Centre for Internet and Society

Digital native: Control A, Backspace

nishant — 2016-06-05T02:25:45Z

The rewriting of textbooks should not be compared to the collaborations on Wikipedia, which only goes by evidence.

The article was published in Indian Express on June 5, 2016.

I remember the first time I made an edit on Wikipedia — it was almost 10 years ago, and it was a heady feeling, to realise that here is a global encyclopaedia being written, and that I could be a part of it. It felt strange, because I was brought up to believe that authors are special people with specialised knowledge, which can only be validated from special institutions, and that authorship required years of practice and perseverance.

However, a historic experiment by Nature magazine showed, that despite the average age of the then Wikipedia editor as somewhere in the late teens, articles in Wikipedia were not any more prone to error than in other established, institutionalised fountains of knowledge like the Encyclopaedia Britannica. In fact, not only were the non-specialised editors of Wikipedia spot on with their knowledge outputs, but that because of its iterative nature, errors, once spotted on Wikipedia could be immediately corrected, thus leading to a more robust source of knowledge.

Two key principles helped Wikipedia establish this process of reliable and resilient knowledge systems — neutrality of viewpoint, and evidence-based knowledge. In the largely free and open space of Wikipedia editing, the one thing that remained constant is neutrality. Editors, despite their own biases, locations, contexts, experiences or embodied knowledges, could not introduce their opinions or original research into the Wikipedia articles. This necessarily meant that every truth and knowledge claim made in a Wikipedia article needs to be verified through a source. This source could come from different spaces and different formats, but it serves as objective evidence for the information being provided there. In instances — and there are thousands of them, if not more — where two editors disagreed on how to interpret an event, or how to describe a person or a thing, the edit-war was fuelled not by the I-said-You-said never-ending rhetoric, but by relying on the soundness of research conducted by external sources.

For some years now, Wikipedia has become the de facto global reference system, which still relies on volunteers and non-specialised editors to contribute to complex, complicated and very specialised domains of human knowledge production. Even when the editors are experts or scholars, their contribution has value and merit, only when it is supported by externally verifiable source that supports their view points.

Wikipedia has become one of the foundational models of the information web, that makes it clear that knowledge can be freely produced, consumed and circulated, and more importantly, it can be negotiated and contested, thereby making our scientific research practices relevant and pertinent beyond the hallowed and often closed halls of the university. Wikipedia became a prime example of how information can be revised, changed, mutated, updated, upcycled, and subjected to deep scrutiny as long as it is informed by an alignment towards neutrality and supported by evidence produced through research.

I invoke these principles that have fostered one of the most magnificent pieces of collaborative human effort because it directly puts into contrast the revisionist, biased, authoritative and closed practices by which the Indian educational councils seem to be editing textbooks. The removal of the names of historical figures, the rewriting of history to reflect a biased, narrow and unsubstantiated narrative, the erasure of alternative histories and voices of protest and dissent, and the false planting of information which is grounded in the school of “People say” and the university of “I have heard” is an alarming development. Many people unfortunately think of this political revisionism as mimicking the wisdom of the crowds recounting and contestation of information on spaces like Wikipedia.

It is important to note that these attempts at revising known facts and of producing religious histories of exclusion and violence are not the digital mode of information upcycling. These revisions are firmly rooted in a political agenda that seeks to sanctify the discriminatory violences of our neo-authoritarian governments. They remain challenged by the scholars in the field who have enough evidence — of archives, of tracts, of data, and of information — that show that this information is false. They are entrenched in the politics of power that insist that this is the only true account of things, excluding public discourse, and performing acts of censorship that discourage all access to scientific learning.

The proponents who want to Make in India, cannot limit their rhetoric only to economic production, but have to extend collaborative and connected making to knowledge and information production. And this entails the unmaking of these authoritarian and fascist attempts at justifying rumours as information, hate speech as free speech, and revisions as conversations.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/indian-express-june-5-2016-nishant-shah-digital-native-control-a-backspace

ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆର ବିକାଶ

subha — 2016-06-04T04:37:32Z

The article on Odia Wikipedia was published in the Samaja on June 2, 2016.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/samaja-subhashish-panigrahi-june-2-2016-article-on-odia-wikipedia

ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ: ଏକ ଅଭିଯାନ

subha — 2016-06-04T04:26:38Z

The article which details Odia Wikipedia's 14 year-long journey was published in the Odia newspaper Suryaprava on June 3, 2016.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/suryaprava-subhashish-panigrahi-june-3-2016-article-on-odia-wikipedia-14-years-journey

NGOs urge PM to ‘resist pressure’ from U.S. on IPRs

praskrishna — 2016-06-04T04:16:36Z

Govt. to ensure transparency on engagements with the U.S. on IPR

The article was published in the Hindu on June 2, 2016.

A group of civil society organisations has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ‘resist,’ what they termed, “pressure from the U.S. and the pharmaceutical multinationals based there to amend India’s Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) laws”.

The appeal comes ahead of Mr. Modi’s U.S. trip next week when the issue of greater protection and enforcement of IPR may come up for discussions. The group also wanted the NDA Government to ensure transparency regarding its engagements with the U.S. on IPR issues by tabling a White Paper in Parliament.

They said the recently announced National IPR Policy “sees the generation of IPRs as an end in itself. However, in reality, promotion of IPRs has not only limited the ability of developing countries to obtain critical technologies for their economic and social development but has also seriously impacted their peoples’ lives by making essential goods such as medicines, seeds, and textbooks unaffordable.”

In a letter, the organisations urged the Prime Minister to reconsider the implementation of the IPR Policy and send it back to the drawing board.

Group members

The civil society groups include Forum Against FTAs, Third World Network, National Working Group on Patent Laws, Gene Campaign, New Trade Union Initiative, Navdanya, Software Freedom Law Centre, Centre for Internet and Society, Lawyers Collective, All Indian Drug Action Network and Initiative for Health & Equity in Society.

The IPR Policy would send a clear message to Washington that India’s intellectual property rights regime is not regressive, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said recently.

Ms. Sitharaman, however, said India does not recognise “unilateral measures” such as the U.S. Special 301 Report that tried to create pressure on countries to enhance IPR protection beyond the World Trade Organisation’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of IPRs (TRIPS). The Report had retained India on the ‘Priority Watch List’ in 2016 for not addressing “long-standing and systemic deficiencies in its (India’s) IPR regime.”

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/news/ngos-urge-pm-to-2018resist-pressure2019-from-u-s-on-iprs

Tweak the Make in India Recipe

rohini — 2016-06-04T04:02:01Z

As an erstwhile journalist covering electronics technologies and IT a few years ago, I was privy to a litany of manufacturers' woes and their causes: Tangled tax laws and regulations, red tape, corruption, licence raj, unreliable infrastructure such as power and roads, and lack of skilled labour.

The article was published by Business Today on June 3, 2016.

Unlike China, which raked in profits by keeping margins low and volumes high, every entity in the supply and distribution chain in India wanted a 30 per cent cut. India, they said, was no country for manufacturers. The only real electronics manufacturing was that of low-end or low-precision products. Where the products were of higher quality, they were merely assembled in India, often with the intent of circumventing taxes and of employing cheap labour.

Walking around the IT and Electronics pavilion at the Make in India Week in Mumbai early this year, I could see that not much has changed. As if symbolic of the scenario, there was one Indian company. The rest were MNCs based in Taiwan, China, Sweden, Japan, the US, and Germany. The push for indigenous manufacturing is nevertheless apparent from the flurry of proposed incentives, large infrastructural investments, and facilities made available to manufacturers and new entrepreneurs by the government. The Make in India mix, however, needs more than subsidies, tax waivers, reimbursement of duties, or monetary grants.

A pet peeve of brand owners and manufacturers with large patent portfolios operating in India is that research and development (R&D) in the country largely happens only in public research institutions and universities. Indian firms don't invest in R&D and subsequently fill patents. A patenting landscaping exercise conducted by us at the Centre for Internet and Society last year showed that all Indian patents, nearly 4,000 in number, pertaining to mobile technologies are owned by non-Indian companies. Out of approximately 19,500 patent applications, a meagre 18 were filed by Indian companies.

India's premier educational institutions also apply for far less patents within the country and abroad than their foreign counterparts. For example, the National Academy of Inventors has published a list of "Top 100 worldwide universities granted US utility patents in 2013" and another in 2014. One Indian school features on these lists - the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) - with 21 patents in 2013. Within India, the IITs and IISc file up to 200 applications every year; MIT files nearly 4,000 in the US. Several large MNCs run R&D facilities in India, hiring some of the best talent in the country. The patents for their work are first registered to these companies abroad, contributing to royalty outflows. One way to correct the famine of locally owned intellectual property is for the government to urge top Indian companies and academic institutions to push the envelope in terms of R&D and patenting. A promising development is that the Indian government has pledged start-up funds. So have companies such as Qualcomm, which has committed $150 million to a strategic venture fund in India.

Another gripe is that the manufacturing units in India are in reality assembly lines that only put together imported parts and components and generally make copied products. While the government has provided sops to encourage actual manufacturing to truly reduce dependence on 'screwdriver technologies', it needs to incentivise foreign corporations operating in India to transfer their technology to Indian entities, instead of only assembling here using automated or human labour. Moreover, India-manufactured products are infamously substandard. These products need to pass quality checks if India aspires for an export market and leverage in asking for transfer of technology.

To benefit from the transfer of technology, the workforce needs to learn to use it and assimilate it in its work life. Despite the intake of students in engineering schools in India being more than that in the US and China put together, a major chunk of newly graduated engineers in India is unemployable. The repairmen at Nehru Place's electronics market learn the ropes through an informal education system comprising their friends, peers and employers in small-time garage shops. Rookie engineers who secure the holy grail of college placement are trained from scratch by their employers, such as Infosys with its plush training campus located in Mysore. In either case, the employer is saddled with training new recruits. There is little in terms of professional excellence that institutions of formal education seem to impart. Prime Minister Modi believes that Indias human power would be among its largest exports by 2030, but monikers such as "coding coolies" only point to low valuation of its services. Unless quality vocational education produces professionals in different rungs of the manufacturing ecosystem - from technicians to production personnel to designers to ideators - manufacturing in the country will stay deprived of the benefits of the newest technologies.

Next would come developing indigenous technologies (governed by technical standards and otherwise) in order to reduce dependence on technologies owned by foreign rights holders. India's remote sensing capabilities are among the best in the world. Like GPS developed by the US and GLONASS by Russia, NAVIC is Indias own satellite navigation system. Where GPS in India becomes spotty or inaccurate, NAVIC is likely to be much more reliable and accurate. Mobile handsets sold in India are not equipped yet with the receivers needed to work with NAVIC. When they are, it will be a fillip for both manufacturing and location-based services in the country. There is also a need for diffusion of these technologies. India's public research organisations produce several potentially life-changing inventions, which unfortunately, almost never reach mass implementation.

With the emergence of new technologies comes a greater need for access to patenting. A patent is a monopoly granted to its owner for 20 years in return for publicly disclosing an invention. Without the ability to enforce it, such a monopoly is not of much use. Patenting is also expensive and time-consuming, especially for an individual innovator without the backing of an employer that has the wherewithal for it. Many opt for filing patents via large companies while retaining their names as the inventors. The company thus owns the patent. Small manufacturers without the resources to apply for a patent prefer to zealously guard their inventions. Instead of risking their unpatented inventions being stolen, they limit their use to their own establishments, and sometimes take the inventions with them to the grave.

Make in India was unveiled at a time when manufacturing worldwide was starting to experience the ongoing slump. China, so difficult to beat at its own game, has been facing the heat. There is a tiny window of opportunity for India, which may be akin to the guns made by Indian Ordnance Factories (IoF). These guns - exorbitantly priced and of low build quality - are notorious for backfiring. In the truly Indian spirit of jugaad, they are taken to gunsmiths by their buyers for big and small tweaks that would prevent unfortunate endings. Like the IoF guns, the Make in India recipe needs its own set of tweaks.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/business-today-rohini-lakshane-june-3-2016-tweak-the-make-in-india-recipe

MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from IIT, Kanpur

nehaa — 2016-06-04T03:35:09Z

This post provides a factual description about the operation of Ministry of Human Resource Development IPR Chair’s Intellectual Property Education, Research and Public Outreach (IPERPO) scheme in IIT, Kanpur.

Nisha S Kumar assisted in compilation of the document.

The author has analysed all the data received under various heads such as income, grants from MHRD, planned and non-planned expenditure, nature and frequency of programmes organised and the allocation of funds for the same. Throughout the course of observation and presentation of the analysed data, the author seeks to trace the presence of unjustified underutilisation of funds by the aforementioned university as provided by the MHRD during the period of 2013-2014.

To collect the information for the given study, an RTI application was filed to the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur on 16/02/2015 by the Centre for Internet and Society. The reply to the same was received on 27/02/2015.

These are the documents received by CIS from IIT, Kanpur:

For the RTI application filed by the CIS click here
For the reply to the RTI application click here

IIT,Kanpur did not entertain the RTI and furnished no documents for perusal.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/mhrd-ipr-chair-series-information-received-from-iit-kanpur

National Conference on Competition & IPR in ICT, Telecom & Mobile Sets

praskrishna — 2016-05-30T01:50:19Z

Rohini Lakshané and Anubha Sinha attended this conference held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on May 18, 2016. The event was organized by CMAI.

This was a specific conference dedicated to Make in India especially Mobile, Telecom and role of Competition v/s IPR. The speakers were from CCI, Industry and Legal luminaries. There is a need to arrive at balance between Competition and IPR. The conference was aimed to address the issues of IPRs v/s competition, role of SSO in standard settings, SEP’s contentions, basis of FRAND negotiations and need to recommend to Government to form an appropriate policy that is suitable for Make in India.

The conference focused on the need to discuss these issues with all the stakeholders and come out with appropriate status on the date and its relevance on Make in India and appropriate recommendations to the government. Further details of the conference can be accessed here.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/news/national-conference-on-competition-ipr-in-ict-telecom-mobile-sets

Celebrating 13 Years of the Kannada-language Wikipedia

subha — 2016-06-18T16:20:37Z

The Kannada-language Wikipedia celebrated its 13th anniversary on February 14 in Mangalore. To celebrate the journey of the project and the community, Kannada Wikipedians gathered at Saint Aloysius College, Mangaluru on May 14.

The article was published in DNA on May 22, 2016.

The larger community including long-time Wikipedians and new members like the students faculty involved in Wikipedia Education Programs gathered to participate in a day long edit-a-thon and chalk out plans for the future. The event was organised by the Kannada Wikimedia community and Dr. Vishwanatha Badikana, Wikipedian and Assistant Professor of Kannada department at St. Aloysius College, who coordinated the event locally.

Prior to the event, four edit-a-thons were organised in four different cities of Karnataka. The local organisers also took the participants through a heritage walk in the village of Pilikula Nisarga Dhama, an open library of the rich cultural heritage of Karnataka. Prior to the event, four edit-a-thons were organised in four different cities of Karnataka. The local organisers also took the participants through a heritage walk in the village of Pilikula Nisarga Dhama, an open library of the rich cultural heritage of Karnataka.

117 people gathered at the event out of which 96 were active editors of the Kannada Wikipedia to celebrate thirteen years of Kannada Wikipedia, arguably the largest online encyclopedia in Kannada language. Noted Kannada-computing researcher Kinnikambla Padmanabha Rao (widely known as KP Rao) addressed the public event and engaged with the audience about defining Kannada Wikipedia’s large role in widening the language’s presence on the internet. The heritage walk resulted in over 300 image uploads on Wikimedia Commons ranging from the life and culture of coastal Karnataka to select rich heritage of the state. 20 new editors also participated in the event and they were oriented on basics of Wikipedia editing and Creative Commons licenses.

Much before the event, preparation was begun to organise four different thematic edit-a-thons; Kannada literature in Mysore, Mechanical Engineering in Sagara, Science-related articles in Bengaluru and article on notable women of the coastal Karnataka region in Mangaluru. Follow up edit-a-thons were organised after the anniversary celebration, based on the same themes in the first three places.

Triveni K, one of the participants who is now pursuing her M.Sc at Christ University, called this event a great learning platform for learning core Wikipedia policies in detail. “I’m little occupied for my exams but when it is over, I will be back on Wikipedia”, shares Triveni.

The first ever edit on Kannada Wikipedia was made on June 12, 2003 with a message saying “Kannada Vishwa Koshakke Suswaagatha!” (meaning ‘Welcome to the Kannada encyclopedia’). However it took over a year, July 12, 2004, before the first article, about a city Shimoga, was created. Over the last decade, Kannada Wikipedia has been a great gamechanger for theKannada language where the Wikipedians have played a great role in making it a household name. 7,05,199 unique visitors read the articles every month as per the December 2015 statistics. The annual average of active editors for last year was 48, 91 (in February) being the highest, 22 (in May) the lowest and 80 being the count in December 2015. The peaks and valleys also signify that major outreach like Wikipedia Education Program at Christ University, Bengaluru could have boosted the total number of editors during the months when the program was being rolled out. The project since its inception has gone through many ups and downs over time, the major one being a small community to edit and curate such a high level task of creating new articles in Kannada, editing and enriching them with more information and citations, and cleaning up many articles. The biggest hurdle, as explained by Wikimedian Hari Prasad Nadig, has been cleaning up the articles created by paid translations of Google when Kannada Wikipedia along with many other Indian language Wikipedias was used as testing ground for improving Google Translate, a multilingual machine translation tool. Vasanth SN, a Kannada Wikipedian who has cleaned up over 60 such articles, prefers to use an existing good quality encyclopedia like the 14 volume Kannada Vishwakosha published by Mysore University and relicensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0 by the university, as a resource to create and improve articles.

The 14th anniversary was another milestone in the journey and there are many more to come. You can read more about it here on Kannada Wikipedia.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/dna-may-22-2016-subhashish-panigrahi-celebrating-13-years-of-kannada-language-wikipedia

Modi’s New Intellectual Property Rights Policy Will Only Benefit Players with Deep Pockets

sinha — 2016-05-28T16:02:54Z

The new policy fails to enact a balanced regime and instead is tilted in favour of rights-holders.

The article was published in Wire on May 21, 2016

In November 2014, five national governments wrote to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) to inform the policy-making process of India’s first national intellectual property rights policy (IPR policy). The DIPP received 300 submissions from various other stakeholders, including NGOs and civil society, multinational companies, businesses and trade associations, cutting across various sectors. The policy-making process itself was marred by bizarre, unfair and unexplained steps such as the sudden disbanding of the first think tank put in charge for producing a draft policy, an opaque and long-drawn process of releasing a first draft, the leak of a near-complete final draft and no publication of responses (yet) of the 300 odd submissions that were made by stakeholders. Finally, the DIPP released the policy last week.

Despite the long and extensive drafting process, the policy is tilted in favour of right-holders, and places undue reliance on IPRs to stimulate innovation and growth. It obviously claims otherwise, but there are some fundamental flaws in the policy’s premise which render the DIPP’s claims meaningless. Delving briefly into the subject of IPRs, it is a matter of principle that a balanced intellectual property (IP) regime, i.e. a model that balances rights with adequate limitations/exceptions, contributes optimally to the holistic development and growth of the nation. Limitations or exceptions are flexibilities in the law, which cut down absolute monopoly conferred by IPRs, and ensure that use and sharing of knowledge for purposes such as research, education and access to medicines are not overridden by IP rightholders’ claims. The Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights agreement (TRIPS), which is the largest international agreement governing countries’ IPR regimes also promotes the use of these flexibilities to build balanced regimes. The policy does occasionally state its commitment to the TRIPS agreement and the Doha Declaration, but does not commit or spell out any new concrete steps. Thus, it fails to show any seriousness about upholding and promoting a ‘balanced’ regime – in stark comparison to the detailed and surgical manner in which it aims to raise awareness about IPRs and commercialise them.

Unfortunately for the policy, a myopic rationale captures the ambition of the document. The policy document states that, “The rationale… lies in the need to create awareness about the importance of IPRs as a marketable financial asset and economic tool.” As such, the policy fails to recognise the philosophy of welfare and balance embedded in IPRs: to ensure innovation, social, scientific and cultural progress and furtherance of access to knowledge. In all fairness, while the document pays a salutary tribute to objectives such as “achieve economic growth and socio-cultural development, while protecting public interest; also of advancing science and technology, arts and culture, traditional knowledge and biodiversity, transforming knowledge-owned into knowledge shared,” it never rises above its treatment of IPR as a tool to solely serve the interests of rights-holders.

The policy’s attempts to ‘create awareness’ about IPRs through massive outreach and promotion would perhaps be justified, if the singular aim was not the glorification of IPRs. This section implements several steps to induce positivity around IPRs in society to the extent of teaching young students about the benefits of IPRs, which is excessive. While I am of the opinion that awareness building may be important at research centres and industries, a lopsided rights-centric positive view of IPRs should not pass off for ‘awareness’. This is a dangerous view, and will only create a mad race to generate IP and acquire rights.

Chinese copycat?

Unfortunately, it appears that the government is indeed on board with this. I say this because the lopsided view was endorsed by senior Indian Patent Office and DIPP officials at a recent national conference. It is likely that the idea to use the IPR policy as a tool for ‘IPR indoctrination’ to result in staggering IPR generation came to the Indian government from their Chinese counterparts. In 1995, China started conducting elaborate training of its officers, researchers and students to popularise a generation of IPRs and last year the country received 10 lakh patent filings – an international record. At the conference, the officials were in awe of the Chinese statistics, and they were confident of catching up in the next few years. This despite the fact that in China, the race to patent innovations has only led to a proliferation of low value innovations in high numbers. Less than 1% of China’s patents are of intermediate or high value. Thus, China despite its high patent filings shows only a weak innovative performance. Globally, there is enough evidence to show that there is no positive correlation between patent filings and cumulative innovative performance of a country.

Further, the policy in its bid to maximise IPR generation goes to the extent of encumbering public-funded research by IPRs. It suggests that R&D institutions and academia reward researchers based on the degree of IPR creation, which would obviously lead to IPR-driven research. Such an approach would mean that research on less profiteering sectors in terms of IPR revenues would be neglected. Is this how we want our fledgling research and development sector to shape up?

It is disappointing to see how the DIPP has used the policy to strengthen administrative, enforcement and adjudicatory mechanisms for only trade protectionist purposes. The policy is also in contrast with steps taken by other government departments to foster access to knowledge and openness in domains traditionally encumbered by various barriers, including IPRs. For instance, the Department of Biotechnology, Department of Science and Technology has adopted an open access policy applicable to all researchers – this policy ensures that all publications resulting from publicly funded research will be made freely accessible. The Ministry of Law and Justice is in the process of finalising a suitable licence to enable the distribution and sharing of government data. This policy seems at odds, therefore, with other commons-oriented approaches adopted within the government itself.

Next up, pharma

India’s generic drug industry has been a saviour for providing affordable drugs worldwide. The most critical provision to ensure a check on ‘evergreening’ of patents is section 3(d) of the Patents Act, 1970. This provision along with compulsory licensing mechanism has been regularly attacked by big pharma. However, the policy does not mention or affirm its commitment to using such tools effectively. Moreover, the policy also misses an opportunity to stress on enforcement of form 27 filings by patent-holders. Form 27 filings demonstrate if a patent is being ‘worked’ in a territory or not, and if it is not worked adequately, a third party can apply for a compulsory licence. Both the Indian Patent Office and patent holders have largely neglected providing form 27 in a timely manner. The policy also over-reaches in certain areas. It mandates the creation of a separate offence for illegal duplication of films – which is completely unwarranted and redundant. The creation of a new criminal penalty for what essentially is infringement and already punishable (under Indian Copyright Act, 1957) comes directly from lobbying by movie studios.

Finally, while it is laudable that the policy aims to step up the efficiency of all concerned IPR offices, there is little to suggest that the policy is capable of nurturing and protecting a balanced IP regime. The flawed assumption of a linkage between IPR generation and cumulative innovation underpins the document, which should have no place in any national IPR policy. It is common knowledge that India had been under pressure from western governments and industry lobbies to ‘strengthen’ its IPR regime to the likes of matured economies and societies. India, a fast developing country, could have secured its unique developmental needs through a more balanced and nuanced IPR policy. But the changes that have taken place will largely benefit a small fraction of the ecosystem, one with deep pockets and great power.

Anubha Sinha is a programme officer at CIS. She works primarily on the Pervasive Technologies Project, and on other issues involving intellectual property law and openness.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/modi2019s-new-intellectual-property-rights-policy-will-only-benefit-players-with-deep-pockets

A four year, action-packed experience with Wikipedia

Sailesh Patnaik — 2016-06-18T16:20:54Z

I consider myself to be an Odia Wikimedian. I contribute Odia knowledge (the predominant language of the Indian state of Odisha) to many Wikimedia projects, like Wikipedia and Wikisource, by writing articles and correcting mistakes in articles. I also contribute to Hindi and English Wikipedia articles.

The article was published in OpenSource.com on April 15, 2016.

My love for Wikimedia started while I was reading an article about the Bangladesh Liberation war on the English Wikipedia after my 10th board exam (like, an annual exam for 10th grade students in America). By mistake I clicked on a link that took me to an India Wikipedia article, and I started reading. Something was written in Odia on the lefthand side of the article, so I clicked on that, and reached a ଭାରତ/Bhārat article on the Odia Wikipedia. I was excited to find a Wikipedia article in my native language!

A banner inviting readers to be part of the 2nd Bhubaneswar workshop on April 1, 2012 sparked my curiousity. I had never contributed to Wikipedia before, only used it for research, and I wasn't familiar with open source and the community contribution process. Plus, I was only 15 years old. I registered. There were many language enthusiasts at the workshop, and all older than me. My father encouraged me to the participate despite my fear; he has played an important role—he's not a Wikimedian, like me, but his encouragement has helped me change Odia Wikipedia and participate in community activities.

I believe that knowledge about Odia language and literature needs to improve—there are many misconceptions and knowledge gaps—so, I help organize events and workshops for Odia Wikipedia. On my accomplished list at the point, I have:

initiated three major edit-a-thons in Odia Wikipedia: Women's Day 2015, Women's Day 2016, abd Nabakalebara edit-a-thon 2015

initiated a photograph contest to get more Rathyatra images from all over the India

represented Odia Wikipedia during two events by Google (Google I/O extended and Google Dev Fest)

spoke at Perception 2015 and the first Open Access India meetup

I was just an editor to Wikipedia projects until last year, in January 2015, when I attended Bengali Wikipedia's 10th anniversary conference and Vishnu, the director of the Center for Internet and Society at the time, invited me to attend the Train the Trainer Program. I was inspired to start doing outreach for Odia Wikipedia and hosting meetups for GLAM activities and training new Wikimedians. These experience taught me how to work with a community of contributors.

Ravi, the director of Wikimedia India at the time, also played an important role in my journey. He trusted me and made me a part of Wiki Loves Food, a public photo competition on Wikimedia Commons, and the organizing committee of Wikiconference India 2016. During Wiki Loves Food 2015, my team helped add 10,000+ CC BY-SA images on Wikimedia Commons. Ravi further solidified my commitment by sharing a lot of information with me about the Wikimedia movement, and his own journey, during Odia Wikipedia's 13th anniversary.

Less than a year later, in December 2015, I became a Program Associate at the Center for Internet and Society's Access to Knowledge program (CIS-A2K). One of my proud moments was at a workshop in Puri, India where we helped bring 20 new Wikimedian editors to the Odia Wikimedia community. Now, I mentor Wikimedians during an informal meetup called WikiTungi Puri. I am working with this group to make Odia Wikiquotes a live project. I am also dedicated to bridging the gender gap in Odia Wikipedia. Eight female editors are now helping to organize meetups and workshops, and participate in the Women's History month edit-a-thon.

During my brief but action-packed journey during the four years since, I have also been involved in the Wikipedia Education Program, the newsletter team, and two global edit-a-thons: Art and Feminsim and Menu Challenge. I look forward to the many more to come!

I would also like to thank Sameer and Anna (both previous members of the Wikipedia Education Program).

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/open-source-april-15-2016-a-four-year-action-packed-experience-with-wikipedia

ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଏନସାଇକ୍ଲୋପିଡ଼ିଆ "ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ" ବିକାଶ ପାଇଁ ଏକାଠି ହେଲେ ପୁରୀର ଛାତ୍ରଛାତ୍ରୀ

subha — 2016-06-18T16:21:07Z

ସଂସ୍କୃତିର ସହର ପୁରୀରେ ଛାତ୍ରଛାତ୍ରୀମାନେ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଭାଷାକୁ ଅଧିକ ବ୍ୟବହାରଯୋଗ୍ୟ କରିବା ପାଇଁ ତଥା ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ଅଧିକ ପଠନଯୋଗ୍ୟ ଲେଖାର ବିକାଶ ଲାଗି ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆରେ ସମ୍ପାଦନା କରିବା ଆରମ୍ଭ କରିଛନ୍ତି । ପୁରୀର ୫ଟି ଭିନ୍ନ ଭିନ୍ନ ଶିକ୍ଷାନୁଷ୍ଠାନର ପାଖାପାଖି ୧୨ ଜଣ ଛାତ୍ରଛାତ୍ରୀ ନିୟମିତ ଭେଟି କର୍ମଶାଳା ମାଧ୍ୟମରେ ବିଭିନ୍ନ ବିଷୟରେ ତଥ୍ୟଭିତ୍ତିକ ଲେଖାମାନ ତିଆରି ଓ ସମ୍ପାଦନା କରୁଛନ୍ତି ।

The article that came May 20 on YourStory Odia, is about WikiTungi Puri and highlights a female editor Adyasha Sahu. WikiTungi Puri is a collective of the Odia Wikimedia community members that are based in the city of Puri.

ପୁରୀରେ ଆୟୋଜିତ ଏକ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ କର୍ମଶାଳା ପରେ ସେଠାରେ ଆଗରୁ ଗୁଗୁଲ ଡେଭଲପର୍ସ ଗ୍ରୁପରେ ସକ୍ରିୟ ଥିବା ସ୍ୱେଚ୍ଛାସେବୀ କର୍ମୀମାନେ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆରେ ଯୋଗ ଦେଇ ବିଭିନ୍ନ ବିଷୟରେ ଲେଖିବା ଆରମ୍ଭ କଲେ । କେଇଟା ଦିନ ଭିତରେ ଆଗରୁ ଅବହେଳିତ ବିଭିନ୍ନ ବିଷୟ ଯଥା ମୋବାଇଲ, କମ୍ପ୍ୟୁଟର ଓ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟ ସମ୍ବନ୍ଧିତ ଲେଖା, । ଏହି ୧୨ ଜଣିଆ ଦଳରେ ଥିବା ୪ ଜଣ ଝିଅ ଓଡ଼ିଶା ଓ ଓଡ଼ିଶା ବାହାରର ବିଭିନ୍ନ ଜଣାଶୁଣା ନାରୀଙ୍କ ସମ୍ବନ୍ଧରେ ଲେଖାସବୁ ତିଆରିବା ସହିତ ଆଗରୁ ଥିବା ଲେଖାଗୁଡ଼ିକ ଉନ୍ନତ କରିଆସୁଛନ୍ତି । ଏମାନଙ୍କ ଅବଦାନ ଫଳରେ ବିଭିନ୍ନ ଜଣାଅଜଣା ବିଷୟରେ ଉପାଦେୟ ଲେଖାସବୁ ପାଠକମାନଙ୍କ ପାଇଁ ଖୋଲାରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ ହେଉଛି । ଆଗକୁ ଛାତ୍ର, ଶିକ୍ଷକମାନେ ବହି ବାହାରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ କିଛି ପଢ଼ିବାକୁ ଚାହିଁଲେ ଏସବୁ ବ୍ୟବହାରରେ ଲାଗିବ ।

ଏମାନଙ୍କ ଭିତରୁ ଜଣେ ଉଇକିଆଳି ଆଦ୍ଯାଶା କହନ୍ତି, "ମୁଁ ପ୍ରଥମେ ଲେଖିବା ଆରମ୍ଭ କଲାବେଳକୁ ରବୀନ୍ଦ୍ରନାଥ ଠାକୁରଙ୍କ ବାବଦରେ ଛୋଟ ଲେଖାଟେ ଥିଲା । ଆଉ ମୋର ତାଙ୍କ ବାବଦରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ କିଛି ପଢ଼ିବା ପାଇଁ ଇଚ୍ଛା ଥିଲେ ବି ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ କିଛି ଖୋଜି ପାଉଲି ନାହିଁ । ତେଣୁ ନିଜେ ଇଂରାଜୀରୁ ଅନୁବାଦ କରିବା ଆରମ୍ଭ କଲି । ନିକଟରେ ଗୋଟେ ପରୀକ୍ଷାରେ ତାଙ୍କ ବିଷୟରେ ପଡ଼ିଥିଲା ଯେ ମୁଁ ମୋର ନିଜ ଲେଖା ଅନୁଭୂତି କେତେ କାମରେ ଆସିଲା ତାହା ଜାଣିଲି", ବଖାଣନ୍ତି ଆଦ୍ୟାଶା ।

ଆଉ ଜଣେ ମହିଳା ଉଇକିଆଳି ଅଲିଭା ସାହୁ କହନ୍ତି, "ମୁଁ କାକଟପୁର କଲେଜରେ ପଢ଼ିଲା ବେଳେ ବାଦ୍ୟଯନ୍ତ୍ର ଉପରେ ଲେଖାଟିଏ ଥିଲା । ସେତେବେଳେ ମୁଁ ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ବିଶେଷ କିଛି ପଢ଼ିବାକୁ ପାଇନଥିଲି । ଏମିତି ଖୋଜୁଖୋଜୁ ଦିନେ ସେ ବାବଦରେ ଲେଖାଟିଏ ପାଇଲି । ଇଂରାଜୀ ଲେଖା ଆଉ ହିନ୍ଦୀ ଲେଖା ଦୁଇଟିରୁ ମିଶାଇ ଓଡ଼ିଆକୁ ଅନୁବାଦ କଲି ।"

ଅନୁବାଦ ହେଉ କି ମୌଳିକ ଭାବେ ହେଉ, ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆରେ ବିଭିନ୍ନ ପ୍ରକାଶିତ ଲେଖାର ଆଧାରରେ ଉଇକିଆଳିମାନେ ତିଆରିଚାଲିଛନ୍ତି ଭଳିକି ଭଳି ନୂଆ ଲେଖା ।

Video

ପୁରୀର ଏହି ଉଇକିଆଳିମାନେ ଏକାଠି ହୋଇ ଗଢ଼ିଛନ୍ତି "ଉଇକିଟୁଙ୍ଗି ପୁରୀ" । ପୁରୀରେ ଯୁବପିଢ଼ିଙ୍କୁ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ସମ୍ପର୍କରେ ଅବଗତ କରାଇବା, ପୁରୀ ସାମନ୍ତ ଚନ୍ଦ୍ରଶେଖର ସ୍ୱୟଂଶାସିତ କଲେଜରେ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆର ପ୍ରଚାର ପ୍ରସାର କରାଇବା, ପୁରୀରେ କର୍ମଶାଳା ଓ ମେଳଣ ଅଧିକରୁ ଅଧିକ ଲୋକଙ୍କୁ ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ଟାଇପ ଶିଖାଇବା ଓ ସେମାନଙ୍କୁ ନିଜ ଅଞ୍ଚଳ ଓ ଆଗ୍ରହର ବିଷୟ ବାବଦରେ ଲେଖିବା ପାଇଁ ଆଗଭର କରାଇବା ଓ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଢଗଢମାଳି-ଲୋକକଥା ଆଦିକୁ ଗୋଟେ ସ୍ଥାନରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ କରାଇବା ପାଇଁ ଉଇକିକଥା ନାମରେ ଆଉ ଏକ ପ୍ରକଳ୍ପର ବିକାଶ କରାଇବା ହେଉଛି ଏହି ଦଳର ମୁଖ୍ୟ ଲକ୍ଷ୍ୟ ।

ବାକି ଭାରତୀୟ ଓ ଏସୀୟ ଭାଷା ଭିତରୁ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଏକ ପୁରୁଣା ଭାଷା ହୋଇ ସୁଦ୍ଧା ଓଡ଼ିଆର ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ବ୍ୟବହାର ଖୁବ ଊଣା । ଯଦିଓ ଓଡ଼ିଶାରେ ନିୟମିତ ପ୍ରକାଶିତ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଖବରକାଗଜ ଧୀରେ ଧୀରେ ବଢ଼ି ବଢ଼ି ଚାଲିଛି ସେସବୁ ଏଯାବତ ଇଉନିକୋଡ଼ରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଦ ହେଉନଥିବାରୁ ଲେଖାଗୁଡ଼ିକ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ଖୋଜିଲେ ମିଳୁନାହିଁ । ଆଉ ସବୁ କାଗଜର ପୁରୁଣା ଅଭିଲେଖ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ ହେଉନଥିବାରୁ ଜଣେ ଲୋଡ଼ାପଡ଼ିଲେ ଖବରଟେ ଖୋଜି ପାଇପାରିବ ନାହିଁ । ଏ ଦିଗରେ ପ୍ରକାଶନ ସଂସ୍ଥା, ବ୍ୟକ୍ତିବିଶେଷ ଓ ସରକାର ସଭିଏଁ ଚେଷ୍ଟା କଲେ ଯାଇ ଅଧିକରୁ ଅଧିକ ଲେଖା ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ ହୁଅନ୍ତା । ଏଯାଏ ଗୁଗୁଲର ପ୍ରଧାନ ପୃଷ୍ଠାରେ ଯେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଆସୁନାହିଁ ବୋଲି ଅନେକେ ମତ ଦିଅନ୍ତି ତା'ର ମୁଖ୍ୟ କାରଣ ହେଲା ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଲେଖାର ଘୋର ଅଭାବ । ଏ ଦିଗରେ ଅଣଲାଭକାରୀ ସ୍ୱେଚ୍ଛାସେବୀଙ୍କ ଦ୍ୱାରା ପରିଚାଳିତ ସମୂହ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆର ଭୂମିକା ଉଲ୍ଲେଖଯୋଗ୍ୟ । ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ (Wikipedia) ୨୦୦୧ରେ ପ୍ରଥମେ ଇଂରାଜୀରେ ଆରମ୍ଭ ହୋଇ ଧୀରେ ଧୀରେ ବାକି ଭାଷାରେ ଆରମ୍ଭ ହେଲା । ଆନନ୍ଦର ବିଷୟ ଯେ ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ୨୦୦୨ ମସିହାରେ ପ୍ରଥମ ଭାରତୀୟ ଭାଷାର ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ଭାବେ ଅହମୀୟା, ମାଲାୟାଲାମ ଓ ପଞ୍ଜାବୀ ସହିତ ଗଢ଼ାହେଲା । ଅଧୁନା କେବଳ ଇଂରାଜୀ ନୁହେଁ ୨୮୭ରୁ ଅଧିକ ଭାଷାରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ ଏହି ଖୋଲା ଅନଲାଇନ ଏନସାଇକ୍ଲୋପିଡ଼ିଆ । ଅନେକେ ଜାଣି କାବା ହେବେ ଯେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆରେ ଲେଖୁଥିବା ସମ୍ପାଦକ ବା ଉଇକିଆଳିଙ୍କ ସଂଖ୍ୟା ପାଖାପାଖି ୨୫-୩୦ ହେଲେ ହେଁ ଏଥିରେ ଲେଖା ପ୍ରସଙ୍ଗ ସଂଖ୍ୟା ୧୦,୬୦୦ରୁ ଅଧିକ । ପୁରୀର ଉଇକିଆଳିମାନଙ୍କ ଆସିବା ପରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିଆଳିଙ୍କ ସଂଖ୍ୟା ପାଖାପାଖି ଦୁଇଗୁଣା ବଢ଼ିଛି ବୋଲି କହିହେବ ।

ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆରେ ଥିବା ପ୍ରସଙ୍ଗ http://or.wikipedia.org ରେ ପଢ଼ିପାରିବେ । ଏଥିରେ ସଭିଏଁ ଲେଖିପାରିବେ (ଲେଖିବା ବାବଦରେ ଦରକାରୀ ସୂଚନା) ।

ଫଟୋ: ସ୍ନେହାଶିଷ ନାୟକ (CC-BY-SA 4.0)

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/b07b23b4db1fb30b28b47b1fb30b47-b13b21b3cb3fb06-b0fb28b38b3eb07b15b4db32b2ab3fb21b3cb3fb06-b09b07b15b3fb2ab3fb21b3cb3fb06-b2cb3fb15b3eb36-b2ab3eb07b01-b0fb15b3eb20b3f-b39b47b32b47-b2ab41b30b40b30-b1bb3eb24b4db30b1bb3eb24b4db30b40

Train the Trainer 2016

praskrishna — 2016-05-28T07:29:23Z

The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS-A2K) team is organizing the Train the Trainer programme at its office in Bengaluru from June 15 to 17, 2016.

After two successful iterations of Train the Trainer in 2013 and 2015, CIS-A2K is planning to organize the third iteration of the program. The exact dates and venue of the event have not been decided still, but like our previous iterations, this year also be a 3-days' residential program.

What's new in TTT 2016

Extensive feedback gathering: The planning of TTT 2016 started in mid-April when we started contacting TTT 2015 participants for their ideas and suggestions to design this year's Train-the-Trainer program. We asked them a number of questions such as "what could be improved in the last TTT?, how can be improve this year's TTT etc." We'll reach mailing lists and village pumps for for further inputs. Based on all these suggestions and feedback, this year's TTT will be designed.
MWT session: Based on the feedback we have received, it seems the participants are interested to learn some topics which were previously discussed during MWT. So, MWT sessions many be included in this year's program.

Registration

Note: Participants will be selected based on their on wiki and off wiki activities and their responses to the questions asked in the Google form. In order to fulfil this objectives, preference will be given to Wikimedians who are applying for the first time.

Please fill this form to apply to join this year's Train-the-Trainer event. Please write your answers in details. We may contact you if we need further details.

Clarification

In the Google form above you'll find these terms

Pre-event works: The exact pre-event work has not been fixed yet, but it may something like preparing presentation or draft-plan to improve your Wikiprojects.
Post-event works: Post-TTT you'll work to execute your plans, and conduct outreach activities. You will be in touch with CIS-A2K and share your progress and activities.

Program schedule has not been prepared yet. We expect to announce the program schedule at least 7 days before the event.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/events/train-the-trainer-2016

MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from NLSIU

nehaa — 2016-05-27T16:15:49Z

Nisha S. Kumar assisted in compilation of this blog post.

The author has analysed all the data received through which, the author seeks to trace the presence of unjustified underutilisation of funds by the aforementioned university as provided by the MHRD during the period of 2013-2014. To collect the information for the given study, an RTI application was filed to NLSIU on 17/11/2014 by the Centre for Internet and Society. The reply to RTI application was received on 18/12/2014.

These are the documents received by CIS from NLSIU:

For response to the RTI application click here
For documents related to the establishment of NLSIU's IPR cell and IPR chair click here

Hereinafter, in order to receive any information about NLSIU’s RTI reply, kindly refer to the above mentioned links. Following are the queries mentioned in the RTI application along with their replies.

Reports on the implementation of the IPERPO scheme of the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the implementation of the MHRD IPR Chair funded under the scheme at NLSIU
Reply: NLSIU has submitted the documents required under this track. To view all the documents submitted by the University in reply,click here.
Documents detailing the release of grants to the MHRD IPR Chairs under the IPERPO Scheme
Reply: Documents pertaining to the period of 2004-2013 and 2013-14 have been submitted by the University. To view the supporting documents click here and here.
Documents relating to receipts of utilisation certificates and audited expenditure statements and matters related to all financial sanctions with regard to funds granted to the MHRD IPR Chair established under the IPERPO scheme at NLSIU.
Reply: The University has provided utilisation certificate for the period of 2004-2014. To view the supporting documents, click here

Comparative Analysis between University Response and the guidelines of MHRD Scheme Document

The Scheme Document of MHRD (http://copyright.gov.in/Documents/scheme.pdf) is a comprehensive document which consists of guidelines regarding Intellectual Property Education, Research and Public Outreach. It talks about a list of objectives, purposes, conditions and eligibility criteria for a University to ensure in order to implement IPERPO in a truest sense. This document provides the procedural as well as qualifying conditions for an Institute to ensure or fulfil before applying for the MHRD grant. Some of these conditions include maintenance of utilization certificates, audit reports, expenditure statements and event information which would be open to access on demand by MDHR or Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

A. Objectives
In order to fulfil the objectives mentioned in the scheme document, NLSIU undertook following activities:

Introduction of UG and PG level courses on IPR
Introduction of PhD fellowships in the field of IPR.
Conducting multiple workshops over the years to further the training of teachers as well as at a student level
Hosting numerous conclaves on the subject of IPR and their relation to business
Providing short term course on training of teachers in the field of IPR
Held various symposiums, seminars and conferences for the furtherance of IPR
Invited esteemed professors from the field for guest lectures
Established an IPR library in the IPR cell
Website on IPR launched

B. Eligibility
NLSIU is recognized by the University Grants Commission. Therefore, it fulfils the eligibility criteria mentioned in the scheme document.

Financial Analysis 2004-05

The University received a grant of Rs. 5,00,000 out of which it incurred an expense of Rs. 9,33,241.

B. Financial year 2008-09

The University incurred an expense of Rs. 14,90,890 against a grant of Rs. 20,00,000 leaving Rs. 5,09,110 as unspent balance.

C. Financial year 2009-10

The University incurred an expenditure of Rs. 23,53,552.17 against a grant of Rs. 15,00,000 and a carried forward balance of Rs. 5,09,110.

D. Financial year 2010-11

The University did not receive any grant, however, it incurred an expenditure of Rs. 32,88,478.

E. Financial year 2011-12

The University received a grant of Rs. 36,67,080 and incurred an expenditure of Rs. 32,11,663 leaving Rs. 4,55,417 as unspent balance.

F. Financial year 2012-13

The University incurred an expenditure of Rs. 37,87,391 against a grant of Rs. 30,00,000 and a carried forward balance of Rs. 4,55,417.

G. Financial year 2013-14

The University incurred an expendiute of Rs. 45,31,927 against a sanctioned grant of Rs. 45,00,000.

Expenditure Analysis for the Financial Year 2012-13

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/mhrd-ipr-chair-series-information-received-from-nlsiu

MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from NLU, Jodhpur

nehaa — 2016-05-26T02:03:42Z

Nisha S. Kumar assisted in compilation of the document.

To collect the information for the given study, an RTI application was filed to NLU, Jodhpur on 09/02/2015 by the Centre for Internet and Society. The reply to RTI application was received on 12/03/2015.

These are the documents received by CIS from NLU, Jodhpur:

For the reply to the RTI application click here
For the proposal to establish the IPR chair at NLU Jodhpur click here

Hereinafter, in order to receive any information about NLU, Jodhpur’s RTI reply, kindly refer to the above mentioned links. Following are the queries mentioned in the RTI application along with their replies.

Reports on the implementation of the IPERPO scheme of the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the implementation of the MHRD IPR Chair funded under the scheme at NLU, Jodhpur.

Reply: NLU, Jodhpur has submitted the documents required under this track for the period of 2008-2015. To view the relevant documents, download the file (2008-09 –Part one,Part two and Part three; 2009-10 – Part one, Part two, Part three and Part four; 2010-11 – Complete; 2011-12 – Part one and Part two; 2012-13 – Part one and Part two; 2013-14 - Complete; 2014-15 - Complete).

Documents detailing the release of grants to the MHRD IPR Chairs under the IPERPO Scheme
Reply: NLU, Jodhpur has submitted the documents required under this track for the period of 2008-2010 and the financial year of 2013-2014. To view all the documents submitted by the University in reply,click here.(nlu jodhpur F. No. 10.2008-IC’)
Documents relating to receipts of utilisation certificates and audited expenditure statements and matters related to all financial sanctions with regard to funds granted to the MHRD IPR Chair established under the IPERPO scheme at NLU, Jodhpur.
Reply: The University has provided utilisation certificatefor the period of 2008-11 and 2013-14. To view the supporting documents, click here. (nlu jodhpur Utilisation Certificate’)

Comparative Analysis between University Response and the guidelines of MHRD Scheme Document

A. Objectives
In order to fulfil the objectives mentioned in the scheme document, NLU Jodhpur undertook following activities:

Introduction of UG and PG level courses on IPR
Conducting lecture series on the subject of IPR.
Conducting multiple workshops over the years to further the training of teachers as well as at a student level
Hosting numerous conclaves on the subject of IPR and their relation to business
Providing short term course on training of teachers in the field of IPR
Held various symposiums, seminars and conferences for the furtherance of IPR
Invited esteemed professors from the field for guest lectures
Established an IPR library in the IPR cell

B. Eligibility
NLU, Jodhpur is recognized by the University Grants Commission. Therefore, it fulfils the eligibility criteria mentioned in the scheme document.

Financial Analysis
A.Financial year 2008-09

The University received a grant of Rs. 14,00,000 out of which it utilized Rs. 11,90,115 for the implementation of the IPERPO scheme leaving an unspent balance of Rs. 2,09,885.

B. Financial year 2010-11

First installment

The University incurred an expenditure of Rs. 11,27,740 against a grant of Rs. 15,00,000 leaving an unutilized balance of Rs. 3,72,260.

Second Instalment

The University incurred an expenditure of Rs. 26,21,369 against a grant of Rs. 40,00,000 leaving an unspent balance of Rs. 13,78,631 as unutilized balance.

C. Financial year 2013-14

The University incurred an expenditure of Rs. 16,86,566 against a grant of Rs. 36,00,000 leaving an unspent balance of Rs. 19,13,434.

Expenditure Analysis

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/mhrd-ipr-chair-series-information-received-from-nlu-jodhpur

MHRD IPR Chair Series: Information Received from IIM, Bangalore

nehaa — 2016-05-21T09:13:30Z

To collect the information for the given study, an RTI application was filed to the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore by the Centre for Internet and Society. The reply to RTI application was received on 16/12/2014. There was a further correspondence through email between the University and CIS following which additional supporting documents were provided by the University.

These are the documents received by CIS from IIM, Bangalore:

For response to the RTI application click here
For response to the email click here
For the report provided by IIM, Bangalore click here

Hereinafter, in order to receive any information about IIM, Bangalore’s RTI reply, kindly refer to the above mentioned links. Following are the queries mentioned in the RTI application along with their replies.

Reports on the implementation of the IPERPO scheme of the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the implementation of the MHRD IPR Chair funded under the scheme at IIM, Bangalore
Reply: IIM, Bangalore has submitted the documents required under this track. To view all the documents submitted by the University in reply, click here.
Documents detailing the release of grants to the MHRD IPR Chairs under the IPERPO Scheme
Reply: Documents pertaining to the financial years2005-06, 2007-08 and the period of 2012-2013 have been submitted by the University. To view the supporting documents click here.
Documents relating to receipts of utilisation certificates and audited expenditure statements and matters related to all financial sanctions with regard to funds granted to the MHRD IPR Chair established under the IPERPO scheme at IIM, Bangalore.
Reply: The University has provided utilisation certificate for the period of 2007-2014. To view the supporting documents, click here.
Details of the IPR Chair’s salary under the IPERPO Scheme indicating whether this amount is paid over and above the professional’s usual salary
Reply: The University has submitted the extract pertaining to the aforementioned query. To view the supporting documents submitted by the University, click here.

Comparative Analysis between University Response and the guidelines of MHRD Scheme Document

A. Objectives
In order to fulfil the objectives mentioned in the scheme document, IIM, Bangalore undertook following activities:
a. Introduction of electives at PGP and PGSEM level.
b. Promoting IPR related publications and case writing.
c. Provided input to the MHRD on matters pertaining to IPR.
d. Conducting multiple workshops over the years to further the training of teachers as well as at a student level
e. Hosting numerous conclaves and conferences on the subject of IPR and their relation to business
f. Held various symposiums, seminars and conferences for the furtherance of IPR
B. Eligibility
Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore is recognized by the University Grants Commission. Therefore, it fulfils the eligibility criteria mentioned in the scheme document.

Financial Analysis

A.Financial year 2007-08

The University received a grant of Rs. 5,00,000 with an incurred expenditure amounting to Rs. 7,45,000.

B. Financial year 2008-09

The University received Rs. 10,00,000 as a sanctioned grant by the MHRD out of which an expense of Rs. 1,09,307 was incurred. After settling with last year’s due balance, the unspent balance amounts to Rs. 8,95,000.

C. Financial year 2009-10

The University did not receive any grant from the MHRD in this year, however it utilized completely the carried forward balance of last year.

D. Financial year 2010-11

The University did not receive any grant from the MHRD in this year, however it incurred an expenditure of Rs. 38,84,000 in the implementation of the IPERPO scheme.

E. Financial year 2011-12

The University received a grant of Rs. 61,53,000 and incurred an expenditure of Rs. 60,89,295 leaving an unspent balance of Rs. 63,705.

F. Financial year 2012-13

The University received a grant of Rs. 27,00,000 from the MHRD which, in addition to the previous year’s carried forward balance amounted to Rs. 277,63,705. Out of this, the University utilized a sum of Rs. 25,35,206 for the purpose for which it was sanctioned leaving Rs. 2,28,499 as unspent balance.

G. Financial year 2013-14

The University received a grant of Rs. 23,50,000 from the MHRD which, in addition to the previous year’s unutilized balance amounted to Rs. 25,78,499. The university incurred an expense of Rs. 27,19,349.

Expenditure Analysis

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/mhrd-ipr-chair-series-information-received-from-iim-bangalore