-The Hindu The Gujarat snooping incident should be used as an opportunity to ask how the government has assumed the power to order such invasive, unchecked surveillance. On November 15, a pair of investigative portals released a set of audio transcripts depicting an extraordinarily invasive and scrupulous surveillance of a young woman by the Gujarat Police. Its implications, limited as they may appear to those who consider privacy a besmirched value, in...

-The Hindu There has been no public debate on the level of watch citizens can be put through, and on what the red lines should be while using intrusive mechanisms The tussle between government agencies' need for a better, faster and real-time interception, surveillance and monitoring mechanism through the Central Monitoring System (CMS), on the one hand, and demands by privacy, civil rights and free speech activists, for ensuring higher privacy for...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Amid reports that India was the fifth most monitored country by the National Security Agency (NSA), US' foreign surveillance agency that scans worldwide internet data, India on Monday expressed concern and surprise over the disclosure. The foreign ministry said that it will take up the matter with US authorities. The government also made it clear that it would be "unacceptable" if it was found that domestic...

-The Hindu Sleuths of NIA are facing an unusual problem of mobility as they are "forced" to depend on taxis since the investigating agency has been unable to purchase vehicles due to an austerity drive. The chief of National Investigation Agency (NIA) told a parliamentary panel that it created three branches in Bhopal, Patna and Kolkata in 2012 but due to government's austerity measures, they have not been sanctioned any vehicle. "This is...

-Frontine Walmart’s disclosure that it spent huge amounts of money on lobbying in India and the allegation that it entered the retail sector through indirect means highlight the power of global capital in dictating the country’s policies. The world’s largest multi-brand retailer Walmart’s disclosure to the United States Senate that it had spent $25 million (Rs.135 crore) since 2008 on its various lobbying activities, which include enhancing access to the Indian...