Thursday, December 24, 2009

National Security And Internal Security Infrastructure Of India

National security of India has recently received a rejuvenation attempt by the Government of India (GOI). This is good news at a time where the national security issues are grossly ignored in India. The national security of India and internal security of India are suffering not only on the count of lack of political will but also due to absence of suitable policies and strategies.

The ICT Trends of India 2009 have also proved that India has failed on the fronts of Cyber law of India, Cyber Terrorism in India, E-Courts in India, E-Learning in India, Unique Identification Project of India, Serious Frauds and White Collar Crimes, National Security Issues, Crime Reporting by Media, Internet Banking Frauds, Cyber Security of Defense Forces, Cyber War in India, E-Surveillance in India, etc.

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, “Indian approach in this regard is not sensible at all. We should not invest thousands of crores of Indian rupees into security projects that can be manipulated and sabotaged in minutes. Rather we should first analyse the weaknesses and security holes of the same before buying and installing it.

After all security of a Nation is proper application of “common sense” rather than wasting unlimited amount of money. Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) of India, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI), Rs 800 crores centralised facility to control phone tapping activities in India, etc are some of the projects that require common sense application before their implementation. They have to be tested in a “limited environment” before using them in a full fledged manner, says Praveen Dalal.

It seems Indian security initiatives have to be holistically analysed and suitably applied. The Indian security infrastructure and workforces are not in good shape and require rejuvenation. We need a techno-legal security workforce and not personnel who do not have even the basic facilities and technological means and knowledge. The terrorist attacks have really shattered the deep pervasive false sense of security present in the Indian government mentality. We have to think and act against such internal and external threats by going beyond a "political debate". We can fool ourselves by bragging about India’s capabilities and victories against terrorism and cyber terrorism and keep on facing future attacks and bear the traumatic casualties. Alternatively, we must accept our weaknesses against such attacks and take constructive steps to anticipate, prevent and counter such future terrorist and cyber terrorism activities, warns Praveen Dalal.

With a new ray of hope shown by the recent stress upon national security of India we can expect some good results in this direction. However, India is famous for mere assurances and proposals without actually implementing them. Similarly, due to faulty management and policies even the implemented projects have failed in the past. Let us hope that this time India would do the proper homework before starting an initiative that it cannot implement and run.

SOURCE: MYNEWS

Saturday, December 5, 2009

NATIONAL MISSION FOR DELIVERY OF JUSTICE AND LEGAL REFORMS OF INDIA

A blue print of the National Mission for Delivery of Justice and Legal Reforms (NMDJLR) has been recently released by the Law Minister M Veerappa Moily. The NMDJLR Plan is a very ambitious plan and if implemented properly may go a long way in reducing the backlog of cases in India on the one hand and effective Judicial Reforms on the other.

However, keeping in mind the prior experience of the Government of India (GOI) this Plan is too ambitious to be accomplished. The Plan cannot be accomplished till we honestly and dedicatedly work in this direction. In the absence of accountability and transparency and omnipresent corruption and red tappism in India, this Plan is not going to meet its benign objective.

What should be done to make the NMDJLR Plan effective and workable? I think the same requires “Committed Services” the day this Plan has been declared. After all mere declaration is worst that the “chaos” with which the current Judicial System of India is badly suffering. We make false and exaggerated statements and press releases that raise the hope of India citizens. When those hopes are not met, this brings not only a bad name to the Indian institutions like Judiciary but also declines the faith and trust in the same.

Take a perfect example in this regard. India has been claiming establishment and opening of E-Courts since 2003. However, there is not even a single e-court in India despite contrary claims. It seems Indian Government/Judiciary is repeating the history once again. The Delhi High Court has declared that it would open an e-court at its premises on 8th December, 2009. However, if we see the website of Delhi High Court even on 6th December, 2009 (15.10 PM) there are no “signs” of the same. It seems India is once again opening another e-court on “Papers Alone”.

Interestingly, the NMDJLR Plan has appreciated the “basic requirements” of establishment of e-courts in India. However, there is a dichotomy between the NMDJLR Plan and the other e-courts initiatives that are presently undergoing. These initiatives are wasting hundred Crores of hard earned public money upon “computerisation” of traditional judicial function with no actual e-courts capabilities.

The worst aspect of this e-court fiasco and other judicial reforms is that there is neither accountability nor any transparency in these initiatives. The GOI is “blindly” allowing “Yearly Extensions” without asking for performance and accomplishments. Why the GOI allows an extension for even a single year when there is no development and performance in this direction is a big question?

Perhaps, some “miracle” would happen on 8th December, 2009 that would establish the first e-court of India. But the chances of the same are next to impossible and we are heading for “another extension” in the month of February 2010.