Karnataka Information Commission directs key agencies in state to digitise their data by April 1

The Karnataka Information Commission has ordered The Bangalore Development Authority, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahangara
Palike and the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority to computerise all their documents from April 1 in accordance with Section 4(1)(a) of the Right To Information Act, 2005. This is an extremely salutary order and one hopes that it will be extended to other agencies as well – most notably the High Court of Karnataka which remains one of the few courts that does not offer its judgments online.
From the Hindu

BANGALORE: Come April, three key agencies regulating development in Bangalore and its vicinity, have to necessarily go digital to ensure transparency and better management of records.

The Bangalore Development Authority, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahangara Palike and the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority will have to computerise all documents the agencies sanction from April 1, a direction from the Karnataka Information Commission (KIC) says. The documents include building plans, commencement certificates, occupation certificates and other related documents.

The KIC has also directed that over a period of time, sanctions issued before April 1 must also be computerised. “Pending such computerisation, records relating to sanction of building plans, both for residential and multi-storey buildings, shall be retained for 50 years,” the order copy states. The KIC has further directed that all data must be stored in such a format that it cannot be changed or modified and will thereafter be available without much difficulty. The KIC directions come after an individual filed a complaint before it stating that the BDA had not provided him information on a building plan. In the course of the proceedings, it came to light that the BDA had no policy on the duration it preserves its records.

During this period, the BDA issued a circular in December stating that all records in its Engineering Section would be retained for 30 years, the same period that the Public Works Department (PWD) keeps its records. Building plans would be retained for five years for residential houses and 10 years for multi-storey buildings. Not satisfied with this, the Commission issued the directions asking that all records be computerised.

“If a flyover collapses 10 years after it was built, we need the records to re-examine what went wrong,” State Chief Information Commissioner K.K. Misra told The Hindu while explaining the order. The agencies going digital is also mandatory under Section 4(1)(a) of the Right To Information Act, 2005, which states that a public authority has to ensure that subject to availability of resources, all records must be computerised within a reasonable time.

The order is likely to give a push towards better management of records, a malady that has been hindering the effective implementation of the RTI Act.
BDA starts process

The BDA has started the process of cataloguing its records and preparing a software package for a proposed information system.

It might, however, not be able to meet the April 1 deadline, set by the KIC, said B.G. Satish, systems manager at the agency.

The BDA has outsourced the process of developing the software to HCL and the project titled BDA Integrated Information Management System will cost Rs. 2 crore. “Once the software is in force, then information at the BDA’s disposal will be available online,” Mr. Satish said.

‘Palakkadan matta,’ ‘Navara’ rice get Geographical Indication registration

From the Hindu

PALAKKAD: Two unique rice varieties in the district, ‘Palakkadan matta’ and the medicinal ‘Navara rice,’ have received the Geographical Indication Registry of Intellectual Property India right under the Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.

This is the first time that two rice varieties of the State have received Geographical Indication Registry. The registry will be declared by Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan at a function at Town Hall here on March 20, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

As per the certificate (No.40 dated November 20, 2007), the registration for Navara rice was obtained by the Navara Rice Farmers Society, Karukamanikalam, near Chittur. The certificate of registry issued by V. Ravi, Registrar of Geographical Indications, Chennai, says “the Navara Rice Farmers Society, Chittur, Kerala, is the registered proprietor of G.I. Navara Rice.”

Two varieties of Navara, the medicinal rice used in Ayurveda treatment, have secured registration. They are: black glumed and golden yellow glumed Navara rice varieties, which are cultivated in parts of Palakkad district.

The popular rice variety of ‘Palakkadan matta’ has also secured registration. Palakkad Matta Farmers Producer Company Ltd. has become the registered proprietor of the G.I. Palakkad matta rice.

Under the registry, there are 10 varieties of Palakkadan matta, which will now be considered as the popular Palakkadan matta rice variety. They are: Aryan, Aruvakkari, Chitteni, Chenkazhama, Chettadi, Thavalakanna, Eruppu, Poochamban, Vattan Jyothy, and Kunjukunj. The Palakkaddan matta is described as bold red rice with a unique taste because of its special geographical area and peculiar weather of Eastern wind. Only these 10 rice varieties cultivated in Palakkad will be considered as ‘Palakkadan matta.’ However, more rice varieties with matta properties cultivated in Palakkad can be added to this list after detailed examinations, Narayanan Unni of Palakkadan Matta Farmers Producer Company Ltd said.

He said after getting the registration, matta rice produced outside Palakkad cannot be marketed as ‘Palakkadan matta.’

Likewise, the organically cultivated Navara rice also can be grown only by farmers of Palakkad after getting its registry by the Navara Rice Farmers Society, Chittur.

Thus the registry will help both the farmers and the consumers. The consumer can now get genuine products of Palakkadan Matta and the medicinal Navara rice.

© Copyright 2000 – 2008 The Hindu

A new bill on publicly funded research

Suddenly all sorts of news on a Bill on publicly funded research.

A quasi-editorial piece by P.T. Jyothi Datta in the Business Line today reports some talk about a bill on the lines of the Bayh-Dole Act in the US.

Mumbai, March 16 Scientists may not be the best negotiators, when it comes to converting their inventions into commercial products. But the Centre is set to change this through a research and intellectual property-related (IP) Bill that seeks to empower Government-funded institutions to commercialise their research, besides ensuring some of that revenue flows back to the scientist.

A draft Bill to protect and commercialise public-funded research has been circulated among different ministries and is with the Cabinet for comments and approval, Dr K.K. Tripathi, Adviser to the Department of Biotechnology, told Business Line. The Cabinet will decide whether to take the Bill to Parliament or seek further public debate, he said.

But, with the draft Bill being cloaked in secrecy, IP experts are concerned whether the proposed legislation will succeed in side-stepping the draw-backs of a similar Act in the US that had sought to IP-empower US universities in 1980.

On similar lines as the US’ Bayh-Dole Act, the draft Indian Bill encourages public-funded institutes to patent inventions and explores avenues for commercialisation. It also proposes that the inventor gets 30 per cent of the revenue from commercialising the patent, while 10 per cent is ear-marked for the institute’s IP Management Cell, Dr Tripathi explained. Rights to the product remain with the institute, while assignment rights are jointly held between the scientist, institute and the Government. Commercialisation plans require consent from all the three, he added.

There has been a substantial increase in the product filings by the Government-funded institutes, post the product-patent regime in 2005, he said, without giving details.

But can a US legislation that addressed specific issues with some success be ‘imported’ into the Indian context, questions Mr Shamnad Basheer, Research Associate with the IP Research Centre that is part of the Oxford University. Unhappy with the ‘non-transparent’ manner in which the Bill is being introduced, he seeks clarity on issues such as whether an inventor would have the discretion to decide to leave his/her invention in public domain. In some critical areas of science, it may make sense to encourage more ‘open science’ as opposed to a proprietary model, he observes.

Mr Mark Pohl, with US-based Pharmaceutical Patent Attorneys, agrees that the US legislation concerned did support some significant success stories such as blood-thinner Warfarin, for example, that came from a University patent.

However, universities have not benefited in revenue-terms, he says, citing an economic analysis by the US government that found that every dollar invested by universities in patents and licensing created approximately $0.30 in revenue. The missing link, he said, is universities’ lack a sense of what is commercially valuable. They tend to patent work that is scientifically creative or unusual, without knowing much about whether or not that innovation will make a profitable product.

Patent expert, Dr Gopakumar Nair, adds that over-negotiation by scientists, evaluation of the benefits of technology-sharing etc. will unravel as the proposed norms get implemented. The Bill should be flexible and there should be a head-room for change, if it has to succeed, he observed.

Kalpana Pathak in an article ‘Varsities may soon own patent rights’ in the Business Standard reports the same thing.

The Union government is likely to enact a law to create uniform legal framework for government-funded research and give universities and research institutions ownership and patent rights for their innovations.

The matter is before the Cabinet and will shortly be moved to Parliament for approval, according to a source close to the development.

The move was initiated by National Knowledge Commission (NKC) Chairman Sam Pitroda as an incentive to encourage innovation, collaboration, licensing and commercialisation in Indian institutes.

The law will be on the lines of the 1980 Bayh-Dole Act of America, which played a part in multiplying the number of patents filed by and granted to universities, the number of universities involved in patenting and licensing of inventions and in the number of new companies that were set up on the basis of new inventions licensed by universities.

Before the Bayh-Dole Act was enacted, America’s federal agencies owned about 28,000 patents, out of which only 5 per cent were licensed to industry for development of commercial products.

The proposed legislation will also help universities and research institutions file patents in their own name and forge commercialisation processes with the industry.

It may also allow the balance of any royalties or income earned after payment of expenses, to be ploughed back into institutes for scientific research and education.

“Giving ownership rights to universities and linking such ownership with the patent system and the market, will make research a much more attractive option,” said a professor working with NKC.

According to the proposal, the government could have ‘march-in rights’ to protect certain public good(s) or matters pertaining to national security.

The government could also be given the right to own an invention where the party decides not to retain title or fails to file the requisite patent application.

Business schools also need to incorporate IPR dimensions in their curricula. “There is also an urgent need to set up IPR cells in major scientific and educational institutions in the country with trained staff, competent in the law and technical aspects of relevant disciplines,” added the professor.

Indian institutes have realised the importance of patenting their innovations and have even begun formulating their own IPR policies.

A professor from IIT-Bombay said: “If this legislation is passed, it will be a good move. In general, institutes in India have not been proactive on this. Academics have to publish their research articles which one should get patented. This move will motivate them to patent their items and get it published.”

CAG pulls up Prasar Bharati for excess payment of Rs.3.39 crore to BCCI

From the Hindu:

NEW DELHI: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has pulled up Prasar Bharati for making an excess payment of Rs. 3.39 crore to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). It has asked the public broadcaster to recover the money from BCCI and fix responsibility for the negligent scrutiny of bills.

The matter came to light during a sample check of the payments made for telecast rights of one-day international (ODI) matches played during October-November, 2005. As per the report on autonomous organisations — tabled in Parliament on Friday — the audit objection was referred to the Union Information & Broadcasting Ministry in June 2007 but no response had been received till November.

Referring to the agreement between Prasar Bharati and BCCI for the telecast of 12 ODIs — seven India-Sri Lanka fixtures and five between India and South Africa — CAG noted that it provided for deductions in the amount to be paid in case a match was not played for the full duration of seven hours.

While one match did not take place, audit of the time sheets maintained by Prasar Bharati for the remaining 11 matches revealed that five matches were played for less than seven hours.

“Yet Prasar Bharati did not reduce the payment on pro-rata basis with reference to reduced time during which the matches were actually played.”

Further, in one match — between India and Sri Lanka at Mohali — where Prasar Bharati did make a reduction on pro-rata basis, the deduction was made by treating the total duration of the match as six hours instead of seven hours. “The negligence in the scrutiny of the claims and the deficient internal control within Prasar Bharati resulted in excess payment of Rs. 3.39 crore to BCCI,” the report said.

As for Prasar Bharati’s contention that pro-rata deduction was not applicable for ODIs, CAG said this argument was not tenable as it ran contrary to specific provisions of the agreement.

Prasar Bharati itself reduced the payment in the case of one match which was not played for the full duration.

RTI and natural justice in Orissa

The Orissa State Information Commission has served notice on a district and session judge for turning down an RTI application without hearing the petitioner. From the Hindu

Info panel serves notice on sessions judge office

The State Information Commission has served notice on the office of District and Session’s Judge, Khurda, for non-supply of information under Right To Information Act.

Information Commission was approached by Janardan Samantray of Bhubaneswar, who pleaded that justice was denied to him after the office of District and Session’s Judge dismissed his RTI application
without providing scope to present his side.

Mr. Samantray had sought information on pending cases of undertrial prisoners (UTPs) of Bhubaneswar and list of disposed off cases involving UTPs and their details available with office of Judicial
Magistrate First Class on September 7, 2007.

“Assistant Public Information Officer rejected my application saying the information does not relate to any public activities,” the applicant said.

First appeal

Subsequently, Mr. Samantray made first appeal with the office of district and session judge, Khurda, who is designated appellate authority under the Orissa High Court rules.

“On September 5 last, the District and Session Judge also rejected the first appeal without providing the applicant opportunity to present his side. No hearing was held,” Biswapriya Kannungo, city-based human rights activist and counsellor for Mr. Samantray, said.

Being aggrieved by the order, the applicant filed second appeal before Information Commission on December 7 last year.

Case admitted

The information panel admitted the case and fixed March 14, 2008 for hearing. However, only the information seeker was present on the day of hearing.

Chief Information Commissioner fixed the next day of hearing date on May 14 next and directed to issue notice to assistant PIO and first appellate authority-cum- district and session judge, Khurda, to reply to the issue raised by the applicant.

Repository of Agircultural Diversity

An editorial piece in the Hindu today reports the setting up of a repository of agricultural diversity in Norway.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, the most comprehensive repository of the world’s agricultural diversity created in the remote island of Spitsbergen in the Arctic, is a symbol of humanity’s concern for its long-term future. The vault is the international community’s response to the many challenges to agriculture, the most formidable of which may be climate change. A global seed collection can help avert a catastrophic downturn in agriculture caused by conflict, war or climate change. By storing duplicate seed collections under optimal conditions — minus 18 degrees Celsius — the Svalbard vault built inside a permafrost-encased mountain offers some insurance against the loss of farm output. The facility has been funded and established by Norway near the village of Longyearbyen as a service to the world and opened recently with an impressive collection of 100 million seeds representing 268,000 distinct samples from over 100 countries. Eventually, the vault hopes to store 4.5 million samples. The existence of such a seed vault should reassure countries that are at risk of incurring terrible losses in agriculture due to strife or natural disasters. Indeed Iraq, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and Rwanda are contemporary examples of countries that have suffered.

India has a major stake in the Svalbard seed vault programme. It maintains even now a seed bank of hardy dryland species of importance to Asian and African countries at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Andhra Pradesh. ICRISAT contributions to the global vault will ensure seed security for many countries; it will provide seeds containing about 110,000 germplasm accessions. The vital genetic resources available at ICRISAT helped Ethiopia and Rwanda replenish sorghum germplasm after debilitating internal conflict. Anticipating demands of a higher magnitude due to climate change in coming decades, seeds of resilient species — such as sorghum, pearl millet, chickpea, pigeon pea, and groundnut — and six small millets are being stored in the new vault, besides European, South American varieties. According to present calculations, the natural Arctic climate of Spitsbergen can keep the seeds safe, it is assumed, even in the worst climate change scenario; in the normal course, the vault is kept at very low temperatures through artificial cooling. Some seeds can be viable for as long as a millennium. At a time when monoculture and commercial pressures on food production are blamed for the loss of diversity in food crops, it is a refreshing effort at preservation of variety.

Over 5,000 pirated CDs seized in Vizag

Date:15/03/2008

From The Hindu

Andhra Pradesh

The police conduct raids following tip-off by music industry

HYDERABAD: Police have conducted nine raids in Visakhapatnam and seized a total of 5,024 CDs, following a tip-off given by the Indian music industry’s anti-piracy team.

The CDs comprised 2,507 MP3 players, 2,517 DVDs, seven CD writers and six each mobile chips, PCs and card readers.

A press release issued by the industry here on Friday said the raids followed a successful training programme conducted by it on February 13 here for the law enforcers to raise awareness about protecting the intellectual property rights.

The raids reflected the initiatives taken by the industry towards achieving its objectives.

The programme was the biggest one ever conducted in the country by the industry for police.