What happens in open standards? All technology/software used for e-governance becomes inter-operable. In other words, any technology platform or software should be able to read government documents, maps, images and datasheets. Who gains? Government: Will not have to spend crores on a proprietary standard. Various offices would be able to access data without having same technology/software. Consumers: Will not have to buy proprietary software to access government documents Who loses? Big proprietary software companies and licensed...

The syllabus for the three-year course for rural medical practitioners is ready. It promises to do away with what's "unnecessary" in the four-and-a-half-year MBBS course and prepare "hands-on" doctors at the primary level. The course, called the Bachelor of Rural Health Care (BRHC), is expected to change the landscape of medical education and delivery of health care and hopefully, solve the shortage of doctors in rural areas, home to 70%...

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Ajit Singh's draft for amendment in the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 proposes a complete ban on acquisition of land for profit-making and commercial purposes. The acquisition rights for industry should be allowed only if necessary for national security. Besides redefining `public purpose' for which land is acquired, the draft wants the government to be advocate of farmers' right and not a real estate agent. The...

In the five years of the Right to Information Act, activists who use it have faced reprisal across the country. OCTOBER 2010 marks the fifth anniversary of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The Act and its implementation have been described in both administrative circles and civil society as “revolutionary” , “a blow for transparency”, “a check on corrupt practices” and “a people's intervention tool with tremendous impact”. Social activists and...

In Maharashtra, attacks on citizen-activists have increased with the greater use of RTI; four activists have been killed in the last seven months IN the late 1970s, a woman named Shobha Shirodkar was the victim of a hit-and-run in Mumbai. It was no accident. It was a case of murder because Shobha, who was the principal of a prestigious school in the city, had opposed the land mafia and was believed...