Stiff penalty proposed for e-crime

Stiff penalty proposed for e-crime Stiff penalty proposed for e-crime TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2006 01:19:56 AM]

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NEW DELHI: The Cabinet has approved a proposal to amend the IT Act 2000 to check information theft and online frauds. The government’s move follows a spate of incidents of data pilferage and the negative impact on India’s image, threatening its position as an outsourcing destination. The proposed amendments will help check information theft and online frauds. The amendments to the IT Act 2000 will be introduced in Parliament during the winter session. Netting E-Culprits Up to five years imprisonment and Rs 10 lakh fine for publishing ‘sexually explicit material’, for the first offence Five-year imprisonment with fines for impersonation Fines and two-year imprisonment for sending offensive messages through PCs or other communications devices New sections to be inserted in Indian Penal Code for crimes like e-commerce frauds through wrongful use of digital signatures The move aimed at sending signals to those who outsource work to India that the country takes their security concerns seriously The Cabinet’s decision comes close on the heels of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s assurance to investors abroad that India was sensitive to their concerns about data theft and would plug the loopholes. Mr Singh had last week assured British investors of India’s excellent standards for information protection. The reassurance came in the wake of a UK-based channel’s allegations about data theft from Indian call centres. “Concerns have been raised both within the country as well as by the customers abroad regarding adequacy of data protection and privacy laws in the country,” Parliamentary affairs minister PR Dasmunsi said. “A need is, therefore, felt to strengthen the legislation pertaining to data protection and privacy,” the minister said. The security practices and procedures would be prescribed to be followed by body corporates and organisations and to enquire personal information of customers. The amendments are aimed at preventing computer misuse like video voyeurism, identity theft, e-commerce frauds like phasing, frauds on online auction sites, sending offensive emails and multimedia offences, Mr Dasmunsi said. The IT Act is aimed at boosting e-commerce in the country and also to create an enabling environment for e-governance. With proliferation of e-governance and other IT applications, security practices and procedures relating to such applications are proposed to be prescribed, Mr Dasmunsi said. There is also an emerging view that IT laws should be technologically neutral in line with the recommendations made by UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) Model Law on Electronic signature. Such proposal will promote development of alternative technologies for authentication of electronic records and will not warrant legislative changes each time a new and equally effective technology is evolved, the minister said.

In another decision, the Cabinet has empowered the managements of central PSUs to negotiate the wage structure with unionised workers from January next year. While the validity of the sixth round of negotiated wages expires on December 31 this year, the settlement that would be reached under the seventh round would be good for 10 years with 100% dearness allowance neutralisation, Mr Dasmunsi said.

Permission has been granted for negotiations on the condition that no burden would be borne by the government and the companies would have to generate funds from their internal resources by improving productivity and profitability. The wage revision must not result in any increase in labour cost per physical unit of output. However, PSUs running on full capacity could be exempted.

Public sector companies, which enjoy monopoly or operate under administered price structure, must ensure that the wage revision does not lead to a rise in prices of their products.

Mr Dasmunsi said sick CPSUs that have been referred to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) would continue to work on the existing policy guidelines. Until BIFR approves the revival plan for a PSU, in which provision has been made for additional expenditure on account of wage revision, no increase would be allowed.

Approval was given by the Cabinet to extend financial support from the Universal Service Obligation Fund to mobile telecom operators to create infrastructure in rural and remote areas.

The USO Fund, which till now provided for subsidy only to basic telecom operators for offering fixed line services in rural areas, would now cover mobile operators. The Cabinet gave its approval for recommending the promulgation of the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Ordinance 2006.

Other decisions by the Cabinet includes clearance for signing an agreement with Finland to enhance cooperation in the field of road transport. The agreement will be signed during road transport minister TR Baalu’s visit to Finland in November.