Prelims 2017

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Day 34

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 Geography www.iasscore.in

UNIVERSE
All existing matters and space as a whole forms Universe. It was termed as Cosmos when first conceived
as an orderly unit and its study is called as cosmology.
It is believed to be expanding since its creation in the Big Bang about 13 billion years ago.
Normal matters all that are visible (star, planet and galaxies) make up less than 5 % of the total mass
of the universe rest are made of dark matters. These dark matters are not seen by the astronomers but
can study their effects.
THEORIES OF DEVELOPMENT

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Big Bang Theory
It is also called expanding universe hypothesis.

further and further apart. OR
Edwin Hubble, in 1920, provided evidence that the universe is expanding. As time passes, galaxies move

Later Big bang theory was proposed by Georges Lemaitre in 1927.

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According to this theory billion of years ago cosmic matters were in highly compressed state and
expansion started with primordial explosion which was bang in super dense ball. These exploded particles
are still travelling at a speed of thousands miles per second and gave rise to our galaxies.
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Steady State Theory

The steady state theory was governed by Hermann Boudi and Thomas Gold.
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It is also known as theory of continuous creation. According to this theory universe has always existed
and will always exist and will always look essentially the same, so there is no overall evolution thus
balancing the average density despite the expansion.
As old galaxies move apart the new galaxies are being formed.
Oscillating Universe Theory
The Oscillating Universe Theory was advocated by Dr. Alan Sandage.
This theory postulates that the universe not only expands but it also contracts. The time interval between
the two phases is presumed to be billions of years. It is a mixture of both Big Bang an Big Crunch theory.
GALAXY
A Galaxy is a large collection of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter bounded by gravitational force. At times
they are so big that they are called as Island Universe.
The studies related to the distant spaces with optical and radio telescopes indicate that about 100 galaxies
are visible universe.

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Structure and composition of Galaxies
Elliptical Galaxies - Elliptical galaxies can be classified on the basis of their ellipticity, ranging from nearly
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spherical (E0) to highly elongated (E7). These have low portion of open clusters and low rate of new star
formation.
Spiral Galaxies - Spiral galaxies have a central nucleus with great spiral arms trailing round it resembling
pin wheel. Andromeda Galaxy and Milky Way are the examples of such galaxy. The spiral arms are thought
to be areas of high-density matter, or "density waves".
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Irregular Galaxies - Irregular galaxies are youthful in nature with no sharp and boundary thinning out
gradually, these galaxies contain large amount of gas and dust. This type of galaxy is the result of
gravitational interaction or collision between formerly regular galaxies.
THE STAR FORMATION
The distribution of matter and energy was not even in the early universe. These initial density differences
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gave rise to differences in gravitational forces and it caused the matter to get drawn together.
These formed the bases for development of galaxies. A galaxy contains a large number of stars. Galaxies
spread over vast distances that are measured in thousands of light-years. The diameters of individual
galaxies range from 80,000-150,000 light years.
A galaxy starts to form by accumulation of hydrogen gas in the form of a very large cloud called nebula.
Eventually, growing nebula develops localised clumps of gas. These clumps continue to grow into even
denser gaseous bodies, giving rise to formation of stars.
The formation of stars is believed to have taken place some 5-6 billion years ago
A light year is a measure of distance and not of time. Light travels at a speed of 300,000 km/second.
Considering this, the distances the light will travel in one year is taken to be one light year. This equals to
9.461 1012 km. The mean distance between the sun and the earth is 149,598,000 km. In terms of light years,
it is 8.311minutes.
AU - The measurement unit used for large distance is astronomical unit (AU). One AU represents the distance
of 150 million Kms (the distance between earth and sun).
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Planets
The following are considered to be the stages in the development of planets:

The stars are localized lumps of gas within a nebula. The gravitational force within the lumps leads to the
formation of a core to the gas cloud and a huge rotating disc of gas and dust develops around the gas
core.

In the next stage, the gas cloud starts getting condensed and the matter around the core develops into small
rounded objects. These small-rounded objects by the process of cohesion develop into what is called
planetesimals. Larger bodies start forming by collision, and gravitational attraction causes the material to
stick together. Planetesimals are a large number of smaller bodies.

In the final stage, these large number of small planetesimals accrete to form a fewer large bodies in the
form of planets

SOLAR SYSTEM

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Solar System constitute of heavenly bodies revolving around an average star known as SUN.

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Our solar system consists of the sun (the star), 8 planets, 63 moons, millions of smaller bodies like
asteroids and comets and huge quantity of dust-grains and gases. The Nebula from which our Solar system
is supposed to have been formed, started its collapse and core formation some time 5-5.6 billion years ago
and the planets were formed about 4.6 billion years ago.
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Eight Planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune

Inner Planets - Out of the eight planets, mercury, venus, earth and mars are called as the inner planets as
they lie between the sun and the belt of asteroids

Outer Planets - the other four planets are called the outer planets.

Terrestrial Planets - Alternatively, the first four are called Terrestrial, meaning earth-like as they are made
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up of rock and metals, and have relatively high densities.

Jovian Planets - The rest four are called Jovian or Gas Giant planets. Jovian means Jupiter like. Most of
them are much larger than the terrestrial planets and have thick atmosphere, mostly of helium and
hydrogen.

The terrestrial planets were formed in the close vicinity of the parent star where it was too warm for gases
to condense to solid particles. Jovian planets were formed at quite a distant location. The terrestrial
planets are smaller and their lower gravity could not hold the escaping gases.

All the planets were formed in the same period sometime about 4.6 billion years ago. Till recently (August
2006), Pluto was also considered a planet. However, in a meeting of the International Astronomical
Union, a decision was taken that Pluto like other celestial objects (2003 UB313)discovered in recent past
may be called 'dwarf planet'. Some data regarding our solar system are given in the box below

The Moon

The moon is the only natural satellite of the earth. Like the origin of the earth, there have been attempts
to explain how the moon was formed.
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In 1838, Sir George Darwin suggested that initially, the earth and the moon formed a single rapidly
rotating body. The whole mass became a dumb-bell-shaped body and eventually it broke.
It was also suggested that the material forming the moon was separated from what we have at present
the depression occupied by the Pacific Ocean. However, the present scientists do not accept either of the
explanations.
It is now generally believed that the formation of moon, as a satellite of the earth, is an outcome of 'giant
impact' or what is described as "the big splat". A body of the size of one to three times that of mars
collided into the earth sometime shortly after the earth was formed. It blasted a large part of the earth
into space. This portion of blasted material then continued to orbit the earth and eventually formed into
the present moon about 4.44 billion years ago
Asteroid
A small rocky body orbiting the sun is termed as asteroid. Large numbers of these, ranging enormously
in size, are found etween the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, though some have more eccentric orbits. The
asteroid is categorized by their spectra, with most falling into three basic groups: carbonaceous (C-type),

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silicate (S-type), and metal-rich (M-type).
Meteor
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A meteoroid is a small rocky or metallic body travelling through space and range in size from small grains
to 1 meter-wide objects. When it enters the atmosphere to become visible is called as a meteor. It is also
known as "shooting star" or "falling star." One can see nearly 20 million of meteors in a day. On an
average nearly each day nearly one to two reaches Earth.
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The rings of Saturn

The rings are made up of countless small particles, ranging in size from micrometers to meters and orbit
about Saturn.
They are most extensive planetary ring system of any planet in the Solar System. The ring particles are
made almost entirely of water ice, with a trace component of rocky material. There is still no consensus
as to their mechanism of formation; some features of the rings suggest a relatively recent origin, but
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theoretical models indicate they are likely to have formed early in the Solar System's history.
Dwarf planet
A dwarf Planet is a planetary-mass object that is neither a planet nor a natural satellite. It orbits the Sun,
and is massive enough for its shape to be in hydrostatic equilibrium under its own gravity, but has not
cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.
The term dwarf planet was adopted in 2006. Currently, the International Astronomical Union (IAU)
recognizes five dwarf planets: Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, Seden and Eris.
Pluto as dwarf planet Pluto is called a "dwarf planet." A dwarf planet orbits the sun just like other
planets, but it is smaller. A dwarf planet is so small it cannot clear other objects out of its path. Similarly,
Pluto is in a region called the Kuiper (KY-per) Belt. Thousands of small, icy objects like Pluto are in the
Kuiper Belt. The orbit of which Pluto follows takes 248 days to revolve round the sun once and its oval
in nature. There are moments when it is nearest to the sun causing the ice present on the planet to melts.
Pluto having about one-fifteenth the gravity of Earth, its atmospheres altitude rises more than any other
planet
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Solar System - Key Facts

Biggest Planet-Jupiter
Blue Planet-Earth
Green Planet-Uranus
Brightest Planet-Venus
Coldest Planet-Neptune
Evening Star-Venus
Farthest Planet From Sun-Neptune
Planet with maximum no. of satellites-Saturn
Fastest revolution in solar system - Mercury

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Hottest Planet-Venus
Densest Planet- Earth


Fastest Rotation in Solar System - Jupiter
Morning Star-Venus
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Nearest Planet to Earth-Venus
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Nearest Planet to Sun-Mercury
Red Planet-Mars
Slowest Revolution in Solar System-Neptune
Slowest Rotation in Solar System-Venus
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Smallest Planet-Mercury
Earth's Twin-Venus
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 Indian Polity www.iasscore.in

CITIZEN CHARTERS
The Citizens' Charter is an instrument which seeks to make an organization transparent, accountable and
citizen friendly. A Citizens' Charter is basically a set of commitments made by an organization regarding the
standards of service which it delivers.
BENEFITS OF CITIZEN CHARTER
It enhances accountability by providing citizens with a clear understanding of service delivery standards,
including timetables, user fees for services, and options for grievance redress.
It increases organizational effectiveness and performance by making a public commitment to adhere to

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measurable service delivery standards.
It creates a way for both internal and external actors to objectively monitor service delivery performance.


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It creates a more professional and client-responsive environment for service delivery.
It fosters improvements in staff morale.
It decreases opportunities for corruption and graft by increasing transparency and educating citizens about
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their rights.!
It increases government revenues by ensuring that the money citizens pay for services goes into the
government's coffers (and not into employees' pockets).
PROBLEMS FACED IN IMPLEMENTING THE CHARTERS
As pointed out, the Citizens' Charters initiative in India had started in 1997 and the Charters formulated are
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in a nascent stage of implementation. Introduction of a new concept is always difficult in any organisation.
Introduction and implementation of the concept of Citizens' Charter in the Government of India was much
more difficult due to the old bureaucratic set up/procedures and the rigid attitudes of the work force. The
major obstacles encountered in this initiative were:-
1. The general perception of organisations which formulated Citizens' Charters was that the exercise was to
be carried out because there was a direction from the top. The consultation process was minimal or largely
absent. It thus became one of the routine activities of the organisation and had no focus.
2. For any Charter to succeed, the employees responsible for its implementation should have proper training
and orientation, as commitments of the Charter cannot be expected to be delivered by a work force that
is unaware of the spirit and content of the Charter. However, in many cases, the concerned staff were
not adequately trained and sensitised.
3. Sometimes, transfers and reshuffles of concerned officers at the crucial stages of formulation/
implementation of a Citizens' Charter in an organisation severely undermined the strategic processes
which were put in place and hampered the progress of the initiative.
4. Awareness campaigns to educate clients about the Charter were not conducted systematically.
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5. In some cases, the standards/time norms of services mentioned in Citizens' Charter were either too lax
or too tight and were, therefore, unrealistic and created an unfavourable impression on the clients of the
Charter.
6. The concept behind the Citizens' Charter was not properly understood. Information brochures, publicity
materials, pamphlets produced earlier by the organisations were mistaken for Citizens' Charters.
STEPS TO IMPROVE CITIZEN CHARTERS
Internal restructuring should precede Charter formulation: As a meaningful Charter seeks to improve the quality
of service, mere stipulation to that effect in the Charter will not suffice. There has to be a complete analysis
of the existing systems and processes within the organization and, if need be, these should to be recast and
new initiatives adopted.
One size does not fit all: This huge challenge becomes even more complex as the capabilities and resources that
governments and departments need to implement Citizens' Charters vary significantly across the country.
Added to these are differing local conditions. The highly uneven distribution of Citizens' Charters across States
is clear evidence of this ground reality.

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Involve customers in the creation of guarantees, standards, redress policies, complaint systems, and customer service
agreements: This is necessary to know what is important to the customer. It is prudent not to assume what the
customer wants. Customer surveys are useful here, but face-to-face contact with customers is even more
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important. Customer councils and different types of customer voice tools can be used for this.
Educate customers about the services that an organisation provides, so they will have realistic notions of what is
possible and will understand their own responsibilities: Often services won't work unless customers uphold their
end of the deal. e.g., tax agencies can't send speedy refunds if taxpayers don't fill out their returns completely
and accurately.
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Firm commitments to be made: Citizens' Charters must be precise and make firm commitments of service
delivery standards to the citizens/consumers in quantifiable terms wherever possible.
Redressal mechanism in case of default: Citizens' Charter should clearly lay down the relief which the organization
is bound to provide if it has defaulted on the promised standards of delivery.
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Periodic evaluation of Citizens' Charters: Every organization must conduct periodic evaluation of its Citizens'
Charter preferably through an external agency. This agency while evaluating the Charter of the organisation
should also make an objective analysis of whether the promises made therein are being delivered within the
defined parameters.
Benchmark using end-user feedback: Systematic monitoring and review of Citizens' Charters is necessary even
after they are approved and placed in the public domain. Performance and accountability tend to suffer when
officials are not held responsible for the quality of a Charter's design and implementation.
Hold officers accountable for results: All of the above point to the need to make the heads of agencies or other
designated senior officials accountable for their respective Citizens' Charters. The monitoring mechanism
should fix specific responsibility in all cases where there is a default in adhering to the Citizens' Charter.
Include Civil Society in the process: Organizations need to recognize and support the efforts of civil society
groups in preparation of the Charters, their dissemination and also facilitating information disclosures.
SEVOTTAM MODEL
Sevottam is a Service Delivery Excellence Model which provides an assessment-improvement framework to
bring about excellence in public service delivery. The need for a tool like Sevottam arose from the fact that
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Citizens' Charters by themselves could not achieve the desired results in improving quality of public services.
Besides, the absence of a credible grievances redressal mechanism within organizations was also becoming a
major impediment in improving service delivery standards. Thus, it was felt that unless there is a mechanism
to assess the outcomes of various measures, the reform initiatives would not yield the desired results. The
Sevottam model works as an evaluation mechanism to assess the quality of internal processes and their impact
on the quality of service delivery.
The Sevottam model has three modules. The first component of the model requires effective Charter
implementation thereby opening up a channel for receiving citizens' inputs into the way in which organizations
determine service delivery requirements. Citizens' Charters publicly declare the information on citizens'
entitlements thereby making citizens better informed and hence empowering them to demand better services.
The second component of the model, 'Public Grievance Redress' requires a good grievance redressal system
operating in a manner that leaves the citizen more satisfied with how the organization responds to complaints/
grievances, irrespective of the final decision. The third component 'Excellence in Service Delivery', postulates
that an organization can have an excellent performance in service delivery only if it is efficiently managing well
the key ingredients for good service delivery and building its own capacity to continuously improve service

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delivery.
An organization which meets Indian Standard 15700:2005 will be entitled for "Sevottam" certification, "Sevottam"

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being the Indian name for excellence in service delivery. This is known as Charter Mark Scheme. Given the
largely negative opinion prevalent about the quality of government services in the country, the implementation
of "Sevottam" is going to be a challenging exercise.
ARC Seven Step Model for Citizen Centricity
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Define all services which you provide and identify your clients.
Set standards and norms for each service.
Develop capability to meet the set standards.
Perform to achieve the standards
Monitor performance against the set standards.
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Evaluate the impact through an independent mechanism.

Continuous improvement based on monitoring and evaluation results.
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E-GOVERNANCE
The role of government is changing from a controller to an enabler but still is responsible for providing certain
services to the citizens, just like an organization is responsible for managing a value chain that leads to output.
The use of Information technology can make the provision of services to the citizen more efficient and
transparent and can save costs and lead to a higher level of efficiency. Thus the e-governance has come up
as a new buzz world in the service delivery mechanism of the government.
E-Governance is in essence, the application of Information and Communications Technology to government
functioning in order to create 'Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive and Transparent (SMART) governance.
The goals of e-Governance are:

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a) Better service delivery to citizens
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b) Ushering in transparency and accountability
c) Empowering people through information
d) Improved efficiency within Governments
e) Improve interface with business and industry.
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TYPES OF INTERACTIONS IN E-GOVERNANCE

E-Governance facilitates interaction between different stake holders in governance. These interactions may be
described as follows:
G2G (Government to Government) - In this case, Information and Communications Technology is used
not only to restructure the governmental processes involved in the functioning of government entities but
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also to increase the flow of information and services within and between different entities. This kind of
interaction is only within the sphere of government and can be both horizontal i.e. between different
government agencies as well as between different functional areas within an organization, or vertical i.e.
between national, provincial and local government agencies as well as between different levels within an
organization. The primary objective is to increase efficiency, performance and output.
G2C (Government to Citizens) - In this case, an interface is created between the government and citizens
which enables the citizens to benefit from efficient delivery of a large range of public services. This
expands the availability and accessibility of public services on the one hand and improves the quality of
services on the other. It gives citizens the choice of when to interact with the government (e.g. 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week), from where to interact with the government (e.g. service centre, unattended kiosk
or from one's home/workplace) and how to interact with the government (e.g. through internet, fax,
telephone, email, face-to-face, etc). The primary purpose is to make government, citizen-friendly.
G2B (Government to Business) - Here, e-Governance tools are used to aid the business community -
providers of goods and services - to seamlessly interact with the government. The objective is to cut red
tape, save time, reduce operational costs and to create a more transparent business environment when
dealing with the government. The G2B initiatives can be transactional, such as in licensing, permits,
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procurement and revenue collection. They can also be promotional and facilitative, such as in trade,
tourism and investment. These measures help to provide a congenial environment to businesses to enable
them to perform more efficiently.
G2E (Government to Employees) - Government is by far the biggest employer and like any organization,
it has to interact with its employees on a regular basis. This interaction is a two-way process between the
organization and the employee. Use of ICT tools helps in making these interactions fast and efficient on
the one hand and increase satisfaction levels of employees on the other.
This new paradigm focuses on the use of information technology to bring public services to the doorsteps of
citizens and businesses on the basis of revolutionary changes in institutional structures, procedures and practices
that would transform the relationships between our three levels of government, businesses and citizens.
MAJOR E-GOVERNANCE INITIATIVES IN INDIA
1. CARD (Computer-Aided Administration of Registration Department) of Andhra Pradesh
This project included the complete computerization of the land registration process in the state. It is being used

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to record the sale and purchase of properties, power of attorney etc. Within three years of the launch of this
project, nearly 90% of all registrations have been performed electronically in AP. It has been well received by

2. Mahiti Shakti of Gujarat OR

the citizens because it has helped them in saving their time and providing accurate and effective results.

It operates like a single window through which the citizens can access information related to all aspects of the
government's functioning, various schemes and services ranging from obtaining ration cards to getting sanction
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for old age pension. Citizens are required to submit the necessary documents at the Info Kiosk and fill the
required form online to obtain desired service.
3. Bhoomi project of Karnataka
Bhoomi is a self-sustainable e-Governance project for the computerized delivery of 20 million rural land
records to 6.7 million farmers through 177 Government-owned kiosks in the State of Karnataka. It was felt
that rural land records are central conduits to delivering better IT-enabled services to citizens because they
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contain multiple data elements: ownership, tenancy, loans, nature of title, irrigation details, crops grown etc.
In addition to providing the proof of title to the land, this land record is used by the farmer for a variety of
purposes: from documenting crop loans and legal actions, to securing scholarships for school-children. These
records were hitherto maintained manually by 9,000 village officials. Through this project, computerised kiosks
are currently offering farmers two critical services - procurement of land records and requests for changes to
land title. About 20 million records are now being legally maintained in the digital format. To ensure authenticity
of data management, a biometric finger authentication system has been used for the first time in an e-
Governance project in India. To make the project self-sustaining and expandable, Bhoomi levies user charges.
4. Friends project of Kerala
This project has been used to provide benefits of Information Technology to the day to day transactions of
common man. It is a "Single Window Scheme" in which the consumer can pay for the utility services rendered
to him by the various Government departments/ agencies, under a single roof.
5. PayGov India National Payment Service platform
DeitY along with NSDL Database Management Ltd (NDML) has created a common infrastructure that can
be used by Center/States/Departments to offer various services through their National / State portals with a
facility to make online payment using net banking, credit cards and debit cards. PayGov India offers a range
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of payment options through which a payment can be made by the citizen to avail a service. The different
options available to a citizen are: Net banking (approx. 65+ banks); Debit card; Credit card; IMPS; Cash
Cards/ Wallets and NEFT/ RTGS. This will provide One Platform for Payments and Settlement and Unified
process across all channels (Net banking/ Cards - Debit+ Credit cards/ IMPS/ Wallets/ Cash Cards).
6. EBiz Portal
Ministry of Commerce and Industry has announced the launch of eBiz, India's first Government-to-Business
(G2B) portal which aims at transforming and developing a conducive business environment in the country.
The portal which has been developed by Infosys in a public-private-partnership model will provide a one-stop
shop for providing G2B services to investors and business communities in India. The portal will also help in
reducing the delays and complexity in obtaining information and services.
Businesses that are already operating in India or planning to start operations can use the portal to obtain
licences, approvals, clearances, no objection certificates, permits and even for filing of returns.
It has an in-built payment gateway that will also add value by allowing all payments to be collected at one
point and then apportioned, split and routed to the respective heads of account of Central / State / parastatal

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(a quasi-governmental organisation, corporation, business, or agency) agencies along with generation of challans
and MIS (management information systems) reports.
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7. MCA 21:
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has implemented the MCA 21 Mission Mode Project under the NeGP in
September 2006 and presently the project is in the post implementation phase. The project aims at providing
easy and secure online access to all registry related services provided by the Union Ministry of Corporate
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Affairs to corporate and other stakeholders at any time and in a manner that best suits them. The goals of
this project were formulated keeping in mind different stakeholders. These were:
a. Business: to enable registration of a company and file statutory documents quickly and easily.
b. Public: to get easy access to relevant records and effective grievances redressal.
c. Professionals: to enable them to offer efficient services to their client companies.
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d. Financial Institutions: to easily find charges for registration and verification.

e. Employees: to enable them to ensure proactive and effective compliance of relevant laws and corporate
governance.
8. Maharashtra Crime & Criminal Tracking Network & Systems
Crime & Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) aims at creating a comprehensive & integrated
system for enhancing efficiency & effectiveness of policing through creation of a nationwide networked
infrastructure for evolution of IT-enabled state-of-art tracking system around "investigation of crime & detection
of criminals" in real time, which is a critical requirement for ensuring security.
9. Khajane Project in Karnataka
It is a comprehensive online treasury computerization project of the Government of Karnataka. The project
has resulted in the computerization of the entire treasury related activities of the State Government and the
system has the ability to track every activity right from the approval of the State Budget to the point of
rendering accounts to the government. The project was implemented to eliminate systemic deficiencies in the
manual treasury System.
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Thus it has contributed in bringing efficiency in the government and aids the decision making process.
CHALLENGES
Lack of technology and infrastructure
Poor Identification of beneficiary
Digital divide
Lack of last mile connectivity
Lack of indigenous technologies for cyber security

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RIGHT TO INFORMATION
The right to information is implicitly guaranteed by the Constitution. For the transparent functioning of the
democratic political system, the founding fathers of the Constitution included the provisions of the right to
expression in part three of the Constitution in the fundamental rights. While there is no specific right to
information or even right to freedom of the press in the Constitution of India, the right to information has
been read into the Constitutional guarantees which are a part of the Chapter on Fundamental Rights. However,
with a view to set out a practical regime for securing information, the Indian Parliament enacted the Right
to Information Act, 2005 and thus gave a powerful tool to the citizens to get information from the Government
as a matter of right.
The basic objective of the Right to Information Act is to empower the citizens, to promote transparency and

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accountability in the working of the Government, to contain corruption, and to enhance people's participation
in democratic process thereby making our democracy work for the people in a real sense. It goes without
saying that an informed citizen is better equipped to keep necessary vigil on the instruments of governance
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and make the government more accountable to the governed. The Act is a big step towards making the
citizens informed about the activities of the Government.
Salient features of the Act:
Information that can be seeked under RTI
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A citizen has a right to seek such information from a public authority which is held by the public authority
or which is held under its control. This right includes inspection of work, documents and records; taking notes,
extracts or certified copies of documents or records; and taking certified samples of material held by the
public authority or held under the control of the public authority. It is important to note that only such
information can be supplied under the Act which already exists and is held by the public authority or held
under the control of the public authority. The Public Information Officer is not supposed to create information;
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or to interpret information; or to solve the problems raised by the applicants; or to furnish replies to hypothetical
questions.
The Act gives the citizens a right to information at par with the Members of Parliament and the Members
of State Legislatures. According to the Act, the information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a
State Legislature, shall not be denied to any person.
A citizen has a right to obtain information from a public authority in the form of diskettes, floppies, tapes,
video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through print-outs provided such information is already
stored in a computer or in any other device from which the information may be e-mailed or transferred to
diskettes etc.
Information Exempted From Disclosure
Sub-section (1) of section 8 and section 9 of the Act enumerate the types of information which is exempt
from disclosure. Sub-section (2) of section 8, however, provides that information exempted under sub-section
(1) or exempted under the Official Secrets Act, 1923 can be disclosed if public interest in disclosure overweighs
the harm to the protected interests.
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The information which, in normal course, is exempt from disclosure under subsection (1) of Section 8 of the
Act, would cease to be exempted if 20 years have lapsed after occurrence of the incident to which the
information relates. However, the following types of information would continue to be exempt and there
would be no obligation, even after lapse of 20 years, to give any citizen-
(i) Information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the
security, strategic, scientific or economic interest of the State, relation with foreign state or lead to incitement
of an offence;
(ii) Information, the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or State Legislature;
or
(iii) cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other Officers
subject to the conditions given in proviso to clause (i) of sub-section(1) of Section 8 of the Act.
Right to Access
Any citizen, including overseas citizens of India and persons of Indian origin, can ask for information under

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this law. This right includes inspection of work, documents and records, taking notes, extracts or certified
copies of documents or records, and taking certified samples of material held by the public authority or under
its control.
Procedure for filling OR
The RTI process involves reactive .Each authority covered by the RTI Act must appoint their Public Information
Officer (PIO). Any person may submit a written request to the PIO for information. It is the PIO's obligation
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to provide information to citizens of India who request information under the Act. If the request pertains to
another public authority (in whole or part), it is the PIO's responsibility to transfer/forward the concerned
portions of the request to a PIO of the other authority within 5 working days. In addition, every public
authority is required to designate Assistant Public Information Officers (APIOs) to receive RTI requests and
appeals for forwarding to the PIOs of their public authority. The applicant is required to disclose his name and
contact particulars but not any other reasons or justification for seeking information.
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The Central Information Commission (CIC) acts upon complaints from those individuals who have not been
able to submit information requests to a Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer
due to either the officer not having been appointed, or because the respective Central Assistant Public Information
Officer or State Assistant Public Information Officer refused to receive the application for information.
The Act specifies time limits for replying to the request.
I. If the request has been made to the PIO, the reply is to be given within 30 days of receipt.
II. If the request has been made to an APIO, the reply is to be given within 35 days of receipt.
III. If the PIO transfers the request to another public authority (better concerned with the information
requested), the time allowed to reply is 30 days but computed from the day after it is received by the PIO
of the transferee authority.
IV. Information concerning corruption and Human Rights violations by scheduled Security agencies (those
listed in the Second Schedule to the Act) is to be provided within 45 days but with the prior approval
of the Central Information Commission.
V. However, if life or liberty of any person is involved, the PIO is expected to reply within 48 hours.
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Duty to Publish
The Act, in particular, requires every public authority to publish 16 categories of information. This includes
the particulars of its organisation, functions and duties; powers and duties of its officers and employees;
procedure followed in the decision making process; norms set for discharge of its functions; rules, regulations,
instructions, manuals and records, held by it or under its control or used by its employees for discharging its
functions; etc.
Appeals
If an applicant is not supplied information within the prescribed time of 30 days or 48 hours, as the case may
be, or is not satisfied with the information furnished to him, he may prefer an appeal to the first appellate
authority who is an officer senior in rank to the PIO. If still not satisfied the applicant may prefer a second
appeal with the Central Information Commission (CIC)/State Information Commission (SIC) within 90 days
from the date on which the decision should have been made by the first appellate authority or was actually
received by the appellant.
Sanctions and Protections

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Where the Information Commission at the time of deciding any complaint or appeal is of the opinion that
the PIO has without any reasonable cause, refused to receive an application for information or not furnished
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within the time specified or denied the request for information or knowingly given incorrect, incomplete or
misleading or distorted information it shall impose a penalty of RS.250 each day till application is received
or information is furnished subject to the condition that the total amount of such penalty shall not exceed Rs.
25,000.
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Positive outcomes
There is a growing realization within the bureaucracy that it can no longer be opaque in its functioning.
The tendency to hide information and take refuge under the Official Secrets Act 1923 is being slowly
eroded. For the first time, officials are being forced to be accountable to the citizens.
Even though the nature of implementation of the Act varies widely across states, most states have largely
complied with the provisions of the Act by (a) appointing PIOs and Appellate Authorities in public
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authorities (b) framing appropriate rules as specified under the Act (c) setting up Information Commissions
(d) taking up training programmes for supply side functionaries etc. At the central level, RTI has been
tagged into the NREGA and this has further helped the cause of accountability and transparency.
Although many of the Information Commissions have lacked much needed resources, by and large they
are functional authorities and increasingly playing the role envisaged for them.
There is evidently a slow but steady increase in the awareness of people of RTI. While there may have
been limited state level initiatives, many proactive district administrations have undertaken public awareness
drives to spread the message of RTI.
The civil society has played an important role in ensuring the implementation of the Act. There have been
pressure groups which have constantly advocated better implementation. At the local level, many NGOs
have done great work to build awareness and capacity among people. NGOs have also led by example by
filing RTI applications in important areas.
Simultaneously, the media has complemented the efforts of NGOs by devoting much reporting space to
RTI. While some have undertaken high publicity campaigns, others have run dedicated columns.
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While the usage profile is skewed towards the urban middle class segments, there are a increasing number
of reports of RTI being used in the rural context by the poor and the vulnerable segments to demand
information, with a view to realize their entitlements for jobs, education, health care, pensions etc.
Lastly, institutional mechanisms and capacities have been developed at national, state and local levels
which continue to aid and assist the implementing agencies and demand side institutions in the
implementation of the Act.

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NATIONAL CYBER SECURITY POLICY 2013

The "National Cyber Security Policy" aims at facilitating creation of secure computing environment and
enabling adequate trust and confidence in electronic transactions and also guiding stakeholders actions for
protection of cyber space.
The National Cyber Security Policy document outlines a road-map to create a framework for comprehensive,
collaborative and collective response to deal with the issue of cyber security at all levels within the country.
The policy recognises the need for objectives and strategies that need to be adopted both at the national level
as well as international level.

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The objectives and strategies outlined in the National Cyber Security Policy together serve as a means to:
i. Articulate our concerns, understanding, priorities for action as well as directed efforts.
ii.
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Provide confidence and reasonable assurance to all stakeholders in the country (Government, business,
industry and general public) and global community, about the safety, resiliency and security of cyber
space.
iii. Adopt a suitable posturing that can signal our resolve to make determined efforts to effectively monitor,
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deter & deal with cyber crime and cyber attacks.
Under the policy a National and sectoral 24X7 mechanism has been envisaged to deal with cyber threats
through National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC). Computer Emergency
Response Team (CERT-In) has been designated to act as a nodal agency for coordination of crisis management
efforts. CERT-In will also act as umbrella organization for coordination actions and operationalization of
sectoral CERTs.
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A mechanism is proposed to be evolved for obtaining strategic information regarding threats to information
and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, creating scenarios of response, resolution and crisis
management through effective predictive, prevention, response and recovery action.
The policy calls for effective public and private partnership and collaborative engagements through technical
and operational cooperation. The stress on public-private partnership is critical to tackling cyber threats
through proactive measures and adoption of best practices besides creating a think tank for cyber security
evolution in future.
Another strategy which has been emphasized is the promotion of research and development in cyber security.
Research and development of trustworthy systems and their testing, collaboration with industry and academia,
setting up of 'Centre of Excellence' in areas of strategic importance from the point of view of cyber and R&D
on cutting edge security technologies, are the hallmarks of this strategy laid down in the policy.
The policy also calls for developing human resource through education and training programmes, establishing
cyber security training infrastructure through public private partnership and to establish institutional mechanisms
for capacity building for law enforcement agencies. Creating a workforce of 500,000 professionals trained in
cyber security in the next 5 years is also envisaged in the policy through skill development and training. The
policy plans to promote and launch a comprehensive national awareness programme on security of cyberspace
through cyber security workshops, seminars and certifications with a view to develop awareness of the challenges
of cyber security amongst citizens.
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The policy document aims at encouraging all organizations whether public or private to designate a person to
serve as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) who will be responsible for cyber security initiatives.
Organizations are required to develop their information security policies properly dovetailed into their business
plans and implement such polices as per international best practices. Provisions of fiscal schemes and incentives
have been incorporated in the policy to encourage entities to install trustworthy ICT products and continuously
upgrade information infrastructure with respect to cyber security.

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CYBER CRIMES
Cyber-crime encompasses any criminal act dealing with computers and networks.
Some common cyber-crimes are:

a) Stalking:

Cyber stalking is use of the Internet or other electronic means to stalk someone

b) Hacking

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"Hacking" is a crime, which entails cracking systems and gaining unauthorized access to the data stored in
them.

c) Phishing

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Phishing refers to the receipt of unsought emails by customers of financial institutions, asked them to enter
their username, password or other personal information to access their account for some reason.

d) Squatting
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Cyber-squatting is the act of registering a famous domain name and then selling it for a fortune.

e) Software Piracy

It is an illegal reproduction and distribution of software for business or personal use. This is considered to be
a type of infringement of copy right and a violation of a license agreement.
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f) Cyber pornography

This would include pornographic websites; pornographic magazines produced using computers (to publish and
print the material) and the Internet (to download and transmit pornographic pictures, photos, writings etc).

g) Sale of illegal articles

This would include sale of narcotics, weapons and wildlife etc., by posting information on websites, auction
websites, and bulletin boards.

h) Cyber-terrorism

Cyber-terrorism is the adaptation of terrorism to computer resources, whose purpose is to cause fear in its
victims by attacking electronic resources.

i) Cyber Defamation

This occurs when defamation takes place with the help of computers and / or the Internet. E.g. someone
publishes defamatory matter about someone on a website or sends e-mails containing defamatory information
to all of that person's friends.
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Challenges in Monitoring Cyber Crimes

a) Server Location and Laws of Different Countries: Lack of Geographical Boundaries makes social media
regulation an arduous task. Major Complicating Factors to secure the networks and Media Much of the
hardware and software that make up the communications ecosystem is sourced externally.
b) Encrypted Message: Use of phones/whatsapp to send and receive messages, concerns the government
because the communications sent via such devices and applications are encrypted and could not be
monitored and consequently hinders the country's efforts to fight terrorism and crime.
c) Complicated Networks: The task of securing the networks is also complicated by the fact that much of
the infrastructure is in the hands of private companies who see measures such as security auditing and
other regulations and frameworks as adding to their costs. Source of Origin is difficult to find out.
GOI has launched National Cyber Security Policy 2013 which aims at protection of information infrastructure
in cyberspace, reduce vulnerabilities, build capabilities to prevent and respond to cyber threats and minimize
damage from cyber incidents through a combination of institutional structures, people, process, technology and
cooperation.

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ORGANIZED CRIME
Organized crime is defined as "those involved, normally working with others, in continuing serious criminal
activities for substantial profit, elsewhere".
Organized criminals that work together for the duration of a particular criminal activity or activities are what
we call an organized crime group. Organized crime group structures vary.
The core organized crime activity is the supply of illegal goods and services to countless numbers of citizen
customers.
It employs illegitimate methods-monopolization, terrorism, extortion and tax-evasion to drive out or control

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lawful ownership and leadership, and to extract illegal profits from the public.

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Types of Organized Crime
A. Drug Abuse and Drug Trafficking: It is perhaps the most serious organised crime affecting the country
and is truly transnational in character. India is geographically situated between the countries of Golden
Triangle and Golden Crescent and is a transit point for narcotic drugs produced in these regions to the
West, India also produces a considerable amount of licit opium, part of which also finds place in the illicit
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market in different forms. Illicit drug trade in India centres around five major substances, namely, heroin,
hashish, opium, cannibas and methaqualone.
B. Smuggling: Smuggling, which consists of clandenstine operations leading to unrecorded trade, is another
major economic offence. The volume of smuggling depends on the nature of fiscal policies pursued by
the Government.
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C. Money Laundering & Hawala: Money laundering means conversion of illegal and Ill-gotten money into
seemingly legal money so that it can be integrated into the legitimate economy. Besides, tax evasion and
violation of exchange regulations play an important role in merging this ill-gotten money with tax evaded
so as to obscure its origin.
D. Terrorism & Narco-Terrorism: Terrorism is a serious problem which India is facing. Conceptually,
terrorism does not fall in the category of organized crime, as the dominant motive behind terrorism is
political and/or ideological and not the acquisition of money-power. The Indian experience, however,
shows that the criminals are perpetrating all kinds of crimes, such as killings, rapes, kidnappings, gun-
running and drug trafficking, under the umbrella of terrorist organizations.
E. Contract Killings: The offence of murder is punishable under section 302 1PC by life imprisonment or
death sentence. Conviction rate in murder cases is about 38%. The chance of detection in contract killings
is quite low. The method adopted in contract killings is by engaging a professional gang for a monetary
consideration.
F. Kidnapping for Ransom: Kidnapping for ransom is a highly organized crime in urban conglomerates.
There are several local as well as inter-State gangs involved in it as the financial rewards are immense vis-
a-vis the labour and risk involved.
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G. Illegal-Immigration: A large number of Indians are working abroad, particularly in the duff region. Young
people want to move to foreign countries for lucrative jobs. Large scale migration is fostered by the high
rate of unemployment in the country and higher wage levels in foreign lands.
H. Prostitution: Trading in sex and girl-running is a very profitable business in which the underworld plays
an important part.

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Notes