Free and fair: On the Election Commission, calls for transparency ( THE HINDU)
Free and fair: On the Election Commission, calls for transparency : The Election Commission of India must not view calls for transparency as attempts to undermine it.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) seems to have softened its stand about disclosing absolute numbers of booth-wise votes cast in elections. Last year, when the question arose in the midst of the multi-phase general election, the ECI took the position that it had no legal mandate to disclose details of Form 17-C, part one, which contains the total number of electors in each booth and those who had actually voted, to anyone other than the candidate or its polling agent.
In a recent hearing, it has said the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, who took over recently, is open to meeting representatives of organisations and individuals who have sought a direction to the ECI to upload scanned, authenticated and legible copies of Form 17-C on its website.
The Supreme Court of India has asked Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra and representatives of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) to give a representation to the ECI and seek a meeting. While it may not mean that the ECI has already agreed to make absolute numbers of voters universally available, it may result in evolving a system of disclosure about turnouts, both in terms of numbers and percentages. In 2024, the ECI did release some details about turnout through its voter turnout app, but it also became a source of endless speculation as the percentages given were seen to be unusually higher than what was disclosed at the close of polling.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) seems to have softened its stand about disclosing absolute numbers of booth-wise votes cast in elections. Last year, when the question arose in the midst of the multi-phase general election, the ECI took the position that it had no legal mandate to disclose details of Form 17-C, part one, which contains the total number of electors in each booth and those who had actually voted, to anyone other than the candidate or its polling agent. In a recent hearing, it has said the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, who took over recently, is open to meeting representatives of organisations and individuals who have sought a direction to the ECI to upload scanned, authenticated and legible copies of Form 17-C on its website.
The Supreme Court of India has asked Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra and representatives of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) to give a representation to the ECI and seek a meeting. While it may not mean that the ECI has already agreed to make absolute numbers of voters universally available, it may result in evolving a system of disclosure about turnouts, both in terms of numbers and percentages. In 2024, the ECI did release some details about turnout through its voter turnout app, but it also became a source of endless speculation as the percentages given were seen to be unusually higher than what was disclosed at the close of polling.
The prevalence of a difference of five to six percentage points between the turnout declared on polling day and subsequently revised figures, based on inputs from all booths, was noted at the end.
This is normally explained as the result of a delay in collation of data from all booths, including those located in far-flung areas. However, the petitioners before the Court argue that Form 17-C is collected by available booth agents by hand, and it would not be a major problem for election officials to scan and upload it within 48 hours. The main grouse of political parties and activists is that the discrepancies, in the absence of the absolute number of votes cast but with only turnout percentages in hand, would raise suspicions about the whole process when the final results are released.
The ECI has done well to offer to meet the petitioners on this question. There can be no dogmatic opposition to a procedural step to reduce the apprehension about any election being less than fair. It is futile to hold the position that every step demanding greater transparency in the electoral process is aimed at undermining its integrity or casting the process in a bad light. There ought to be a constant reassessment of existing procedures and practices to increase transparency and reduce the time taken to do so.
AI Model Training on Copyrighted Data Needs Public Review: Industry (ECONOMIC TIMES)
New Delhi: The Centre should ini- tiate public consultations to re view the legality of training Al models on copyrighted data, con sider necessary amendments to the Copyright Act, and clarify the scope of “fair dealing” in the copy- right law, the industry said in its submissions to the government developing Al governance guide
lines. The ministry of electronics and IT, which published the Al govern- ance guidelines development re- port in January, has since received more than 100 suggestions from the industry, it said in parliament on Wednesday.
“Clarity on the scope of fair dealings exception is essential, as its resolution would address broader con- cerns related to copyright infrin- gement involving training of Al models and Al-generated outputs,” said Nasscom in its submission.
It added that the govern- ment should issue guide- lines on issues such as the scope of computer-generated works and human authorship requirementsfor Al-generated works.
The industry will gain legal certainty from such measures, which will encourage Al adoption while protecting the rights of creators and developers, it said. The depart- ment for the promotion of indus try and internal trade under the commerce ministry, should initi ate talks on the issue, which have also taken place in countries like the UK, US, Hong Kong and Singa- pore.
“As technology evolves, it may be worthwhile to consider adapta- tions or new approaches to copy- right law that effectively address the unique challenges posed by generative AI,” said the Coali- tion for Responsible Evolu- tion of AI (CORE-AI), a mul- ti-stakeholder initiative on Al by tech policy think tank The Dialogue.
It added that privacy and transparency im- peratives need to be bal- anced. While full data- set transparency may not be feasible due to proprietary considerations that can give firms a com- petitive edge, platforms should enhance model transparency by providing high-level summaries of da- tasets used for training. Obligations may also unduly bur- den startups.
No wrong turns on land acquisition (ECONOMIC TIMES)
Land acquisition for expanding India’s crucial National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) network has long sparked controversy, with protests simmering in many states. The challenges are well-documented: lack of executive transparency, excessive bureaucratic control, inadequate compensation and insufficient rehabilitation measures, leading to protracted legal disputes. To speed up land acquisition and minimise disputes, GoI has proposed amendments to the National Highways Act 1956. One key proposal is to return land acquired for highway projects to the original owners if it remains unused for five years. The plan is awaiting Cabinet approval.