In
this article, Praveen
Dalal,
Managing Partner and CEO of Perry4Law
Organisation (P4LO)
and PTLB,
is discussing shortcomings of Digital India project of Indian
government. Digital India and cyber
security issues in India
have been ignored by Indian government so far and this article is
addressing that aspect as well.
The success or
failure of any project depends upon it due research and analysis.
Without a proper homework and due diligence, a project may face many
shortcomings, lacuna and limitations. One such project is known as
Digital
India. As on date, the
Digital India project of India government is heading towards rough
waters and problems. This is
because Digital India project is suffering from many shortcomings
and limitations that Indian
government has failed to remove.
For instance,
the cyber
security infrastructure of India
is not in a good shape. Take the example of smart
grids cyber security in India.
India is contemplating using of smart
meters but the same has
become a headache
for the power companies. Even a Grid
Security Expert System (GSES) of India was suggested by Indian
government in the past but the same has not been implemented till
now.
The Digital
India Project of India Government is the classic example of use of
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for delivery of public
services. Like any great project, Digital India is also suffering
from some “Shortcomings”.
The chief among them are lack of Cyber
Security, ineffective Civil
Liberties Protection, absence
of Data
Protection (PDF) and Privacy
Protection, unregulated
E-Surveillance in India,
absence of Intelligence
Agencies Reforms in India,
etc.
Unfortunately,
the initial objective of public delivery of services through use of
ICT seems to be fading away day by day. Instead of public services
the focus has now been shifted towards e-surveillance and data
mining. To make this work, Indian Government has been using
e-surveillance projects like Aadhaar,
Central
Monitoring System, Network
and Traffic Analysis System (NETRA),
National
Intelligence Grid (NATGRID),
National
Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC),
etc. None of them is supported by any “Legal Framework” and
“Parliamentary Oversight”.
In fact,
Vodafone has confirmed that India has been using “Secret
Wires” in the Telecom
Infrastructure to indulge in e-surveillance. Indian Department of
Telecommunications suppressed the whole incidence with a mere
assurance of “Investigation”
that never took place. As per my personal information, no “Public
Report” was made available in this regard by Indian Government so
far.
In a latest
twist, the Indian Government clubbed its latest Project named Digital
Locker with Aadhaar. Essentially it means that Digital Locker is a
legal project based
upon illegal technology named
Aadhaar. I have serious doubts that Digital Locker would serve its or
Digital
India’s purpose in these
circumstances. The matter does not end here. Indian Government has
claimed before the Supreme Court that Aadhaar
is not mandatory for availing
public services. However, this stand of Indian Government is not
correct as Aadhaar has already been made compulsory for many public
services and many more are added on regular basis.
Surprisingly, Supreme
Court has not invoked either the Contempt or the Perjury proceedings
against Central Government and States for making false claims and
giving incorrect statements. Is not it the duty of Supreme Court to
protect the Fundamental and Human Rights of Indian Citizens and
residents? It is difficult to believe that Supreme Court is not aware
of the ground situation that is actually happening in India. How can
the Supreme Court simply rely upon false and misleading statements
and allow the Central Government and States to operate in a manner
that is clearly prejudicial to the Constitutional Protections and
Principles?
It would be
really unfortunate if Digital India Project is made the biggest
Panopticon of Human History
and an endemic E-Surveillance Instrumentality for the Indian
Government where every bit of “Digital Information” can be
accessed and manipulated by Indian Government. If this is the
intention of Indian Government then Digital India Project is heading
for rough waters.
