Dear Reader,

The draft of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill, 2022, which was open to public feedback until last week, seeks to define the rights of the ‘digital citizen' and lay down the process the state has to follow if it is to intrude into the data.

However, MediaNama points out that the draft bill is wholly inadequate in critical aspects, especially when it comes to protecting minors. It identifies lacunae in the draft which restrict children’s ability to self-learn, affords new spaces for surveillance, and “lacks privacy by design”. It argues that the government needs to look into the details before it is tabled in Parliament.

Medical education in India is totally misaligned with the needs of the country’s health challenges. The India Forum asserts that what India needs is a complete overhaul of its medical education system and a policy that plans the needs of human health resources down to the districts. This is imperative if we are to achieve universal health by 2030 and take it forward thereafter.

As China continues to provoke skirmishes at the borders, this time in Arunachal Pradesh’s Galwan, it has been sticky going between the Centre and the opposition – each accusing the other of failures in the China policy. Swarajya counsels that what India needs is a “whole-of-nation” approach, without each blaming the other for past and current follies.

And, in a story published on 29 November, The Probe reported that crucial facts pertaining to the fragile ecology of the Gulf of Kutch had been ignored while preparing the Environment Impact Assessment for a proposed project for manufacturing soda ash. Two weeks ago, on December 7, the Union Environment Ministry’s Expert Appraisal Committee “returned” the application citing “multiple insufficiencies”, as the grantee’s story had highlighted.

For more such stories from the grantees this week, please read on.

Warmly,

Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF

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Seven Issues With How The Data Protection Bill Safeguards Children’s Data

The provisions of the draft Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill, 2022, are less than par when it comes to the interests and protection of minors. MediaNama analyses.

Read Here

How’s India Doing in Medical Education for Universal Healthcare?

The India Forum examines the poor state of health education in India in terms of quality and alignment with the requirements; and looks at what needs to be done.

Read Here

Three Things Government And Opposition Can Do To Build National Resolve And Deter China

The government and the opposition have to move in tandem and build a consensus if we are to counter China, Swarajya argues.

Read Here

The Probe Impact: Government panel returns Gujarat chemical complex’s environment report citing shortcomings

Citing multiple insufficiencies, the Centre has “returned” an application for setting up of a soda ash manufacturing facility in the ecologically fragile Gulf of Kutch region. The Probe had reported these lacunae in the proposal just last month.

Read Here

More from the grantees
#bihar में लगातार विफल हो रही है नल जल योजना. नाली का पानी पीते हैं ग्रामीण
In Bihar, the Nal-Jal Scheme launched to provide clean drinking water in villages seems to be faltering. Democratic Charkha reports from Pranpur village in Sheikhpura district, far from tapped water, villagers are forced to drink from a river into which the village drain empties.
संतरे के लिए प्रख्यात दार्जिलिंग में संतरा उत्पादन दम तोड़ रहा
Almost two decades ago, West Bengal, led by Darjeeling, was the fifth largest producer of oranges in the country, ahead of even Maharashtra. Now production has hit abysmal levels with the farmers impacted. मैं मीडिया reports from the orange groves of Darjeeling.
Judgment Pronouncement: Validity of Circumstantial Evidence in Bribery Cases
Supreme Court Observer analyses the recent judgment by the Supreme Court that public officials can be prosecuted and convicted for accepting bribes under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, “without direct evidence”.
Building liveable cities
By 2050, fifty per cent of India will be urban. This is when Indian cities are far from habitable -- inadequate housing, the abysmal state of sanitation, and a way below-par public health system. India Development Review looks at what can be done to make Indian cities liveable.

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