assistance under this scheme shall not be liable to attachment under any court of law.

(v) After attaining the age of 18 years, the beneficiary should automatically become eligible for handicapped pension.

12 PUBLICITY:

Wide publicity measures will be adopted by way of publishing public notices and display advertisements in the leading newspapers, printing of folders and pamphlets, public notices at all District Social Welfare Offices and similar other public places, advertisement through District Public Relation Officers and by way of Munadi in the Rural and Urban areas.

13 IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING: -

One Post of Investigator in each District/ Headquarter shall be created on contract basis for best Implementation and Monitoring of scheme.

14 BUDGET HEAD.

2235- Social Security & Welfare-02- Social Welfare 101-Welfare of Handicapped –Part I-State Plan Schemes (72) Financial Assistance to non-school going disabled children 09-Grant-in-Aid (New Scheme Plan 2008-09

Chandigarh dated NAVRAJ SANDHU

4^th December,2008 Commissioner & Secretary to Government. Haryana,

Social Justice & Empowerment Department

Endst.No.2351-SW(4)-2008 Chandigarh dated the30-1-2009

A copy is forwarded to the controller, Printing and stationery Department Haryana Chandigarh for publishing in the Haryana Govt. Gazette 150 spare copies may please be supplied to the undersigned at the earlier.

Sd/-

Joint Secretary

for Commissioner & Secretary to Government. Haryana

Social Justice & Empowerment Department.

Endst.No. 2351-SW(4)-2008 Chandigarh dated the 30-1-2009

A copy is forwarded to the following for information and necessary action:-

Director] Social Justice & Empowerment, Haryana.
1. Accountant General] Haryana ( A & E Audit )] Chandigarh.
2. All Deputy Commissioners in the Haryana State.
3. All District Social Welfare Officers in the Haryana State.
4. All District Welfare Officers in the Haryana State.

Sd/-

Joint Secretary

for Commissioner & Secretary to Government. Haryana

Social Justice & Empowerment Department.

A copy is forwarded to the Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary to the Govt. of Haryana, Finance Department with reference to his U.O.No. 1/80//2008-3FG-11/2272 dated 3-12-2008.

The Financial Commissioner & Principal Secretary

to Govt. Haryana, Finance Department.

U.O.No 2351-SW(4)-2008 Chandigarh dated 30-1-2009

HARYANA GOVERNMENT

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT DEPARTMENT

NOTIFICATION

The 30th October, 2009

No. 1953-SW(4)-2009-In partial modification of Haryana Government, Social Justice & Empowerment Department, Notification No. 2351-SW(4) 2008, dated 30th January, 2009, the Governor of Haryana is pleased to make the following amendments shall come into operation with immediate effect.

1. Sub Para (IV) of Para 3 of the Scheme is omitted.

2. In said scheme sub point (a) of sub para (V) of Para 3 is substituted under:-

(i) Mental Retardation with I.Q. not exceeding 50 or percentage of disability is 70% and above.

(ii) Persons with cerebral palsy.

(iii) Persons with Autism.

(iv) Multiple disability with a total permanent disability of 705 or more disabilities as defined in clause (i) of Section 2 of the persons with Disabilities, Protection or Rights and Full participation) Act, 1995 (\1 of 1996).

(v) Case of orthopaedic Disability with a permanent disability of 100% which are further clarified as under.

(i) Myhopathy

(ii) Paraplegic

(iii) Quadri Plegia.

2. Budget Head

2235-Social Security & Welfare-020- Social Welfare 101-Welfare of Handicapped-part I State Plan Schemes (72) Financial Assistance to non-school going disabled children 09-Grant-in-aid (New Scheme Plan 2009-10).

Sd/-

Chandigarh: Navraj Sandhu,

The 25th August, 2009 Financial Commissioner & Principal Secretary to Govt. Haryana, Social Justice & Empowerment Department.

SCHEME OF DEPLOYMENT OF CAREGIVERS

Introduction & Objectives

It has often been seen that persons with autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and multiple disabilities require constant and life long care of their persons. Care giving families have reported that with the increasing age of the child with disability as well as with the increasing age of the primary care givers, particularly the mother, providing care becomes more stressful, more demanding, labour intensive, costly and tiring. Although there are no reliable statistics to determine the population of persons with autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and multiple disabilities, it is generally known that those families that have amongst themselves any person having any of the above disabilities go through tremendous physical and financial strains throughout the life of the affected persons. Very often the families do not wish to institutionalize their disabled members not merely because cost of institutionalization is beyond their economic means but also because there is an emotional binding which dictates the decision to retain the disabled family member. The object of the National Trust for the welfare of persons with autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and multiple disabilities Act, 1999 is to empower families to retain their disabled members within the family and the community.

As the families are often reluctant and/or do not have the financial means for sending a person to an institution of any type, there is a need to bring relief to such families by providing caregivers services, which may be hired. National Trust has formulated a scheme for training of caregivers and setting up of a cell by6 trained caregivers, which will provide services by changing parents. As all the parents will not be able to pay, it proposed to provide free services to BPL families. The caregivers can change from the APL families. Therefore, the Haryana State has formulated a scheme of Deployment of caregivers. This scheme also takes care of career prospects and career progression of caregivers, effective arrangement for deployment after training & to provide incentive to make care giving as a preferred career. The scheme will be implemented in the group form i.e. Group Care Centre within their locality so that they can avail these services nearest to their home.

B. Training of Caregivers

The National Trust has given training to 68 caregivers in the State. In future, training programme for caregivers will be tied up with the National Trust on need base. The training programmes will be conducted on the basis of training module prescribed by the National Trust. The cost of training and setting up of a cell of caregivers will be met by National Trust. The financial assistance will be give to caregivers NGOs.

C. Coverage of the Scheme

In the first phase this Scheme will be implemented in the selected districts i.e. Rohtak, Sonepat, Bhiwani, Sirsa, Karnal and Faridabad in the State. Gradually, the Scheme may be expanded in other districts on the availability of the funds.

D. Financial Implications of the Scheme

Basically, the Scheme will cover BPL PwD beneficiaries without charging any user’s fees but APL PwD cases may be included in this scheme and for this they will have to pay Rs. 100/- per month as user’s fees. The Scheme will be implemented on group basis and the ratio of BPL PwD & APL PwD will be 5:3. In first phase such ten Group Care Centres will be established. These Centres will be set up through District Red Cross Societies or reputed NGO working in the field of mental retardation. Each Group Care Centre will be run by trained caregiver. Who will be given Rs. 2000/- and Rs. 500/- for every BPL MR child. Minimum number of children 5 and maximum 8. If there are none then. One additional caregiver can be given.( Timing 9 A.M. to 5.00 P.M.).

E. Break-up of Annual Budget for 10 Group Care Centres

Recurring Expenses:

(a) Honorarium to caregivers

@ Rs. 5,000/- per caregivers p.m.- Rs.5,000/- X10X12 = Rs.6,00,000/-

(b) Visit charges of Speech -Rs.250/- X10X24 =Rs. 60,000/- Occupational/PhysioTherapist/Doctors(2 visits per Month @ Rs.250/- per visit)

@ Rs.300/- p.m

(d) One Assistant for Monitoring at Headquarter of Social Justice & Empowerment Haryana.

Non-recurring Expenses ( one time in 5 years )

Furniture (2 chairs, one table, - Rs. 25,000/- X 10 = Rs.2,50,000/-

one almirah ,one dari), play/learning materials, Daily Living Activity material etc.)

The user’s fees received from APL PWD will be utilized for these Group Care Centres on cultural, games and competitive activities etc. of persons with disabilities.

F. Accommodation for Group Care Centre

The rent free accommodation will be provided by Gram Panchayat /Local Bodies of the concerned village/town/city.

Eligibility

(a) The beneficiary i.e. person with disability under National Trust Act should be a domicile of Haryana State & should be residing in Haryana for the last 3 years at the time of submission of application.

(b) The PWD should be the age of below 18 years or have severe disability.

H. Implementing Agency

The District Red Cross Branch of the concerned district or reputed NGO will be the implementing agency which will be selected by the Director, Social Justice & Empowerment Department, Haryana.

I. Release of Funds

The NGO will apply for annual funds to the Director, Social Justice & Empowerment Department, Haryana and the department will release the funds to the concerned NGO in the form of grant-in-aid.

J. Physical & Financial Report

The NGO will submit the physical & financial report quarterly to the Director, Social Justice & Empowerment Department, Haryana. In the end of financial year, income and expenditure statement along with utilization certificate duly issued by the Chartered Accountant will be submitted to the department.

K. Monitoring of the Scheme.

A Nodal Officer will be appointed by the department who will be the authority to monitor the scheme and he/she will be competent to inspect and forward the proposal for grant-in-aid under this Scheme.

*******

Funding to Local Level Committee

Under the local Level Committee, presently. We are providing Rs. 10,000 per annum for the various activities which includes awareness generation, appointment of Guardians, sensitization of NGOs, etc. Now, it is proposed to increase the amount of Rs. 50,000 with the help of State Government so that activities of the LLC Can be increased with additional financial grants for publicity material, provision for appoi8ntment of staff, organizing sensitization public relation activities, as there are number of districts in our country that we are proposing to support, existing LLC as well, to cover the remaining districts of the country which is having large number.

Out of this Rs. 50,000, Rs 10,000 is already given by the National Trust and for the additional Rs. 40,000 we except Rs. 20,000 matching contribution from the State Government so that the balance amount of Rs. 20,000 can be borne by National Trust.

The tentative budget head/ break- up of budget is given below:

(a) Printing of awareness material Rs. 12,000.00

(b) Appointment of contractual staff @ Rs. 250

Per week, 2 days a week Rs. 12,000.00

(d) Awareness/ sensitization/ publicity/ activities Rs. 12,000.00

(e) Contingency (includes monitoring of legal Guardians)Rs. 2,000.00

(f) Vocational/job oriented training/training For self- Rs. 10,000.00

Employment ____________

Rs. 50,000.00

Whether is only one district in the UT, the annual expenditure for the UT share would be Rs. 20000=20,000/- per annum which will take the scheme long way.

NIRAMAYA

(A Health Insurance Scheme for the Welfare of persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities)

The National Trust for the welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities has introduced a Health Insurance Scheme with the collaboration with ICICI Lombard called “Niramaya” for above four disabilities. The details of the Scheme are as under:

OBJECTIVE

To provide affordable Health Insurance to Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation & Multiple Disabilities.
To encourage health services seeking behavior among persons with disability.
to improve the general health condition & quality of life of persons with disability.

SCHEME & ITS COVERAGE

The scheme envisages to deliver ‘Community based’ cover which will

Have a single premium across age band
Provide same coverage irrespective of the type of disability
Insurance cover upto 1.0 lakh Rs. and
All persons with disabilities will be eligible and included and there will be no ‘selection’

The Scheme further envisages that there shall be

No exclusion of Pre-existing condition
Same cover as that for other persons
Services ranging from regular Medical Checkup to Hospitalization. Therapy to Corrective Surgery, Transportation
Conditions requiring repetitive medical intervention as an in-patient
Pre & Post hospitalization expenses, subject to limits.
No pre-insurance medical tests
Cashless settlements only
Smart/Biometric cards with not only health data but also provision for other (Micro) financial data

The details of services with financial limits are as given in Annexure-‘A’. The scheme is extended in all the districts of the country (except J&K)

ENROLMENT OF BENEFICIARIES

All the registered organizations of National Trust are engaged in enrolment of beneficiaries. A sample enrolment form is enclosed in Annexure-B. The same is available in the web site of National Trust (nationaltrust.org.in) also.

ENPANELLMENT OF HEALTH SERVICE PROVIDERS

Under the scheme, health services will be provided by a network of hospital, nursing homes which will be duly empanelled for the scheme. Such service provider shall be of good quality fulfilling relevant requirements of the scheme.

PREMIUM & STOP LOSS

The premium amount is Rs.99/-per year for persons with income upto Rs.15,000/-p.m.which is paid by National Trust Others have to deposited Rs.250/- as processing fee. Details of the payment procedure is given in the enrolment form. In case of total claims exceeding the total premium amount, the Insurance Company will cover the risk up to 120% of the total premium amount i.e. the insurance company can have a stop loss at 120% of total premium amount. Similarly in case of claims falling short of total premium amount , the Insurance company shall pay back 90% of the savings, after deducting 20% as administrative cost.

IMPLEMENTATION

The Nodal Agency for implementation of the scheme is M/S Alegion Insurance Broking Ltd., 117, St. EBBA’S Avenue, P.S. Sivasamy Salai, Millipore, Chennai, Ph.No.9789982257, 9789982242.

The Scheme will be implemented through NGO member of LLC of concerned District. The NGO will enroll the beneficiaries and keep the records of the beneficiaries.

The beneficiary should be a domicile of Haryana State and should be residing in Haryana State for the last three years at the time of submission of application. He/She will have to submit domicile proof for this purpose issued by the competent authority.

ANNEXURE-A
INSURANCE BENEFITS HEALTH
List of Benefits (including pre-existing conditions) Limits (Rs.)

1	Cashless Hospitalization	100000
2	Domiciliary Hospitalization including Nursing charges	20000
3	Corrective Surgeries for existing disability including congenital disability	50000
4	Surgery to prevent further aggravation of disability	15000
5	Post operative care including Therapies for 6 months	15000
6	OPD Services (consultation and medicines) for all ailments and diseases.	10000
7	Regular Medical checkup for non-ailing Disabled.(Per Year)	10000
8	Pathology, Radiology, Advance tests for Diagnosis of illnesses and monitoring disability	7500
9	Ongoing Therapies to reduce impact of disability and disability related complications.	7500
10	Dental-Preventive Dentistry	7500
11	Transport charges for seeking medical services	1500
12	Alternative Medicine	2000

NIRAMAYA

ANNEXURE - B

(Health Insurance Scheme for Persons with Disabilities under the National Trust Act)

ENROLLMENT FORM

Name of Person with Disability (PWD) Passport photo

Father’s / Husband’s Name
(i) Age (ii) Sex (iii) Status : Married/Unmarried
Educational Qualifications
Type of Disability Tick here Percentage

a) Autism

b) Cerebral Palsy

c) Mental Retardation

d) Multiple Disabilities

please specify disabilities

Name of legal guardian, if any and relationship with PWD
Address of PWD for correspondence

PIN Phone email

Family Income of PWD /Parent
If family income above 15000 pm, details of amount

paid by the PWD to National Trust (Niramaya) Bank

Account (State Bank of India A/c 30396764585)*

10 Disability & Income verified & found correct.

(Signature & seal of LLC-NGO member)

11. Name & Designation of the authorized person of the NGO forwarding this enrollment form

Name of the NGO
Place Date Signature of the authorized person

Note:

Persons having family income of Rs.15,000/- p.m. are covered free under the scheme. For others a processing fee of Rs. 250/- to be deposited in savings Account No. 30396764585 in State Bank of India in favour of National Trust (Niramaya) and bank deposit receipt should be affixed as proof of payment along with the enrolment form.
This form can be submitted, till the enrollment process is continuing, to any registered organization of National Trust (list in the web site www.nationaltrust.org.in) in the district or to the registered office of ALEGION Insurance Broking Ltd., 117, St. Ebba’s Avenue, P.S. Sivasamisalai, Millipore, Chennai- 600 004.
Photocopies of Income Certificate, Disability Certificate & Address proof should be attached.
In case of any difficulty in getting the income certificate and /or disability certificate, the same may be obtained from the NGO member of Local Level Committee (LLC) of the district (LLC in case of Jabalpur) (list in the web site www.nationaltrust.org.in) who are authorized to issue such certificates, only for the purpose of this scheme.
Alternatively, income & disability details furnished on the form should be countersigned by the LLC NGO member (LLC in case of Jabalpur)
After submission of enrollment form, it will take around two months to process & distribute Health Card, if approved. Applicants are advised to check up with the NGO concerned where forms were submitted on 10^th/25^th of every month giving two month clear time for processing.

Benefits under the scheme can be availed by showing the health card at empanelled hospitals/health centres on cashless basis anywhere in India. At other places, benefits can be availed on reimbursement basis only.

Subject To implement GHARAUNDA scheme.

-----

National Trust, New Delhi has forwarded a GHARAUNDA scheme under the National Trust Act, 1999 to implement in the State. Under this scheme facilities of whole life shelter and maintenance will be provided to the Autism, cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities. For setting up/implementation of National Trust will provide Rs. 1.00 crore and the same share will be met by the State Government. State Govt. also provide land for construction of Group Home Centre. National Trust desired acceptance of the State for setting up of these centres. This scheme will be run by the NGOs having vast knowledge/experience in the field of Disabled Welfare and having sound financial position.

Under this scheme the following facilities will be provided to the Disabled Persons:-

Barrier free environment will be provided to the inmates;
Healthy diet and hygienic food will be provided 3 times in a day;
Necessary clothes will be provided free of cost;
Health services will be provided round the clock like as physiotherapy, medical check-up, speech therapy etc.
An accidental insurance policy amounting to Rs.50,000/- for each inmates;
Educational and Vocational Training facilities will also be provided;
Recreational and supports facilities;
Female caretaker will be provided to female inmates separately;
Complete security arrangement.

A memorandum of agreement between the National Trust and care service provider will be signed.

Under this scheme a corpus fund will be set up in which an amount of Rs. 2.00 crore (1.00 crore National Trust & 1.00 crore State Govt.) out of which the expenses relating to building, furniture, boarding-lodging, utensils etc. will be met out. In the initial stage group home measuring approximately 5000 sq.foot covered area will be set up for 40 inmates and for this purpose Rs.50.00 lakh will be met out of the corpus fund. The interest amount accrued on the remaining 1.50 crore rupee (approximate Rs.15.00 lakh) will be utilised for running/providing facilities to the inmates. As per the estimate Rs.4,000/- per month, per inmate purposed to be utilised and in this way Rs.11,52,000/- ¼4000x24x12=11]52]000@&½ annually will be utilised.

Out of the 40 seats 24 seats will be reserved for the beneficiaries belonging to BPL category and remaining 16 seats will be kept as paid seat for the inmates belonging above poverty line category. For this Rs. 9.60 lakh per seat will be charged from the parents/guardians of the inmate.

As regards the availability of land for construction of building it is purposed that land available in the premises of District Rehabilitation Centre, Bhiwani can be utilised for construction of building for the group care centre boys and the land/building available with Mahila Ashram, Rohtak can be utilised for the female group care centre.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/resources/information-about-schemes-for-disabled-haryana

INET Bangkok to Explore Internet’s Impact on Thailand’s Economy and Society

praskrishna — 2013-06-06T06:18:34Z

The Internet Society, in collaboration with the Thailand Internet community, the National Science & Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), and the Ministry of Information & Communication Technology (MICT), will host the INET Bangkok, 7-8 June 2013. The conference will be held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, and will focus on the power of the Internet as a force for economic and social progress.

This post was published in BusinessWire on May 30, 2013. Sunil Abraham is participating in this conference.

INET Bangkok will bring together Thai Internet stakeholders to engage in an open discussion on the Internet agenda. This event will specifically showcase the creative power of the Internet, promote the importance of participating in the Internet governance process, and share capacity building efforts to expand Internet access.

The INET Bangkok agenda will feature four tracks covering key drivers of the Internet in Thailand: Technology, Innovation, Society, and the Future. Noted speakers at the event include H.E. Anudith Nakornthap, Minister of Information & Communication Technology (MICT); Dr. Thaweesak “Hugh” Koanantakool, President, National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA); Paul Wilson, Director General of Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC); Dr. Rohan Samarajiva, Founder of LIRNEasia; Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, The Centre for Internet and Society; and Dr. Sak Segkhoonthod, President & CEO, Electronic Government Agency (EGA).

“The Internet has become a remarkable engine for social development and economic growth,” said Rajnesh Singh, Internet Society Regional Bureau Director for Asia-Pacific. “The Internet Society works closely with our Chapters, members, and regional community organizations to ensure the Internet continues to evolve as a platform for innovation, collaboration, creativity, and economic and social development. INET Bangkok will bring together leading Internet experts to discuss critical Internet issues for Thailand and across the region.”

A highlight of the event will be VIP Gala Dinner on 6 June 2013, celebrating the 25^th anniversary of the .TH group, Thailand’s ccTLD. For more details and to register, visit http://www.internetsociety.org/inet-bangkok.

About the Internet Society
The Internet Society is the trusted independent source for Internet information and thought leadership from around the world. With its principled vision and substantial technological foundation, the Internet Society promotes open dialogue on Internet policy, technology, and future development among users, companies, governments, and other organizations. Working with its members and Chapters around the world, the Internet Society enables the continued evolution and growth of the Internet for everyone. For more information, visit www.internetsociety.org.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/businesswire-may-30-2013-inet-bangkok-to-explore-internet-impact-on-thailand-economy-and-society

Indo - French Perspectives on Digital Studies

praskrishna — 2017-03-29T05:17:33Z

Anubha Sinha was a speaker at the Indo-French workshop on Open Access at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi on March 15, 2017. The event was organized by the Digital Studies Group.

Anubha Sinha broadly spoke on the state of open access in India, the features of the DBT-DST policy, ICAR policy, how to shape the future of open access movement in India and what are the obstacles in the same.

See the workshop schedule here

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/news/indo-french-perspectives-on-digital-studies

Centre for Internet and Society

Intellectual Property Rights — Open Access for Researchers

Module Introduction

Acknowledgements

Institutional Partnership with Tribal Research & Training Institute

Plan

Impact

Institute on Internet and Society

Course Content

Institute Highlights

Agenda

Speakers

Institute on Internet and Society

Who can apply?

How to apply?

Selection criteria

Attendance

What costs will be covered?

Important Dates

Draft Agenda

Day 1 (February 11, 2014)

Day 2 (February 12, 2014)

Day 3 (February 13, 2014)

Day 4 (February 14, 2014)

Day 5 (February 15, 2014)

Day 6 (February 16, 2014)

Day 7 (February 17, 2014)

Speakers Profiles

About CIS India and Ford Foundation

Contact

Institute on Internet & Society: Event Report

Day 1: June 8, 2013

Session 1: History of the Internet

Session 2: Domestic Bodies and Mechanisms

VIDEO

Session 3: Emerging trends in Internet usage in India

Day 2: June 9, 2013

Session 1: How Internet Works

Session 2: Wireless Technologies

Session 3: Building Knowledge Bases and Platform via Mass Collaboration on the Internet

Session: 4 Affordable Devices to access the Internet

Day 3: June 10, 2013

Session 1: Wired Access Technology

Day 4: June 11, 2013

Session 1: Universal Access

Session 2: Free and Open Internet

Session 3: Openness

Session 4: Open Content

Session 5: Quick Talk on Copyright Law and Access

Day 5: (June 12, 2013)

Session 1: Privacy on the Internet in India

Session 2: E-Accessibility

Session 3: International Bodies and Mechanisms

Session-4: E-Governance

Day 6: (June 13, 2013)

Session 1: Critical Perspectives of the Internet

Session 2: Strategies for Policy Intervention

Session 3: Profile of Internet Service Providers

Session 4: Competition in the Market by Helani Galpaya

Day 7: (June 14, 2013)

Session 1: Leveraging Internet for activism

Session 2: Internet Access Activism

Session 3: Ensuring Access to the Internet

Institute Expenses

What the participants had to say

Conclusion

Institute on Internet & Society

Institute for Internet & Society 2014, Pune

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

Day Four

Day Five

Day Six

Day Seven

Infrastructural Needs of Indian Language Wikisource Projects

Introduction

Context

Research objectives

Research methods