Are Online Travel Companies In India Adopting Unfair Practices?

Are online travel agencies in India violating cyber law of India? Are online travel companies in India adopting unfair practices? These are few of the questions that are making round these days.

These doubts and questions are arising because of the nebulous condition of e-commerce law of India. The e-commerce laws in India are still evolving and e-commerce stakeholders in India are not aware of cyber law due diligence in India. Neither the online travel companies nor the online consumers are aware of the consequences of online transactions entered in India in an improper manner.

To further aggravate the position, Indian cyber law is in a poor state of condition. In fact, techno legal experts like Praveen Dalal, managing partner of ICT law firm Perry4Law, have openly suggested repealing of the information technology act, 2000 (IT Act 2000) as it is clearly violating civil liberties in cyberspace.

"Personally, I believe that Indian Cyber law is outdated and it needs urgent repeal," Praveen Dalal said. However, he has been suggesting reforms for the same for the last five years. Dalal also feels that the Indian government is indifferent towards this much needed requisite.

As a result, online travel companies and other e-commerce companies and websites are operating in India with great disregard to the cyber law of India. Further, at times their activities are also suspicious. For instance, many of you must have realised that while booking air or other tickets online, the price of tickets increases substantially suddenly within few seconds.

Numerous complaints have also been lodged in this regard with the online travel companies and agencies of India. The travel portals have sidelined the issue by citing the same as a “technical error”.

This episode has happened in addition to the controversial practice of selling “opaque charges” where the name of the airline is not disclosed till the ticked is booked. Many airlines of India have openly protested against this practice and have either withdrawn their business completely from online travel portals or have reduced it to the sub minimum limits.

There is an urgent need to formulate dedicated laws for online travel companies and agencies of India. Till then the customers have to bear the irregularities and unfair practices on the part of airlines and online travel companies and agencies operating in India. However, they can take sufficient legal actions against both airlines and online travel companies and agencies where the situation and circumstances warrant so.  

NCTC: Reasons For Its Failures In India

The national counter terrorism centre (NCTC) of India is currently facing severe criticisms and oppositions from many quarters of the society. Whether it is civil liberty activists, political parties, research scholars, security analysts, etc all of them are slamming the NCTC project of India.

None can doubt that NCTC is a project that is of national importance. However, the way it is implemented is really troublesome. This is also the reason why state governments are vigorously opposing the very idea of NCTC. In fact as per the techno legal experts of India, NCTC in its present form is neither constitutional nor desirable.

According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based ICT law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of Asia, National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) of India has been facing many ups and downs. This is despite the fact that National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) of India is required to meet the growing National Security Requirements of India.

So what are the problems that have plagued the establishment of NCTC in India? According to Praveen Dalal, Constitutional, Legal and Administrative reasons are behind the limited success of NCTC in India.

For instance, the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) of India, National Intelligence Grid (Natgrid) Project of India, Aadhar Project of India, Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System (CCTNS), etc are not governed by any Legal Framework and Parliamentary Oversight. Indian government is not willing to understand and accept that Intelligence Work is not an Excuse for Non Accountability, suggests Praveen Dalal.

Parliament of India must step in to rectify the national security shortcomings that are emerging due to lack of parliamentary oversight and legal frameworks. If Indian executive keeps on imposing projects and initiatives without complying with the constitutional requirement, it would be a sure recipe for disaster.

Aadhar Project Is Unconstitutional, Undemocratic And Anti Parliamentarian

The Aadhar project of India is a project that has neither a legal backing nor a project evaluation and management support. Naturally, Indian government is now considering scrapping the Aadhar project of India. Aadhar project has been considered to be futile by many experts in India. They have been suggesting that Aadhar project must be suspended till it is made legally valid and constitutionally sound.

However, Aadhar project was kept intact despite it lack of utility and illegal manner of implementation. Sooner or later it is going to be scrapped however till than millions of public money would already be lost. Why not the Indian government could scrap the Aadhar project few years back when it was so suggested by the experts.

According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of techno legal firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India, Aadhar Project must be supported by a Techno Legal Framework that must be supplemented by robust Cyber Security, Privacy Protection and Data Protection.

In the absence of these Procedural and Constitutional Safeguards, both Aadhar Project and UIDAI are Unconstitutional, says Praveen Dalal. Even if the National Identification Authority of India Bill 2010 (NIDAI Bill 2010) would have been passed, both Aadhar Project and UIDAI would have “Remained Unconstitutional”, opines Praveen Dalal. We need an altogether different Law than NIDAI Bill 2010 and till such a Constitutional Law is passed, Aadhar Project should be suspended suggests Praveen Dalal.

According to the Aadhar Watch Initiative of India maintained by Praveen Dalal, Aadhar project is suffering from the following illegalities and shortcomings:

(1) Absence of legal framework supporting Aadhar project,

(2) Absence of privacy protections safeguards,

(3) Absence of data protection safeguards,

(4) Possible abuse of Aadhar project as an e-surveillance tool,

(5) Absence of cyber security safeguards to prevent cyber attacks,

(6) Absence of data leakages and data breaches protections,

(7) Mutual disharmony between various governmental agencies and departments.

In the past fake UID cards were freely available to anybody. This undermines the very purpose of the Aadhar number. It has also been reported that home ministry of India is also opposing the Aadhar project. The truth is that Aadhar project is a very dangerous project and it must be scrapped as soon as possible.

However, the unique identification authority of India (UIDAI) kept on pushing the project despite ferocious protests all over India. What is more surprising is the fact that UIDAI has been functioning under an executive order of the ministry of planning. This violates all the constitutional principles that are well established in India.

It seems the Indian government is adopting double standards. While responding to the benign call for a jan lokpal law for India, Indian government was very quick to label it as anti democratic and anti parliamentary. Surprisingly, Indian government is finding nothing wrong with an executive order constitution UIDAI that is clearly violating constitutional scheme. It is now for the Indian government to give this issue a serious consideration as Aadhar project cannot be continues in these circumstances.

Natgrid And NIA Have Become Obscure And Unconstitutional

Indian government is implementing various e-surveillance projects in clear violation of human rights and fundamental rights. Merely labeling a project as national security project does not make it one. The truth is that Natgrid project of India is still nebulous and unconstitutional. Exempting it from the applicability of RTI Act 2005 proves this point.

Accountability and transparency are two words that do not apply to Indian law enforcement and intelligence agencies. India has chosen to stick to the British legacy of non transparency. Whether it is laws like official secrets act, Indian telegraph act or the accountability of Indian law enforcement and intelligence agencies, Indian government has even surpassed the Britishers in this regard.

Instead of strengthening the transparency and Parliamentary scrutiny, India is further making these agencies more unaccountable and lawless. The right to information act 2005 (RTI Act 2005) is the sole transparency law of India that needs further amendments and strengthening. However, the proposed right to information rules 2010 instead of strengthening the RTI Act, 2005 took steps that are retrograde in nature.

Firstly, India amended the cyber law of India through the draconian information technology amendment act 2008 that empowered Indian government and its agencies with unconstitutional e-surveillance, internet censorship and website blocking powers. Subsequently, it made the RTI Act 2005 weaker and redundant.

Now Indian government has announced that Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), national investigation authority of India (NIA) and national intelligence grid (Natgrid) would be exempted from the applicability of RTI Act, 2005. The constitutional validity of national investigation agency act, 2008 (NIA 2008) is still doubtful and CBI and Natgrid are not governed by any law at all. Even the proposed central monitoring system of India is without any parliamentary oversight.

Whether it is CBI or Intelligence Agencies of India, none of them are presently Accountable to Parliament of India, informs Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based ICT law firm Perry4Law and CEO of exclusive Human Rights Protection Centre for Cyberspace in India. This casts a doubt about the Impartiality and Transparency of these Agencies, suggests Dalal. Exempting these Agencies without any parallel “Parliamentary Oversight” is against the provisions of Indian Constitution, informs Dalal.

In these days the role of Indian Parliament has been reduced to almost nothing. Important laws are never passed and existing laws like the cyber law of India have been made e-surveillance instrumentality for Indian government and its agencies. The Parliament of India needs to take its legislative role seriously, at least now.

An Ideal Jan Lokpal Bill 2011 Of India

Now that it is clear that the proposed Jan Lokpal bill 2011 of India could not be drafted before the deadline we must proceed further to discuss what an ideal Jan Lokpal bill must have.

Fortunately, Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India has explained what an ideal Jan Lokpal Bill must have.

He has suggested many far reaching and reformative provisions in the proposed Jan Lokpal Bill of India. He has also sent these suggestions to the government of India.

He has stressed upon pro active use of information and communication technology (ICT) for effective administration and implementation of the proposed Jan Lokpal Bill.

Let us hope these suggestions would be accepted by Indian government and would be incorporated in the final draft of the Jan Lokpal Bill of India.

Google Continues With Its Censorship Drive In India

Google has been in controversies from time to time. Whether it is illegal data gathering, censorship of Google news searches, manipulation of search results, etc, Google has been doing it all. In fact, it seems Google is actively helping Indian government and its agencies for messing up with Aadhar project, UIDAI, World Bank or any other similar post that questions the wrong practices of Indian government.

What is more astonishing is that India does not have a “Constitutionally Sound Law” for Lawful Interceptions, E-Surveillance, Websites Blocking, Internet Censorship, etc says Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based ICT law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India. Praveen Dalal has spearheaded the exclusive centre for protection of human rights in cyberspace that keeps a close watch upon civil liberty issues of cyberspace.

One of the most controversial projects imposed by Indian government upon Indian citizens is unique identification project of India (UID project of India) or Aadhar project of India. It is managed by Nandan Nilekani led unique identification authority of India (UIDAI). Both Aadhar project and UIDAI are unconstitutional and operating without any Legal Framework and Parliamentary Oversight, informs Dalal.

Aadhar project and UIDAI are based upon deceit and deception. There is no legal framework, no defined policies and guidelines and most importantly no procedural and civil liberty safeguards.

However, nothing can match the evil practice of websites and Internet censorship in India done by Indian government, its agencies and commercial companies operating in India. For instance, Google has been censoring critical web posts regarding Aadhar project of India and unique identification authority of India (UIDAI) for the past two or more years. Further, it has also temporarily filtered some of our posts questioning the practice of World Bank to grant unaccountable loans to countries like India. Further, international loans and grants related posts questioning the role of World Bank and Indian government are also poorly placed in search results.

Our latest article has been censored by Google News twice at this and this. Of course, this is neither a co incidence nor a technical glitch that Google is currently facing. The truth is that unaccountable, illegal and unconstitutional websites blocking, Internet censorship and e-surveillance exercise along with lack of legal framework makes Aadhar project and UIDAI very dangerous project and authority. These activities censorship and e-surveillance are supported by the draconian cyber law of India. Citizens wake up before it is too late. Meanwhile here is the controversial interview that has been censored twice.

Unique identification project (UID project) or Aadhar project of India is always portrayed as a welfare scheme. In reality, Aadhar project and UIDAI have evil intentions. In fact, Aadhar project and UIDAI are the most evil projects of India till now. What is more surprising is why this e-surveillance and big brother project has not been scrapped by the Prime Minister’s office (PMO). It is high time for us to actively protest against the Aadhar project and UIDAI before it is too late.

Censorship And E-Surveillance Makes Aadhar Project And UIDAI Dangerous

Aadhar project and UIDAI are based upon deceit and deception. There is no legal framework, no defined policies and guidelines and most importantly no procedural and civil liberty safeguards.

However, nothing can match the evil practice of websites and Internet censorship in India done by Indian government, its agencies and commercial companies operating in India. For instance, Google has been censoring critical web posts regarding Aadhar project of India and unique identification authority of India (UIDAI) for the past two or more years. Further, it has also temporarily filtered some of our posts questioning the practice of World Bank to grant unaccountable loans to countries like India.

This article has been censored by Google News twice at this and this. Of course, this is neither a co incidence nor a technical glitch that Google is currently facing. The truth is that unaccountable, illegal and unconstitutional websites blocking, Internet censorship and e-surveillance exercise along with lack of legal framework makes Aadhar project and UIDAI very dangerous project and authority. These activities of censorship and e-surveillance are supported by the draconian cyber law of India. Citizens wake up before it is too late. Meanwhile here is the controversial interview that has been censored twice.

Unique identification project (UID project) or Aadhar project of India is always portrayed as a welfare scheme. In reality, Aadhar project and UIDAI have evil intentions. In fact, Aadhar project and UIDAI are the most evil projects of India till now.

What is more surprising is why this e-surveillance and big brother project has not been scrapped by the Prime Minister’s office (PMO). In this interview of Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based ICT Law Firm Perry4Law and a Supreme Court Lawyer, he has shared his opinion and concerns regarding Aadhar project and UIDAI.

Q 1. Is India ready for a controversial project like Aadhar?

A 1. In my personal opinion, India is not yet ready for either Aadhar Project/UID Project or Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). In fact, both Aadhar and UIDAI are “Highly Undesirable” at this stage. Aadhar and UIDAI must be preceded by a Constitutionally Sound Legal Framework and Parliamentary Oversight. Both of these are missing presently making it an “Unconstitutional Project”.

Q 2. What is the process of making a constitutionally sound law in India?

A 2. Constitutionally preparation of a Legislation/Bill is the duty of Indian Government and it must be passed by the Parliament of India. In this case, an authority like UIDAI is suggesting the Bill that (UIDAI) itself is devoid of any Constitutional Validity. Indian Government must come up with its own Bill on Aadhar Project as even the Bill by UIDAI is mere “Eyewash” and does not make much difference. Even if it is passed by Parliament of India, the Unconstitutional Nature of the Aadhar Project and UIDA would remain the same.

Q-3. What are the serious concerns that have been ignored by Indian Government, UIDAI and Indian Cabinet?

A-3 I found it really surprising the way the Bill prepared by UIDAI was cleared by Cabinet and introduced in the Parliament. Many issues, including Profiling, Privacy Safeguards, Civil Liberties Protection, E-Surveillance, etc have been totally neglected by UIDAI and Cabinet and perhaps would be ignored by the Parliament of India as well.

Q 4. How do you see the present activities of Aadhar project and UIDAI?

A 4. The present exercise of taking Biometric Details of Indians is simply “Unconstitutional”. A Project and Authority without any Legal Sanction and Parliamentary Oversight cannot indulge in these activities on such a mass scale. I believe the Government of India is violating various Civil Liberties of Indian though Aadhar Project and UIDAI by making it, Directly and Indirectly, Relevant and Mandatory.

Q-5. Is Aadhar project and UIDAI still not governed by any legal framework and what are the recent developments in this regard?

A 5 Yes. Till now the position has not changed. Rather it has become worst where the District like Mysore has made UID Number Mandatory for various Public Services even though UIDAI claims it to be Optional. Practically UID never was, and never will be, Optional.

Q 6. What are the possible Civil Liberty violations that Indians can face in near future?

A 6. There are great chances that Biometric Details of Indian would be shared with Intelligence Agencies of India and Law Enforcement Agencies of India. Projects like National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS). Central Monitoring System (CMS), etc would love to utilise these Biometric Details.

India And E-Delivery of Public Services Development Policy Loan

This is the updated version of my previous article on similar topic. E-delivery of services has been seen as an essential part of e-governance in India. However, e-governance itself is based upon good governance that also in a corruption free manner.

E-governance has the potential to eliminate corruption but in the Indian context e-governance itself has become a source of corruption. What is surprising is the fact that this is happening right in front of and under the nose of World Bank. The bigger question is whether the World Bank or Indian government is accountable for loans and grants that are never utilised for the benefit of common man in India?

Recently the World Bank and Indian government signed a loan agreement of $150 million for the e-delivery of public services in India. The loan has been granted as the e-delivery of public services development policy loan to be utilised under the national e-governance plan of India (NEGP).

Although the intentions are good yet the final outcome is not difficult to predict. India has a very poor track record of policy formulation and its implementation. For instance, policies pertaining to cyber law, cyber security, encryption, telecom, telecom security, mobile security, etc are still missing.

Further, India also has a poor track record of e-governance utilisation and providing of electronic delivery of services in India. We have no legal enablement of ICT systems in India and legal framework for e-delivery of services in India is also missing. In fact, as per e-governance experts of India, e-governance in India is dying. Without a mandatory e-governance services in India, e-delivery of services in India cannot be achieved.

According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India, “The Government and Indian Bureaucrats need to change their mindset and stress more upon outcomes and services rather than mere ICT procurement. India needs a services-based approach that is not only transparent but also backed by a more efficient and willing Government. Presently the Bureaucrats and Government of India are in a “resistance mode” towards novel and effective e-governance policies and strategies and they are merely computerising traditional official functions only. This is benefiting neither the Government nor the citizens and is resulting in wastage of thousands of crores of public money and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and World Bank Grants amount”.

“The Governmental will and leadership is missing in India. To worsen the situation the Government of India is concentrating more upon the image rather than upon the end results. The grassroots level action is missing and the benefits of ICT are not reaching to the under privileged and deserving masses due to defective ICT strategies and policies of Indian Government. India is suffering from the “vicious circle” of defective e-governance, as the basic input .i.e. governance itself is poor. India needs a “virtuous circle” of e-governance through good governance that would have multiplication and amplification effect upon e-governance efforts of Indian Government, says Praveen Dalal.

E-delivery of public services in India is missing and World Bank is not at all interested in establishing transparency and accountability in Indian NEGP. World Bank must ensure accountability of Indian NEGP in order to show that its loans are actually meant for growth and development of Indian masses rather than benefiting few politicians and bureaucrats as is happening right now.

In these circumstance, the e-delivery of public services development policy loan would just add to the woes of Indians as this type of e-governance would be a source of corruption itself rather than removing the mass corruption existing in India. No time in the past the need for a strong and effective Jan Lokpal Act is felt more than the present circumstances where neither India nor International organisations like United Nations, World Bank, UNDP, etc are questioning the acts and omissions of Indian government.

Does World Bank Sees What Happens To Its Loans?

Loans are granted by international organisations and institutions for the development of a nation. But it is a rare occasion when such loans are actually utilised for the development of such nation. On the contrary, such loans just ensure the personal development of ministers and bureaucrats and common man never receives the benefits of such loans or grants.

Recently the World Bank and Indian government signed a loan agreement of $150 million for the e-delivery of public services in India. The loan has been granted as the e-delivery of public services development policy loan to be utilised under the national e-governance plan of India (NEGP). However, the bigger question is would this loan be utilised for the benefit of common man?

Keeping in mind the past record, the answer seems to be in negative. India has a poor track record of e-governance utilisation and providing of electronic delivery of services in India. We have no legal enablement of ICT systems in India and legal framework for e-delivery of services in India is also missing. In fact, as per e-governance experts of India, e-governance in India is dying. Without a mandatory e-governance services in India, e-delivery of services in India cannot be achieved.

According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India, “The Government and Indian Bureaucrats need to change their mindset and stress more upon outcomes and services rather than mere ICT procurement. India needs a services-based approach that is not only transparent but also backed by a more efficient and willing Government. Presently the Bureaucrats and Government of India are in a “resistance mode” towards novel and effective e-governance policies and strategies and they are merely computerising traditional official functions only. This is benefiting neither the Government nor the citizens and is resulting in wastage of thousands of crores of public money and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and World Bank Grants amount”.

“The Governmental will and leadership is missing in India. To worsen the situation the Government of India is concentrating more upon the image rather than upon the end results. The grassroots level action is missing and the benefits of ICT are not reaching to the under privileged and deserving masses due to defective ICT strategies and policies of Indian Government. India is suffering from the “vicious circle” of defective e-governance, as the basic input .i.e. governance itself is poor. India needs a “virtuous circle” of e-governance through good governance that would have multiplication and amplification effect upon e-governance efforts of Indian Government, says Praveen Dalal.

E-delivery of public services in India is missing and World Bank is not at all interested in establishing transparency and accountability in Indian NEGP. World Bank must ensure accountability of Indian NEGP in order to show that its loans are actually meant for growth and development of Indian masses rather than benefiting few politicians and bureaucrats as is happening right now.

The loans granted by World Bank must be tied up and accountable loans. These loans must be tied up with performance and achievement and must be released in stages only. Once the first stage is accomplished satisfactorily then only the next stage loan must be given.

However, neither World Bank nor Indian government is in a mood to actually utilise the granted loans for the betterment of Indian masses. Why and for whom these loans are granted would always remain a big question.

National Frequency Allocation Plan 2011 Of India

The draft national frequency allocation plan 2011 of India (NFAP 2011) is one of the most important and arguable plan of India. Various government departments have their own interests and concerns that are preventing formulation of a NFAP of India.

The responsibility to formulate the NFAP 2011 rests with the wireless planning and coordination wing (WPCW) department of telecommunications (DoT). WPCW had issued the draft NFAP 2011 in the third week of March upon which various inputs have been provided.

Various government departments and telecom operators have written to the DoT and expressed disagreement with the plan. DoT will send all these views to the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM), which will come up with the final version of the NFAP 2011.

According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India, the NFAP 2011 must be legally effective and technologically sound. Presently, issues like Encryption, VOIP, Satellite Phones, Spectrum Allocation, etc are not properly addressed by Indian Government, informs Dalal.

The NFAP 2011 would be an integral part of the national telecom policy of India hence it is essential that we must have a new and effective telecom policy for India. In fact, the national telecom policy of India 2011 has already been proposed and it may cover NFAP 2011 and allied matters as well.

Let us see how effective national telecom policy of India 2011 and NFAP 2011 would finally be.

Working Group On Information Security, Electronic Banking, Technology Risk Management and Cyber Frauds Of RBI

This is the updated version of my previous article on similar topic. This article is discussing the constitution of a working group by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to bring necessary techno legal banking reforms in India. Both technical and legal reforms have been suggested by the report of working group that if implemented by banks of India would go a long way in bringing banking reforms in India.

Now the RBI has issued a notification for the implementation of the suggestions of its working group. Banks need to ensure implementation of basic organisational framework and put in place policies and procedures which do not require extensive budgetary support, infrastructural or technology changes, by October 31, 2011. The rest of the guidelines need to be implemented within period of one year unless a longer time-frame is indicated in the circular.

In the past, RBI constituted a working group on information security, electronic banking, technology risk management and cyber frauds. The working group submitted its report in the recently upon which public inputs were invited. After analysing the public inputs, the final draft has been recently released and notified by the RBI.

RBI has also directed that all banks would have to create a position of chief information officers (CIOs) as well as steering committees on information security at the board level at the earliest. This direction was provided through the information technology vision document for 2011-17 (IT Vision 2011-17) and the recent notification of the draft report. This document has suggested many technological as well as legal reforms for banking sector of India.

RBI has recently acknowledged the risks of e-banking in India. There are many problems from which the online banking or Internet banking in India is suffering. The most important pertains to maintaining effective cyber security for banking and financial sectors of India. Similarly, there are no effective Internet banking laws in India or online banking laws in India. In the absence of stringent laws in this regard, online banking risks in India are increasing. However, of all the shortcomings, nothing can match the absence of encryption laws and standards in India. In the absence of proper encryption norms in India, e-banking in India is really insecure.

Although, RBI has been taking many far reaching and important steps yet e-banking in India still very risky. Of late, cases of phishing and banking frauds have increased tremendously in India. Further, cyber due diligence of banks in India is still a far dream. Even the directions of RBI to appoint CIOs and steering committees on information security have not yet been implemented.

Cyber security for banking and financial institutions of India is not in proper shape. Even due diligence requirements under the cyber law of India are not properly met. This has forced RBI to upgrade ATM security in India. Further, RBI has also imposed penalty upon 19 banks for non compliance with the regulatory requirements.

Indian banks are poor at cyber security policy formulation and its implementation. Cyber Security Policy is an issue that is very important for Banks of India, says Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi base ICT law firm Perry4Law and leading cyber law expert of India. With the growing use of Internet Banking, ATM machines, Credit and Debit Cards, Online Banking, etc, Banks of India must also upgrade their Cyber Security Infrastructure and establish a Cyber Security Policy, suggests Dalal.

RBI must rigorously implement the directions and suggestions made in the report of working group. Without stringent actions, the report would never be actually and practically implemented by Indian banks.

Training of Judicial Officers Of India

Judges training in India is a very important aspect of a sound judicial system. If judges are not properly trained and skilled, it may adversely affect the justice delivery system of a nation. In fact, a trained and sensitive judiciary can greatly expand the reach of access to justice to needy population.

Judges in India need to upgrade their skill from time to time. Special skill development initiatives must be undertaken in India for Indian judiciary. This is more so regarding e-courts skill development that is almost missing in India.

E-courts in India can make Indian judicial system more transparent and user friendly. Although e-courts project of India has been launched as a mission mode project under the national e-governance plan (NEGP) of India, it has failed to materialise so far. Despite spending crores of money, we are still waiting for the establishment of first e-court of India. Due to absence of e-courts skill the e-court project has still not been materialised.

Legal and Judicial Fraternity of India must be well aware of Scientific Concepts like Cyber Law, Cyber Forensics, Digital Evidencing, E-Discovery, E-Courts, Online Dispute Resolution, etc, says Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based law firm Perry4Law and CEO of Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB). This requires good and qualitative Training and Skill Development Courses, suggests Dalal.

PTLB is providing various techno legal trainings and skill development courses to lawyers, judges, police officers, corporate executives, etc. PTLB is also providing techno legal training and education to judges in India and worldwide. PTLB is also providing techno legal trainings in India to lawyers. Even online training of judges in India is also provided by PTLB. Law ministry of India must take active help of institutions like PTLB for its various projects.

E-Discovery And Litigation Services In India

Electronic discovery plays a major role in pre litigation and litigation phases. For pre litigation phase e-discovery helps in ascertaining the sources and causes of various irregularities and frauds. Once these irregularities and frauds have been detected, the management of an organisation can decide to pursue the same through litigation.

E-discovery and litigation services are also becoming an essential part of legal process outsourcing (LPO) and knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) these days. However, it requires good quality of Techno Legal Expertise to perform E-Discovery in a Legally Sustainable Manner, says Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India. The LPO and KPO Providers of India must be Innovative in order to get maximum benefits out of this upcoming field, says Dalal.

E-discovery is essentially techno legal in nature. The person doing e-discovery must be aware of both technical and legal aspects of e-discovery. This is necessary so that electronic evidence can be acquired in a forensically sound manner. If E-Discovery is not done in a proper manner, it would be “Inadmissible” in a Court of Law, informs Dalal.

E-discovery in India has yet to take a shape. For instance, Perry4Law and Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) are managing the exclusive techno legal Digital Evidencing and E-Discovery Centre of India. The centre is managing issues like innovative digital evidence LPO and KPO and other techno legal digital evidencing and e-discovery related issues. Perry4Law and PTLB are also the exclusive citizens to government (C2G) LPO and KPO providers in India.

We have to train police officers, lawyer, judges etc with suitable techno legal trainings so that e-discovery and digital evidencing can grow in India. Organisations like Perry4Law and PTLB can play a decisive role in this regard.

E-Voting Machines And System Of India

Electronic voting using electronic voting machines (EVMs) have never been a smooth exercise in India. Cyber security concerns of the e-voting machines of India have been frequently raised by many experts of India. Thus, e-voting in India never found a clean and clear acceptance despite the reluctance of the election commission of India.

Although EVMs have many advantages over the traditional paper based voting system yet these advantages are useless if EVMs can be abused and the election results can be manipulated.

According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based law firm Perry4Law and the leading techno-legal expert of India, E-Voting in India must be accompanied by proper plan and adequate Information and Communication Technology Infrastructure. At the same time special emphasis must be given to the Cyber Security aspect of E-Voting Mechanism in India. There is no doubt that E-Voting Machines in India can be “Manipulated” to adversely affect the end results, says Dalal.

While the use of E-Voting may help expanding the voting community yet there must be a suitable Policy and Regulation to prevent and remedy “Misuses” arising out of such E-Voting System, says Dalal. The crucial question is what if E-Voting is proved to be tainted subsequently after Cyber Forensics appraisal and a Government has been formed on the basis of that voting? Will the Election Commission declare such elections null and void? Will the President of India declare a re-election? Will the Supreme Court of India take cognisance of this fact, asks Praveen Dalal.

However, election commission of India is not very impressed by the claims of manipulations of EVMs in India. In a surprising and welcome move, the state election commission of Mumbai has decided to take the proper recourse. The state election commission is planning to use e-voting in the upcoming civic elections in Mumbai next year. The commission has decided to offer Rs 10 lakh to anyone who can hack their e-voting system.

Accordingly, once the software is created, ethical hackers will be invited to test it. The money would have to be paid by the consultant who would develop software for the commission. In case someone succeeds in hacking the e-voting machine, the consultant will have to bear the cost and the software will have to be reworked.

This sort of action was expected from the election commission of India that has not been very active in this regard. Let this incidence be an example for all concerned.

Online Courts In India

Information and communication technology (ICT) has changed the way legal and judicial systems are operating world wide. Even law firms are adopting technology for better and efficient legal functions. Legal management system in India is developing along with use of ICT for judicial purposes in India.

Online courts in India are part and parcel of the e-courts project of India. E-courts project of India is again a part of the national e-governance plan (NEGP) of India. Under the NEGP scheme, courts of India are required to be upgraded and made compatible with the use of ICT.

So what is the status of online courts in India? According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi base techno legal ICT law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India, Online Courts in India have still to see the light of the day. India is still at the first stage of Computerisation of some of the aspects of Courts. Full fledged E-Filling, Submission of Plaints and Documents Online, Online Evidence Producing, etc are still missing, informs Dalal.

Online courts in India could not be established as there is lack of planning and foresight. The present e-court infrastructure of India is not in good shape and it urgently requires rejuvenation. Another factor going against the establishment of online courts in India is the fact that we do not have a legal enablement of ICT systems in India. Till a legal framework conducive for techno legal development of Indian judiciary is not established, legal and judicial systems of India have little incentives to adopt technology.

Further, online courts in India cannot be established till we have techno legal expertise to establish, maintain and upgrade court’s infrastructure. We have a single and exclusive techno legal online courts training and consultancy centre of India. The centre provides techno legal assistance for establishment, maintenance and upgradation of e-courts infrastructure all over the world.

The essential parameters for the establishment of online courts in India have not yet been met. The moment e-filing, presentation, contest and adjudication of the cases in an online environment would start, India would surely be capable of establishing online courts. In the absence of these capabilities, we have to wait for few more years to get speedier justice in India.

Indian Computer Security Policy Is Required

Computer security in India is not taken seriously either by the individuals or by the government departments. Even if some people think about computer security, it is mostly confined to installing an anti virus and at most a firewall. Further, even anti virus software are not regularly updated and this results in an outdated virus definition and signatures.

We also have no cyber law policy in India, cyber crime policy in India, national cyber security policy in India, telecom security policy in India, encryption policy of India and so on. So on the policy front, India has performed extremely poor. Any field that is not supported by any policy or strategy is bound to fail and computer security in India is one such area.

National Security Policy of India is urgently required and Computer Security Policy of India must be an essential part of the same, says Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based Law Firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India. Increasing Computer Security Readiness with Adaptive Threat Management is need of the hour, suggests Dalal. Further, Measurement of ICT Resilience and Robustness on regular basis is also required, suggests Dalal.

Even computer security research and development in India is lacking. We have a single and exclusive techno legal computer security research, training and education institution of India. The same is managed by Perry4Law and Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB). It is managing issues like cyber law, computer security, cyber war, cyber espionage, cyber forensics, etc.

A sound and effective computer security policy of India requires dedicated and committed efforts. Presently, we have neither computer security laws in India nor effective mechanisms to safeguard our cyberspace from cyber attacks. India is facing growing threats of cyber attacks and its cyberspace is highly vulnerable.

Even issues like cyber terrorism in India, cyber espionage in India, critical infrastructure protection in India, critical information infrastructure protection in India, etc have not received attention of Indian government. The national ICT crisis management plan of India is still missing. In fact, Indian crisis management plan for cyber attacks and cyber terrorism is still not ready. India needs to plug in these crucial computer security gaps as soon as possible.

E-Courts In India

An electronic court (e-courts) is the process where the traditional courts are made more effective and speedier through the use of information and communication technology (ICT). From filing of the case to its final adjudication, all is done in an online environment.

E-courts are different from computerised courts that merely computerise few traditional litigation systems, says Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India. For instance, if cases are filed on compact disks (CDs) instead of in paper based file format, it does not make it a part of e-courts process. It is merely a computerisation process as one has to still approach the court premises in order to deliver the CDs or other electronic media, explains Dalal.

Till the month of April 2011, we are still waiting for the establishment of first e-court of India. Although some computerisation initiatives have been undertaken in India yet none of them either independently or collectively are sufficient to establish even a single e-court in India. The truth is that e-courts in India are still an unfulfilled dream.

E-courts project of India has not been able to be successfully transformed into a judicial reform initiative. At the institutional level, e-court project is bound to fails as there is no techno legal expertise present there. This is the reason why despite the national e-governance plan (NEGP) of India being launched, it has largely remained a failure to bring legal enablement of ICT systems in India.

For instance, India has a single techno legal e-courts research, training and consultancy centre that is managed by Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB). India needs more such techno legal e-courts centers so that e-court project of India may be successful.

Till now the e-court centre of PTLB is not extending its expertise to the e-courts project of India.Hopefully, Supreme Court of India and Ministry of Law and Justice would consider taking techno legal services of PTLB and similar institutions so that e-courts may see the light of the day.

Jan Lokpal Bill Of India 2011

India has been undergoing a renaissance phase where corruption is the death cause. With the proposed draft Jan Lokpal Bill of India 2011, the ball has been start rolling. However, there are still many areas like Whistleblower Protection Law in India that have to be addressed by the newly constituted joint drafting committee.

With the issuance of official gazette notification by ministry of law and justice, the joint drafting committee to prepare draft of the Lokpal Bill has been now officially constituted. However, before the good work has been started, allegations of nepotism have already surfaced pertaining to the “constitution” of the Committee.

Of course, there are others also that find this constitution acceptable for the larger interest of India. The constitution of the Joint Drafting Committee is a good step in the right direction, says Praveen Dalal, a Supreme Court Lawyer and managing member of India’s first RTI Helpdesk. Although the Committee has initially taken ten Members yet other Members can be, and would be, Co-Opted by the Committee in due course of time, informs Dalal.

The best part of this Notification is that it is flexible as it allows the Committee to follow its “Own Procedure”. Thus, expert opinion of others can also be taken and they can be a part of the same as the “Invitee Members” of the Committee, informs Dalal.

So we must not bother much with the constitution of the Committee and proceed further. We must focus more upon the draft Lokpal Bill 2011 that can become an effective tool to fight corruption in India. The Committee can anytime seek help of other legal experts and civil liberty activists during its deliberation. For the time being, let us start the ball rolling, suggests Dalal.

We must realise that the Lokpal Bill has been drafted for more than 42 years by Indian Government and it has failed to become an applicable law till now, informs Dalal. The first Lokpal Bill was passed in the 4th Lok Sabha in 1969 but could not get through in the Rajya Sabha. Subsequently, Lokpal bills were introduced in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and in 2008.

Let us at least start working in this direction. Further, merely drafting a Bill would not serve the purpose as it must also be made an enforceable law within a stipulated and fixed time, suggest Dalal. We have to generate a “wider consensus” in order to force Indian government to enact and make an enforceable Lokpal Act, 2011 till the end of this year, suggests Dalal.

It is high time for us to unite and fight for the common cause. There should not be any scope for internal fighting and disagreements. Already, it has taken too much time and anti corruption measures are need of the hour. Let us hope for the best in this regard.

Encryption Policy Of India

Use of encryption has many benefits. From ensuring the security and integrity of electronic transactions, encryption also helps in avoiding illegal cell phone tapping and e-surveillance by private persons that is rampant in India.

There are no privacy laws in India and data protection laws in India. This means that sensitive and personal data is open for all sorts of abuses. For example, telemarketing woes in India are well known where privacy is openly and blatantly violated by telemarketing companies.

Similarly, data stealing through cyber espionage is well known in India. With a cyber criminal friendly cyber law of India, it is very difficult to punish the cyber criminals who engage in trans border cyber espionage.

Encryption has also become essential to defeat the illegal and unconstitutional electronic sniffing and e-surveillance approach of India. We have no lawful interception law in India and telephone tapping in India is done in an unconstitutional manner.

Indian government is pressuring companies like Skype, Google/Gmail, Research in Motion (RIM) Blackberry, etc for practically using no encryption services for their communications. For instance, India is pressurising Blackberry for providing unencrypted e-mail and telecom communications in India. By threatening to ban Blackberry services in India, the government has already obtained access to Blackberry’s messenger services. Now India is forcing the telecom service providers of India to drop Blackberry’s services if it does not provide free and unencrypted access to its services in India.

Encryption policy is also important for ensuring strong and effective telecom policy of India. However, encryption is an unresolved enigma in India. We have no encryption laws in India and despite the suggestions of many experts’ encryption laws and regulations in India are still missing.

India is compromising the Mobile Security of India and Mobile Governance in India by insisting upon a Weak Encryption Infrastructure, says Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India. Mobile Cyber Security in India is not upto the mark and unencrypted communication would further increase the risks, claims Dalal. New Telecom Policy of India 2011 is in pipeline and it would be a good idea if Mobile Security Policy of India is also made a part of the same, suggests Dalal. The proposed Telecom Security Council of India can take this issue when constituted, suggests Dalal.

Let us hope that Indian government would consider and accept the suggestions of experts and would come up with a sound and effective encryption policy of India.

National Cyber Security Policy Of India

Cyber law of India is weak and so is cyber security of India. In fact, cyber security of India is in poor state. We have no cyber security strategy of India and this is resulting in a weak and vulnerable cyber security of India. India is facing serious cyber threats and its cyberspace is not at all secure. Cyber terrorism against India is now a well known fact and cyber espionage against India is even admitted by Indian government. Even defence forces of India need to upgrade their cyber security capabilities. We also have negligible cyber forensics capabilities in India and cyber skills development in India is the need of the hour.

Cyber terrorism in India, cyber crimes and cyber attacks against India are increasing because we have no national security policy of India. Further, we also have no national security an ICT policy of India. Obviously national cyber security in India is not upto the mark in the absence of networks security in India.

National Security Policy of India is urgently required and Cyber Security Policy of India must be an essential part of the same, says Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based Law Firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India. Increasing Cyber Security Readiness with Adaptive Threat Management is need of the hour, suggests Dalal. Further, Measurement of ICT Resilience and Robustness on regular basis is also required, suggests Dalal.

Even cyber security research and development in India is lacking. We have a single and exclusive techno legal cyber security research, training and education institution of India. The same is managed by Perry4Law and Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB). It is managing issues like cyber law, cyber security, cyber war, cyber espionage, cyber forensics, etc.

In order to ensure strong cyber security, Indian cyber security policy must be formulated as soon as possible. Critical infrastructure protection in India and Critical ICT infrastructure protection in India must be an integral part of the same. Further, national ICT crisis management plan of India must also be formulated. Indian crisis management plan for cyber attacks and cyber terrorism is still not ready and the same must formulated immediately.

Further, Cyber law policy of India and cyber crime policy of India must also be formulated. Data security and cyber security laws in India are also required. Presently, we have no data security, data protection, privacy protection and cyber security laws in India. Cyber terrorism preparedness in India must also be made part of the homeland security of India. In short, cyber security policy is needed in India and it cannot be postponed any more. The sooner it is formulated the better it would for the national interest of India.