Union Home Ministry Officials Dropped NCTC From Project List Due To Fear Of Modi

Prime Minister designate Narendra Modi has asked bureaucrats in various government departments to apprise him of the status of various pending projects, their progress and problems and what projects are required to be taken forward for implementation. All bureaucrats are busy in making presentations to be made to Modi.

However, what is the use of such reporting if it is not based upon fair, fearless and honest grounds. For instance, the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) has listed the projects that were blatantly ignored by it in the past. Now home ministry officials have released a list of areas and projects that must be carried forward by the home ministry.

Surprisingly, the home ministry officials have dropped the reference of National Counter Terrorism Centre of India (NCTC) at all. It is learnt that they have done this because Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi had been at loggerheads with the UPA government when he was Gujarat chief minister. Is this a valid reason to drop a project in a democratic country like India?

According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based ICT law firm Perry4Law “This is a highly unfortunate situation. No project should be dropped simply because Mr. Narendra Modi has disliked the same in the past. It is the constitutional duty of bureaucrats to suggest inclusion of projects of National Importance keeping aside their own biases, prejudices or fears. If they simply drop a worth project like NCTC on the basis that Mr. Modi disliked it in the past nothing is more embarrassing and unfortunate than such an approach”.

“Even if Mr. Modi is averse to NCTC as on date, the bureaucrats must suggest the same. Of course, if there are some other issues, besides personal preferences or dislikes of Mr. Modi, they must be openly and frankly communicated to Mr. Modi and let him decide ultimately”. The NCTC of India must be constituted on a priority basis as it is need of the hour, opines Dalal.

Fortunately, the National Intelligence Grid (Natgrid) has found a mention in the proposed list. However, Natgrid is also facing many problems and this has made it non operational. The fact is that intelligence infrastructure has been plagued by administrative lapses and legal irregularities. Modernisation of law enforcement and intelligence agencies is need of the hour.

The chief opposition of Modi against NCTC was that he considered it to be a poorly conceived idea that tinkers with age-old existing systems. He believed that rather than strengthening our anti terrorism fight it will do irreparable loss to our internal security apparatus. Although time has drastically changed since then but our bureaucrats have given preference to their Modi’s fear over national interest and anti terrorism fight.

Indian Department Of Telecom (DoT) Projects The Ignored Areas As Priorities Now

Facing tremendous pressure from the future Prime Minister of India, the Department of Telecom (DoT) of India has marked the priority areas. Surprisingly, these areas are the same that have been deliberately avoided and ignored by DoT for so many years.  Is this adoption of double standards on the part of DoT or a sincere effort to remove the inadequacies of Indian telecom sector is still to be seen.

The present working and policy decisions of the DoT have put the cyber security of India in a precarious situation. There are many cyber security challenges that the Narendra Modi government would be required to deal with simply because DoT and previous government failed to take effective steps in this direction.

According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based ICT law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of Asia, “Cyber Security of India needs a “Ground Level Overhaul” as it has been ignored in India for decades. Even on the legislation front, India has failed to do the needful. For instance, we need to repeal the laws like Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act 2000), Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, etc but for some strange reasons our bureaucrats and Indian government kept them intact”.

“I have been suggesting these recourses for the past five years but till now nothing concrete has happened in this regard. Similarly, crucial laws are absent from Indian statute books. These include law regarding privacy, data protection (PDF), telecom security, encryption, cloud computing, etc, informs Dalal”.

Surprisingly, now DoT believes that introduction of new laws and norms, including the communication bill to replace century-old Indian Telegraph Act, security of networks, and infrastructure must be the priority areas for the new government. DoT has even listed top 10 priority areas for the sector with the Cabinet Secretary. The Cabinet Secretary has asked all the departments to keep a presentation ready for appraising the new Prime Minister of achievements as well as failures of the outgoing government and steps the departments would like to take in order to boost the growth.

The DoT’s list include introduction of Communication Bill that will replace over century old Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, as well as Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act 1933, TRAI Act 1997, Cable TV Network (Regulation) Act 1995, IT Act 2000, official sources said. An internal committee of DoT has already recommended providing telecom, cable and broadcasting services by a single company and paying for the services though a common bill.

Apart from this, DoT has listed six major incomplete projects, including Rs 20,000-crore National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) project aimed to provide high speed broadband services across all 2.5 lakh panchayats in the country along with Wi-Fi services that were started by the outgoing UPA government.

DoT has said that there is a need to further amend telecom licences for facilitating growth”. There is a need to separate network licensing from services licensing and ease barriers to entry and exit for telecom players. The new government should work on implementation of full Unified Licensing Regime”, an official source said.

Amid growing cyber espionage threat, DoT has listed security of communication network in the agenda. The department said there is a need for “comprehensive plan for telecom security, including creation of testing facilities for integrity of communications network”. At present, India does not have any security testing facility for telecom equipment to detect complex malware. DoT has also listed need to strengthen mobile services in border area, dedicated communication network for defence forces as part of communication security.

Ebay Plans To Boost Its Cyber Security Amid Threats Of Global Legal Actions

The computer systems of eBay were recently attacked and compromised by unknown hackers. Ebay initially downsized the incidence and its impact by stressing upon mere password change. However, things are not as casual and easy as Ebay has considered. Three U.S. States are investigating whether Ebay’s has committed any wrong by not reporting the matter in a timely manner.

In short, Ebay is under investigation to ascertain the effectiveness of its cyber security practices. This is not the first case of this type and this certainly would not be the last of its kind as well. For instance, Target Corporation was also cyber attacked in the past and as a result of that Target Corporation faced litigation threats around the world. Now EBay is also facing similar litigation threats.

There seems to some very serious policy level lapses in U.S. that is allowing the companies to go away with legal consequences. However, this would not help these U.S. companies in other jurisdictions and they are vulnerable to diverse forms of legal actions there.

According to New Delhi based ICT law firm Perry4Law, “U.S. companies cannot hide behind the veil of conflict of laws in cyberspace anymore. No company can know this much better than Google who is facing online defamation case in India and has to comply with the right to be forgotten in Europe. Now the Luxembourg and U.K. data-protection authorities may probe EBay regarding the cyber-attack that exposed passwords and personal information of consumers around the world, including India. Even Indian regulatory authorities may initiative an investigation against EBay to ensure that privacy rights and data of Indian citizens may not have been violated during the cyber breach”.

Now Ebay has decided to streamline its cyber security. However, this would not be enough as the damage has already been done. U.S. needs to set an example by investigating and challenging the cyber security practices of U.S. companies. Till big corporations are forced to follow the norms there would not be any change.

Indian government must also introduce cyber security disclosure norms as soon as possible as Indian cyber security is in a bad shape. As the cyber security breaches are increasing world over, India cannot afford to keep its cyber security lax.

Online Pharmacies In India Under Scrutiny

Online pharmacies in India are operating in an unregulated manner for long. This has created a serious risk environment for many individuals who prefer to purchase a medicine from an online pharmacy. There is nothing wrong in purchasing a medicine from an online pharmacy provided the pharmacy is legitimate and is in compliance with all the applicable laws pertaining to healthcare.

Internet is full of illegal and unregulated online pharmacy websites. These websites are real health hazard but these websites are also very difficult to regulate as they operate from jurisdictions with low prosecution rates. India is one such jurisdiction that is high on tolerance of illegal online pharmacies. Healthcare technology law and regulations in India need to be strictly enforced in India.

In India we have set laws for opening an online pharmacy store in India. Even the Ayurvedic and Nutraceuticals e-businesses are required to comply with Indian laws to operate legally. Health, food and medicine related legal compliances in India have become really stringent. A good compilation of food, health, cosmetics, drugs, medicines and nutraceutical laws, rules and regulations in India has been provided by New Delhi based law firm Perry4Law.

However, online pharmacies in India are not at all complying with the legal requirements pertaining to their operation in India. Rather they are actively violating the laws of India in this regard. Illegal and unregulated online sale of prescribed medicines in India is still happening despite the threat of the Directorate of Drugs Control of India to punish such illegal pharmacies.

Recently, United States shut down 1677 illegal online pharmacies websites that were not in compliance with US laws. Illegal online pharmacies are also on hit list of Google and federal authorities of US. Even in India some developments have taken place in the direction of curbing illegal online pharmacies. The Maharashtra FDA has approached DCGI for regulating illegal online pharmacies operating in India. Similarly, the Hyderabad drug authorities are also keen on regulating illegal sale of drugs through online mechanism.

Although these are good developments yet they are too insignificant to make any potential impact upon the flourishing illegal online pharmacy industry of India. The websites pertaining to Ayurvedic and Nutraceuticals have further complicated the scenario. It is high time for Indian government to take strict penal action against illegal online pharmacy, Ayurveda and Nutraceutical websites as soon as possible.

Regulatory Compliances Under Indian Companies Act 2013 In Pipeline

The corporate environment of India all set for a big change that has brought tremendous regulatory obligations on the part of Indian companies. The hints of such change were obvious even before the recent notifications under the Indian Companies Act, 2013 (PDF) by the Ministry of corporate Affairs (MCA).

MCA has recently notified 183 sections under the Companies Act, 2013 and rules for 11 chapters under the Act. A complete list of all these notifications and the potential techno legal compliances that Indian companies may be required to follow from 01-04-2014 is available here. The same has been provided by New Delhi based corporate and ICT law firm Perry4Law.

According to Perry4Law, MCA has notified Rules for 11 chapters of the Companies Act, 2013. These include Rules for specifications and definitions, incorporation of companies, prospectus and allotment of securities, shares and debentures, registration of charges, management and administration, declaration and payment of dividend, accounts, appointment and qualification of directors, board meetings and powers, and corporate social responsibility.

As these Sections and Rules would become operational from 1^st April 2014 there would be lots of regulatory compliance issues that would be involved. Similarly, it is not easy to migrate from the 1956 Act to the 2013 Act so easily. The times have changed especially due to the techno legal requirements that Indian companies cannot ignored anymore. These include cyber law due diligence (PDF) and cyber security due diligence, opined Perry4Law.

It would be in the best interest of all Indian companies to manage their regulatory issues as soon as possible. Further, it would take considerable time before the true implications of the Indian Companies Act, 2013 and the corresponding rules thereunder would be understood by the companies. Early starters would definitely be at advantageous position.

Online Pharmacies Are Operating Unregulated In India

Online businesses and e-commerce are on rise in India. Everybody is of the opinion that e-business is the upcoming field that can fetch a handsome profit to the entrepreneurs who start the same. Various e-commerce and e-business ventures have been launched by Indian entrepreneurs in the year 2103 and most of them already closed their shops. The reason for the closure of these e-businesses is that an idea without appropriate implementation would be ineffective.

Another related problem pertains to failure to comply with the laws of India while indulging in e-commerce and e-businesses. For instance, we have set laws for opening an online pharmacy store in India. Even the Ayurvedic and Nutraceuticals e-businesses are required to comply with Indian laws to operate legally. Health, food and medicine related legal compliances in India have become really stringent. A good compilation of food, health, cosmetics, drugs, medicines and nutraceutical laws, rules and regulations in India has been provided by New Delhi based law firm Perry4Law.

However, online pharmacies in India are not at all complying with the legal requirements pertaining to their operation in India. Rather they are actively violating the laws of India in this regard. Illegal and unregulated online sale of prescribed medicines in India is still happening despite the threat of the Directorate of Drugs Control of India to punish such illegal pharmacies.

According to Perry4Law online sale of prescribed drugs and medicines in India is a very controversial area. Most of the online pharmacy stores in India are unable to comply with the requirements of Indian laws. There are many techno legal requirements pertaining to privacy, data protection (PDF), encryption, cyber law due diligence (PDF), Internet intermediary obligations, cloud computing, etc that are required to be complied with by online pharmacy stores operating in India.

Mobile health related laws and regulations in India have added another dimension to these complicated legal norms. If a medical device is also sold by these online pharmacies that intend to serve a health/medical purpose, the mobile health and telemedicine related legal issues would also arise.

The regulatory and legislative measures to check online pharmacies trading in banned drugs in India are also in pipeline. The digital communication channels for drugs and healthcare products in India are also subject to numerous regulatory compliances. All these issues require implementation of techno legal measures on the part of Indian government, opines Perry4Law.

It is for the Indian government to encourage law abiding online pharmacies and punish stringently the illegal pharmacies of India so that the menace of counterfeiting and illegal drugs and medicines can be curbed.

E-Discovery Legal Issues Are Still Ignored In India

Electronic discovery or e-discovery in India is a field that is still not pursued by many law firms in India. There are only handfuls of law firms that can provide e-discovery services in India. Further, there only one or two cyber law firms in India that have been providing legal services in this field.

The main reason for absence of lawyers and law firms in the field of e-discovery is lack of techno legal expertise in this regard. Perry4Law is the exclusive techno legal e-discovery and cyber forensics law firm of Asia that has been providing e-discovery and cyber forensics services to both national and international clients. Perry4Law is also managing exclusive techno legal e-discovery blogs in India and providing exclusive techno legal e-discovery legal services in India and foreign jurisdictions.

The scope of legal e-discovery services in India has increased tremendously in the past few years. In fact, e-discovery and cyber law due diligence has become mandatory for required for Indian companies and Indian companies cannot ignore them anymore. For instance, the cyber security breaches in India would raise crucial cyber law and cyber security issues in the near future and they cannot be simply ignored as cyber incidences anymore. This is so because many techno legal obligations have been attached with such cyber incidences in India.

Take the example of Target Corporation that faced cyber attacks and data breach recently. For reasons best known to Target, it failed to take remedial action in this regard. Now target is facing litigation threats around the world and it may be prosecuted in India as well very soon for failing to comply with techno legal requirements of applicable Indian laws.

The cyber forensics trends and developments in India 2013 by Perry4Law and Perry4Law’s Techno Legal Base (PTLB) have proved that India has failed on the fronts of e-discovery and cyber forensics. The law enforcement and revenue authorities of India have not taken aid of e-discovery and cyber forensics in their investigations so far.

For instance, Enforcement Directorate (ED) of India could have used e-discovery and cyber forensics methods to detect possible legal violations by Bitcoin websites. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has already committed the cyber forensics blunder in Aarushi’s murder case trial. The IPL match fixing case may also be jeoparadised due to lack of use of cyber forensics best practices. The forensics analysis of Nokia’s computer used to download software in India has still not been done till date. The HDFC bank was also required to follow sound e-discovery and cyber forensics procedure to avoid legal liability. Unfortunately, none of these events have actually taken place in India as e-discovery and cyber forensics have been neglected in all these cases.

All these negative developments clearly indicate that e-discovery and cyber forensics best practices are required to be adopted by various national and international companies operating in India. However, in the absence of various techno legal compliance on the part of Indian and foreign companies operating in India, there is an urgent need to formulate effective and robust techno legal e-discovery and cyber forensics regulatory regimes for India. There is also no doubt that India needs to strengthen cyber forensics and cyber crimes investigation capabilities that are in bad shape as on date.