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Environmental Management in Human System:
Who Counts and What Matters
-- V Rajyalakshmi
The efficacy of environmental management of any state depends quite heavily upon the extent to which the goal of environmental management gets integrated into the idea of a ‘national interest’. It is a historical reality that states so far have not recognized a higher authority than themselves. The state has an equally important role in establishing a system of global environmental management. State is the leading actor in international affairs. But the experience so far is that states have never acted as impartial or objective arbiters of international affairs. State’s actions at the international level too are guided by the concept of ‘national interest’. Thus, even during the Earth Summit when more than one hundred national leaders met to discuss the most significant issues related to world’s environment, each one of their speeches was obviously to audiences in their own countries and for their own domestic political purposes. © 2012 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Law Relating to Trade Secrets in India
-- A S Dalal
With the liberalization of the Indian economy, it is increasingly believed that adequate protection of intellectual property is a necessary element in encouraging foreign investment. With a weak patent law, the protection of trade secrets assumes great importance. The development of the law based on cases brought before the court on a particular point has created a certain understanding of how information is classified and why and the circumstances in which it is protected. Information can be classified as being confidential or public. Confidential information can be further classified as being a trade, government (for example, the Spy Catcher cases in England), or personal secret (as between a husband and wife), or as know-how depending upon the number and the class of people who have access to such information. © 2012 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
The Impact of RTI Act on Panchayati Raj Institutions
-- P Sailaja
The Right to Information (RTI) Act allows access to information held by all ‘public authorities’, including those that have been constituted or established by the Constitution. This means that Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), which are mentioned in Part IX of the Indian Constitution, are covered by the Act, thereby giving the citizens an additional tool to access information from these local bodies. PRIs function at the village level (Gram Panchayats), block level (Janpad Panchayats) and district level (Zilla Panchayats). The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act enabled decentralized governance through PRIs in rural areas. The right to information imposes a positive duty on government to disseminate information to the people, and extends the right to the people to seek and receive information held by government bodies (and some information from private bodies). Information is disclosed to the public in two different ways—proactively and upon request. The Act provides citizens the right to access government-held information, which includes panchayat information. The right to information provides that people should be able to access information from PRIs upon request, and that PRIs have a duty to proactively publish important information. The Act specifies certain types of information which cannot be given to the public, referred to as ‘exceptions’. Some of the proactive disclosures by the Panchayats for rural development are mentioned in this paper, i.e., National Institute of Rural Development (NRID) and Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY). © 2012 IUP All Rights Reserved.
Whistleblower Protection Act: An Overview
-- V G Ranganath
Corruption is a social evil which prevents proper balanced social growth and economic development. One of the impediments felt in eliminating corruption in the government and the public sector undertakings is the lack of adequate protection to the complainants reporting the corruption or wilful misuse of power or wilful misuse of discretion which causes demonstrable loss to the government or commission of a criminal offence by a public servant. The Law Commission in its 179th Report has proposed a Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Informers) Bill, which provides protection to whistleblowers. The Bill has provisions for providing safeguards to the whistleblowers against victimization in the organization. © 2012 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Employees in the Outsourcing Industry and the
Indian Labor System: Issues and Challenges
-- J Adinarayana
The Indian education system has played a key role in developing the skilled workforce required to capitalize on the wave of offshore outsourcing. India has a long history of organized education that goes back thousands of years in history. Prior to the British reign, India had a well-developed regional system. Much of this was uprooted and replaced with western structure and content. While much was lost in the transition, India emerged with a world-class set of universities including the famous Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). Though producing a limited number of graduates, IIT is considered one of the top technical universities in the world and, by some metrics, the most difficult to get into. © 2012 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
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