Govt clarifies copyright act applies to digital streaming services

New Delhi: TIMES NEWS NETWORK





In a decision that will help music streaming services, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has clarified that all forms of broadcasting -including digital music streaming -fall under section 31(D) of the Copyright Act of 2013.Section 31(D) of the Act offers statutory licensing (SL) to broadcasting services, allowing them the right to offer music to their consumers at rates determined by the Copyright Board. This provision was brought into the Act to protect broadcasters from abusive practices of some music companies, who demanded unreasonable and unjustifiable royalties before granting permissions. Though the wording of the clause was quite clear in the Act, music companies had tried to create an impression that the section didn't apply to digital music services. With this clarification, DIPP has clarified that section applies to all broadcasters including digital music services.
Commerce and industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told TOI that the process for setting up the Copyright Board is on. She did not elaborate on the timeframe. Setting up of the board has been pending for a few years, but the minister has initiated the process. Government's clarification will bring major relief to services such as Gaana and Saavn, and will encourage them to renew commitment to their struggling businesses. Dhingana, another service, which was acquired by global giant Pandora, was shut down after being unable to fund music royalties. Guvera, an Australian music streaming service operating in India, is also struggling to pay its creditors. In addition, FM radio broadcasters have been unable to develop presence on digital because of the high costs demanded by labels.When asked to comment, an ex pert from a global consultancy firm stated: “Music companies should actually be giving their music at a very low cost initially to encourage multiple music services, which would help not only in curbing piracy but also in increasing their revenues from multiple sources However music companies have been thinking short term and increasing rates prohibitively making legal music services unviable and leading many of them to close down“.
In digital streaming, most music services are losing money significantly . Their royalty payments have grown by over 500% in the last four years, with built-in minimum guarantees to the labels. Digital broadcasters' revenues, however, have grown modestly as the business is taking time to develop. Labels also restricted how their music was used, initially offering web but not mobile rights, limiting how consumers could consume content, and restricting what partnerships digital music services could use.
Commenting on the clarification, Prashan Agarwal, COO of Gaana, said, “The clarification that internet companies are covered under SL is welcome. However, there was never any doubt in our minds that we were covered. This clarification will help the streaming industry grow and catch up with its peers internationally“.
Industry body IAMAI also issued a statement: “The clarification will also provide a relief to the spiralling annual licence fee paid to label companies that sometimes exceeded the revenue of many these startups....this clarification by DIPP now creates a level-playing field as the provisions of section 31D are not restricted to radio and television broadcasting organizations only , but cover internet broadcasting organizations also“.
Commenting on behalf of radio broadcasters, Prashant Panday , CEO Radio Mirchi said “Worldwide, radio broadcasters have moved towards streaming their on-air products as well as offering niche online products. Here in India, the huge minimum guarantees demanded by labels have made that impossible. What we forget is that the biggest losers in all this are the artists, the ones who deserve all the support and recognition possible“.

Source: Times of India, 8-09-2016

A Confluence Of Avatars And Prophets

Oswald Pereira





There's a little bit of Krishna in my life ­ also a little bit of Christ, Allah and Buddha. Within me, there are many bits of various avatars, prophets, sages and saints. These little bits have touched my life ­ in this and my many previous births. And all these converge into one whole, springing from one Source or Supreme Being.God is the most neutral name for this Supreme Being, though the Supreme goes by various other names like Brahmn, Bhagwan, Father, Allah, Akal Purakh, or Yahweh. God, didn't claim to have any name. For when Moses asked God by what name should he refer to Him to Israelites, God simply said, “I am who I am.“ But in the Bhagwad Gita, Arjuna addresses the Supreme, Krishna, by 41 different names including Achyuta, Bhagwan, Govinda, Hari, Ishvara, Janardana, Kesava, Madhava, Purushottama and Yogeshvara as well as Vasudeva and Vishnu.
Well, from my birth name, i am identified as Christian or more specifically , Catholic. But i believe confining my identity to Christian, would be the most un-Catholic thing to do. Catholic means allembracing, including a wide variety of things. So, being Catholic, why should i do an un-Catholic thing, like claiming that my faith is the ultimate truth? Wouldn't it be more Catholic to believe that there are many truths and faiths abounding in this vast, diverse universe?
Each truth or faith may seem unique with an identity of its own. But if we look beneath the surface, it will become clear that the only uniqueness of faith is its oneness with all things good, beautiful and loving. Human beings may be from different regions, yet deep down they are all so similar. If we strip ourselves of our so-called unique identity and merge ourselves with the common identity , the Supreme Being, then we all would be one.
If there is one universal truth, because there is one God, then why did God appear on earth in various incarnations with different names, at different times and in different regions?
God perhaps followed the simple axiom that there's a time and place for everything.Avatars descended on earth, depending on the need of the people and the region. The names assumed by avatars were also region-based; more like Supreme Intelligence seeing the sign of the times.
Krishna says, “For protection of the good, for destruction of evil, and for the establishment of righteousness, I come into being from age to age.“ (Gita 4:8.) The Bible gives us many reasons why Jesus came to the world, the important ones being to destroy evil, free people of the fear of death, and save the world.
Prophet Muhammad, the final Prophet of Allah, taught people to worship the One God and to live a morally upright life. Prophet Zoroaster talked about one universal, transcendent, Supreme God. He advised people to have good thoughts, speak good words and do good deeds, following the path of truth.
Don't all avatars and prophets teach us to be good and shun evil?
And if we believe in rebirth ­ that our soul may have travelled various regions over time ­ doesn't it make sense to conclude that we have within us a confluence of God manifestations and their Prophets, all owing allegiance to one Supreme Power?
Post your comments at speakingtree.in

The Tata Social Internship 2016 hosts 19 international students in India

Mumbai: The Tata Social Internship programme provides a unique learning experience to students from some of the world’s best universities in the areas of community development and sustainability.

 

The 2016 edition of the Tata Social Internship culminated with a contingent of 19 international students – three from the University of California, Berkeley, USA; one from the University of California, Davis, USA; nine from the London School of Economics & Political Science, UK; and six from the University of Cambridge, UK – completing their two-month experiential internship in the on-going sustainability projects of the Tata companies in India.

 

The batch of 2016, worked hands-on on the community initiatives of the Tata companies and entities like Tata Chemicals, Tata Power, Tata Communications, Taj, Tata Business Excellence Group, Tata Medical Center and the Tata Trusts for a period of two months. The areas of their projects ranged from the impact assessment of sustainability programmes at Tata companies to studies about health economics of infection management at hospitals, women literacy initiatives, tackling malnutrition, agriculture and non-agriculture-based livelihoods for rural hinterlands and improving education through technology, assessing student performance parameters, promoting traditional handicrafts, and skill development.

 

The programme structure of Tata Social Internship 2016 provided the interns with grass-root level exposure to India and at the same time brought international perspectives and practices to these projects at Tata companies, promoting international understanding.

 

The visiting interns, selected by their educational institutions along with Tata representatives, came from diverse academic backgrounds such as developmental studies, social anthropology, public policy, neurobiology, economics, gender studies, philosophy and engineering. The first phase of the internship programme kicked off on May 30, 2016 with the University of California, Berkeley students. The second phase for the interns from the University of California, Davis, Cambridge and the London School of Economics commenced on July 4, 2016.

 

Mr. Elias Mead, a BSc Philosophy student from the London School of Economics, who interned with The Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces in Mumbai, worked towards developing a project plan for Taj’s CSR programme for promoting traditional arts, crafts and handicrafts of India. Elaborating on his experience, Elias said “I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to intern with the Tata Social Internship because I got to work on issues in a new country, particularly one that is developing so fast and is becoming a leading superpower. I feel like I have grown more as a person and professionally in the past 8 weeks than I have in the two years that I was at a good university. Being exposed to a whole new culture where things are increasingly international and in a different economy where things are changing. It was so valuable to be able to experience and be a part of that change.”

 

Ms. Aleksandra Szypowska who is completing her BA Classics at the University of Cambridge interned at Tata Chemicals in Mithapur, where her project was based on understanding women’s collectives and its impact on their interactions in public and private spaces. “My time in India at the Tata Social Internship was a memorable time, full of amazing meetings with wonderful, inspiring people. I wish it could have lasted longer, for I feel like I have only scratched the surface. The journey has just begun - and I am sure I'll return to India to continue it. My experience with Tata Chemicals Society for Rural Development in Mithapur has challenged many of my world views and expanded my horizons. I learned a lot about empowerment - that it expands into amazing directions I never knew before. I want to take what I've learned here and share it with the women in Europe, because, funnily enough, it seems we have more to learn from Indian women than I ever thought.”  said Aleksandra.

 

As part of the programme, an interactive seminar took place in Mumbai on 2 September 2016, with the students from LSE, Cambridge and UC Davis, and students from the Centre for the Development of Corporate Citizenship at SP Jain Institute of Management & Research, to share experiences in the area of community development and sustainability.

 

Prof. Ruth Kattumuri, Co-Director, India Observatory & Asia Research Centre of the London School of Economics said, ”The Tata Social Internship has become prominently engrained into the summer internship calendar of students at LSE and Cambridge in the UK, and students from various Universities in the United States of America. Tata group has now become a household name globally. The interest in India, more so among young people from around the world, is growing exponentially. Tata Social Internship provides an excellent opportunity for international students to spend two months working on a myriad of Tata projects and getting to know India better. The students contribute their insights to the projects from their diverse learnings and backgrounds. Most of the students in turn imbibe the love-of-India-bug and go on to pursue careers that are in some way associated with India”

 

Mr. Atul Agrawal, Senior Vice President-Corporate Affairs, Tata Services, said, “Tata Social Internship serves the dual purpose of allowing us to provide international students with grass-root level exposure to India and developing our social sustainability outreach through knowledge sharing. With a diverse range of community projects on which the students have engaged, this platform reiterates the Tata group’s ethos of giving back to society while also helping to build international understanding.

 

The students during their internship also participated in an online essay competition on their experience in India (essays can be accessed at http://www.tatasocial-in.com/tata-ises-experience ). A distinctive corporate sustainability internship programme, Tata Social Internship was launched in 2008.

	Source: Indiaeducationdiary, 9-06-2016

When teachers are learners too

The influence of a good teacher cannot be erased. We bring you an essay on what makes a good teacher.

When I was a student, I used to hear the statement “Teaching is a noble profession”, uttered by people from different walks of life. Many anecdotes narrated by them inspired me to choose teaching as a profession. One of the definitions of the word ‘noble’ is “possessing outstanding qualities” which, I am sure, include honesty, magnanimity, patience, intellectual courage and humility, a positive attitude towards teaching and care and concern for students. I have been fortunate to have been taught by teachers who possess many of these qualities.

Of late, I hear many teachers and those in other professions argue that “Teaching is no more a noble profession.” Is it true? Recently, I initiated a discussion on social media on the topic. It attracted views from teachers across the country. One of them commented, “The question is better answered when teachers ask their students if they want to become teachers. Only a few may be interested in choosing it as a career. This gives us an idea of how the profession is perceived.”

Fr. Devadhas Muthiah, who has been a teacher for over three decades, had said, “Teaching definitely is a noble profession. If I can make my students socially conscious and helps make them lead a just and others-centred life, then, I can call myself a good (noble) teacher.”

September 5 is a special day for teachers in India — many educational institutions organise programmes to felicitate the teaching community. On this day, everyone remembers teachers who touched and inspired them and says a few words of praise and gratitude. Teacher’s Day is an occasion for teachers to renew their commitment to the profession.

What makes a good teacher? Over a period of two decades, I have interacted with hundreds of teachers in India and abroad. Based on my interactions, here is a list of nine ‘Es’ which a good teacher demonstrates:

Enjoy

Good teachers enjoy their teaching and proudly proclaim that they are teachers. It is their passion for it that makes them great teachers. As Robert Meehan says, “Teachers who love teaching, teach children to love learning.”

Endear

Students learn better when they experience their teachers’ love, care and concern. Kind teachers have the power of touching their students’ lives.

Empathise

Good teachers don’t neglect any student by labelling them a ‘slow learner’ or ‘dull student’. They understand their students’ problems, listen to them, know their aspirations, remove their despair and instil confidence in them. They treat students’ challenges as opportunities and not as problems.

Encourage

Encouragement is the best medicine students can get from teachers for their poor performance and academic failures. As Anatole France says, “nine-tenths of education is encouragement.”

Enliven

Good teachers brighten dull moments and make students fall in love with the course. Good teachers know that their smiles do wonders in the classroom.

Empower

Good teachers prepare students to face challenges. They share their knowledge and expertise with students and enable them to become resourceful people. They are enablers. They help students grow from a dependent stage to the independent stage and then to the interdependent stage.

Energise

Good teachers energise themselves by updating their knowledge and acquiring new skills. It is said that in-service training is more important than pre-service training and good teachers constantly update themselves and give importance to their professional development.

Educate

Good educators are committed to their profession. As the Latin word ‘educare’ means “to draw out”, good educators’ mission is to draw out the best from learners.

Edify

The word ‘edification’, in the context of teacher-student rapport, is used to mean “to build characters”. Good teachers are not mere instructors but builders of characters. By being intellectually and morally sound, they lead others by example.

The writer is professor of English and Head, Higher Education, KCG College of Technology, Chennai.

Source: The Hindu, 7-09-2016

Computers to curriculum, India needs to redesign its education system

The new global “revolution”--Artificial Intelligence, robots, knowledge centric economies, Uber-isation--threatens to make “industrial” policy models obsolete. Like earlier industrial “revolutions”, this will have winners and losers amongst people, communities and countries.

The government’s strategy of multi-pronged initiatives--skills, start-up, digitalisation and Make in India--is the right one to make India one of the winners. The strategy’s success relies on having a “right designed” education system--dynamic, future-anticipating, performance-driven and available to all citizens. No surprise that education is one of 9 pillars listed by FM Arun Jaitley in his budget speech.

HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar’s challenge is providing this--by reshaping curriculum and institutions to reflect the needs of the new world. Three “themes” need attention--technology readiness, access and performance.

Technology ready: Recent technological advances have broken the “ratchet” productivity improvements and disrupted established processes across world economy. The target for our education is now to make each student capable of “using” technology to identify and create utility. Different from “programming”, it needs deeper understanding of technology’s potential and a “comfort” in using it in ways that ignore established continuums and processes. By making access to knowledge virtually independent of classrooms, the internet provides a “free” platform to provide this. Hence, each child must have and be able to use the internet.

The first requirement is getting computers in each child’s hands. We need a national drive – developing cheaper laptops, “recycling” old ones, a laptop and PC donation movement and “use” Cloud and improved connectivity to build inexpensive machines that work off of “remote” common platforms.

We also need to change our curricula. Every stream must include technology as an integral part. This will incorporate the “use” of technology within each area of work and make students less at risk of becoming redundant through technological advances. Simultaneously, we have to “broaden” our youth’s knowledge spectrum. The last half century saw more rigid streaming – to encourage specialisation. Today, IT has made basic information easily available and increased interconnectivity between various subjects, work streams. Courses, especially undergrad need to build in both availability of information – so less rote focussed performance measurement, and interdisciplinary dependence through multi-subject courses and well designed project work.

TCS effect on under-privileged students: 70 years after independence, “access” to education for the underprivileged – women, poor and SC/STs has improved. Now access needs to be supplemented by a “pull” factor that provides a road map to success – choosing the right education, upgrading performance and creating leaders. TCS’s success inspired the success of other IT companies. Let’s create similar beacons of achievement from the weaker sections of society. Identify top 1000 students from underprivileged sections of society and give them the opportunity to attend the world’s best universities with the proviso of having to then work in India for 5 years. Such aspirational rewards with continuous performance monitoring will incentivise better performance. More important is the motivation successes provide. Imagine the impact when a rural dalit woman goes to Harvard and makes it to the top of a global business. Thousands of other girls will try to follow. Access gets reinforced by performance motivation and direction.

Making performance and excellence a priority: 2016 budget allocated 72394 crores to education, with a substantial portion for higher education. Given our limited resources, we cannot afford to let institutions churn out graduates with too little emphasis on excellence. This needs change in teachers, students and the “culture”. To start, we have to treat teachers with more respect. Simultaneously, especially in institutions of higher learning, we must hold teachers to robust performance standards – publishing record, “new” research, number and quality of lectures, student performance on standardised testing are some metrics.

While we have to stress access in school, student performance especially at the postgraduate stage needs tighter monitoring. Too often, MPhil and PHD students are there for a hostel, preparing for civil services or pursuing politics. To “push” performance we can limit years of hostel use, establish ongoing annual appraisals for study grants and an automatic “exit” with need to re-apply if particular stages of a degree are not completed within a prescribed period

Lastly “culture”. Given taxpayer money spent on universities, one shudders hearing “culture of politics” trotted out as an excuse for disrupting education through competitive dharnas. What we need is a “culture of learning” – research, growing knowledge, path-breaking academic work. Ofcourse, political awareness and activity are necessary ingredients of education but they cannot dominate the education process. Political apprenticeships cannot be subsidised by the taxpayer, even as hundreds of willing “real” students can’t get admission.

“Right” education access, curriculum and performance are critical to India benefitting from the demographic dividend, developing and remaining competitive. Our scarce resources must be prioritised for the underprivileged, must aim to make our youth future-ready and cannot be wasted through lack of focus on performance.

(The writer is a banker based in Singapore. The views expressed are personal.)

Source: Hindustan Times, 7-09-2016

IISc Bangalore remains India's top varsity

LONDON IANS





Even as the Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore remains the country's top university, its global ranking has dropped few notches to 152 in the latest QS World University Rankings 2016-17 released on Tuesday. Founded in 1909 as a result of the joint efforts of Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, the Indian government and the Maharaja of Mysore, IISc's global ranking last year was 147 ­ also just within the top 150 universities in the world. All the other Indian universities that make the cut within the top 400 on the list are the coveted Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) ­ Delhi (185), Bombay (219), Madras (249), Kanpur (302), Kharagpur (313) and Roorkee (399).“This year's rankings imply that levels of investment are determining who progresses and who regresses,“ said Ben Sowter, head of research at QS.
“Institutions in countries that provide high levels of targeted funding, whether from endowments or from the public purse, are rising. On the other hand, some Western European nations making or proposing cuts to public research spending are losing ground to their US and Asian counterparts.“
TOP INDIAN INSTITUTES
In the latest QS World University Rankings, the Indian Institute of Sciences stands at 152nd position.The other institutes that make the cut within top 400 are IIT-Delhi (185), IIT-B (219), Madras (249), Kanpur (302), Kharagpur (313) and Roorkee (399)

Source: Mumbai Mirror, 7-09-2016

Why Gyaan Became A Bad Word

By Shephali Bhatt





From being something sought after to something dispensed freely, but absorbed grudgingly, we trace the journey of gyaan

Teacher's Day almost invari ably makes you think about your favourite mentor-pro tege duo. The one teachertaught relationship I've always admired and somewhat aspired for, is that of Keshav (Lord Krishna) and his Parth (Arjun). As a child, I would religiously watch BR Chopra's Mahabharat and Ramanand Sagar's Shri Krishna every Sunday. In both the series, the segment where Arjun seeks Krishna's guidance to get him on the path of duty, used to be my favourite part.W hen I was in 8th stand a rd, my S a n sk r it te acher pushed me to participate in an annual Gita Shlokochaaran P rat iy og it a (Git a verse recitation competition). I had the most unique version of Gita in town, she'd tell me: a Sanskrit to English translation. That book taught me a lot of new wor d s a nd their essence, and some of life's important lessons.
My most memorable takeaway from the Gita however, was the ethereal visual of Arjun bowing down to Krishna with folded hands, revering him for the wealth of knowledge and wisdom that Krishna imparted to his disciple. And now when I think about that visual visa-vis the times we are in, I thank the lords I haven't seen any troll memes based on it, dissing the concept of giving or receiving gyaan.
Before we conveniently blame the GenY, let's take a moment to fathom just how and why gyaan, that was held sacred once, attained a negative connotation. How did words like `sermon' and `lecture' become weapons of sarcasm? Why did any attempt at giving someone sagely advice start getting rewarded with getting rewarded with “dimaag ka dahi mat kar,“ “pakaa mat,“ and suchlike?
Mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik has an explanation: “Knowledge is never given but taken.The student has to actively search for it.“ That makes sense if we were to apply it to KrishnaArjun. The latter sought his gyaan, asked for help so he can do right by his people and principles. But it's not the same with our social-media generation which is exposed to unsolicited advice from know-it-alls everywhere. So, are the self-proclaimed Gurus to be blamed then? Perhaps they have devalued gyaan by freely dispensing it. But Kunal Shah, founder of Freecharge, who is often seen sharing pearls of wisdom on his social media account, offers an interesting view on them: “If self-proclaimed gurus don't engage in participative discussions, if they curtail counter views, they will become extinct soon. There is a reason I have never blocked a single person on my social media: I believe knowledge is participative and flour ishes in an environment that encour ages discussion.“ And as Pattanaik highlights, no one knows who really is `qualified' to be called a Guru. “We assume there is an ideal teacher out there,“ he says.
Students face advice overload.
They don't see relevance of knowl edge. Botany is taught without even looking at the tree next to the class room. Is Google the culprit then?
We don't think so. Google is for information. And he himself says that knowledge is not the same as information. “We can share infor mation but knowledge emerges from experience,“ Pattanaik adds. Which is why t here a re sti l l people who look up to others to benefit from their wea lt h of ex perience.Anaggh Desai, founder of AD Consulting, still reaches out to his former col leag ues K i ra n Khalap and Anand Halve for gyaan, he says. And there's not a huge age-gap between them. He just respects their knowledge in certain fields. Interestingly, Desai is a popular Twitterati (@Anaggh) who used to give gyaan to other people as and when they sought it from him, he tells us. Soon, he realised some of the seek ers were just looking for validation, or hoping he would open doors for them using his network. In time, he also saw a lot of people, in an attempt to become the next Suhel Seth, had started spouting oft-repeated things in one panel discussion after anoth er. He has now decided he'd rather retain his gyaan with him than give it away for free, especially in a gyaan cluttered environment.
So, if it's not the Gurus, or Google, then how on earth did the gyaandownfall happen in our minds? Let's just say both of them contributed significantly but didn't cause it all by themselves.
Anand Halve, Desai's mentor and the co-founder of chlorophyll brand consultancy, adds two more to the list of causes: Fundamentally, the teacher used to be a respected entity back in the day. People like Dr S Radhakrishnan (whose birth anniversary is celebrated as Teacher's Day in India and many other countries) was someone people looked up to. “Now teachers have become service providers. Parents gang up against them should they so much as rebuke their wards.“ There also seems to be a belief that what's being taught to them is adding no value, the teaching is actually of no use. “My generation just studied geography, for example. We never questioned why, what for.“
Is this another one of those millennial generation issues then? Desai agrees. But there's Shah who's 37 (so he doesn't fall into the millennials bracket). He says, “I had no regard for gyaan ever, as even Laws of Physics may get questioned in the future with new learnings. I am very comfortable with the idea of not being sure of several things and not seeking comforting answers for the sake of it.“ Yet, he feels that gyaan, if approached through a participative manner to ignite thought process or give a contrarian point-of-view, will be appreciated in the years to come. At least he's a lot more hopeful compared to some gyaanis we spoke to, who think the only way you can restore gyaan's sanctity is if you believe in the `saviour complex'! Don't know what that means? Google or ask a gyaani baba. Take your pick, help determine the verdict.
shephali.bhatt@timesgroup.com

Source: Economic Times, 7-09-2016