Legal Aid in India

Legal Aid
Legal aid may be taken to mean free legal assistance to the poor persons in any judicial proceedings before the Court, Tribunals or any authority. It intends to provide free legal assistance to the poor persons who are not able to enforce the rights given to them by law. Justice P.N. Bhagwati has clearly stated that legal aid means providing an arrangement in the society which makes the machinery of administration of Justice easily accessible and in reach of those who have to resort to it for enforcement of rights given to them by law. He has rightly said that the poor and the illiterate should be able to approach the courts and their ignorance and poverty should not be an impediment in the way of obtaining justice from the Courts. The constitution of India gives much importance to rule of law. In India, it is regarded as a part of the basic structure of the Constitution and also of natural justice. Free legal aid to the poor and weak persons has been held to be necessary adjunct of the rule of law.
Legal Aid In IndiaThe preamble of the Indian constitution aims to secure to the people of India justice – socio economic and political. Article 38 and 39A of the Indian constitution are notable. Article 38(1) states- the State shall promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting the social order including justice and Article 39-A of the constitution states that the state shall in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen.

Legal Aid
Legal aid may be taken to mean free legal assistance to the poor persons in any judicial proceedings before the Court, Tribunals or any authority. It intends to provide free legal assistance to the poor persons who are not able to enforce the rights given to them by law. Justice P.N. Bhagwati has clearly stated that legal aid means providing an arrangement in the society which makes the machinery of administration of Justice easily accessible and in reach of those who have to resort to it for enforcement of rights given to them by law. He has rightly said that the poor and the illiterate should be able to approach the courts and their ignorance and poverty should not be an impediment in the way of obtaining justice from the Courts. The constitution of India gives much importance to rule of law. In India, it is regarded as a part of the basic structure of the Constitution and also of natural justice. Free legal aid to the poor and weak persons has been held to be necessary adjunct of the rule of law.
Legal Aid In IndiaThe preamble of the Indian constitution aims to secure to the people of India justice – socio economic and political. Article 38 and 39A of the Indian constitution are notable. Article 38(1) states- the State shall promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting the social order including justice and Article 39-A of the constitution states that the state shall in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen.
In Sheela Barse vs. State of Maharashtra , it was held that legal assistance to a poor accused who is arrested and put in jeopardy of his life or personal liberty is constitutional imperative mandated not only by article 39-A but also by article 21 and 14 of the constitution.
Article 21 clearly says that every person has an equal right to life and liberty except according to the procedure established by the law. It was said in the case of Hussainara khatoon vs. State of Bihar, that if any accused is not able to afford legal services then he has a right to free legal aid at the cost of the state. Also in Sukhdas vs. Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh , it was held, in case an accused is not told of his right and therefore he remains unprecedented by a lawyer, his trial is vitiated by constitutional infirmity and any conviction as a result of such trial is liable to be set aside. Similarly article 14 also talks about equality before law. Section 304 of CrPC imposes an obligation on the courts to provide legal aid at the expense of the state to an accused, who has no sufficient means and finances to engage an advocate. There cannot be any real equality in criminal cases unless the accused gets a fair trial of defending himself against the charge and a professional assistance.
Obstacles To Legal AssistanceAt present the legal aid movement in India is unorganized, diffused and sporadic. There is lack of co-ordination in it. The ideal of equal access and availability of legal justice has reached almost breakdown point. There is a wide gap between the goals set and met. One law firm recently commented in a survey, “We no longer do pro bono work, we are too busy trying to survive” . Lawyers don’t engage themselves in pro bono activities because of various reasons. There is lack of financial resources. The legal education imparted earlier did not provide social education. Therefore they do not understand or accept their obligation to do so, also the members of the profession do not regularly come into contact with members of the community who need legal assistance.
Illiteracy is also a major obstacle to legal aid. Now it is common knowledge that about 70% of the people living in rural areas are illiterate and even more then that are not aware of the rights conferred upon them by law . It is the absence of legal awareness which leads to exploitation and deprivation of rights and benefits of the poor.
Measures For Effective Legal Aid.1. The legal aid movement has to go to the grass root level and help to discover, identify and solve the problems and difficulties of the poor.
2. The participation not only of the practicing lawyers but also of the courts, the law, teachers, senior law students, trained social workers, public at large is also needed.
3. It should also include activities like spreading legal awareness and educating people on their basic rights with the help of NGO’s.
4. Promote more informal paralegal services in places where basic access to justice opportunities and infrastructures are absent.
5. Promote a pro bono service culture and tradition within the legal profession.
6. Offer comparative models of legal aid to government in reforming the movement.
7. Support the development of demonstration legal aid/public defender offices in cooperation with governments.
8. Lok Adalats should be promoted in the right direction as they settle the disputes quickly by counseling and discussions, etc. Its basis is to provide quick justice with the mutual consent of the parties. Their object is to reduce burden on the Courts so that the problem of law’s delay may be solved and people may get justice within due time. The machinery of the Government engaged in the execution of this movement in the state must be geared from bottom to top.

Article 21 clearly says that every person has an equal right to life and liberty except according to the procedure established by the law. It was said in the case of Hussainara khatoon vs. State of Bihar, that if any accused is not able to afford legal services then he has a right to free legal aid at the cost of the state.

Conclusion:-:Legal aid means free legal service for the promotion of the welfare of the people.In India many efforts have been made in this direction for example the introduction of Lok Adalats. According to various articles of the Indian constitution, it is the right of an accused to ask for legal aid if he is not able to afford it.
Bibliography1. The constitution of India- V.N. Shukla. Eastern Book Company, Lukhnow.2. Indian Bar Review Vol. 27, 2000.3. Andhra Law Times. Vol. 87, 1997 (1-13 p)4. Public Interest Lawyering, Legal Aid and Para Legal Services- Dr. Kailash Rai.5. Supreme Court Journal 1995 Feb (25-9p)

National Working Group on Patent Law:

New Chemical Entity:
(i) The scope of 'invention' should be limited to basic novel product or process involving inventive step and capable of industrial application;
(ii) The scope of 'pharmaceutical substance' should be limited to new molecular entity with significant therapeutic advancement involving one or more inventive steps;
(iii) There is lacuna about the definition of 'pharmaceutical substance'. Apart from the definition there is no mention of this patentable subject matter anywhere in the amended Patents Act 1970. Section 5 of the Act has been omitted through the Patents (Amendment) Act 2005. We would suggest this Section which could incorporate specifically 'pharmaceutical substance' should be re-introduced with the following version:
Section 5
Patents shall be available for basic novel inventions including pharmaceutical substances as defined in Section 2 whether products or processes in all fields of technologies excluding inventions stipulated under Section-3 provided that they are new, involve an inventive step and are capable of industrial application.
To sum up our suggestions in regard to definitions of 'invention' and 'pharmaceutical substance' are in harmony with each other and clause (d) including its explanation under Section 3 quoted above. We would emphasize that basically the incrementally changed presentation must not be allowed for patenting.
Micro-organism:
(i) Patenting of life forms may have at least two dimensions. Firstly, there is the ethical question of the extent of private ownership that could be extended to life forms. The second dimension relates to the use of IPRs' concept as understood in the industrialized world and its appropriateness in the face of the larger dimension of rights on knowledge, their ownership, use, transfer and dissemination.
(ii) Micro-organisms as such occur in nature. If any micro-organism is discovered it cannot be called invention, it falls in the category of discovery. Micro-organism when genetically modified falls in the category of invention because of human input. Genetically modified micro-organism may perform any number of activities. If a researcher is able to research upon a particular activity, and he is allowed patenting of his genetically modified micro-organism this will result in blocking of further research on that micro-organism. This is a peculiar situation arising out of patenting of micro-organisms. In view of these circumstances it would not be appropriate even to allow patenting of genetically modified micro-organism also as such.

Patent Condition in International Standard

International Patent System, Patentable Inventions, Prior Art in Patent, Monopoly rights in Patent, Non-obviousness, Patentability conditions.

1: International Patent SystemConcept of Patent The patent rights can be enforced only after securing the patent. Patent restricts others to make, use, offer for sale, sale or import the patented product. Patent is granted for both a product and a process. Patent right locks the functionality aspect and restricts the rights to the patent owner. Patent is a time limited monopoly which is granted from the date of the first filing for twenty years. The patent application could be either provisional or complete. To exploit the right to propriety, the inventors prefer to file the provisional application at the concept stage of the invention when they feel confident to file the complete application within twelve months time from the date of the provisional application. The difference between the provisional and the complete application is that in the provisional application only the outline of the invention is given and thus a tentative domain of the invention is described. The claim part, the patent rights subsists on this part, is written only in the complete application.Concept of PriorityPriority is a very important part of patent system. It means that who has right to secure patent to the exclusion to the other applicants in any country. There are two concepts of priority. The first is the first to file concept and the other is first to invent concept. According to the first to file concept, the first applicant has the right exclusion to the others to file and secure patents in the most of the countries which follow the international patent system. This concept is followed by most of the countries including India. The first to invent concept says that the inventor who invented first has the right to file and secure the patent. This concept is followed by the US.Patentable InventionsThere are three conditions, novelty, non-obviousness and industrial use, for an invention to qualify as a patentable invention irrespective of any domestic patent law. Novelty means that the invention should be not be known in the industry anywhere before. An invention first practiced as a trade secret and later applied for patent does not qualify under this condition. Non-obviousness means that the invention should be such that it add-value to the existing knowledge domain. The teaching of the invention must not be obvious to anyone having knowledge in that particular domain of technology. The third condition makes it clear that patent is granted only for the applied science which has some industrial use. The invention should be either in the form of a product or a process which can be commercially exploited. The Patent SystemPatent rights are territorial in nature and governed by the domestic patent laws. It means that a patent right holder in the US has rights only in the US territories. For securing the same rights, one needs to redo the patent rights securing process in each country of the business interest from the prospective of commercialization of the invention.To synchronize the domestic patent system at the international level gradually an international understanding developed for protecting industrial property in the nineteenth century when the industrialization was at its peak. The transition of the industrialization into knowledge economy melted the conventional understanding into an agreement which is acting as an international patent law. The international understanding on industrial property, which is another term used for the intellectual property minus copyright, is known as Paris Convention for the protection of Industrial Property. Since it was a convention, it lacked binding force. But it helped in designing the international patent law which came under the banner of the TRIPS Agreement, which has binding force. The binding force means that how what is agreed upon at an international level is translated into the domestic laws of the signatory countries. Treaties and conventions are merely an understanding lacking binding the signatory countries to follow them. But TRIPS is an agreement having deterrence to force the signatory sovereigns to act up on the terms and conditions of the agreement.Each inventor, either a part of the Paris Convention Union for protection of industrial property or the WTO Contracting country, has twelve months time from the date of the first/basic application to decide and file an application for securing the patent rights in the other member countries. This additional right is known as priority right. There is time buying system which helps in deferring the patent application filing in the other countries to the maximum of thirty months from the date of the filing the basic application. This system is known as Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and administer by the World Intellectual Property Rights Organization (WIPO). The TRIPS Agreement has borrowed the National Treatment concept from the Paris Convention. The national treatment means that the foreigners would be given the same treatment as the nationals of a country. TRIPS further added Most Favored Nation (MFN) concept in it; which means that any especial favor given by a country to a country will be applicable to rest of the member countries. The concepts of the national treatment and the MFN status provide equality before the laws of a member country to the foreigners.Hence, there are two options for an applicant to file a patent application in a foreign country. The first one is Paris Convention and the second is exploiting the PCT route. The first route is advisable when an applicant wants to file the application without loosing time. The other route is advisable when the applicants wish to buy some time for any reason to exploit the patent rights later without loosing the priority. Both the options are open for both the Indian and the US nationals in each-other’s country. Though the TRIPS Agreement directs its signatory countries to grant patent in all the technologies, there are a few exceptions to this direction in India. Similarly there is a fundamental difference in definition of invention. The US patent law includes both inventions and discoveries as a subject matter of patent but India, like most of the countries, accepts only inventions as a patentable subject matter. Another difference is in the treatment of the prior art. The US patent law accepts knowledge existing in some tangible format outside its territories for the consideration of knowledge forming prior art. The US accepts hear-say knowledge existing in its territories. To the contrary, Indian law accepts all kind of information, whether hear-say or in some tangible form, existing anywhere as prior art.Part 2: Securing Patent Rights in IndiaThe Constitution of India starts with ‘We the People of India..’ wordings and declares herself a Socialist Republic in the preamble itself. The Supreme Court of India in a case declared that Constitution is not to be construed as a mere law, but as the machinery by which laws are made. Though the patent law was framed and repeatedly amended in compliance with India’s commitment to various international treaties, conventions and agreement, none of IP laws is above the Constitution of India. An attempt to make a fine balance between the social welfare commitment to the nation and the rights of the patent owner can be seen in various provisions of the Indian patent law. India is a natural ally to the developing and least developed countries, who see and respect her as their leader. As a leader of the third world countries India has extended social responsibility towards their welfare. This responsibility is also reflected in the Patent Act.India is a signatory country to the Paris Convention and the WTO. The foreigners draw right to file patent applications in the foreign countries under the provisions of the Paris Convention and the TRIPS Agreement. The foreign applicants have equal rights before the patent law of India and there is no discrimination based on nationality as agreed by India to the above-stated international instruments.The first patent application is known as the basic application. A foreign national can file the basic application in India drawing rights under the Paris Convention or can file the national phase application in India within twelve months after filing the basic application either in his home country or elsewhere. The twelve month time to file the subsequent application is an international right and is known as Priority Right. By claiming the priority right, the applicant secures preference to other applicants who filed their applications any time later to the basic application filed by the first applicant. English is the official language for filing the application in India by the foreigners.In case an application has been filed under the provisions of the PCT, it remains suspended for eighteen months from the date of the basic application filing and is not processed. The national phase applications rooting from the PCT application can be filed latest by thirty one months from the date of the basic application filing. In case the national phase application is filed before thirty one months which is the time deadline to enter into the national phase, the patent Office shall not start processing of the national phase application before the expiration of thirty one months from the basic application filing date, else otherwise formally requested to process under other provisions. Here it is important to mention that PCT application is just a time buying process to extend the priority to file the national phase applications. A PCT application in itself does not materialize into any patent; it is the national phase application which may ultimately yields patent.When an application is made by virtue of an assignment of rights to apply for patent for the invention, the applicant needs to file the right to assignment in the prescribed form within six months from the date of the filing of the application in India. A declaration of inventorship is required to be filed with the complete application or within one month from the date of the filing of the complete application. Besides, the applicant needs to keep the Indian Patent Office update on other national phase applications for the same invention in the prescribed format in the prescribed time.After expiration of the thirty one months period from the basic application filing date, the application is processed and published in the Patent Journal. Under the normal process there is no need to apply for the publication of the application. There is a provision under the patent law for filing an early publication request. On and from the date of publication of the application the applicant shall have the like privileges and rights as if the application for patent has been granted, provided the applicant shall not be entitled to institute any proceedings for infringement until the grant of the patent. After publication of the application, the applicant gets forty eight months time from the priority date of the basic application to file a request for an examination of the application. There is no restriction to file a request for examination of the application, but it would be considered only after publication of the application. Ordinarily the first examination report (FER) is send within six months from the date of the examination request or six months from the date of publication, whichever is later.India has adopted post-grant opposition procedure without loosing her old pre-grant opposition procedure. When a patent application is published but the patent has not been granted, any person in writing may oppose the application on any of the prescribed grounds. Similarly, any person, at any time after the grant of the patent but before the expiry of one year from the date of publication of grant of the patent may give a notice of opposition to the Controller in the prescribed manner.When the application is found to be in order for the grant of patent complying with the Patent Act, a patent is granted.The life span of a patent is twenty years starting from the date of the filing of the patent application. For the international applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) the twenty years shall be counted from the international (PCT) application filing date.The patent requires to be renewed each year by paying the renewal fee. In absence of non-renewal of patent, the rights are lapsed. The applicant can file for renewal of the lapsed patent within eighteen months from the date on which the patent has ceased to have effect. There is no right during the suspension of patent due to non-renewal.The district court has the jurisdiction to try an infringement suit. Provided that where a counter-claim for revocation of the patent is made by the defendant, the suit is transferred to the respective High Court for decision. In an infringement suit the court may grant an injunction and at the opinion of the plaintiff either damages or account of profit. The court may also order for the forfeiture and destruction of the infringing goods without any compensation. The appeals to the orders and decisions of the Controller and all cases of revocation of patent other than on a counter-claim in a suit for infringement and rectification of register pending before any High Court shall go to the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB).To balance the monopoly patent rights granted to a parson, there is a complete chapter titled ‘working of patents, compulsory licenses and revocation’ to safeguard the socialist commitment of India. Another chapter titled ‘use of inventions for purpose of Government and acquisition of inventions by central Government’ is an attempt by India not to find her into tight spot to honor a patent against her national or social interests.

In India Trademark Law and other patents information required as per International patent systems is geiven below:-

Indian Trademark Law has been codified in conformity with the International Trademark Law and is about to undergo an amendment to be at par International Trademark Law. Recently India has signed Madrid Protocol that will allow Foreign Applicants to file an International Application designating India like many countries around the globe e.g China. Though unlike China and many other countries Multi class filing is allowed in India.Indian Trademark Law has been codified in conformity with the International Trademark Law and is about to undergo an amendment to be at par International Trademark Law.Recently India has signed Madrid Protocol that will allow Foreign Applicants to file an International Application designating India like many countries around the globe e.gChina. Though unlike China and many other countries Multi class filing is allowed in India.Statue: The various statues dealing with Intellectual property laws in India are as follows: 1. Trademarks Act, 19992. Copyright Act, 19573. Patents Act, 1970 as amended by Patents (Amendments) Act, 20054. Designs Act, 20005. Code of Civil Procedures, 19086. Indian Penal Code, 18607. Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 19998. Semiconductor, Integrated Circuit Layout Design Act, 20009. Plants Varieties Protection and Farmers’ Rights Act, 200110. Information Technology Act, 2000Requirement:A ‘Trademark’ means a mark capable of being represented graphically and which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from those of others.A ‘Mark’ includes a device, brand, heading, label, ticket, name (including abbreviations), signature, word, letter, numerals, shape of goods, packaging or combination of colors and any combination thereof.The two main requirements of a trademark are that it must be distinctive (adapted to distinguish the goods/services of the applicant from that of others) and not deceptive. Therefore while selecting a trademark, words that are directly descriptive of the goods, common surnames or geographical names should be avoided as these confer weaker protection to the proprietor even if registered.Now the concept of “well known mark” has been introduced after the last amendment and Section 2 (zg) defines a well known mark as:“Well-known trademark, in relation to any goods or services, means a mark which has become so to the substantial segment of the public which uses such goods or receives suchservices that the use of such mark in relation to other goods or services would likely to be taken as indicating a connection in the course of trade or rendering of services between those goods or services and a person using the mark in relation to the first mentioned goods or services.”While determining whether the mark is well-known mark, the registrar will take in to consideration while determining that the mark is a well known mark.(a) the knowledge or recognition of the alleged well known mark in the relevant section of the public including knowledge obtained as a result of promotion of the trademark.(b) the duration, extent and geographical area of any use for that trademark.(c) The duration, extent and geographical area for any promotion of the trademark including advertising or publicity and presentation at fairs or exhibition of the goods or servicesin which the trademark appears.(d) The duration and geographical area of any registration of any publication for registration of that trademark under this Act to the extent that they reflect the use or recognition of thattrademark.(e) The record of successful enforcements of the rights in that trademark, in particular the extent to which the trademark has been recognized as a well known trademark by any Court or Registrar under that record.Whereas a trademark has been determined to be well known in at least one relevant section of the public in India by any court or Registrar, the Registrar shall consider that trademarkas a well known trademark for registration under this Act. “Relevant section of Public” may be actual or potential consumers of, persons involved in channels of distribution of or business circles dealing with the type of goods or services to which the mark is applied.The Registrar is not required to consider the following facts while determining a well known trademark.a) The Trademark has been used in Indiab) The Trademark has been registeredc) The application for registration of the Trademark has been filed in India.d) The trademark is well known in or has been registered in, or in respect of which an application for registration has been filed in any jurisdiction other than India ore) The trademark is well known to the public at large in India.Priority:For claiming a priority from an application filed in United States a corresponding application should be filed in India within 6 months of date of filing of original application.Various Grounds for refusal:Absolute grounds: Section 9 of the Trademarks Act, 1999 sets out the absolute grounds for refusal of trademarks, which can be grouped under following heads:a) Trademark is devoid of distinctive character;b) Trademarks that are descriptive;c) Trademarks likely to deceive of cause confusion;d) Trademarks or signs that are customary in current language and in the bonafide and established and customary practice of the trade;e) Trademarks comprising scandalous or obscene matter or likely to hurt religious susceptibilities in India;f) Trademarks consisting of shape which are purely functional or are necessary to obtain a technical result or give substantial value to the goods; org) Trademarks whose use is prohibited under Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950.Prohibition:Section 13 of the Trademarks Act, 1999 prohibits registration of any word as trademark which is:a) Commonly used and accepted name of any chemical element or any chemical compound (as distinguished from mixtures) in respect of a chemical substance or preparation; orb) Declared by the World Health Organization and notified as such by the Registrar, as an International non-proprietary names.Relative grounds of refusal:Section 11 of the Trademarks Act, 1999 sets out the relative grounds for refusal of trademarks, which can be grouped under following heads:a) identical or similar to a previous mark with and/or without similar or identical goods;b) Prohibition of use of the trademark under passing off or law of copyright;Statutory defense available under the Act: For registration:a) Honest concurrent use;b) Acquiescence; orc) Prior userAgainst Injunction suit or criminal mattersa) Use in accordance with honest practices in Industrial or commercial matters;b) Parallel Imports;c) Fair use in description of the goods or services; ord) Generic ness.Special Considerations in case of well known mark: As per Section 11 of the Trademarks Act, while considering an application for registration of a trademark and opposition filed in respect thereof the Registrar shalla) protect a well known trademark against the identical or similar trademark.b) take into consideration the bad faith involved either of the applicant or the opponent affecting the rights relating to the trade mark.However this provision shall not effect the trademark if it trademark has been registered in good faith disclosing the material information to the Registrar or where right to atrademark has been acquired through use in good faith before the commencement of this Act.Enforcement of Trademarks Rights: Opposition (before the Registrar) and Cancellation (before the Registrar as well as Appellate Board)Opposition can only be done after publication of the trademark and within 3 months of date of availability of Journal. One month extension is available if sought before the expiry of 3 months time.Cancellation on the ground of non-use for a period of 5 years and 3 months and proof of intention on part of the registered proprietor not to use the trademark at the filing date and nonuse till the cancellation petition.Before the Courts: Ex-parte Injunction, Permanent Injunction, Anton Pillar Order, and /or Arrest and Seizure of goods (irrespective of registration).Assignment/ license:Trademarks are now recognized as a “movable property” under the Indian law and can be therefore assigned/ licensed. A trademark can be assigned with or without the goodwill attached to it.Renewal: The trademarks can be renewed perpetually, are renewable for a period of 10 years on payment of prescribed fees.Express processing: Under Indian trademark law now it is possible to expedite the various proceeding e.g. search, examination etc. by filing a request with prescribed fees. Indian Trademarks law is at par with the International laws and has stringent procedures for safeguarding and protecting interest of the proprietor of mark.

Ref:-1. Sudhir Kumar an Advocate & IPR Attorney practising in India and working with Aswal Associates, Attorneys at Law & Intellectual Property, India.

2.Rahul Dutta :- Patent Attorney

What is Intellectual Property

What is Intellectual Property?
Intellectual Property (IP) refers to the rights granted by law in relation to the fruits of human creative activity. In the context of this policy, it includes copyright, all rights in relation to inventions, registered and unregistered trademarks, registered designs, and all other rights resulting from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary or artistic fields.Trademarks A trademark is a sign that individualizes the goods or services of a given enterprise and distinguishes them from its competitors. A trademark must be distinctive and it should not be deceptive. Geographical Indications A geographical indication is basically a notice stating that a given product originates in a given geographical area. Appellation of Origin Appellation of origin is a more precise form of geographical indication, which specifies that the product has qualities that are derived specifically from the fact that it is made in a particular region. Industrial Design An industrial design is that aspect of a useful article, which is ornamental or aesthetic. It may consist of three-dimensional features such as the shape or surface of the article, or two-dimensional features such as patterns, lines or color. Patents A patent (an invention) is an exclusive right granted for any new product, method or process that is useful and inventive. Some inventions, however, cannot be patented such as commercial and mathematical methods, in addition to artistic creations. Trade Names A name used in business or trade to designate the business of the user and to which the user asserts a right to exclusive use. Trade Secrets Trade secret means information, including a formula, pattern, compilation, program device, method, technique, or process, that: (i) derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper means by, other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use, and (ii) is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy. Utility Models It is a monopoly right to the exclusive use of a technical solution not reaching the level of inventions. It is like a patent but can last for a shorter period and is at the same time faster and easier to obtain and cheaper to maintain compared with patents. This way of protection is not for inventions but for less sophisticated solutions for the configuration or construction of an article or the arrangement of parts thereof. A utility model is a property, which, like any other business commodity, may be bought, sold, hired or licensed. Integrated Circuit A product, in its final form or intermediate form, in which the elements, at least one of which is an active element, and whereby the interconnections are integrally formed in and/or on a piece of material, which is intended to perform an electronic function. Layout-Design A three-dimensional disposition of the elements composing an integrated circuit, or a three-dimensional disposition specifically prepared to produce an integrated circuit intended for manufacture. Copyright Copyright is concerned with protecting work of the human intellect. The domain of copyright is the protection of literary and artistic works. These include writings, music, works of the fine arts, such as paintings and sculptures, and technology based works such as computer programs and electronic database. Related Rights Related Rights or Neighboring Rights are rights that in certain respects resemble copyright. The purpose of related rights is to protect the legal interests of certain persons and legal entities who contribute to making works available to the public. The overall purpose of these related rights is to protect those people or organizations that add substantial creative, technical or organizational skill in the process of bringing a work to the public. Related rights have been granted to three categories of beneficiaries: performers, producers and broadcasters. Unfair Competition Unfair competition is any act of competition contrary to honest practices in industrial or commercial matters. Plant Varieties A plant varieties right protects new and distinctive varieties of plants by giving its holder an exclusive right to exploitation. We would like to announce that ag-IP-news Agency, is a pilot project that has been exclusively established to cover Intellectual Property news, events and activities. As a member of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAGorg), ag-IP-news Agency will lead the way and move in a parallel line with the fast growing interest in IP domains to fulfill one single mission: to provide our users worldwide with a credible source of news and reports. In addition, the users of ag-IP-news Agency are invited to avail themselves of our news, articles, analysis and information without any prior concerns about fees or subscription since it’s a free of charge service. To maintain professional standards and credibility in covering Intellectual Property issues, an experienced and highly qualified team of journalists is currently running the Agency. Together with professional journalistic skills and vast knowledge in Intellectual Property issues, the team will guarantee instantaneous coverage of IP events through their vast connectivity to the IP society. ag-IP-news Agency aims at realizing the easier said than done job: neutral and objective coverage of Intellectual Property news. The information provided on our website, including reports, features, analysis and events will be available anytime for all users through our easy to function Search Engine. ag-IP-news Agency’s technical team has developed a fast and user-friendly system to accelerate access to information. Our awareness of the growing interest in Intellectual Property issues will be reflected by a high quality service, a wider perspective and in-depth coverage of IP news and events. for more information kindly check our newsletter via www.tagorg.com and www.agip.commarketing.turkey@tagi.comMurat Idal - Ankara, Turkeymarketing.turket@tagi.comABOUT THE AUTHOR: Murat Idal - Ankara, TurkeyMurat Idal - Ankara, TurkeyAbu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property (AGIP) was established in Kuwait in 1972, under the name of T.M.P Agents in a time when Intellectual Property (IP) protection was still in its early stages of development in the Arab region. However, since our launch, AGIP has consistently been at the forefront of efforts to improve the infrastructure of IP in the Arab world.

Refreances:-
Copyright Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property (AGIP)

New Partnership rule

1. Should a partnership firm be registered?Not necessarily. However, unless a partnership firm is registered with the registrar of firms and societies, the rights of the partners inter se or against strangers cannot be enforced in a court of law. If the partnership deed itself creates, transfers or affects an interest in immovable property.2. Is a partnership deed necessary to form a partnership firm?No, it is not necessary. However it is often prudent to make a partnership deed to produce to the bank, income tax authorities and to clients with whom the partnership firm deals with.3. Can a partnership firm be constituted for a particular business undertaking?Yes. A person may become a partner with another for a single adventure or undertaking.4. Is there a limit on the number of partners in a partnership firm?Yes. If the number of partners is more than 20, it has to be registered as a company. 5. Can a partnership firm be sued in the name of the firm?A person may sue a partnership firm but the plaint has to disclose the name of all the partners who constitute the firm. However under the Income Tax Act, a firm can be assessed to tax independently of its partners. A partnership firm therefore enjoys a quasi independent status.6. Can one deal with one of the partners of a partnership firm?Yes. The law presumes that each partner is an agent of the other and dealing in good faith with one partner binds the other partners as well. There are certain exceptions to this rule, which is answered in the next question.
7. What are the acts that all partners should give express consent to do?Submitting a suit for arbitration, transfer of immovable property, acquisition of immovable property, withdrawal of suits is all forbidden except by the consent of all partners or by the usage of custom to the contrary.8. Is the firm liable for the wrongful act of one partner?Yes. The firm and all the partners are liable for the wrongful act or fraud which causes loss or injury to any third parties. 9. Should a retiring partner give notice of his retirement from the firm?Every partner will be liable for the acts of the firm even if he has retired, if he has failed to give public notice of his retirement. Such notice should be given to the registrar of firms an by announcements in the local official gazette.
10. Does the death of a partner dissolve the partnership firm?Yes. The death of a partner automatically dissolves the partnership firm. It is however usual for the partnership deed to provide before hand that the firm should continue in spite of death, retirement or insolvency of a partner. 11. What is a partnership at will?When the partnership deed does not contain any provision for the duration of the partnership nor conditions for the termination of partnership, it is a partnership at will.12. What is the legal status of partnership property?Any property can be treated as the property of the firm by simply showing it as such in the book of accounts. This would constitute partnership property and all partners are joint owners of the partnership property as increased or decreased by profits in the course of business. Property belonging to an individual partner does not become the firm's property simply by being used for the purpose of the partnership.

Anti-Ragging rule

Strict anti-ragging regulations needed: Dr Raghanvan
In the wake of new academic session and keeping in view the Supreme Court's order for implementation of recommendations on anti-ragging measures, a meeting was held in New Delhi Ensure that ragging does not take place in their campuses in any form..
The Raghavan Committee appointed by the Supreme Court for monitoring the measures to prevent ragging in higher educational institutions met at New Delhi to take stock of the situation and review the progress made by different regulatory bodies and other stakeholders who have been directed by the Court to implement the recommendations of this Committee’s report on anti-ragging measures.
A separate cell has been constituted in the commission to look after the matters relating to ragging in Universities and colleges, informed the representatives from University Grants Commission (UGC). UGC has set up a visiting committee for 11th plan development assistance and this committee shall be responsible to sensitise the institution about the prevention of ragging. Release of grants under various schemes of the UGC should be linked with the compliance by institutions with the directions of the Supreme Court of India in this regard, felt the monitoring committee. The committee also said that incentives by way of higher grants should be provided by the Commission to the higher educational institutions, which ensure that ragging does not take place in their campuses in any form.. The statutory regulatory bodies should direct educational institutions to incorporate in admission notices appropriate messages regarding `zero tolerance’ towards `ragging’, it added.
The Supreme Court has upheld the recommendation that ragging lowered the standards of higher education, and the committee reiterated that each regulatory body responsible for maintaining standards of higher education was required to ensure that the directions of the Apex Court were strictly complied with.
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more >> Wherever any incident of ragging is reported and institutions do not take adequate steps for redressing the grievance, regulatory bodies must conduct inquiries through fact finding committees, the Committee observed.
The fresh academic session 2008-2009 is to commence shortly and the Committee urged the Central government to take immediate steps to take up intensive multi-media publicity campaign in order to reinforce anti-ragging measures as directed by the Supreme Court. Representatives from the UGC, All India Council for Technical Education, Medical Council of India, Dental Council of India, Nursing Council of India attended the meeting.
DR RK Raghavan asked the regulatory bodies to prepare specific and strict regulations to enforce anti-ragging measures in the higher educational institutions. Expressing disappointment over the degree of helplessness shown by the regulatory bodies in eliciting information from educational institutions, he further asked them to take all steps to ensure that educational institutions under the purview become zero tolerance campuses in respect of ragging.

6th pay commission report for UGC scale

No.1-32/2006-U.II/U.I(!)
Government of India
Ministry of Human Resource Development
Department of Higher Education
To
The Secretary,
University Grants Commission,
Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg,
New Delhi - 110 002.
New Delhi, dated the 31St December, 2008
Subject:- Scheme of revision of pay of teachers and equivalent cadres in universities and colleges following the revision of pay scales of Central Government employees on the recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission.
Sir,
I am directed to say that the Government of India have decided, after taking into
consideration the recommendations made by the University Grants Commission (UGC)
based on the decisions taken at the meeting of the Commission held on 7-8 October
2008, to revise the pay scales of teachers in the Central Universities. The revision of pay
scales of teachers shall be subject to various provisions of the Scheme of revision of pay
scales as contained in this letter, and Regulations to be framed by the UGC in this behalf
in accordance with the Scheme given below. The revised pay scales and other provisions
of the Scheme are as under:-
1. General
(i) There shall be only three designations in respect of teachers in universities and
colleges, namely, Assistant Professors, Associate Professors and Professors. However,
there shall be no change in the present designation in respect of Library and Physical
Education Personnel at various levels.
(ii) No one shall be eligible to be appointed, promoted or designated as Professor,
unless he or she possesses a Ph.D. and satisfies other academic conditions, as laid down
by the University Grants Commission (UGC) from time to time. This shall, however, not
affect those who are already designated as 'Professor'.
(iii) The pay of teachers and equivalent positions in Universities and Colleges shall be
fixed according to their designations in two pay bands of Rs. 15600-39100 and Rs.
37400-67000 with appropriate "Academic Grade Pay" (AGP in short). Each Pay Band
shall have different stages of Academic Grade Pay which shall ensure that teachers and
other equivalent cadres covered under this Scheme, subject to other conditions of
eligibility being satisfied, have multiple opportunities for upward movement during their
career.
(iv) Posts of Professors shall be created in under-graduate (UG) colleges as well as in
post-graduate (PG) colleges. The number of posts of Professors in a UG College shall be
equivalent to 10 percent of the number of posts-of Associate Professors in that College.
There shall be as many posts of Professors in each PG College as the number of
Departments in that College. No new Departments shall be created in UG or PG Colleges
without prior approval of the UGC.
(v) Up to 10% of the posts of Professors in universities shall be in the higher
Academic Grade Pay of Rs. 12000 with eligibility conditions to be prescribed by the UGC.
(vi) National Eligibility Test (NET) shall be compulsory for appointment at the entry
level of Assistant Professor, subject to the exemptions to the degree of Ph.D. in respect
of those persons obtaining the award through a process of registration, course-work and
external evaluation, as have been/ or may be laid down by the UGC through its
regulations, and so adopted by the University. NET shall not be required for such
Masters' programmes in disciplines for which there is no NET.
2. Revised Pay Scales, Service conditions and Career Advancement Scheme
for teachers and equivalent positions:
The pay structure for different categories of teachers and equivalent positions
shall be as indicated below:-
(a) Assistant Professor/Associate Professors/ Professors in Colleges &
Universities
(i) Persons entering the teaching profession in Universities and Colleges shall be
designated as Assistant Professors and shall be placed in the Pay Band of Rs.15600-
39100 with AGP of Rs,6000. Lecturers already in service in the pre-revised scale of Rs.
8000-13500, shall be re-designated as Assistant Professors with the said AGP of Rs.
6000.
(ii) An Assistant Professor with completed service of 4 years, possessing Ph.D
Degree in the relevant discipline shall be eligible, for moving up to AGP of Rs. 7000.
(iii) Assistant Professors possessing M.Phil degree or post-graduate degree in
professional courses approved by the relevant Statutory Body, such as LL.M/M.Tech etc.
shall be eligible for the AGP of Rs. 7,000 after completion of 5 years service as Assistant
Professor.
(iv) Assistant Professors who do not have Ph.D or M.Phil or a Master's degree in the
relevant Professional course shall be eligible for the AGP of Rs. 7,000 only after
completion of 6 years' service as Assistant Professor.
(v) The upward movement from AGP of Rs. 6000 to AGP of Rs. 7000 for all Assistant
Professors shall be subject to their satisfying other conditions as laid down by the UGC.
(vi) The pay of the incumbents to the posts of Lecturer (senior scale) (i.e. the unrevised
scale of Rs. 10,000-15200) shall be re-designated as Assistant Professor, and
shall be fixed at the appropriate stage in Pay Band of Rs.15600-39100 based on their
present pay, with AGP of Rs. 7000.
(vii) Assistant Professors with completed service of 5 years at the AGP of Rs. 7000
shall be eligible , subject to other requirements laid down by the UGC, to move up to the
AGP of Rs. 8000.
(viii) Posts of Associate Professor shall be in the Pay Band of Rs.37400-67000, with
AGP of Rs.9000. Directly recruited Associate Professors shall be placed in the Pay Band
of Rs. 37400-67000 with an AGP of Rs. 9000, at-the appropriate stage in the Pay Band in
terms of the conditions of appointment.
(ix) Incumbent Readers and Lecturers (Selection Grade) who have completed 3 years
in the current pay scale of Rs. 12000-18300 on 1.1.2006 shall be placed in Pay Band of
Rs. 37400-67000 with AGP Pay of Rs . 9000 and shall be re-designated as Associate
Professor.
(x) Incumbent Readers and Lecturers (Selection Grade) who had not completed three
years in the pay scale of Rs. 12000-18300 on 1.1.2006 shall be placed at the
appropriate stage in the Pay Band of Rs. 15600-39100 with AGP of Rs. 8000 till they
complete 3 years of service in the grade of Lecturer (Selection Grade)/Reader, and
thereafter shall be placed in the higher Pay Band of Rs.37400-67000 and accordingly redesignated
as Associate Professor.
(xi) Readers/ Lecturers (Selection Grade) in service at present shall continue to be
designated as Lecturer (Selection Grade) or Readers, as the case may be, until they are
placed in the Pay Band of Rs. 37,400-67000 and re-designated as Associate Professor in
the manner described in (x) above.
(xii) Assistant Professors completing 3 years of teaching in the AGP of Rs. 8000 shall
be eligible, subject to other conditions, that may be prescribed by the UGC and the
university, to move to the Pay Band of Rs. 37400-67000 with AGP of Rs. 9000 and to be
designated as Associate Professor.
(xiii) Associate Professor completing 3 years of service in the AGP of Rs . 9000 and
possessing a Ph.D . degree in the relevant discipline shall be eligible to be appointed and
designated as Professor, subject to other conditions of academic performance as laid
down by the UGC and if any by the university . No teacher other than those with a Ph.D.
shall be promoted , appointed or designated as Professor , The Pay Band for the post of
Professors shall be Rs .37400-67000 with AGP of Rs. 10000.
(xiv) The pay of a directly recruited Professor shall be fixed at a stage not below Rs.
43000 in the Pay Band of Rs. 37400-67000, with the applicable AGP of Rs. 10000.
(xv) Ten percent of the posts of Professors in a university shall be in the higher AGP of
Rs. 12000, however, teachers appointed to the posts shall continue to be designated as
Professor. Eligibility for appointment as a Professor in the higher Academic Grade Pay
shall be as may be laid down by the UGC, and such eligibility conditions shall, inter alia,
include publications in peer reviewed/ refereed Research Journals, and the requirement
of at least 10 years of teaching as Professor and post-doctoral work of a high standard.
No person appointed directly as Professor in the AGP of Rs. 12000 shall be fixed at a
stage less than Rs. 48000 along with the AGP.
(xvi) For initial direct recruitment at the level of Associate Professors and Professors,
the eligibility conditions in respect of academic and research requirements shall be as
may be or have been prescribed by the UGC through Regulations and as may be laid
down by the university.
(xvii) Discretionary award of advance increments for those who enter the profession as
Associate Professors or Professors with higher merit, high number of research
publications and experience at the appropriate level, shall be within the competence of
the appropriate authority of the concerned University or recruiting institution while
negotiating with individual candidates in the context of the merits of each case, taking
into account the pay structure of other teachers in the faculty and other specific factors.
(b) Professors in Under Graduate and Post Graduate Colleges:
(xviii) Ten percent of the number of sanctioned posts of Associate Professor in an Under
Graduate College shall be that of Professors and shall be subject to the same criterion
for selection/ appointment as that of Professors in Universities, provided that there shall
not be more than one post of Professor in each Department; and provided further that
One-fourth (25%) of the posts of Professor in UG Colleges shall be directly recruited or
filled on deputation by eligible teachers and the remaining three-fourths (75%) of posts
of Professors shall be filled by merit promotion from among eligible Associate Professors
of the relevant department of the Under Graduate College. Identification of posts of
Professor in an Under Graduate College for being filled through direct
recruitment/deputation shall be within the competence of the University acting in
consultation with the College. Where the number of posts of Professor worked out as a
percentage of the number of posts of Associate Professor for merit promotion or direct
recruitment/ deputation is not an integer, the same shall be rounded off to the next
higher integer.
(xix) There shall be one post of Professor in each Department of a Post Graduate
College and shall be subject to the same criterion for selection/ appointment as that of
Professors in Universities, provided that One-fourth (25%) of the posts of Professor shall
be filled on deputation/direct recruitment from among eligible teachers and the
remaining three-fourths (75%) of posts shall be filled through merit promotion from
among the eligible Associate Professors in the relevant department of the Post Graduate
College. Identification of posts of Professor in a Post Graduate College for being filled
through direct recruitment/deputation shall be within the competence of the University
acting in consultation with the College. Where the number of posts of professor for merit
promotion or direct recruitment/ deputation worked out as a percentage of the total
number of posts in a Post Graduate College is not an integer, the same shall be rounded
off to the next higher integer. The UGC shall issue separate guidelines to ensure
availability of minimum standards of academic infrastructure (library, research facilities
etc.) for starting Post Graduate Courses in Colleges.
3. Pay Scales of Pro -Vice Chancellor/ Vice Chancellor of Universities:
(i) Pro-Vice-Chancellor
The posts of Pro-Vice Chancellor shall be in the Pay Band of Rs.37400-67000 with AGP of
Rs. 10000 or Rs. 12000, as the case may be, along with a Special Allowance of Rs.4000
per month, subject to the condition that the sum total of pay in the Pay Band, the
Academic Grade Pay and the Special Allowance shall not exceed Rs. 80,000.
(ii) Vice Chancellor
The posts of Vice Chancellor shall carry a fixed pay of Rs. 75000 along with a Special
Allowance of Rs. 5000 per month.
4. Pay Scales of Principals in Colleges:
(i) Principal of Under Graduate Colleges
Appointments to the posts of Principal in Under Graduate Colleges shall be based on the
conditions of eligibility in respect of educational qualifications and teaching/research
experience laid down by the University Grants Commission and if any by the university
from time to time. The posts of Principal in Under Graduate Colleges shall be in the Pay
Band of Rs.37400-67000 with AGP of Rs.10000, plus a Special Allowance of Rs. 2000 per
month. All Principals in service shall be appropriately fixed in the Pay Band with the AGP
of Rs. 10000.
(ii) Principal of Post Graduate Colleges
Appointments to the posts of Principal in Post Graduate Colleges shall be based on the
conditions of eligibility in respect of educational qualifications and teaching/research
experience laid down by the University Grants Commission and if any by the university
from time to time. Posts of Principal in Post Graduate Colleges shall also be in the Pay
Band of Rs.37400-67000 with AGP of Rs.10,000, plus a Special Allowance of Rs. 3000
per month. All Principals in service shall be appropriately fixed in the Pay Band with the
AGP of Rs. 10000.

Medico Legal

National Seminar on Medico-Legal Informatics
Rising role of ICT in the medico-legal arena
The seminar covered the topics of 'Medico-Legal Informatics & Law, 'Accessing Medico-Legal Information' and 'Electronic Medical Record Management—Legal Viewpoint'. All the sessions attracted eminent speakers. Organizers were successful in bringing over 200 domain experts from medical, legal and informatics field to deliberate and brain-storm on issues of common interest on one platform. The seminar deliberated that the justice delivery system can be accelerated if we can achieve a seamless integration of information flow between legal and medical professionals, employing information communication technologies.
Emerging technologies have brought into focus the manner in which medical and legal experts will manage their business in tomorrows. However, to make adoption of such technologies simple, there is a need to create a forum to translate the emerging technology trends, or more specifically ICT trends, in a language which medical and legal professionals are used to. In this regard, the national seminar on Medico-Legal Informatics, organized by Indian Legal Information Institute (INDLII), in association with Indian Association for Medical Informatics (IAMI), on 29 April 2007 at the premises of Sharda Group of Institutions in Greater Noida assumes great significance. This seminar was hosted by Sharda Hospital & Hindustan Institute of Medical Science & Research, Greater Noida.This was perhaps the first time in India when three institutions with diversified interests, but with a common objective, joined hands to organize a seminar on multi-disciplinary subjects to discuss how best to employ information communication technology judiciously for the benefit of common citizens. The objective of this seminar was to bring domain experts in the fields of medical, legal and informatics on one platform to: Discuss seamless integration of information flow between these two fields, employing information communication technologies to accelerate the justice delivery system; create a forum to increase the undertaking of the emerging legal issues and technologies; and provide legal information to the professionals in all fields.The seminar was inaugurated by Chief Guest, Justice J. S. Verma, the former Chief Justice of India and former Chairman of National Human Rights Commission. The inaugural function was chaired by Justice M.B. Shah, Chairman of National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, and former Judge, Supreme Court of India. Justice Shah delivered the keynote address. Other notable participants were Dr S.B. Gogia, President, IAMI, and Adeesh Aggarwala, President, INDLII. The seminar covered the topics of 'Medico-Legal Informatics & Law, 'Accessing Medico-Legal Information' and 'Electronic Medical Record Management – Legal Viewpoint'. All the sessions attracted eminent speakers. Organizers were successful in bringing over 200 domain experts from medical, legal and informatics field to deliberate and brain-storm on issues of common interest on one platform. The seminar deliberated that the justice delivery system can be accelerated if we can achieve a seamless integration of information flow between legal and medical professionals, employing information communication technologies. At the seminar, pertinent examples were provided as to how the IT has revolutionized Karkardooma courts in East Delhi. Overall IT has aided the average case closure rate, which had shot up remarkably due to the infusion of IT. Talwant Singh, Additional District and Sessions Judge, Delhi, during his presentation on 'ICT in Courts' in the seminar, conferred that this could be even more if other departments including forensics could also incorporate IT and its associated efficiency in its day-to-day working. From the seminar, a expectation emerged that soon IT would spread to the entire legal system of our country and energise it.A full session was devoted to electronic medical records, where it was emphasized to make them legally tenable and secure. While it was well known that issues of privacy and ethic, especially those pertaining to patients are important, the participants at the seminar showed that there were enough means to overcome such and other problems of similar nature. There was another event of great e- Health potential at the seminar. Professor Sneh Bhargava, a Padma Shri awardee, and the former Director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, inaugurated the online course of Indian Association for Medical Informatics on healthcare informatics.

Globalization:-Opportunities and Challenges

Globalization- Opportunities And Challenges

(with impact on Indian Economy)
Indian economy had experienced major policy changes in early 1990s. The new economic reform, popularly known as, Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization (LPG model) aimed at making the Indian economy as fastest growing economy and globally competitive. The series of reforms undertaken with respect to industrial sector, trade as well as financial sector aimed at making the economy more efficient.
Globalization has many meanings depending on the context. In context to India, this implies opening up the economy to foreign direct investment by providing facilities to foreign companies to invest in different fields of economic activity in India, removing constraints and obstacles to the entry of MNCs in India, allowing Indian companies to enter into foreign collaborations and also encouraging them to set up joint ventures abroad; carrying out massive import liberalization programs by switching over from quantitative restrictions to tariffs and import duties, therefore globalization has been identified with the policy reforms of 1991 in India.
Impact of Globalization of Indian EconomyAt the present, we can say about the tale of two India’s: We have the best of times; we have the worst of times. There is sparkling prosperity, there is stinking poverty. We have dazzling five star hotels side by side with darkened ill-starred hovels. We have everything by globalization, we have nothing by globalization. Though some economic reforms were introduced by the Rajiv Gandhi government (1985-89), it was the Narasimha Rao Government that gave a definite shape and start to the new economic reforms of globalization in India. Presenting the 1991-92 Budget, Finance Minister Man Mohan Singh said: After four decades of planning for industrialization, we have now reached a stage where we should welcome, rather fear, foreign investment. Direct foreign investment would provide access to capital, technology and market.
In the Memorandum of Economic Policies dated August 27, 1991 to the IMF, the Finance Minister submitted in the concluding paragraph: The Government of India believes that the policies set forth in the Memorandum are adequate to achieve the objectives of the program, but will take any additional measures appropriate for this purpose. In addition, the Government will consult with the Fund on the adoption of any measures that may be appropriate in accordance with the policies of the Fund on such consultations.
The Government of India affirmed to implement the economic reforms in consultation with the international bank and in accordance of its policies. Successive coalition governments from 1996 to 2004, led by the Janata Dal and BJP, adopted faithfully the economic policy of liberalization. With Man Mohan Singh returned to power as the Prime Minister in 2004, the economic policy initiated by him has become the lodestar of the fiscal outlook of the government.The Bright Side of GlobalizationThe rate of growth of the Gross Domestic Product of India has been on the increase from 5.6 per cent during 1980-90 to seven per cent in the 1993-2001 period. In the last four years, the annual growth rate of the GDP was impressive at 7.5% (2003-04), 8.5% (2004-05), 9% (2005-06) and 9.2%(2006-07). Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh is confident of having a 10% growth in the GDP in the Eleventh Five Year Plan period.
The foreign exchange reserves (as at the end of the financial year) were $ 39 bn (2000-01), $ 107 bn (2003-04), $ 145 bn (2005-06) and $ 180 bn (in February 2007). It is expected that India will cross the $ 200 bn mark soon.
The cumulative FDI inflows from 1991 to September 2006 were Rs.1, 81,566 crores (US $ 43.29 bn). The sectors attracting highest FDI inflows are electrical equipments including computer software and electronics (18 per cent), service sector (13 per cent), telecommunications (10 per cent), transportation industry (nine per cent), etc. In the inflow of FDI, India has surpassed South Korea to become the fourth largest recipient.
India controls at the present 45% of the global outsourcing market with an estimated income of $ 50 bn.
In respect of market capitalization (which takes into account the market value of a quoted company by multiplying its current share price by the number of shares in issue), India is in the fourth position with $ 894 bn after the US ($ 17,000 bn), Japan ($ 4800 bn) and China ($ 1000bn). India is expected to soon cross the trillion dollar mark.
As per the Forbes list for 2007, the number of billionaires of India has risen to 40 (from 36 last year)more than those of Japan (24), China (17), France (14) and Italy (14) this year. A press report was jubilant: This is the richest year for India. The combined wealth of the Indian billionaires marked an increase of 60 per cent from $ 106 bn in 2006 to $ 170 bn in 2007. The 40 Indian billionaires have assets worth about Rs. 7.50lakh crores whereas the cumulative investment in the 91 Public Sector Undertakings by the Central Government of India is Rs. 3.93 lakh crores only.
The Dark Side of GlobalizationOn the other side of the medal, there is a long list of the worst of the times, the foremost casualty being the agriculture sector. Agriculture has been and still remains the backbone of the Indian economy. It plays a vital role not only in providing food and nutrition to the people, but also in the supply of raw material to industries and to export trade. In 1951, agriculture provided employment to 72% of the population and contributed 59% of the gross domestic product. However, by 2001 the population depending upon agriculture came to 58% whereas the share of agriculture in the GDP went down drastically to 24 per cent and further to 22% in 2006-07. This has resulted in a lowering the per capita income of the farmers and increasing the rural indebtedness.
The agricultural growth of 3.2% observed from 1980 to 1997 decelerated to two per cent subsequently. The Approach to the Eleventh Five Year Plan released in December 2006 stated that the growth rate of agricultural GDP including forestry and fishing is likely to be below two per cent in the Tenth Plan period. The reasons for the deceleration of the growth of agriculture are given in the Economic Survey 2006-07: Low investment, imbalance in fertilizer use, low seeds replacement rate, a distorted incentive system and lo post-harvest value addition continued to be a drag on the sectors performance. With more than half the population directly depending on this sector, low agricultural growth has serious implications for the inclusiveness of growth.
The number of rural landless families increased from 35 %in 1987 to 45 % in 1999, further to 55% in 2005. The farmers are destined to die of starvation or suicide. Replying to the Short Duration Discussion on Import of Wheat and Agrarian Distress on May 18, 2006, Agriculture Minister Shard Pawar informed the Rajya Sabha that roughly 1, 00,000 farmers committed suicide during the period 1993-2003 mainly due to indebtedness.
In his interview to The Indian Express on November 15, 2005, Sharad Pawar said: The farming community has been ignored in this country and especially so over the last eight to ten years. The total investment in the agriculture sector is going down. In the last few years, the average budgetary provision from the Indian Government for irrigation is less than 0.35%.
During the post-reform period, India has been shining brilliantly with a growing number of billionaires. Nobody has taken note of the sufferings of the family members of those unfortunate hundred thousand farmers.
Further, the proportion of people depending in India on agriculture is about 60 % whereas the same for the UK is 2 %, USA 2 %and Japan 3 %. The developed countries, having a low proportion of population in agriculture, have readily adopted globalization which favors more the growth of the manufacturing and service sectors.
About the impact of globalization, in particular on the development of India, the ILO Report (2004) stated: In India, there had been winners and losers. The lives of the educated and the rich had been enriched by globalization. The information technology (IT) sector was a particular beneficiary. But the benefits had not yet reached the majority, and new risks had cropped up for the losers the socially deprived and the rural poor. Significant numbers of non-perennial poor, who had worked hard to escape poverty, were finding their gains reversed. Power was shifting from elected local institutions to unaccountable trans-national bodies. Western perceptions, which dominated the globe media, were not aligned with local perspectives; they encouraged consumerism in the midst of extreme poverty and posed a threat to cultural and linguistic diversity.
Social Services: About the quality of education given to children, the Approach to the Eleventh Five Year Plan stated: A recent study has found that 38 per cent of the children who have completed four years of schooling cannot read a small paragraph with short sentences meant to be read by a student of Class II. About 55 per cent of such children cannot divide a three digit number by a one digit number. These are indicators of serious learning problems which must be addressed. The less said about the achievements in health the better. The Approach to the Eleventh Plan concedes that progress implementing the objectives of health have been slow. The Report gave the particulars of the rates of infant mortality (per 1000 live births) for India as 60 against Sri Lanka (13), China (30) and Vietnam (19). The rate of maternal mortality (per 1, 00,000 deliveries) of India is 407 against Sri Lanka (92), China (56) and Vietnam (130).
Growth of Slum Capitals: In his 2007-08 Budget Speech, Finance Minister Chidambaram put forth a proposal to promote Mumbai as a world class financial centre and to make financial services the next growth engine of India. Of its 13 million population, Mumbai city has 54 per cent in slums. It is estimated that 100 to 300 new families come to Mumbai every day and most land up in a slum colony.
The cumulative FDI inflows (until September 2006) to the New Delhi region were of Rs. 27,369 cores and to Mumbai Rs. 24,545 cores. The two spots of New Delhi and Mumbai received 46 per cent of the total FDI inflows into India. The FDI inflows have in no way assisted in improving the health and environment conditions of the people. On the other hand, the financial capital of India and the political capital of India are set to become the topmost slum cities of the world.
To make Globalization WorkUnder the phenomenal growth of information technology which has shrunk space and time and reduced the cost of moving information, goods and capital across the globe, the globalization has brought unprecedented opportunities for human development for all, in developing as well as developed countries. Under the commercial marketing forces, globalization has been used more to promote economic growth to yield profits to some countries and to some groups within a country.India should pay immediate attention to ensure rapid development in education, health, water and sanitation, labor and employment so that under time-bound programmes the targets are completed without delay. A strong foundation of human development of all people is essential for the social, political and economic development of the country.
Though at present India appears to be dominant in some fields of development as in IT-ITES, this prosperity may be challenged by other competing countries which are equipping themselves with better standards of higher education. As detailed earlier, our progress in education has been slow and superficial, without depth and quality, to compete the international standards.
The government should take immediate steps to increase agricultural production and create additional employment opportunities in the rural parts, to reduce the growing inequality between urban and rural areas and to decentralize powers and resources to the panchayati raj institutions for implementing all works of rural development. Steps should be taken for early linking of the rivers, especially in the south-bound ones, for supply of the much-needed water for irrigation.
It should be remembered that without a sustainable and productive growth of the agricultural sector, the other types of development in any sphere will be unstable and illusory. Despite the concerted development in manufacturing and service sectors, despite the remarkable inflow and overflow of foreign reserves, agriculture is still the largest industry providing employment to about 60 per cent of the workforce in the country.
Mere growth of the GDP and others at the macro level in billions does not solve the chronic poverty and backward level of living norms of the people at the micro level. The growth should be sustainable with human development and decent employment potential. The welfare of a country does not percolate from the top, but should be built upon development from the bottom
References:1. Globalisation and Poverty: Centre for International Economics, Australia.2. Globalisation Trend and Issues T.K.Velayudham,3. Globalisation and India Lecture: Prof .Sagar Jain, University of N.Carolina.4. Repositioning India in the Globalised World Lecture: V.N.Rai5. Globalization of Indian economy by Era Sezhiyan6. Globalisation and India’s Business prospective Lecture Ravi Kastia.7. Globalisation and Liberalisation Prospects of New World Order Dr.A.K.Ojha, Third Concept An International Journal of Ideas, Aug 2002.8. Globalisation: Imperatives, Challenges and the Strategies.

Terrorism And Human Rights: Role Of The Security Personnel And The Police”

Terrorism And Human Rights: Role Of The Security Personnel And The Police”
Today, both the world at large and India in particular, face daunting challenges in the task of protecting human rights of common people regardless of the country they belong to. No country in world can be said to be free from the deadly scourge of terrorism. With the grim spectre of terrorism continuing to target innocent and defenceless people, the task has been ever challenging for the institutions around the world. A peaceful society rest on the pillars of justice and individual accountability. The concern for justice has been the paramount objective of this topic while dealing with vexed issue of terrorism. These are turbulent times in many parts of world. It has become apparent that in many ways, the world has become complicated, to say the least. The destinies and the interests of the nations and their citizens have become interlinked to such an extent that, invariably, the action of the one has adversely affected the other, leading to strife and suffering. In all such tragic situations, it has been mostly the common people, men, women and children whose rights have been violated. This is the greatest challenge, which all of us are faced with. In their constant endeavour for better future, nations and their citizens should always respect the human rights of the people who could be affected in the process. But experience has shown that more often it is not so. The result is that innocent people all over the world, irrespective of their colour, religion and creed, have suffered the most. It is important to understand the nature of terrorism and the way or the manner in which terrorism is treated by the world and the countries deploying the counter-terrorist measures belong to which school of thought.
The technology of inflicting large-scale violence is becoming easier to obtain, and - per quotient of lethality - less and less expensive.This in turn yields three lemmas:a. The target country has to be equipped to counter the entire spectrum of violence: to take the current examples from the United States - from aircraft being used as missiles to anthrax; b. It is almost impossible in an open society to block a determined lot from acquiring the technology they want by blocking the technology itself - the only practical way is to be a leap ahead of the technology the terrorist acquires;c. All this is certain to cost the target country a great deal - but that is the price one has to pay to survive in the world of today; to cavil at it is no better than an elderly couple that grudges the locks they have to put on doors in a city marred by crimes against the elderly.
The Two Schools of ThoughtThere are two schools of thoughts according to the strategies adopted by the countries in countering terrorism or on which counter terrorist strategies are based. The British school considers terrorism as a crime. How this school considers it as a crime is the strategy it employs such as there is more of police work along with intelligence services. These school patrons the protection of the individual rights i.e terrorist are handled through standard criminal justice system. This school has developed a nexus with the international organizations such as the Interpol and various other institutions to handle the situations of terrorism with co-ordination.On the other hand we have the second school of thought which considers terrorism as a War which is also known as a American school. Why is it called as an American school is evident from the notorious activity of America in handling terrorism i.e. by waging war. This school Treats terrorism as an existential threat and believes in using military assets and operations, Individual liberties are frequently threatened. Terrorist are either shot or imprisoned without judicial recourse, Based upon looking entire terrorist group(s) as a enemy rather than looking at each terrorist as criminal and bringing to the books. Example of this school can be Israel, Russia where as for British school it is Spain, India etc
Therefore, in my opinion a British School is preferred. The reason is that given a strong legal system, it is always better to de-legitimize the political agenda of the terrorists. At end of the day, the Madrid Bombers and the 7/7 bombers were pure and simple mass murderers. Why allow them to retain the cover of either religious or political reasons? Secondly, as evidence has confirmed, following the American school means international opprobrium. While the short term benefits of the American School are clear – you have a direct way of handling terrorists, you shoot them and they be damned, no silly rules of evidence collection, etc. – the long term impact on society, the international standing and respect, the diminution of the respect for law and order and finally the strong element of hypocrisy charges all combine to make this a less suitable option
Terrorism as threat to human rights and developmentIndia has had its share of terrorist attacks and is learning to live with it. Today, not only Mumbai and Delhi are high on list of terrorist but hi-tech hubs like Bangalore and Hyderabad have already begun to beep on the terrorist radar. If Mumbai was shaken by the serial blasts in the local trains which left hundreds dead and injured and Delhi was in shock at the bombing that took place in crowded shopping area, the attacks in India’s emerging high tech hubs like Bangalore and Hyderabad in previous years came as an eye opener.
Today what is new is the act that the terrorist has become more sophisticated and knows how to attack in places where it would hurt the most. Take for instance, the Mumbai blast orchestrating the seven blasts in a public transportation system is not the job of the amateur. The terrorist knows that India is globally emerging as an economic superpower in IT, BPO and even conventional businesses. Over the last couple of year, intelligence agencies have continually sent warning signals of militant groups planning attacks in Bangalore and the city going on high alert. Bangalore, where all the global giants like Intel, IBM, Motorola, HP have development offices, has more than 1,500 It and BPO firms. Several Indian defense, space and scientific research institutions are also based in Bangalore.
There are three reasons for terror activities in high –tech centers:(1) Terrorist feel they are sending signals to international investors that India may not be the safest place to be.(2) A significant number of US firms have operations here and when the militant tendency is to get back at the US, this is the one way of getting back.(3) Security is not as tight as it could be.
The terrorist is looking at the other means of attack i.e. through technology. There are many companies here that are working on mission critical applications for US firms. To hit back at the US government, all you need is to cripple the operations through technology and data theft.
We have in the last 15 odd years, seen 5 different kinds of terrorisms emerging in India. Of course the most significant one is the one we see on account of cross border insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir. The second is the Punjab which we saw in the 1980’s and was fortunate to have been able to overcome. The third we saw a severe problem in the south from the LTTE. Problems in the north east is continuing and the latest to join these categories is the kind of terrorism spread along the various parts of central India the Maoist insurgency from Andhra Pradesh.
In the four conventional wars that we have fought including the latest being Kargil war the total number of people who lost their lives i.e. security personnel is 9857, In last 15 years the number of civilians who have lost their lives to terrorism is 62,221, a figure almost 6 to 7 times more than those who have lost their lives in conventional wars. The security personnel killed in various terrorist actions is again over 9000. The total amount of money spent and this doesn’t include the amount that we spent on our security forces, army and so on, on merely relief and rehabilitation, on special Para military forces that we deploy for anti-insurgency the figure now crosses Rs45,000 cores.
More than 45,000 corers is what is deprived to our villages in terms of electricity and power, in terms of health care, in terms of education and in term of roads. The increase in budget on agencies involved in fighting terrorism since early 80’s is 2600 percent. Strong anti terrorist measures and methods which are employed as part of counter terrorism, the end result is what is normally a phrase used in areas affected by terrorism, a sense of alienation. When security forces act, the kind of propaganda which builds up results in alienation of people. despite that a sense of alienation can built in, because when terrorist strike them, people don’t like investing , where jehadis are moving with guns, even tradition income avenues suffer, sense of security suffers.
Role of security personnel in protection of human rightSection 2(d) defines as the right relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the constitution or embodied in the international covenants and enforceable by the courts in India. Since there has been an increase in number of cases of terrorist activities, communal riots, activities of naxalism the role of security forces have become paramount and necessary. These forces although play an important role in protecting the borders their requirement is even more necessary in controlling civil unrest, enhancing the security at the important places and also control and maintain law and order whenever required.
The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on December 17, 1979 that all security personnel shall respect and protect human dignity and uphold the human rights of all persons as well it applies to the armed forces, they have to abide by the international conventions against torture and other cruel punishments, principles of international cooperation in the detention, arrest, extraditions and punishment against humanity.
Implementation of security legislations led to a gross violation of human rights in several states. Widespread abuses of Armed Forces Special Power Act in the North East states drew a lot of criticism for ignoring impunity issues and recommending use of the Unlawful Activity Prevention Act. At least 400 people remained in jails under the repealed POTA and several continued to face special trials of proceedings of which failed to meet fair trial standards . The project deems to cover various issues relating to the violation of the Human rights by the security forces whether armed or unarmed. In the Guise of security cover violations are taking place.
The painful issue of how to protect human rights in times of terrorism and insurgency confronted the National Human Rights Commission within days of its establishment with the tragic death of civilians in Bijbehara, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, in the course of a firing by the Para - military force. The commission took suo - muto cognizance of the incident and after examining the reports, for which it had asked, concluded that excessive force had been used. There has been a strict vigilance by the commission on such kinds of violations. To cover more on the violations by the security forces and the kinds of complaints the NHRC has been receiving and also the measures taken by the commissions on such complaints we will make a brief study of the NHRC reports.
Role of policeOn 13 December 2001, a white ambassador with at least five armed men entered the Parliament complex. In the ensuing gun-battle, all the five attackers and nine others, including eight security personnel, were killed. The police investigation was concluded in a fortnight and four persons – one Mohammad Afzal Guru, his cousin Shaukat Guru, Shaukat's wife Afsan Guru (alias Navjot Sandhu) and SAR Geelani, a Delhi University Arabic lecturer were arrested; while three others (including usual suspects Ghazi Baba and Masood Azhar) were declared the masterminds of the attack. The designated POTA court convicted all four, sentencing all but Afsan Guru to death . Geelani and Afsan were later acquitted by the High Court and their acquittal was confirmed by the Supreme Court. Shaukat's sentence was commuted by the Supreme Court while Afzal's death sentence was upheld.
Arundhati Roy's introduction to this collection lists 13 disturbing questions that remain unanswered over five years and three court judgements after the incident . These include why the close circuit television (CCTV) recordings of the incident were never released; what was the role of the Special Task Force (STF, part of the J&K Police) in this incident given that Afzal was a surrendered militant and admitted to working for the STF; what was the 'incontrovertible evidence' that led the Government to amass soldiers on the border with Pakistan and why all we know about the five dead attackers is the (then) Home Minister L K Advani's statement that they looked like Pakistanis? Cumulatively, she argues and alleges that the unanswered questions suggest complicity, collusion and involvement of either the Government or some intelligence agency in the attack rather than mere incompetence in the subsequent investigation.
Roy calls for an impartial and independent inquiry into the Parliament Attack to reveal the truth about the incident. A similar call is voiced in a number of the other essays too. Given the otherwise ubiquity of committees and commissions set up (at last count three had investigated the Godhra incident, and at least five investigated various aspects of the 1984 Massacre of Sikhs in Delhi), it is surprising, to say the least, that none has yet been appointed to investigate the Parliament Attack. In fact uncharacteristically, not even the lapse of security, which allowed the white ambassador right inside the Parliament complex, has been investigated by an independent body. The Special Cell of the Delhi Police was curiously preferred by the Home Ministry to investigate this case over the CBI which would be the otherwise first choice agency . That and the absence of a virtually mandatory 'Commission of Inquiry', if nothing else, make it tougher to reject the 'collusion and complicity' argument as a mere leftist 'conspiracy theory'. In this collective national disinterest (and arguably selective amnesia), is played by the fact that a scapegoat is available. Not only has the judgement of the Supreme Court upholding Mohammad Afzal Guru's guilt and death sentence become the Holy Grail for all nationalists and self-declared protectors of the nation from terrorism; but the microscopic 'truth' that the Court has offered is deemed to be sufficient for most citizens. With the Supreme Court itself rejecting Afzal's 'confessional' statement as unreliable and also acquitting Geelani, there is no support to the police's sequence of events leading up to the incident. The 'mastermind' theory too is put to rest as the Supreme Court has not found Afzal to be a member of any terrorist organisation. . Afzal's arrest was suspicious. Though the police claim that Geelani led them to Afzal, according to court records the police flashed an alert for Afzal and Shaukat on 15 December at 5:45 a.m. – a full four hours before Geelani was arrested in Delhi. Afzal was eventually arrested at 11 a.m. the same morning in Srinagar, but his arrest and seizure memos are signed by Geelani's younger brother – in Delhi. The laptop allegedly recovered from him was not sealed for a month and accessed even after sealing by the police – enough time to add whatever they wanted. The evidence about Afzal purchasing the SIM card is unconvincing and the policeman who claimed to have recorded the phone instrument (IMEI) number stated in Court could not say how he knew the number. The call records produced in Court were dubious at best – they even showed that two calls were made at one particular time from two different instruments using the same SIM card. Cloned SIM or doctored records? Your guess is as good as mine. The identification of Afzal by various shopkeepers was not done by the usual test-identification parade but he was in fact taken to the shops by the police.
Non-recognition of poor legal representation of Afzal was not the only failing of the Courts. Upon his own acquittal, SAR Geelani remarked, as quoted by Haskar, "The acquittal of an innocent man is not an occasion for celebration, but a cause for reflection". Such reflection, as Haksar's essay shows, reveals this: though the Delhi High Court found no evidence whatsoever against Geelani and Afsan Guru and further observed that the police had not followed the procedures of arrest and even forged recovery documents and lied on oath, it still did not pass any strictures against the police officers, nor did it initiate or suggest any reprimands or other action against them. The failure to hold the police accountable was further compounded by the Supreme Court's unfortunate reference to 'needle of suspicion' while upholding Geelani's acquittal.
Since 2005, Chhattisgarh, especially the Bastar-Dantewada forest area, has witnessed escalation of violence between the Maoists and the Salwa Judum . Civilians were routinely targeted on both sides, resulting in at least 300 deaths. Also, 45,000 adivasis displaced from their homes have been forced to live in special camps putting them at increased risk of violence. The Chhattisgarh state government claimed that it enacted the CSPSA (Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act) to take action against the Maoists. Human rights organizations in India have demanded the repeal of CSPSA as it contains several provisions similar to those in POTA. These include:• Violation of the principle of certainty in criminal law (including vague definition of membership and support to terrorist or unlawful organizations);• Absence of pre-trial safeguards (including insufficient safeguards on arrest, the risk of torture, obstacles to confidential communications with counsel);• Virtual impossibility of obtaining bail as there is no provision for remedy of appeal or review of detention;• Threats to freedom of expression and• Threats to freedom of association.
Mentioned above are few instances where the police has been either negligent in conducting investigation or are colluding with the criminals. As declared by The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on December 17, 1979 that “all police officers shall respect and protect human dignity and uphold the human rights of all persons as well it applies to the armed forces, they have to abide by the international conventions against torture and other cruel punishments, principles of international cooperation in the detention, arrest, extraditions and punishment against humanity”, which is paramount in the functioning of the police is not abide by. Since time immemorial police have not been able leash it’s atrocities in spite of the commendable job done by them. Time and again National Human Rights Commission has been show causing the officials of the police as to why an action should not be taken against them. It is of utmost importance to understand various human rights of the individuals, the situations in which violations are likely if sufficient care is not exercised and the likely allegations or charges against personnel of Armed Forces as well the police. Laid down below catalogically are certain rights enshrined under Article 19 of the Constitution and how these rights are violated which further violate Article 14 of the Constitution.