The law must find ways to deal with online abuse of children

Given the nature of the menace, only a collective effort of all stakeholders, including service providers, content providers, civil society and regulatory authorities, can help redress it. Young lives are at stake and there is no time to waste

Last week, Supreme Court judge, Justice Madan Lokur, brought up an issue that often fails to get adequate notice, unless things really get out of hand: the online abuse of children. Speaking at a seminar in New Delhi, Justice Lokur emphasised the need to look at violence against children in a larger context — going beyond physical violence to look at psychological violence inflicted through online sources. In the past two years or so, there has been a spate of incidents involving children and the darker side of the Internet, be it pornography, cyber bullying, or online games such as the Blue Whale Challenge or the latest deadly online game, the Momo Challenge. The Momo challenge, similar to the Blue Whale challenge, consists of a variety of self-harming dares, which becomes increasingly risky as the game progresses and it finally ends with a suicide challenge.

The threat to children from online sources has become so serious that technology giant Google has announced that it is employing a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) to combat online spreading of content involving child sexual abuse. The new AI technology, Google said, will significantly help service providers, NGOs and other tech firms to improve the efficacy of child sexual abuse material detection and reduce human reviewers’ exposure to the content. This development is important since the effects of such violence have strong, long-lasting effects on the physical and mental health of the young victims. The direct and indirect economic costs are substantial because such abuse undermines the long-term potential of both victims and societies.

In a scathing commentary on the lack of preparedness of Indian lawmakers and agencies in protecting children from the menace of online abuse, a 2016 report by Unicef India said the issue has received very little attention and is not even included in the National Crime Records Bureau statistics as a separate category. Such cases are often not registered or investigated because of limited understanding of child online offences system. Also, there is not enough forensic capacity to investigate online offences and inadequate cooperation by India for investigating international offences.

Given the nature of the menace, only a collective effort of all stakeholders, including service providers, content providers, civil society and regulatory authorities, can help redress it. Young lives are at stake and there is no time to waste.

Source: Hindustan Times, 17/09/2018

Triumph of Human Spirit

The recent calamity that struck Kerala has shown how important it is to have good neighbours or how important it is to have good relationship with people next door. Over the years, through a combination of factors, Kerala had emerged as a model state, ensuring certain levels of prosperity, social well-being and equality. But with modernism and urban self-sufficiency, people do tend to become more selfcentred. But the latent compassionate spirit in us does seem to emerge in times of crisis. During the floods, total strangers cooperating with one another turned benefactors and the desire to be useful to another when danger enveloped the whole area revealed the triumph of human spirit. An awareness of a shared destiny took over people’s hearts. Good neighbourliness became the norm. The threat of imminent destruction achieved in a few days, what years of profuse religiosity could not. You don’t need any qualification to extend a helping hand to those in need. You only need a heart that feels for another fellow being in need. There is much discussion as to why such destruction visited a people, who are so wellendowed and favoured. There are tales of awful happenings, unique deeds of sacrifice and bravery, human capacity to endure hardships for a noble end. But the movement from individuals’ mere private lives and concern with moneymaking, housebuilding, amassing power and influence for oneself to a social consciousness of the need to help the one in need — triggered by the tragedy — will be long remembered

Source: Economic Times, 18/09/2018

When it isn’t right to forget

Right to be forgotten in proposed Data Protection Bill poses a threat to press freedom and RTI

Justice BN Srikrishna Committee’s draft Personal Data Protection Bill 2018 is introducing a new right — the right to be forgotten, to remove very old, irrelevant and unnecessary information links from social media networks. This concept is prevalent in the European Union (EU) and France, though it was not preferred in the US to the more valuable press freedom. Mario Costeja Gonzalez wanted Googleand a Spanish newspaper, La Vanguardia, to remove a 1998 news item about selling off property to pay off debts. The EU court in 2009 upheld his right not to be reminded of that unpleasant part of his life. The US court did not agree with William James Sidis, a former child prodigy, who did not want The New Yorker to publish about his past.

In India, after a person got a certificate of marriage with a woman’s name who never married him, her father’s plea to annul that marriage certificate was accepted by the Karnataka High Court. A rape victim has a right that her past be forgotten. At the same time, a criminal cannot claim that he has the right to insist that his conviction should not be referred to by the media, the Gujarat High Court said.

As per the Srikrishna Committee’s Bill, an adjudicating officer, who is not a judge but a bureaucrat, will decide. According to Section 27 of the Bill a data principal (for instance, a former minister convicted earlier) has a right to prevent the data processor or data fiduciary (could be a TV, web portal or newspaper) from using such data or information if data disclosure is no longer necessary, the consent to use data has been withdrawn or if data is being used contrary to the provisions of the law.

Section 27(2) says the adjudicating officer can decide on the question of disclosure, and the circumstances in which he thinks such disclosure can override the freedom of speech and the citizen’s right to information. In determining this, the adjudicating officer has to consider five factors listed in subsection (3). They are: (a) the sensitivity of the personal data; (b) the scale of disclosure and the degree of accessibility sought to be restricted or prevented; (c) the role of the data principal in public life; (d) the relevance of the personal data to the public; and (e) the nature of the disclosure and of the activities of the data fiduciary, particularly whether the data fiduciary systematically facilitates access to personal data and whether the activities would be significantly impeded if disclosures of the relevant nature were to be restricted or prevented.

Aggrieved by the order of the adjudicating officer, one can file for a review. If he reaffirms the decision, an appeal can be made to the appellate tribunal. This is fine as far as data protection is concerned. But when the data principal is a public servant (for instance, a former minister), and the data fiduciary is a newspaper or web journal, the freedom to criticise the public personalities for their public policies based on their past statements and activities will be in jeopardy, and a journalist has to wait for the decision of the adjudicating officer to clear her writing about it. A citizen seeking access to such information will be confused whether to approach the CIC or DPA — these adjudicating officers are subordinate to members of the Data Protection Authority.

The right to be forgotten in the Bill might spell a danger to press freedom. The PDP Bill says the rights of the data principal, including the right to be forgotten, are exempted if the purpose of data processing is in the interest of the security of state (Section 42). But, the Bill says, Parliament should pass a law explaining the procedures to determine the interests and to create another authority to decide the disclosure. These rights will not apply to the processing of data in the interests of prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of any offence or any other contravention of law (Section 43). For that, too, however, Parliament has to make a law to consider and achieve such interests. The Srikrishna Committee did not suggest any draft for these two additional provisions contemplated under Sections 42 and 43. Even for this, Section 4 (right to privacy needs to be respected) and, Section 31 (fair and reasonable processing duties) will apply.

An exemption “for journalistic purpose” is provided in Section 47 saying that where the processing of personal data is necessary for or relevant to a journalistic purpose, the provisions of Chapters II to VIII of the Act shall not apply, except SS 4 and 31. Section 27(2) disappoints. It says Section 27(1) applies only where the journalist demonstrates that the processing is in compliance with any code of ethics issued by — (a) the Press Council of India, or (b) any media self-regulatory organisation. This means the journalist has to prove that privacy was taken care (Section 4) and all safeguards prescribed were complied with (Section 31). Journalistic publication will be dependent upon the opinion of a dealing clerk or adjudicating officer. These are additional pre-publication restrictions on citizens and media which were never contemplated by the Constitution and rejected by the judiciary.

The penalty provisions are severe and costly. Section 74 gives the power to impose a penalty to the adjudicating officer after an inquiry, besides facilitating compensation (Section 75). Failure to adhere to security standards (Section 31) might lead to a penalty of up to Rs 5 crore (Section 69). A penalty of up to Rs 1 crore can be imposed where any person fails to comply with any provision of this Act, for which no separate penalty has been provided in the Act (Section 73). This can easily be used against journalists.

Is this constitutional? Article 19(2) of the Indian Constitution did not provide “privacy” as a ground for imposing restrictions. This Bill fails on constitutional verification by the judiciary, unless “privacy” is added in Article 19(2) by a major amendment to the Constitution. The Data Protection Bill is going to be a serious threat to press freedom and RTI.

The writer, formerly professor of Media Law in NALSAR University of Law, is Central Information Commissioner

Source: Indian Express, 14/09/2018.

An education that is in sync

The concept of general education and specialised education proceeding together needs to be widely adopted in India

Higher education in India has grown exponentially in recent years. A survey by the All India Survey on Higher Education published in July this year shows that the gross enrolment ratio (GER) was 25.8% in 2017-18, up from 10% in 2004-05. GER is the ratio (expressed as percentage), of the total enrolment within a country in a specific level of education, regardless of age, to the population in the official age group corresponding to this level of education.

For higher education, the survey calculates the ratio for the age group 18 to 23 years. Internationally, the age group 18 to 22 is also used. For India, the Survey gives the corresponding figure as 30%. Though the GER for higher education in India is still less than what it is in developed countries, the growth rate is still quite impressive. The next step is to ensure that the outcome of academic programmes by higher education institutes (HEIs) is acceptable.

The debate in the media on higher education is often focussed on issues related to governance and autonomy — but these are not the only important issues. There needs to be a debate on the content of higher education in HEIs. Just after Independence, a commission comprising educationists from India, the U.K. and the U.S., and chaired by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, was formed “to report on Indian University Education and suggest improvements and extensions that may be desirable to suit present and future requirements of the country”. Its report filed after its deliberations (December 1948-August 1949) came to be known as the Radhakrishnan Commission Report (RCR). Philosophical deliberations in the report that are related to the content of higher education are still relevant today.

A template

The RCR recommended a well-balanced education with ‘general’, ‘liberal’ and ‘occupational’ components. Without all-round general (including liberal) education, one could not be expected to play roles expected of a citizen outside one’s immediate professional sphere. The report advocated that general education and specialised/professional education should proceed together. The study of languages should be given equal importance as one communicated to the outside world only through the medium of language. Therefore, a lack of communication skills could be a handicap.

The RCR drew inspiration from the emphasis on general education in universities in the U.S. It cited a lecture by Einstein (1931) where he said: “The development of general ability for independent thinking and judgement should always be placed foremost, not the acquisition of special knowledge. If a person masters the fundamentals of his subject and has learned to think and work independently, he will surely find his way….”

The American parallel

Recently this year, the National Academies Press (NAP) of the U.S. which represents the national academies of sciences, engineering and medicine published the report, “The Integration of the Humanities and Arts with Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Higher Education: Branches from the Same Tree”. One is immediately struck by the importance attached to the integration of Sciences, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine and humanities in university teaching in both the RCR and NAP reports.

As in the NAP’s report, the purpose of higher education is to prepare graduates for work and life, as well as active and engaged citizenship — achieved only through the acquisition of knowledge, skills and competencies related to the profession they chose to specialise in and also written and oral communication skills, ability to work as a team, ethical decision making, critical thinking, and ability to apply knowledge in real world settings. The RCR, in turn, talked about including general education as an essential element. But the NAP report goes much beyond what the RCR states and advocates integrating the teaching of humanities in STEM. It says that surveys show that employers now seek graduates with more than just technical capabilities or in-depth knowledge in a particular subject.

Problems in a real-life setting are interdisciplinary and require an appreciation of related fields. The NAP report acknowledges that disciplinary specialisation has resulted in many developments but also points out that emerging problems are multi-disciplinary. This can be seen in two examples: rising demand for energy, and continuing advances in technology. The use of energy on a large scale and the continued availability of energy in an environmental-friendly manner are challenges which cannot be addressed by narrow specialists. There are technical advances every day, influencing everyday life in diverse ways. This is also leading to concerns about privacy, technology-driven social and workforce changes, and the evolving need for individuals to retrain themselves to remain in employment. In such a scenario, it is important that professionals study the impact of innovations on society in a holistic manner.

The NAP report says: “The aggregate evidence reviewed by the committee shows that certain educational experiences that integrate the arts and humanities with STEM at the undergraduate level are associated with increased critical thinking abilities, higher order thinking and deeper learning, content mastery, creative problem solving, teamwork and communication skills.”

The reality

Let us examine the current scene in India against such a backdrop. HEIs are far from integrated. As far as the inclusion of elements of general education in the curriculum for undergraduates is concerned, the situation is mixed. Several engineering, and science education and research institutes have embedded general education programmes at the undergraduate level. Such programmes are missing in most university-affiliated science colleges. Rather, there are institutions that cater to a single stream which precludes the possibility of even an informal interaction between students and faculty with different specialisations. The focus of undergraduate education should be on classical disciplines, with enough credits for general education. Focus on specialisation can wait until the post graduate level.

In 1959, C.P. Snow spoke about “The Two Cultures”. It is time to bridge the divide between the two cultures in the education system and evolve a third culture where the two sides understand and appreciate each other.

R.B. Grover, Emeritus Professor and former Vice Chancellor, Homi Bhabha National Institute, is a Member of the Atomic Energy Commission

Source: The Hindu, 13/09/2018

Students need to be encouraged into startup culture: AICTE chairperson

There is a need to bring students into startup culture and to provide them a platform where they can convert their bright ideas into innovation, AICTE Chairman Anil D Sahasrabudhe said on Friday.

There is a need to bring students into startup culture and to provide them a platform where they can convert their bright ideas into innovation, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) Chairperson Anil D Sahasrabudhe said on Friday.

He was addressing a gathering on the occasion of the National Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research 51st annual day at the NITTTR campus in Chandigarh.

Sahasrabudhe said that the AICTE is not just a regulator but also a facilitator committed to improving the quality of technical education.

“There is a need to bring students into startup culture and to provide them a platform where they can convert their bright ideas into innovation,” he said.

“We should create as support system for students, including more internship or skill programme, to hone their skills,” he said.

The lack of resources and unemployment are the major challenges, Sahasrabudhe said, adding that we should focus on startups.

The AICTE has made its own startup policy through which universities and colleges along with their normal courses will start entrepreneurship courses, he said.

He said that lab and research centres should be opened for 24 hours for students so that they can do research and draw their ideas.

“The Indian students have a lot of potential, we just need to identify and channelise their ideas in the right direction,” he said.

He shared his views on challenges faced by technical education in the country and appreciated the new initiatives and innovations being undertaken by this institute for technical teacher training to improve the quality of technical education.

He assured the support of the AICTE to the institute towards qualitative improvement of technical education in the country.

Source: Hindustan Times, 7/09/2018

Risk management is the way forward for farming

If agriculturalists can benefit from price and yield variations, they will be able to build long-term resilience

Large numbers of low-income families the world over depend on agriculture as their primary source of income. Agriculture is, however, a challenging sector and several issues prevent farmers, in particular small holders, from realising greater incomes. These include low yields, weak market linkages, high price volatility, limited risk management, and poor price realisation. Given the very large numbers of people involved, addressing these concerns of farmers is an important goal of public policy. For farmers’ incomes, the keys to transformative growth are, among other things, the two areas of price and yield risk management.

Price risk management: Like other commodities, market prices of agricultural products are highly volatile. Spot, futures, forwards, and options are essential tools which accurately transmit market signals to farmers and simultaneously allow them to choose the risk management approach that is best suited for them without relying on ex-post subsidies, should markets turn adverse. A number of countries have focused on making these tools easily available to farmers.

In Australia, for example, both farmers and buyers are able to purchase the necessary forward contracts and put and call options on agricultural products directly from their banks. Here cotton growers are the most prominent users of these tools to manage price risk and around 20% of wheat growers use market price risk management techniques such as futures contracts, options, and over the counter products like swaps. Easy access to these products and services has transformed the incomes and risk exposure of these farmers allowing them to respond to market signals by purchasing the level of protection that they need at market prices and altering their cropping patterns where necessary.

In Brazil, in response to a fall in bank finance for agriculture, the Bank of Brazil introduced an instrument called Сedula de Produto Rural (CPR), a tradeable product note, which represents a promise to supply a fixed quantity of agricultural produce in the future (tradable CPR, introduced in 1994) or its future financial value (financial CPR, introduced in 2001). Farmers are able to sell CPRs to raise financing. These instruments allow them to both raise financing at a competitive price, as well as transfer the commodity price risk to the buyer. CPRs in Brazil are deemed to be to be securities and are actively traded on the commodity exchange. Commercial banks are permitted to participate in these contracts as well. The quantum of finance being raised by farmers in Brazil through this route is to the extent of 40% of total financing whereas traditional bank financing amounts only to 30%.

Yield risk management: While effective management of price risk is essential, it is also equally important for the farmer to be able to effectively manage the risks to the yield that she is able to get from her farm. Crop insurance incentivises farm investment and increases farmers’ ability to absorb shocks. However, to be effective at scale, technological tools like remote sensing and machine learning for better standardisation and quality assurance of underlying crop data are needed to streamline decision making processes between insurance providers and farmers.

In the United States, where 90% of farmland is covered by insurance, companies have started to use drone technology to gather data on insurance claims following adverse weather events that affect production. Drone footage can be assessed using machine learning and computer vision software to increase the speed, reliability and targeting of claims processing and make payouts faster. In Europe, new agricultural technology companies are offering solutions in areas such as data intelligence and processing, farm mechanisation, and robotics. By combining satellite data with artificial intelligence, weather information, and drone-based soil mapping, technology can, for example, be used to optimise planting periods, forecast crop yields, detect pests and diseases, and even help pinpoint for the government where new irrigation projects need to be located for maximum impact. For example, a recent agreement between PartnerRe, a US based, diversified reinsurer, and Farmers Edge, an American decision-agriculture company, will allow farmers to access customised insurance products with integrated precision-farming capabilities. Insurers will also benefit from a more efficient loss adjustment process.

If farmers, the world over, including in emerging economies such as India, are able to benefit from such approaches towards price and yield risk management, they will be able to build a great deal of resilience in their approaches towards agriculture while responding accurately to the signals from the wider agricultural market.

Marcella McClatchey, Anjani Bansal & Nachiket Mor are employees of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Source: Hindustan Times, 13/09/2018

The Right Education

The focus of education should be not to suppress information but to kindle thirst for knowledge. Then you can’t stop the child from learning, he’s going to learn anyway. But instead of kindling that, you’re suppressing it. Beating it down with your idea of what is education, because your idea of education is social status and money. So, children who are joyful become sad because you’re just disorienting them with your compulsions. So, it is you who brought that competition and comparison, because, for most parents, it is not about education, it is about first rank. They’re not interested in learning or education. The whole effort is how to sit on top of the pile. Isn’t it so? Everybody cannot sit on top of the pile, only a few can. Others will naturally end up at the bottom and get suppressed, isn’t it? Whatever the activity, if our focus is just to outdo others, many others will get suffocated under the pile. This is bound to happen; there is no other way. If your attitudes change, the schools will change. You want your child to get first rank. Schools are just trying to fulfil your requirements. In the course of your activity the child is getting ruined; this is a sickness which has to go. True human capabilities will not find expression in comparison and competition. When you are trying to race with somebody, you will think only one step ahead of them. You’re not thinking of what is your ultimate potential. We’re just ruining a whole generation of people with the kind of schooling we’re doing


Source: Economic Times, 14/09/2018