Dr Ambedkar

HP High Court guidelines for FIR

In a landmark Judgment the High Court of Himachal Pradesh directed the police to upload the copy of First Information Report [FIR] in the Website within 24 hours of lodging it, from 26.01.2015.

The Judgment held that Democracy expects openness and openness is a concomitant of a free society and sunlight is the best disinfectant. It cannot be disputed that ordinary rule is that secrecy must be an exception, justifiable only when it is demanded by the requirement of public interest

The Court also held that as soon as an FIR is registered, it becomes a public document and members of the public are entitled to have certified copy thereof.

The Court also issued the following Guidelines.

The accused is entitled to get a copy of the First Information report at an earlier stage as prescribed under Section 207 of the Cr.P.C.

An accused who has reasons to suspect that he has been roped in a criminal case and his name may be finding place in a First Information Report can submit an application through his representative/agent/parokar for grant of a certified copy before the concerned police officer or to the Superintendent of Police on payment of such fee which is payable for obtaining such a copy from the court.  On such application being made, the copy shall be supplied within twenty-four hours.

Once the First Information Report is forwarded by the police station to the concerned Magistrate or any Special Judge, on an application being filed for certified copy on behalf of the accused, the same shall be given by the court concerned within two working days. The aforesaid  direction  has  nothing  to  do  with  the statutory  mandate inhered under Section 207 of the Cr.P.C.

The copies of FIR, unless reasons recorded regard being had to the nature  of  the offence  that  the  same is  sensitive  in  nature,  should  be uploaded  on  the Himachal Pradesh Police  website  within  twenty-four hours  of lodging of the FIR  so that the accused  or any person connected with the same can download the FIR and file appropriate application before the court as per law for redressal of his grievances.

The decision not to upload the copy of the FIR on the website of H.P. Police shall  not  be  taken  by  an  officer  below  the  rank  of  Deputy Superintendent of Police and that too by way of a speaking order. A decision so taken by the Deputy Superintendent of Police shall also be duly communicated to the Area magistrate.

The word ‘sensitive‘ apart  from  the  other  aspects which  may  be thought  of  being  sensitive  by  the competent  authority  as  stated hereinbefore would also include concept of privacy regard being had to the nature of the FIR.

(vii) In case a copy of the FIR is not provided on the ground of sensitive nature of the case, a person grieved by the said action, after disclosing his identity,  can  submit  a representation  with  the  Superintendent  of Police who shall constitute a committee of three high officers and the committee shall deal with the said grievance within three days  from the  date  of  receipt  of  the representation  and  communicate  it  to  the grieved person.

The Superintendent of Police shall constitute the committee within eight weeks from

In cases wherein decisions have been taken not to  give copies of the FIR  regard  being  had  to  the  sensitive  nature  of  the  case,  it  will  be open to the accused/his authorized representative/parokar to file an application for  grant  of  certified  copy  before  the  court  to  which the FIR has been sent and the same shall be provided in quite promptitude by the concerned court not beyond three days of the submission of the application.

The directions for uploading the FIR on the website of H.P. Police shall be given effect from 26.01.2015.

Bharat Ratna

डॉ भीम राव रामजी अम्बेडकर

Kiran Aggarwal Committee Report (2014) "IAS Professional Course (Phase II)"

(i) Rationale for sandwich pattern: The “sandwich pattern” that was introduced in 1969, essentially seeks to blend theory with praxis by allowing for a short period of institutional training following the year-long district training. The IAS Professional Course (Phase II) or simply Phase II, as it is better known, essentially seeks to provide an opportunity to Trainees to discuss and deliberate issues, with the benefit of their first-hand experience in the state, and seek more enduring solutions to administrative problems and challenges. It further allows for sharing of experience, in terms of good administrative practices, so that Trainees may have the benefit of “vicarious learning”.

(ii) Duration: As pointed out by the Committee under the chairmanship of Dr. RVV Ayyar, the duration of the Phase II of the Professional Course has reduced over time from four months at the beginning, to 8 weeks presently. As informed by the Academy, the duration has hovered between 8-10 weeks over the last two decades.

(iii) Experience Sharing: One of the key objectives of the Phase II course is to allow a platform for Trainees to share their experiences across a plethora of issues and sectors. This is expected to foster discussion and reflection on how the same issues are being addressed in other states, or even in other parts of the same state. Trainees are normally asked to make structured presentations on the subject of their district assignments which is followed by a short discussion. Even in the case of Law, Trainees in smaller groups make presentations of a selected case decided by them, highlighting therein the key legal and procedural issues.

(iv) Seminars: An important highlight of the Phase II course is the seminars organized by the Academy. It is important to mention that traditionally only a seminar on being an effective SDO was organized during the Phase II course, with the logic of providing a forum for a more focused discussion on the challenges that Trainees would face while discharging their first responsibility as an SDO. This entailed bringing in some 20-25 SDO from all state cadres, of batches immediately prior to the one being trained, to share their experiences and to also provide a more nuanced view of the problems likely to be encountered in the field. However, given the shortage of IAS officers in junior batches (ostensibly on account of lower recruitment over a decade), the period of SDO-ship has been truncated in many states and IAS officers are posted as CEOs of Zila Parishad or on equivalent positions and also Municipal Commissioners, often within a year of completion of probation. In some state cadres, officers are even posted as Collectors within two years of completion of probation. Hence, the responsibility of the Academy stands slightly enhanced to prepare Trainees for their future assignments (in the next 4-5 years) before they come for their first round of Mid-Career Training in Phase III (upon completion of 7-8 years of service). Resultantly, the Academy also conducts Seminars on being effective CEOs of Zila Parishad, Municipal Commissioners and District Magistrates. Each Seminar normally lasts a day and Trainees and guests are divided into smaller groups (on regional lines) to allow for closer discussion. These seminars are generally very well-received and have been found to be practically useful.

(v) Foreign Study Tour: In line with the growing trend among various civil services to provide foreign exposure to their Trainees, the Academy introduced a Foreign Study Tour for IAS Officer Trainees in 2010. Trainees accompanied by faculty members, travel in two groups to countries in South-East Asia, normally to Singapore (as a developed country) and Vietnam or Indonesia (as a developing country) for a period of 10-12 days. The Tour entails both classroom instruction on various aspects of public administration and also site visits to government institutions. The Academy normally coordinates the foreign visit in collaboration with partner institutions (academies) in these countries. Trainees are expected upon return to write an assessed Foreign Study Tour Paper highlighting the administrative practices that they found most interesting and those that can be adapted or replicated in the Indian context.

(vi) Evaluation: The Phase II course is evaluated by way of Director’s assessment which comprises weightage for presentations, Foreign Study Tour Paper, classroom participation, performance in ICT and language examinations and other co-curricular activities within the course.

Source- KIRAN AGGARWAL COMMITTEE (2014) (COMMITTEE TO REVIEW THE CONTENT AND DURATION OF INDUCTION TRAINING OF IAS OFFICERS)

Kiran Aggarwal Committee Report (2014) " District Training of IAS "

(i) Rationale: Since the inception of the service, IAS Officer Trainees have undergone a one-year district training in their allotted state cadre. This has traditionally followed the professional instruction at the Academy and, in some sense, mirrors the training pattern followed in British India in the case of the ICS, where the formal instruction in a university in England was followed by a year in the district of the allocated state cadre.

(ii) Duration: Traditionally, the duration of district training has remained at one year, both during British times (for the ICS) and post-Independence (for the IAS). Since 1969, when the “sandwich pattern” (with a short training course succeeding district training) was introduced, district training has been kept at 52 weeks.

(iii) Institutional Training at ATI: A key element of district training is institutional training at the state ATI. This is, of course, subject to considerable spatial variation across state cadres and ranges from 3 weeks (including some states till recently that did not have any institutional training) to 12 weeks. Normally, this component comprises introduction to the state’s socio-economic, political and cultural ethos; its administrative architecture; introduction to district and land administration; and introduction to the state’s major laws. Some states also incorporate revenue and settlement training and a state darshan (tour) within the ATI attachment.

The positioning of the ATI attachment (within the one year of district training) also varies considerably across states. In some states, district training commences with training at the ATI whereas some others have preferred to schedule it later during the course of the year. It is also pertinent to mention that in some states (like Maharashtra) a short debriefing is scheduled by the ATI at the end of district training.

(iv) Attachments in the District: One of the principal cornerstones of district training has been “learning by watching”. In addition to training at the ATI, around 25-30 weeks are allocated for a series of attachments with district-level offices. This is generally prescribed by the state government and is done under the supervision of the District Collector, who plays an important mentoring role during district training. The principal offices where Trainees are attached include Collectorate, Zila Parishad, SDM and Tehsildar offices, subordinate revenue officials, SSP, District & Session Judge, DFO, CMO, Engineers of the line departments, Municipal Corporation/ Council, BDPO, etc. Some states also have an attachment with the Divisional Commissioner and also at the State Secretariat. However, in some states the attachments are not so well-structured and often Trainees end up abiding more by the wishes of the Collector. There is also a tendency to position Trainees (as a stop-gap arrangement) on certain vacant positions, either in the field or in the Collectorate. The oversight exercised by the state ATI or state Government on district training also varies across states and generally leaves a little to be desired. This places too much emphasis on the Collector, the interest taken by her/ him, and also the initiative displayed by the Trainee as a learner.

(v) Independent charges: The other, and equally important, cornerstone of district training has been the maxim “learning by doing”. IAS Trainees are expected to hold independent charges of subordinate positions as a sequel to their numerous attachments in the district. This “blooding” of young Trainees into actual positions of responsibility, albeit under the watchful eye of the District Collector, has been found extremely useful and can be said to be time-tested. Generally, Trainees are given two to three independent charges, viz. that of BDPO (ranging anywhere between 4 to 8 weeks), Tehsildar (ranging again from 4 to 8 weeks), and in some cases those of Executive Officer of a Municipal Council and even that of SDM. The premise here is that this allows Trainees the independence to work and thereby to first-hand appreciate the working of subordinate offices that they would be supervising immediately upon completion of their probation. However, the nature and duration of these independent charges again varies and in some states, governments are loath to entrust Trainees with independent charges.

(vi) Attachment at State Secretariat and Departmental Examinations: IAS Trainees normally visit the State Secretariat for calling on senior dignitaries and officials of the state government. This is usually for a period of around one week wherein they are also attached to various Secretaries during this time to obtain an exposure to the working dynamics of the state government at the headquarters. Like everything else in district training, this too varies considerably across states. In some states, Trainees are required to even sit in branches/ sections of the state department and prepare note sheets on files in process.

A related aspect is the conduct of Departmental Examinations which all Officer Trainees are expected to clear during their probation to allow them to be empowered under certain laws of the state before they assume their first mandated position of responsibility. These are conducted either by the State Public Service Commission or the State ATI or even the State Government.

(vii) Evaluation: The district training, like all other components of probation, is assessed by the Academy. This involves evaluation of daily diaries and monthly analytical notes (sent by Trainees to their respective cadre Counselors at the Academy), of a village study report to be prepared through empirical field work, of similar urban assignments, of a district assignment, of law cases heard and decided by the Trainee, and of assignments on the state language. There is a nominal component for assessment by the Collector and State ATI. There is a strong demand by State governments and ATIs that the weight assigned to assessments by the District Collector and State ATI must be increased as they are best placed to evaluate the work (in terms of initiative, effort and application) of the Trainee during district training.

Source- KIRAN AGGARWAL COMMITTEE(2014) ( COMMITTEE TO REVIEW THE CONTENT AND DURATION OF INDUCTION TRAINING OF IAS OFFICERS)

Bharat Ratna Awards

Rajendra Prasad, the former President of India on 2 January 1955 gave his order to establish an award. As per the order of the then President (till 1966), the award did not allowed any one to grant the posthumous awards. Further in January 1966, a provision was inserted for this.

Till date, 12 posthumous awards have been given of which one includes Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Bose was given the award in 1992, which was withdrawn due to legal technicalities. The case of Bose is the only and last case recorded till date of withdrawal of the award. The Order of precedence of India is the protocol list (hierarchy of important positions) has placed Bharat Ratna awardees at the seventh position.

Non-Indians, who have been conferred with the award

• Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1987)

• Nelson Mandela (1990)

Naturalised Indian citizen to be awarded

• Mother Teresa (1980)

The eldest person to be awarded who was alive at the time of receiving the award

• Dhondo Keshav Karve (age 100)

Posthumously eldest over all

• Vallabhbhai Patel is the eldest overall (posthumously at the age of 75)

C Rajagopalachari, CV Raman and Radhakrishnan of three from Madras Presidency now Tamil Nadu was the first people to conferred with the award in 1954. Rajagopalachari was the Independence activist and last and the only Indian Governor-General of India. CV Raman was a Physicist from Madras and also a Nobel laureate and Radhakrishnan was a philosopher and India's First Vice President from 1952-1962 and was also the Second President of India from 1962-1967.

We need closer security ties: Abe

‘India And Japan Have Established A Win-Win Economic Relationship’

The first Japanese PM to be chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations, Shinzo Abe took time off on the eve of his visit to share some thoughts on the future of India-Japan ties -

( Bilateral tensions on the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands between Japan & China ......The Senkaku Islands dispute concerns a territorial dispute over a group of uninhabited islands known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan, the Diaoyu in China, and Tiaoyutai Islands in Taiwan )

Excerpts:

Q: Japan plays an important role in the transformation of India. You have played a personal role in building the India-Japan relationship. What are the measures by which you think Japan can help in building India in the larger strategic context of Asian security, stability and prosperity?

First of all, I feel deeply honoured to be the first Japanese prime minister to be invited as the chief guest of India’s most important celebration, that of the Republic Day celebration.

    I am truly delighted that Japan and India have long developed very close and friendly relations over the years. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for the extremely warm welcome extended from the people and the government of India to their majesties, the Emperor and Empress of Japan, when they visited the country from the end of November until the beginning of December last year.

    I am convinced that the bilateral relationship between Japan and India is blessed with the largest potential for development of any bilateral relationship anywhere in the world. With this in mind, I would like to develop vigorously and enhance our cooperative relationship with India in a wide range of areas, including political and security fields, economic relations, and people-to-people exchange, based on “the Strategic and Global Partnership”.

    Japan’s support for India’s development has been consistent. Back in 1991, for instance, Japan provided India with an emergency balance of payment support which helped the Indian economy and its ascendancy in the global economy. Since then, Japan has been consistently supporting India, as demonstrated by the fact that India has been the largest partner of Japan’s Official Development Assistance since 2003.

    Further, the economic cooperation between Japan and India has now expanded into the private sector. Over the last decade, the trade volume between our two countries has tripled and the number of Japanese companies operating in India has quadrupled. Indeed, Japan and India have established a “win-win” economic partnership.

    India’s stable development is also beneficial for the prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region, as the country has the third largest economy in Asia and the second largest and increasing population in the world. I am determined to contribute to the development of our two nations and prosperity of the region through further strengthening the Japan-India strategic economic partnership and promoting Japanese companies’ investment into India.

    Compared to the growing political and economic ties between Japan and India, people-to-people exchange between the two countries currently leaves more room to grow. In order to keep the Japan-India relationship on a further solid and sound base with wider scope, I will make further efforts to impart energy to human exchange so that more people travel back and forth and actively interact between our two countries.

Q: You have said you want Japan to become a ‘normal’ power. What would you like India to do in the area of defence and maritime security cooperation to help Japan achieve this goal?

Today, the security environment of the Asia-Pacific region is becoming ever more severe. As the world becomes more interdependent, I believe Japan should play a more active role than before to ensure peace and stability in the region and the world, under the understanding of ‘Proactive Contributor to Peace’ based on the principle of international cooperation. I fully recognize the tremendous role India plays in this perspective, and hope that Japan and India will further strengthen the cooperation in the field of security.

    To be specific, our two governments should deepen our dialogue and share each other’s understanding on regional security, to start with. It is therefore important to further enhance bilateral dialogues such as the “2 plus 2” secretary-level dialogue, and multilateral dialogues such as the trilateral dialogue among Japan, India and the United States. In addition, we need to continue and strengthen our bilateral and multilateral joint maritime exercises. The joint exercises, conducted on a regular basis by our maritime defence forces and coast guards, embody the strong ties between Japan and India in maritime security. I expect these exercises will be further promoted and expanded.

    Japan and India are bound by the seas. As I stated during my last visit to India as prime minister in 2007, I expect both Japan and India, as maritime states, to play a vital role together for the security of sea lanes and jointly carry out their responsibility in the region.

I expect both Japan and India, as maritime states, to play a vital role together for the security of sea lanes and jointly carry out their responsibility in the region

SHINZO ABE

Prime Minister of Japan

Jan  24-25 , 2014

Towards a Rules - Based Policy

A Reserve Bank-appointed committee headed by Deputy Governor Urjit Patel was asked to revise and strengthen the monetary policy framework in India. In its core recommendations it wants monetary policy to formally move towards using headline CPI (Consumer Price Index) as its nominal anchor. Communicating the nominal anchor without any ambiguity will be a key task. The objective is to ensure a monetary policy regime shift away from the current approach, which has multiple objectives, to one that is centred on the target CPI. However, taking into account the current macroeconomic scenario, the committee has conceded the need for flexibility in inflation-targeting to enable the central bank to deal with other objectives in the short run. The ultimate goal is to contain CPI inflation within a target band of 4 per cent plus or minus 2 per cent. A smooth two-year transition is envisaged. From the current 10 per cent levels, CPI inflation is to be brought down to 8 per cent in 12 months and to 6 per cent in 24 months. Monetary policy will henceforth be conducted by a new Monetary Policy Committee which will have the Governor as its head and three senior officers of the RBI as its members. In addition, two outside experts will be nominated. All members will vote on the policy at meetings every two months. The MPC will be accountable for any failure to achieve the inflation target.

The committee has suggested crucial changes in the operating framework and instruments in the conduct of monetary policy. Its report has generally been received well by banks and financial markets. It enables policy formulation in a phased and transparent manner using a real policy rate as reference. Over the medium term, the recommendations will help develop a term money market, reduce fluctuations in market liquidity and remove distortions in interest rates. Its unrelenting focus on inflation is justified on several counts — India has the highest rate of inflation among G-20 countries. Inflation expectations are deeply entrenched and inflation at current levels is inimical to medium-term growth and macroeconomic stability. Understandably, Finance Ministry officials are not happy with proposals that would strengthen the central bank’s case for complete autonomy in matters of monetary policy. The fact that monetary policy has very little influence over high food inflation that has pushed up the CPI, could limit the efficacy of the new approach. All these do not detract from the fact that a shift to a rules-based policy framework recommended will replace the purely discretionary approach the RBI has followed so far, and is therefore to be welcomed.

( The Hindu )

Indo - Japan for Future

Asian geopolitics will be shaped by the inexorable tightening of bonds between India and its largest source of foreign direct investment and aid, Japan. Underscoring the fast-multiplying ties between Asia’s second and third - largest economies, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is arriving to be the guest of honour at India’s Republic Day parade, just weeks after the landmark Indian tour of Japan’s venerated Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. The two countries are Ramping up Defence Cooperation, as highlighted by Japanese defence minister Itsunori Onodera’s visit earlier this month.

    In modern history, Japan has had the distinction of consistently staying ahead of the rest of Asia. During the 1868-1912 Meiji era, it became the first Asian country to modernise. It was also the first Asian country to emerge as a world power, defeating Manchu-ruled China and Czarist Russia in separate wars. After its crushing defeat in World War II, Japan rose from the ashes rapidly to become Asia’s first global economic powerhouse.

    Specialising in the highest value links of global supply chains, Japan ranks among the world’s richest countries. With its Gini coefficient of 0.25, it boasts the lowest income inequality in Asia. By contrast, prosperous Singapore, with a high Gini coefficient of 0.48, ranks as one of Asia’s most-unequal societies. Japan’s per capita GDP of $37,000 means that its citizens, on purchasing power parity basis, are more than four times wealthier than the Chinese and nearly 10 times richer than Indians today.

    To be sure, Japan’s geopolitical clout has taken a beating due to its almost two decades of economic stagnation, a period in which China rose dramatically. But despite the media depicting Japan’s decline in almost funereal terms, the truth is that its real per-capita income has increased faster than the US and Britain in this century, while its unemployment rate has long remained one of the lowest among important economies. JAPAN enjoys the highest life expectancy of any large country in the world.

    Japan’s trailblazing role in modern history raises the question of whether its current challenges, including population aging and sluggish economic growth, presage a similar trend across East Asia. Similar problems are now beginning to trouble South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, while China has been driven to loosen its one-child policy and unveil plans to reverse slowing economic growth.

    Indeed, the most far-reaching but least-noticed development in Asia has been Japan’s political resurgence. Japan’s political rise should not be a surprise: In contrast to India’s ignominious history of subjugation by foreign invaders for eight centuries until 1947, Japan, with its martial traditions, has historically punched above its weight – a record punctured only by its World War II defeat and occupation by the US. With Japan’s pride and assertiveness now rising, its nationalist impulse and intent to influence Asia’s power balance have become conspicuous.

    Still, Japan faces stark choices today: Grow or bust; import labour or decline irreversibly; and bolster its security or come under siege. Abe’s return to power in late 2012 marked a watershed in Japan’s determination to reinvent itself as a more competitive and secure state. It has no option but to reflate, import labour, become more competitive and rearm.

    History will repeat itself when Japan rearms – a profound development likely to gain traction in this decade. Japan can no longer rely on America’s security guarantee, given Washington’s neutrality on Asia’s territorial disputes, including over the Senkaku Islands, and its failure to come to the defence of Philippines, despite a mutual defence treaty, when China captured the Scarborough Shoal in 2012. Japan’s rearming – without abandoning the US security umbrella – will boost its GDP and yield major profits for American defence firms.

    For India, Japan is an indispensable economic partner, including as a leading source of capital and commercial technology. However, nothing has damaged corporate India’s image in the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’ more than the saga of Ranbaxy Laboratories, whose takeover by a gullible Daiichi Sankyo forced it to take a $3.9 billion write down within months.

    With the weakening yen set to spur greater Japanese capital outflows, India must seek to attract more funds from Japan so as to bridge its current-account gap. By making India the largest recipient of its overseas development assistance, Japan is playing a significant role to help improve India’s poor infrastructure.

    Japan, with shared interests and a world-class navy, is also a vital partner for India’s security, including for adding strategic bulk to its ‘Look East’ policy. Japan’s high-tech arms capability makes it an ideal partner for import-dependent India to build a domestic weapons-production base.

    Abe, as part of his Asian strategy of ‘proactive pacifism’ has pushed for close, enduring collaboration with India, traditionally respected in Japan as Tenjiku, or the heavenly country of Buddhism. If there is any potential pitfall to the India-Japan partnership, it is their messy domestic politics.

    Through deep strategic ties, Japan and India – as Asia’s natural-born allies – must lead the effort to build freedom, prosperity and stability in Asia. They have a central role to play in ensuring Asian power equilibrium and safeguarding vital sea lanes in the Indo-Pacific region, now the global trade and energy supply hub. The transformative India-Japan entente promises to positively influence Asia’s power dynamics and strategic future.

Net Neutrality

Internet is built around the idea of openness. It allows people to connect and exchange information freely, if the information or service is not illegal. Much of this is because of the idea of net neutrality. If you like the current state of the internet, you should know about net neutrality. Many web users are aware of it. But if you are not, don’t worry. We explain it here:

What is net neutrality?

    Net neutrality is an idea derived from how telephone lines have worked since the beginning of the 20th century. In case of a telephone line, you can dial any number and connect to it. It does not matter if you are calling from operator A to operator B. It doesn’t matter if you are calling a restaurant or a drug dealer. The operators neither block the access to a number nor deliberately delay connection to a particular number, unless forced by the law. Most of the countries have rules that ask telecom operators to provide an unfiltered and unrestricted phone service.

    When the internet started to take off in the 1980s and 1990s, there were no specific rules that asked internet service providers (ISPs) to follow the same principle. But, mostly because telecom operators were also ISPs, they adhered to the same principle. This principle is known as net neutrality. An ISP does not control the traffic that passes its servers. When a web user connects to a website or web service, he or she gets the same speed. Data rate for Youtube videos and Facebook photos is theoretically same. Users can access any legal website or web service without any interference from an ISP.

    Some countries have rules that enforce net neutrality but most don’t. Instead, the principle is followed because that is how it has always been. It is more of a norm than a law.

How did net neutrality shape the internet?

    Net neutrality has shaped the internet in two fundamental ways. One, web users are free to connect to whatever website or service they want. ISPs do not bother with what kind of content is flowing from their servers. This has allowed the internet to grow into a truly global network and has allowed people to freely express themselves. For example, you can criticize your ISP on a blog post and the ISP will not restrict access to that post for its other subscribers even though the post may harm its business.

    But, more importantly, net neutrality has enabled a level playing field on the internet. To start a website, you don’t need a lot of money or connections. Just host your website and you are good to go. If your service is good, it will find favour with web users. Unlike cable TV, where you have to forge alliances with cable connection providers to make sure that your channel reaches viewers, on the internet you don’t have to talk to ISPs to put your website online. This has led to the creation of Google, Facebook, Twitter and countless other services.

    All of these services had very humble beginnings. They started as basic websites with modest resources. But they succeeded because net neutrality allowed web users to access these websites in an easy and unhindered way.

What will happen if there is no net neutrality?

    If there is no net neutrality, ISPs will have the power (and inclination) to shape internet traffic so that they can derive extra benefit from it. For example, several ISPs believe that they should be allowed to charge companies for services like YouTube and Netflix because these services consume more bandwidth compared to a normal website. Basically, these ISPs want a share in the money that YouTube or Netflix make.

    Without net neutrality, the internet as we know it will not exist. Instead of free access, there could be “package plans” for consumers. For example, if you pay Rs 500, you will only be able to access websites based in India. To access international websites, you may have to pay more. Or maybe there can be different connection speeds for different types of content, depending on how much you are paying for the service and what “add-on package” you have bought.

    Lack of net neutrality will also spell doom for innovation on the web. It is possible that ISPs will charge web companies to enable faster access to their websites. Those who don’t pay may see their websites opening slowly. This means bigger companies like Google will be able to pay more to make access to Youtube or Google+ faster for web users but a startup that wants to create a different and better video hosting site may not be able to do that.

    Instead of an open and free internet, without net neutrality we are likely to get a web that has silos in it and to enter each silo, you will have to pay some “tax” to ISPs.

What is the state of net neutrality in India?

    Legally, the concept of net neutrality doesn’t exist in India. Sunil Abraham, director of Centre for Internet and Society in Bangalore, says that Trai, which regulates the telecom industry, has tried to come up with some rules regarding net neutrality several times. For example it invited comments on the concept of net neutrality from industry bodies and stakeholders in 2006. But no formal rules have been formed to uphold and enforce net neutrality.

    However, despite the lack of formal rules, ISPs in India mostly adhere to the principal of net neutrality. There have been some incidents where Indian ISPs have ignored net neutrality, but these are few and far between.

Will the concept of net neutrality survive?

    Net neutrality is sort of a gentlemen’s agreement. It has survived so far because few people realized the potential of internet when it took off around 30 years ago. But now, when the internet is an integral part of the society and incredibly important, ISPs across the world are trying to get the power to shape and control the traffic. But there are ways to keep net neutrality alive.

    Consumers should demand that ISPs continue their handsoff approach from internet traffic. If consumers see a violation of net neutrality, they ought to take a proactive approach and register their displeasure with the ISP. They should also reward ISPs that uphold net neutrality.

    At the same time, as Abraham says, Trai needs to come out with a set of clear and precise rules that protect net neutrality.

    “We have started seeing ISPs trying to take control of the traffic that flows from their servers but Trai can regulate them. It can keep the internet open and consumer-friendly by forming rules that protect net neutrality. These are early days, so it is easy to do. If ISPs manage to change the system, it may be too late,” he says.