Human DNA Profiling Bill: Invasion of Privacy at a Grand Scale

POLITICAL activists, who are part of a peaceful demonstration that the government declares as unlawful, may soon find themselves as part of a massive database that the government wishes to construct. The database, called the ‘National DNA Data Bank’ will contain the DNA profiles for a range of Indian citizens and ostensibly will be used to tackle crime and to trace or identify people for various reasons. You are likely to be part of the database if you are in minor violation of the Motor Vehicle Act.

DoT's Report: Lip Service to Net Neutrality, But Backing Telecom Companies

THE Department of Telecom (DoT) Report on Net Neutrality, though better written than the shoddy consultation paper TRAI produced last March, ends up by ducking controversial questions and contradicting itself on what constitutes net neutrality. While endorsing net neutrality, on the issue of Zero Rating services, such as Airtel Zero and Facebook-Reliance Internet.org, the report refers them back to TRAI.

Iran US Nuclear Agreement: A Historic Breakthrough or Iran's Capitulation?

Though officially, the agreement has been negotiated between Iran and the P5+1 (the Security Council Permanent 5 + Germany), the actual negotiations have been always between the US and Iran, the two sides.The Vienna agreement promises to lift economic sanctions in lieu of Iran dismantling a part of its nuclear infrastructure. The US has also conceded Iran's right to enrich nuclear fuel, something it had rejected till now.

Suppression of Child Malnutrition Survey Data to Shield Gujarat

MIRED by controversies and scandals, the NDA government has now secured another rare achievement. Recent disclosures, first reported in the Economist magazine, indicate that the government has taken great pains to suppress a survey on child health, conducted by the UNICEF, in collaboration with the Government of India.

Smart Cities and Urban Mirages

PRIME Minister Modi recently launched one of his pet programmes, namely setting up 100 “smart cities,” along with plans for upgrading 500 towns and cities (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation or AMRUT), and a pledge to provide housing for all by 2022, requiring around 20 million units by the 75th anniversary of Indian independence.

National Optical Fibre Network Project And the Expert Committee Report

THE new NDA government's approach to every issue, irrespective of the problem, seems to be the same – hand it over to the private sector. Not surprisingly, the “expert” committee's review report on the ambitious National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) project –which is to provide broadband rural telephony – has recommended exactly that. Instead of BSNL, virtually the only telecom company providing rural telephony today, the committee has recommended large scale induction of private players. This is in spite of their dismal record in meeting their existing rural telephony obligations.

Nestle Must Not Escape Liability After Poisoning a Whole Generation

THE recent controversy on safety concerns surrounding Maggi noodles – the popular instant noodle brands of the Swiss transnational company (TNC), Nestle – raises a number of issues that have not been explored in much of the media reports. The entire controversy erupted after a conscientious Food and Drug inspector in UP got samples of Maggi instant noodles tested for the presence of toxic and impermissible ingredients.

15th All India Peoples Science Congress

THE 15th All India Peoples Science Congress, the bi-annual event held by the All India Peoples Science Network (AIPSN), was held in Bengaluru on May 22-25, 2015. The Congress is returning to the garden city and a premier hub of science and technology (S&T) in the country after 1992 when the 3rd Congress was held on its outskirts.The AIPSN as an organisation is perhaps unique in the world.

Cyberwar or Cyberpeace?

CYBER weapons are no longer the stuff of science fiction. They are all too real, and so is their threat to our interconnected world. This threat is bound to grow in the coming days with the internet of things, when all our devices will have intelligence and be connected to the internet. If we want to stop the internet from being weaponised, we have to start talking about what nation states should or should not do.

Zero Rating: Not Subsidised Internet But Enclosure of the Internet

AFTER the firestorm of criticism from the Indian netizens on the violations of net neutrality by Reliance-Facebook (Internet.org) and Airtel (Airtel Zero), Facebook and Airtel have come out with their defence: they love net neutrality, and will never, never violate this principle. They are only providing cheap internet access to their subscribers, who are currently without this access.

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SCIENCE & DEVELOPMENT