Broadcasting, Telecom & Internet, is it too much for TRAI? Is the time ripe for an exclusive Internet regulator?

Picture represents Internet Highway or New Gateway to India's Progress.

Influencing media how it can change lives – Some suggested Guidelines for Uploading Videos on YouTube.


YouTube is an American video hosting and sharing website with servers in the US under the purview of US laws and therefore the data that are to be uploaded particularly from India cannot be controlled as such as any Video can be uploaded from anywhere in the World.


There are thousands of other web sites which host sensitive, offensive and inappropriate media on which it is not possible to exercise any kind of control, other than simply blocking them as done in many countries like China, Pakistan etc.,


However, our motherland India being on the path of continual development and being a progressive country cannot blindly follow the footsteps of others and our ways thus needs to be different in line with our democratic ethos.


As a media influencer, YouTube attracts attention of ordinary web surfer because of the quality of its service and therefore very popular among the masses. Hence it may be worth handling YouTube uploading as an isolated case, but the problems and issues with other not so popular web sites shall still persist.


Secondly, Celebrities and popular personalities who are considered as idols in public mind should also be brought under the purview of some kind of regulation to be devised as they are the ones having greater influence on the society and therefore they should also be made accountable.

Celebrities may be part of any organisation also they represent at any point of time.


There is a need to device regulatory mechanism for key influencers in the society in this area like leading web sites and leading personalities. In this manner then the majority of the problems shall be addressed and minority issues can thus be ignored.


This may be rational and justified as it is more important as to "who is saying rather than what is being said."


Now, YouTube has its own terms of service and it gives warning to viewers before a sensitive video is loaded on to the personal gadget before viewing. Only registered viewers in Google plus can upload and view sensitive data. Registration process is not so strict and anonymity can still be maintained by users.


In the light of the above circumstances the following guidelines to control YouTube video uploading may be exercised as under:-


1. YouTube may be requested to clearly demarcate Non-sensitive data and Sensitive data, which they are currently doing but may be asked to use stricter tool like Facebook does.


2. For public viewing of non-sensitive data there should be no bar and all normal and creative video can be uploaded and viewed without any restriction so as not to infringe the right to life and personal liberty of citizens as per Art 21 of the Constitution of India.


3. The registration process of individual users from India for sensitive data uploading and viewing may be made stricter and user should be verified by duly linking with mobile number and e-mail ID. YouTube authorities can be requested by Indian authorities to develop a country specific software program so that in case of discrepancies the particular person can be tracked.


4. The registered users who wish to upload sensitive video can be asked to login to an Indian authority web site, only through which an Indian user can access YouTube. For avoidance of doubt the access to YouTube may be regulated via Indian Government web site for sensitive content only.


5. There should be two ways and viewing options, first one for private viewing for which there would be no bar, users here can give access to particular registered private persons for viewing, and second option for public viewing or publicity option, here a stricter control may be exercised as enumerated in following para(s).


6. The organisation or companies and / or celebrities who wish to upload for public view any sensitive data should submit content to the Governmental agency for approval through a moderator organisation appointed by the appropriate Government.


7. Now How to define celebrity: Going by the modern trend in the Information technology domain, Celebrity will be defined by a verified Twitter account having followers more than 100K or verified Facebook page likes more than 200K, going by the future trend, this number can be moderated as per the need.


8. The entertainment companies or organisations should also have a verified Twitter and Facebook account so that they are identifiable and with same number of followers and likes respectively as above.


9. On approval of the Government of the content after Judging for its sensitivity Index like nudity, obscenity, offensive to social groups, offensive and detrimental to unity & integrity of India, Seditious content, infringement of Intellectual Property rights etc., clearance will be granted for uploading sensitive media content to YouTube via Indian Government web site.


10. For uploading from foreign soil the above process will not work. So any media not uploaded from Indian soil also needs to be restricted.


11. YouTube will not allow uploading of sensitive data by Indian Citizen or organisation from foreign soil.


12. To reiterate further Non-sensitive data as certified by YouTube shall be given free access to the Indian public with no hindrances irrespective of uploading location.


13. Thus restrictions imposed only in case of uploading of sensitive data, access is subject to registration and login to Indian Government web site and online verification of users, where identity of the user can be established by appropriate means. Only verified users are allowed to upload sensitive data. . For all other categories of data the system remains unchanged and freedom of expression is unfettered only reasonable restriction imposed, so this serves constitutionality.


14. In all YouTube uploaded videos there should be one option of “Report Content” – if viewers find content objectionable for specific reasons which the viewers need to indicate reasons from drop down menu like, Obscene, Adult sexual, Hurting community feelings, Seditious content, Violating IPR etc., only registered users with verified account can report about discrepancies in the content. If the number of reports exceeds a threshold limit, those will be reviewed by community committee for violation from YouTube and Indian Government as the case may be. Moment reported numbers exceeds the limit, the video will be withdrawn from YouTube. The video shall be reinstated only after clearance from community review committee and given clearance for public viewing after due alteration and modification.


15. All the above process requires involvement of an Indian Governmental organisation; this aspect may be looked into as to how feasible is the same.


Sensitization of any issue or event or any creative content having certain sensitivity index more than threshold limit requires regulation by the Government. This is true in the emerging ever increasing Internet footprint scenario and the likelihood of its generating greater and greater influence in the society in the days to come. Civil commotion or war or war like situation may also arise, if this aspect is neglected to a minor degree.


Although lot of legislation has been recently enacted in the form of laws like IT Act etc, believe like in all other spheres such as broadcasting, telecom, etc., there is an urgent need for an exclusive Internet regulating authority now to ensure prosperity with sustainable peace and tranquility in our progressive society.


#JainHind




















This is written in light of the PIL filed by Professor of Law in a Mumbai college after being directed by Mumbai HC to draw up an guideline.

Strengthening of free enterprise in India - Dr Raghuram G Rajan – Governor RBI

Nani A Palkhiwala memorial lecture


by


Dr Raghuram G Rajan – Governor RBI


on


Strengthening of free enterprise in India



The date of 4th February 2016 shall be a memorable one in my life when I was accidentally invited to attend the above lecture to be delivered by none other than the luminary of the class of RBI Governor!


Mr. Raghuram G Rajan, as we find his name printed in our currency notes is an astute gentleman, stoic and enigmatic! This is when again I choose to shake hand with him after the National Anthem in the end of the program. Confident, fluent, articulate in his deliberation, the talk that he delivered had substance and integrity, I firmly believed. He is super intelligent and can respond instantly, this became evident when the opening remark made by Mr. Y H Malegam Chairman Board of Trustees, said on the context of the current roar by fringe elements of the society,


“When a small man cast a long shadow, then it is known that Sunset is imminent”


but was equally sweetly modified by Dr. Rajan and he said, “I understand when a small man cast a long shadow then it is known that Sunset is imminent but then the Sun rises in India every day” – this was just amazing display of high IQ.


On the subject of Strengthening of Free Enterprise in India, he deliberated that Government has taken multiple initiatives to loosen the bureaucratic control and abolishing red-tap-ism, but lot more initiatives required from the entrepreneurs. He would recommend start ups of many small and medium sized companies but those companies need not necessarily remain small but should grow and become big. Examples cited were Infosys, Mindtree etc., that is how economies in the west have grown. Thus we need many small companies but with huge potential to grow big.

He mentioned the current state of socialism is transferring wealth from rich to dishonest rich, this could be prevented by Direct Benefit transfers to the actual needy and palpably poor people. In this context I would like to add that our Honorable PMs Jan Dhan Yojona or account opening by poor and financial inclusion of masses will certainly aide this cause and move us towards true socialism and welfare country. There needs to exist Bankruptcy code bill which is pending in the Parliament shall address the liquidity issues of the country and not allow scarce and costly capital to get diverted into wrong ventures, this would also help strengthening of free enterprise.


More than this I could not understand as everything else he said like a Adam Smith and all were bouncers to me.


Thus finally, if Enterprises are allowed to run freely it will obviously generate employment opportunities and grow exponentially and that is why it is all the more important to strengthen free enterprise in India.

Logic of Vedantic Principles

Have been listening to various lecture series recently, one such speech has been an eye opener to me.

Narrate it here in my own words from my own perspective and the way I understood it: one such is from Adv Puneet Chaturvedi a famous Supreme Court Lawyer.


Here it is:


The influence of Vedanta on Indian thought process has been profound.


Vedanta is the ancient Hindu Wisdom Tradition containing innumerous principles that are timeless piece of creation by the ancient monks and seers through Vedas and Upanishads etc., and find its applicability even on date. Many of the principles have been gradually discovered to have scientific basis and are being slowly found relevant for any age after due research and have been duly popularized in the West. Apparently and without delving into details one may not be able to discover logic behind these principles. However, Adv Chaturvedi by his thorough understanding into the Vedantic domain knowledge has thrown insights which convinces about the rationality of these wisdom traditions and thoughts and he enumerated how it allows us to lead a better quality of life on simple terms.


In the context of contemporary education system in India, like present day examinations, where one usually memorizes the principles, writes on paper next day and forgets about it. Ultimately obtains good marks but no knowledge. The Good marks so obtained don’t help in conducting day to day lives as Judges, Adjudicators, Decision makers don’t bother about your marks when you present or argue your cases before them. This process of modern day ejection without digestion kind of taking examinations (although practiced by only a few) is a shortcut and is not at all prescribed by Vedantic principles and on the contrary Vedanta traditions rather emphasizes to follow three steps as below for fruitful study.


First, Adhayan: that is study by reading, listening, watching and using all sense organs to form a perception. Then,

Second Chintan: that is to do analysis of whatever being studied and thinking about it and churning ideas about the philosophy studied and thereafter,

Third Manan: that is imbibing the entire idea into one’s belief system, so that it works along with while conducting the life.
So if the study cycle follows above process then it could be complete study for sustenance and progress and not otherwise.


Science today has made it possible to provide all kinds of external comforts to us, say for example if the room is hot then it can make it cold and vice versa but what Science does not address is the internal calmness and serenity of the mind for which any scientific gadget is yet to be invented.


Today, we have realised that all problems and issues arises out of the self or Atman and Vedantic principles allows to delve into the Self and analyses the Self, and recognizes a principle called self consciousness, this if well understood makes the situation better to realise and discern the self for betterment. Vedantic principles logically endeavor to understand the self in great details as without understanding and comprehension of the self it can be compared to a blind circumstance. Naturally a blind cannot lead another blind to safety and be far from tranquil situation and prosperity. Thus one has to be aware or enlightened about self to lead others to improved circumstances.


Vedantic principles teach to control and guide self in the right direction through awareness and knowledge about self and individual consciousness. If one understands its own strengths and weaknesses then it becomes easy to mitigate in the external environment thus sustain and prosper.


Dharma as elucidated in various scriptures is not religion but righteousness with a great sense of duty in a disciplined manner.

The Mankind goes through the cycle of birth and death and the intervening period of life in between them is to be utilised with Karma or action which makes all the difference. Good Karma will evoke positivity and ensure prosperity of the environment surrounding the self for pleasurable sujorn in this Universe or amongst the creation. Essences of religion, according the Vedantic principles are sacrifice, passion and compassion for others. A Man does not live the life all for himself but with all others together, then only it is a useful living. There are no activities which can be totally independent of others for us to survive on this Earth.


So it is said men is a social animal. However, Mankind is bound to be made of qualities of good and bad and imperfections are inherent, but God or the principle of God is only complete and filled with perfectness. So in order to achieve peacefulness and serenity it is essential not to aim for extra ordinary perfectness, which is impossibility and can be possessed only by God or Godlike entity or the Principle of God.


Now how to control and calm the mind? Meditation and prayer are one the many ways to calm the mind and self and when the mind is at rest and not restless it will produce better ideas and perform better. Thus Vedantic principles prescribe Dhyan or Meditation and the lecture ended with a Meditative exercise with closed eyes.


Philosophy well understood.


#JaiHind

The Price of Prejudice, Thought, Opinion and Debate

I had recently been attending many lectures on diverse topics. One such which touched my mind is narrated here, the lecture summary from my perspective and written in my words and the way understood it.

Initially when I took admission in Law school, I was not sure what the word 'Prejudice" meant and never clearly understood it, so I made it a point to ask my Contracts professor who used to teach Specific relief act who uttered 'Prejudice" one day. I still don't recollect what explanations he gave and I was not much convinced about the term. But this lecture has been an eye opener for me. Here it is.


The Price of Prejudice, Thought, Opinion and Debate by Dr. Sameer Dalwai – Director, New Horizons


Prejudice is some kind of pre-conceived notion, bias , partiality, at times unfair assumptions, favourtism, predisposition and pre-conceptions that override our intellect, that is capability to distinguish between right and wrong in a rational and logical way.

Prejudice is an intellectual trait and a problem largely not recognized in our society as a potential danger which can lead to incurring of price in the form of degrading quality of life and its sustenance.

Prejudice at times may assume dangerous proportions and may lead to various problems in our day to day lives. Prejudice scrambles brain to such an extent that leads us in a completely different path, causing problems for the beholder of prejudiced notion and the environment one comes in touch with. Prejudice may be personal or collective unjustified view held towards a person or a group as the case may be without any reason and thus largely impairs judgmental capacity for progressive and peaceful sustenance of life.


Prejudice may not be a momentary phenomenon but can have long string of links as far as with our DNA and may be held for generations together. It may also be a phenomenon genetically programmed to discriminate. Prejudice also builds ever since the Child is borne due to environment the Child is in and the exposure it received from various quarters starting from mother to parents to relatives, to place of living, village, city, country, from school to various institutions it gets exposure to, it may not be a one day phenomenon. Prejudice brings in discrimination which is at times against rule of law and principle of natural justice and thus greatly impairs fairness to conduct of our lives.

Our body has 100 + trillion cells and every year 90% of our cells change, but how do you can recognise Mine 2009 model with that of 2010, because each cell before dying produce multiple cells with memory & thus produces Me like features in my eyes & eye brows; so that people can recognise Me in after years. Each human cell has got memory & I may not know the name of my 5th Grand Father but his nose may be on my face. Secondly, all 100 plus trillion cells like each other very much & remains in proper harmony & synchronicity. That's why we all love ourselves & like our own nature. If we sit by the sea shore we like it more than traffic jams on the road because sea shore is more close to our nature. Our cells are designed to give away love & compassion, so if we become jealous, angry, produce hatred, have high ego etc then our own cells get confused and start attacking, this in medical terms is called Auto immune disease. So spread love & compassion to stay healthy and get inspired by the champion of love & compassion His Highness Dalai Lama. So to have a prejudiced mind may produce auto immune disease or other heath conditions, so stay away from prejudice.


Other examples of prejudice are Child being brought up as Boy or a Girl and when girls are given Barbi Dolls and boys are given Toy Pistols, that’s when the parents start to superimpose prejudice in the mind of the innocent child. Likewise dressing pattern difference amongst Boy and a Girl, long hairs for Girls and short for Boys actually has no sound logic, it can be either way round with no harm at all. But the social prejudice plays a role here to determine the behavioral pattern not part of human’s natural conduct.


Social, Political, National prejudices leads to certain behavioral patterns that may lead the Society towards right or wrong direction and that’s where we need to guard against harboring prejudices and not lead the self, family, society or country to adverse positions so as not to benefit from the universal bliss and natural gifts of the creation.


So the issue here is first to recognize the prejudices, identify them and then make attempt to gradually get rid of them and avoid them as far as practicable, so that the price of the same is not incurred. This would ensure tranquility and prosperity in the social environment that we live in. Personally also giving refuge to prejudice in own mind leads to serious health risk for self like giving rise to anger, desire and other negative attributes etc., and at certain times leads to fatal health disorder like heart attacks at an early age. There are many live examples of young people suffering from premature diseases and ending life much earlier than average life expectation.


Therefore, Prejudice is just not a legal term but a health risk as well in these modern days of stressful living.