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Delayed Further!!!

Recently certain news popped up about the 3 G auction been further delayed. Though it is not being confirmed by the DoT but the Telecom minister has clarified this issue during his interview. This possible delay has not gone well either with the stakeholder or with the policy makers. But an article in Economic Times [...]

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Tata Nano : melting perception, not ice cream

The Bajaj Chetak remains a symbol of Indian middle class aspirations. In the absence of adequate public transportation services the two stroke scooter remained an affordable way of transport for decades. A similar sentiment seems to have inspired Ratan Tata to create the vision for the Tata Nano. The Tata Nano, the worlds cheapest [...]

Asides

• Summer Internship Program 2010...... For 10 weeks each summer The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University swings opens the doors of its big yellow house to welcome a group of talented, curious, and energetic full-time interns who are passionate about the promise of the Internet and issues related to media and journalism, civic engagement, policy, identity and privacy, education, technology, the developing world, law, and more. The interns team up with Berkman projects like Herdict, Cooperation, Digital Natives, Law Lab, Internet & Democracy, or the OpenNet Initiative, where they have an opportunity for deep and substantive involvement in project operation.  Performing topic-based research; drafting and editing blog posts, papers and other written outputs; conducting outreach, developing partnerships, and maintaining relationships; exploring project and research design; and undertaking academic responsibilities of all kinds both independently and collaboratively are part of the Berkman summer intern experience.  Specific tasks and experiences vary depending on interns' skills and project needs. In addition to contributing to project based work, summer interns participate in special events and lectures with Berkman faculty and fellows, engage each other through community experiences like the weekly interns discussion hours, and each year innovate for themselves new opportunities for fun and learning, like organizing debates, producing podcasts and other media outputs, and hosting book clubs and cookoffs (!). The word "awesome" has been thrown around to describe our internships, but don't take our word for it. Zack McCune, a summer intern from 2008, had this to say: "it has been an enchanting summer working at the berkman center for internet & society.  everyday, i get to hang out with some of the most brilliant people on the planet. we talk, we write (emails), we blog, we laugh, we play rock band. and when things need to get done, we stay late hyped on free coffee and leftover food. it is a distinct honor to be considered a peer among such excellent people. and i am not just talking about the fellows, staff, and faculty, though they are all outstanding. no, i mean my peers as in my fellow interns, who are almost definitely the ripening next generation of changemakers." Eligibility: * Internships are open to students enrolled across the spectrum of disciplines; * Internships are open to students at different levels of academic study including undergraduate, graduate and PhD. programs; * Summer interns do not have to be affiliated with Harvard University; * We welcome summer interns from universities across the world, however we can not pay international students who have not yet received an undergraduate degree. Time Commitment: Summer internship positions are full time (35 hours/week), and the summer program runs for 10 weeks from June 1 to August 15. Payment: Interns are paid $11.50 an hour.  Please be forewarned that stipends may not be sufficient to cover living expenses in the Boston area. No other benefits are provided, therefore interns must make their own housing, insurance, and transportation arrangements. For additional info please refer to... http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/getinvolved/internships#summer // // // #
• TRAI recently issued a consultation paper on Media Ownership where it was concerned with the increase in cross-ownership and reduction in media plurality. After some research I came across several FCC commissioned studies which concluded that there was a lack of evidence to link the two. The studies cannot be underestimated since they serve as one of the few sources of empirical data on the liberalization of cross holding regulations within media markets.  In my reply to the TRAI I make the reasonable request of commissioning such a study to avoid the folly of convention. I note in my comments that, "To summarize these findings the premise of media plurality through restriction of cross ownership fails to have a definite link. There are important differences between the media market and structure in the United States and India. Hence my suggestion would be to commission a study on the lines of the FCC to test whether the hypothesis holds true in the Indian market before proceeding to regulate it." Conventional wisdom is often built on assumptions which under examination are found false. This is particularly true in fields of law and policy. Here often, social interest is linked to inexorable means. This is the folly of convention, this is the error of presupposing that cross-holdings in media stifle plurality of opinion. For a full copy of my reply to the issues raised in the consultation paper click here. ___ Picture Courtesy : Peter Kelly, Convergence/Divergence (2007), http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterkelly1/2131614420/. #
• The Delhi High Court in the case of Frank Finn Management Consultants v. Subhash Motwani and Another (CS(OS) 367/2002) determined the scope of its jurisdiction under Section 19 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 while making refrence to the availibility of the publication on the internet. The case concerned a suit for damages publishing libelous information. The defendant's argument was that since the publication of the libelous material did not occur in the forum hence it did not have jurisdiction within the meaning of Section 19. The court intepreting section 19 held that, "publication in the sense of a libel is not the mechanical act of printing of the magazine but is of communication of the libelous article". In reaching the conclusion that it had jurisdiction it held that, "...growing number of readers prefer to read newspapers and magazines via internet rather than in hard form. By putting the magazine on the internet, the magazine cannot be said to be for circulation within Mumbai only and is concluded to be having circulation all over India." #
• The TRAI has invited expression of interest by consultants to advise it on the issue of Spectrum Trading. It marks a significant step away from the present position of not allowing trading in spectrum. For a copy of the TRAI press release click here #
• On October 11,  TRAI's Do not call registry completed one year of effective operation. The press release indicates that in the past 6 months, "81 thousand complaints were received...out of which more than 79 thousand complaints have been addressed..". Read more here #