Legal Education In India Is Transforming

The nature and contours of legal education in India are fast changing. However, educational institutions are not in a position to meet the expectations of the contemporary requirements.

Today we need domain specific and professional education and our educational system is still adhering to the traditional old attributes of academic nature. Clearly, legal education in India needs reforms and rejuvenation.

While the governmental machinery and educational institutions are falling well behind the global educational requirements yet private players have done great job in this regard. Not only private players are imparting qualitative world class educations and trainings in India but they are also combining various streams to produce better results.

Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) is one such private institution that has combined technological and legal aspects and providing various techno legal courses, educations and trainings. PTLB is the premier techno legal segment of India’s exclusive techno legal ICT and IP law firm Perry4Law. PTLB is also managing the exclusive techno legal institute for lifelong learning in India.

Similarly, another techno legal segment of Perry4Law known as Perry4Law Techno Legal ICT Training Centre (PTLITC) is providing domain specific and highly specialised techno legal education and trainings in India and world wide.

These techno legal courses of PTLB are provided through the PTLB e-learning platform that is providing these trainings and educations in an online environment and through distance learning mode.

The signs of transformation of legal education in India are very apparent. Further, foreign universities are also planning to open their branches and campuses in India. Even opening of various virtual campuses for legal education in India are in pipeline. This positive transformation would also help in reducing the corruption that has strong grip over the higher legal education in India and deteriorating the higher legal research acumen of India.

Cyber Skilled Workforce Of India

Skilled workforce is the backbone for any economy. India is presently having one of the most populated workforces of young generation in the world. However, the problem is that they are not adequately skilled and trained. This is more so regarding the information technology field.

While countries like UK are looking forward for cyber crime fighters yet the cyber skills development in India has not been taken seriously. For instance, ethical hacking skills developments in India are urgently required. Ethical hacking training and courses in India must be encouraged and Indian government must pay special attention to this aspect.

Similarly, cyber security courses in India are also required to be undertaken. Cyber security is techno legal in nature. Thus, cyber security courses must also be techno legal in nature. Techno legal online courses in India need to be developed so that interested students and professionals can be enrolled from any part of the world.

Law enforcement agencies of India also need cyber law training. Presently cyber law and cyber crimes cases and not taken up by Indian police. Even the so called cyber crime cells of India lack necessary expertise to deal with cyber law cases and solve cyber crime cases.

On the front of defence forces as well India need to develop both offensive and defensive cyber warfare capabilities. Indian defense and security against cyber warfare is still not upto the mark. As a result cyber espionage and cyber warfare against India have increased tremendously.

It is high time for Indian government to develop a cyber skilled workforce for India that can handle both defensive and offensive cyber issues.

E-Delivery of Public Services Development Policy Loan of India

World Bank has been granting loans and grants to India for long. However, there seems to be no mechanism to ensure either the achievement of results or to bring accountability towards the loans and grants so issued. The latest to add to this list is the e-delivery of public services development policy loan to India.

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.

Indian Government, Aadhar Project And UIDAI Are Hiding Truth From You

Indian government, Aadhar project and UIDAI are hiding truth from Indians. While Nandan Nilekani is portraying Aadhar project as beneficial and a welfare scheme, it is nothing but an evil design to indulge in illegal and unconstitutional e-surveillance upon Indians.

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 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.

Google Web Censorship Has Greatly Increased

Of late, Google has been actively engaging in web results manipulations one way or other. This may be due to governmental orders or on its own. But it is happening for sure.

For some strange reasons Google is engaging in two forms of web censorship. The first one is by putting relevant and critical posts in blackholes. The second method is by actively manipulating the Google news and search results.

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.

Corporate Mergers And Acquisitions Regulations In India

Merger and acquisitions (M&As) have become in indispensable part of Indian corporate environment. Business efficiency warrants that companies and organisations must be merged with or acquired by others for better performance and enhanced profit margins.

A merger is a combination of two or more businesses into one business. In India the term “amalgamation” is used synonymously for merger. An acquisition may be defined as an act of acquiring effective control by one company over assets or management of another company without any combination of companies. Thus, in an acquisition two or more companies may remain independent, separate legal entities, but there may be a change in control of the companies.

However, Merger and acquisitions are not a free ride and they are subject to various Laws of India, informs Praveen Dalal, managing partner of new Delhi based IP and ICT law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India. Further, talks are in progress for excluding Banking Related (M&As) in India from the ambit of Competition Commission of India (CCI), informs Dalal.

With the recent proposed amendments in the Banking Regulations Act, 1949, now only Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would have power to regulate M&A pertaining to banking sector. In fact, the proposed amendments have already been approved by Cabinet of India.

The CCI has released the Competition Commission of India (Procedure in regard to the transaction of business relating to combinations) Regulations, 2011, informs Dalal. This is a good step in the right direction, says Dalal.

Now corporate mergers and acquisitions (corporate M&As) would be regulated in India with effect from June 1. The new norms have been drafted with the objective of curbing anti-competitive practices adopted while engaging in M&As. However, M&As that commenced before June 1 with definitive action have been kept outside the competition watchdog’s purview. Similarly, a combination taking place outside India with insignificant local nexus and effect on markets in India will not come under the purview of CCI.

Now the M&As like the proposed Cairn-Vedanta may fall under the purview of the CCI. Though the companies have got the approval from their boards of directors and the process of acquisition is well underway, the deal is yet to be sealed. Let us see how much fairness these proposed regulations would bring in the corporate M&As regime of India.

The Generalised System Of Preferences (GSP) Scheme Of EU And India

European Union and India are in the process of considering the latest Free Trade Agreement (FTA). However, disagreements have already started surfacing. For instance, the intellectual property rights (IPRs) issues have already been subject to hot debate.

Further, EU, India and other countries may also face Technological Issues of IPRs in future, says Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi base IP and ICT law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India. For instance, Technology Transfer has been a subject of much debate in the past. While developed countries are reluctant in technology transfer yet developing countries are insisting for the same, informs Dalal.

Similarly, in the Patent field as well, especially Pharmaceutical related IPRs, tussles between India and other countries are going on. While developed nations are insisting upon TRIPS Plus Provisions in Data Exclusivity regime, India is in no mood to do the same, informs Dalal.

Now EU has aimed another blow upon developing countries. EU’s Trade Commissioner, Karel De Gucht, has announced plans to slash the number of countries, from 176 to 80, that benefit from the generalised system of preferences (GSP) scheme, whereby eligible nations enjoy reduced or zero customs tariffs on imported goods.

The proposed reforms would come into practice from 2014. Speaking to reporters, De Gucht made it clear the action was aimed at large emerging economies like India, Brazil and Russia, which did not require continued specialized assistance, given their newly muscular economies. He said 40 per cent of the EU’s “current preferences benefit Russia, Brazil, China, India and Thailand, which no longer need the same.” Further, countries classified by the World Bank as high-income or upper-middle income countries for three consecutive years would automatically become ineligible.

If dropped, India may be forced to enter into FTAs with EU. This is the core strategy of EU where it can force other countries to fall in line with its own International Trade Objectives, suggests Dalal. However, implications of this decision of EU have yet to be analysed from the perspective of TRIPS Agreement, says Dalal.