94-451: The Central Monitoring System , abbreviated to CMS , is a centralized telephone interception provisioning system installed by the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), an Indian Government owned telecommunications technology development centre, and operated by Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring (TERM) Cells . The CMC system is set up in each major state collocated with
188-461: A writ petition at the filing counter of the court or by addressing a letter to the Chief Justice of India , highlighting the question of public importance for redress. These are known as public interest litigations . India has a quasi-federal form of government, called "union" or "central" government, with elected officials at the union, state and local levels. At the national level,
282-729: A republic with a president as head of state, replacing the monarch and his viceregal representative, the Governor-General . It was based in large part on the Government of India Act 1935 , which was itself based on the uncodified constitution of the United Kingdom . It also drew notable inspirations from the constitutions of several other Commonwealth dominions and the French , Soviet , Japanese , German and American constitutions. India today prides itself in being
376-463: A FCC call-sign is prohibited by law. Ownership of amateur radio equipment and station operation on Indian territory of a US FCC call-sign obtained through ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (VEC) examination is illegal. Use of any category of radio equipment for plane-spotting requires permission from Wireless Planning & Coordination (WPC) wing of the DoT. Signal acquisition of any category within
470-564: A constitutional crisis. Thus, in practice, the Council of Ministers cannot be dismissed as long as it holds the support of a majority in the Lok Sabha . The President is responsible for appointing many high officials in India. These high officials include the governors of the 28 states ; the chief justice ; other judges of the supreme court and high courts on the advice of other judges;
564-553: A higher amount. The CMS was fast-tracked following the 2008 Mumbai attacks . However, it faced repeated delays and missed the original deployment deadline of the end of 2012, and the next deadline of March 2013. CMS was first announced publicly in a press release by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), dated 26 November 2009. The release lacked details on the system but stated that CMS was a "centralized system to monitor communications on mobile phones, landlines and
658-490: A member of one of the houses of the parliament. The cabinet is headed by the prime minister , and is advised by the cabinet secretary , who also acts as the head of the Indian Administrative Service and other civil services. Other members of the council are either union cabinet ministers, who are heads of various ministries; or ministers of state, who are junior members who report directly to one of
752-495: A new Lok Sabha . The most recent election was in 2024 . After an election, the president selects as prime minister the leader of the party or alliance most likely to command the confidence of the majority of the Lok Sabha . In the event that the prime minister is not a member of either House upon appointment, he/she is given six months to be elected to either House of Parliament . The first seeds of responsible government during British colonial rule in India were sown by
846-481: A quarter of the 543 elected members of parliament had been charged with crimes, including murder. Many of the biggest scandals since 2010 have involved high-level government officials, including cabinet ministers and chief ministers, such as the 2010 Commonwealth Games scam ( ₹ 700 billion (equivalent to ₹ 1.6 trillion or US$ 19 billion in 2023)), the Adarsh Housing Society scam ,
940-568: A reply to parliament question no. 595 on scope, objectives and framework of the CMS has struck a balance between national security, online privacy and free speech informed that to take care of the privacy of citizens, lawful interception and monitoring is governed by the Section 5(2) of Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 read with Rule 419A of Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules, 2007 wherein oversight mechanism exists in form of review committee under chairmanship of
1034-514: A strong privacy law, and advised Indian citizens to "take greater care of their own privacy and safeguard the security of their communications". Human rights and civil-liberties groups expressed concerns that the CMS is prone to abuse, and is an infringement of privacy and civil liberties. Critics described it as "abuse of privacy rights and security-agency overreach". Meenakshi Ganguly, the South Asia director of Human Rights Watch , felt that
SECTION 10
#17327915266481128-538: A trans-India telegraph was completed three years later in 1854. The telegraph had become, in the intervening thirty years, an important tool for British dominion over India by quelling rebellions and consolidating information. It was thus important for the British to have control of telegraphy and infrastructure across the subcontinent. Indian laws do not allow disclosure of information pertaining to court authorised interception and communications data. “Section 5 (2) of
1222-812: A valid permission of DoT may be detained and appropriate action in accordance with the law may be initiated." Indian media reports mention that National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) has capability to detect, intercept and record phone communications using land and satellite-based communications link monitoring systems. Scientists at Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) have cracked GEO-Mobile Radio Interface GMR-1 and GMR-2 encryption algorithms. NTRO and ISRO can access archived data from Technology Experiment Satellite (TES), Cartosat-2A and Cartosat-2B besides two Radar Imaging Satellites namely RISAT-1 & RISAT-2 . Amateur radio equipment can only be imported and operated in India with approval from Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing (WPC) of
1316-513: A vote in the house where he is not a member. A secretary to the Government of India , a civil servant , generally an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, is the administrative head of the ministry or department, and is the principal adviser to the minister on all matters of policy and administration within the ministry/department. Secretaries to the Government of India rank 23rd on Indian order of precedence . Secretaries at
1410-541: A whole is responsible to the Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha is a temporary house and can be dissolved only when the party in power loses the support of the majority of the house. The Rajya Sabha is a permanent house and can never be dissolved. The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected for a six-year term. The executive of government is the one that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of
1504-578: Is also the argument that the threat of a cyber attack is deliberately overplayed ... it is far-fetched. So there is a need for balance". Pawan Sinha, a human rights teacher at Delhi University, believes that bypassing courts was "really very dangerous" and could be "easily misused". Anja Kovacs of the Internet Democracy Project, and a fellow at the New Delhi-based Centre for Internet and Society, felt that there
1598-527: Is considered the lower house . The parliament does not have complete control and sovereignty , as its laws are subject to judicial review by the Supreme Court . However, it does exercise some control over the executive . The members of the Council of Ministers , including the prime minister , are either chosen from parliament or elected there within six months of assuming office. The council as
1692-479: Is mainly composed of the executive , the legislature , and the judiciary , and powers are vested by the constitution in the prime minister , parliament , and the supreme court , respectively. The president of India is the head of state and the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces , while the elected prime minister acts as the head of the executive and is responsible for running
1786-557: Is not feasible; the required interception of any message or class of messages shall be carried out with the prior approval of the Head or the second senior most officer of the authorized security i.e. Law Enforcement Agency at the Central Level and the officers authorised in this behalf, not below the rank of Inspector General of Police at the state level but the concerned competent authority shall be informed of such interceptions by
1880-597: Is the ex-officio head of the Civil Services Board, the Cabinet Secretariat , the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the head of all civil services under the rules of business of the government. The cabinet secretary is generally the senior-most officer of the Indian Administrative Service . The cabinet secretary ranks 11th on the Indian order of precedence . The cabinet secretary
1974-564: Is the government of the Republic of India , located in South Asia , consisting of 36 states and union territories . The government is led by the prime minister (currently Narendra Modi since 26 May 2014) who exercises the most executive power and selects all the other ministers . The country has been governed by a NDA -led government (a coalition of the BJP and its allies) since 2014. The prime minister and their senior ministers belong to
SECTION 20
#17327915266482068-403: Is the chief executive of the government and the leader of the majority party that holds a majority in the Lok Sabha. The prime minister leads the executive of the Government of India. The prime minister is the senior member of the cabinet in the executive government in a parliamentary system. The prime minister selects and can dismiss other members of the cabinet; allocates posts to members within
2162-602: Is to act following aid and advice tendered by the Prime Minister, who leads the Council of Ministers as described in Article 74 of the Constitution . The council of ministers remains in power during the 'pleasure' of the president. However, in practice, the council of ministers must retain the support of the Lok Sabha. If a president were to dismiss the council of ministers on his or her initiative, it might trigger
2256-467: Is under the direct charge of the prime minister . Presently, the Cabinet Secretary of India is Rajiv Gauba , IAS . India's independent union judicial system began under the British, and its concepts and procedures resemble those of Anglo-Saxon countries . The Supreme Court of India consists of the chief justice and 33 associate justices, all appointed by the president on the advice of
2350-485: The Chief Justice of India and 33 sanctioned other judges, it has extensive powers in the form of original , appellate and advisory jurisdictions . As the final court of appeal of the country, it takes up appeals primarily against verdicts of the high courts of various states of the Union and other courts and tribunals. It safeguards fundamental rights of citizens and settles disputes between various governments in
2444-504: The Chief Justice of India . The jury trials were abolished in India in the early 1960s, after the famous case KM Nanavati v. the State of Maharashtra , for reasons of being vulnerable to media and public pressure, as well as to being misled. Unlike its United States counterpart, the Indian justice system consists of a unitary system at both state and union levels. The judiciary consists of
2538-607: The Coal Mining Scam ( ₹ 1.86 trillion (equivalent to ₹ 4.2 trillion or US$ 50 billion in 2023)), the mining scandal in Karnataka and the cash-for-votes scandal . Indian Telegraph Act The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 was the enabling legislation in India which governed the use of wired and wireless telegraphy, telephones, teletype, radio communications and digital data communications. It gives
2632-838: The Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) banned the use of Thuraya and Iridium satellite phones and infrastructure in 2012; restrictions were already in place in 2010, for similar reasons, under provisions in the Indian Telegraph Act. Passengers importing satellite telephone as baggage shall be required to declare the same to the Customs on arrival at immigration and customs checkpoints. Circular No.37 / 2010-Customs states that "satellite phone declared to Customs shall be allowed clearance subject to production of permission for use from DoT, Government of India." (...) "Satellite phones imported for use in India without
2726-550: The Government of India exclusive jurisdiction and privileges for establishing, maintaining, operating, licensing and oversight of all forms of wired and wireless communications within Indian territory. It also authorizes government law enforcement agencies to monitor/intercept communications and tap phone lines under conditions defined within the Indian Constitution. The act came into force on 1 October 1885. Since that time, numerous amendments have been passed to update
2820-557: The Government of India Act 1919 , commonly known as the Montagu - Chelmsford reforms, which introduced a greatly expanded Imperial Legislative Council . It comprised a lower house, the Central Legislative Assembly of 145 members (of which 104 were elected and 41 nominated) and an upper house, the Council of State of 60 members (of which 34 were elected and 26 nominated). The next structural modification to
2914-471: The House in which they sit, they make statements in that House and take questions from fellow members of that House. For most senior ministers this is usually the directly elected Lok Sabha rather than the (mostly) indirectly elected Rajya Sabha . As is the case in most parliamentary systems, the government is dependent on Parliament to legislate, and general elections are held every five years to elect
Central Monitoring System - Misplaced Pages Continue
3008-417: The Indian Armed Forces . The President of India can grant a pardon to or reduce the sentence of a convicted person once, particularly in cases involving the punishment of death. The decisions involving pardoning and other rights by the president are independent of the opinion of the prime minister or the Lok Sabha majority. In most other cases, however, the president exercises his or her executive powers on
3102-638: The Indian Councils Act 1909 , commonly known as the Morley - Minto reforms. The Act introduced elections to the Imperial Legislative Council (then the unicameral Legislature for British India). Before that, governance was carried by an all-European Legislative Council and Viceroy's Executive Council . As such, no Indians were represented in government before 1909. India's current bicameral Parliament has its roots in
3196-540: The Supreme Court of India , high courts at the state level, and district courts and Sessions Courts at the district level. The Supreme Court of India is situated in New Delhi , the capital region of India . The Supreme Court is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal under the Constitution of India , the highest constitutional court, with the power of constitutional review . Consisting of
3290-477: The Union Council of Ministers —its executive decision-making committee being the cabinet . The government, seated in New Delhi , has three primary branches: the legislative, the executive and the judiciary, whose powers are vested in a bicameral Parliament , a prime minister , and the Supreme Court respectively, with a president as head of state. The Council of Ministers are responsible to
3384-571: The attorney general ; the comptroller and auditor general ; the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners ; the chairman and members of the Union Public Service Commission ; the officers of the All India Services ( IAS , IFoS and IPS ) and Central Civil Services in group 'A'; officers of the Indian Armed Forces ; and the ambassadors and high commissioners to other countries on
3478-505: The civil procedure code , the penal code , and the criminal procedure code . Similar to the Union government, individual state governments each consist of executive, legislative and judiciary branches. The legal system as applicable to the Union and individual state governments is based on the English common and Statutory Law . The full name of the country is the Republic of India . India and Bharat are equally official short names for
3572-473: The constitution empowers the union government to levy income tax , tax on capital transactions ( wealth tax , inheritance tax ), sales tax , service tax, customs and excise duties and the state governments to levy sales tax on intrastate sale of goods, taxon entertainment and professions , excise duties on manufacture of alcohol , stamp duties on transfer of property and collect land revenue (levy on land owned). The local governments are empowered by
3666-575: The head of government , the prime minister , is appointed by the president of India from the party or coalition that has the majority of seats in the Lok Sabha . The members of the Lok Sabha are directly elected for a term of five years by universal adult suffrage through a first-past-the-post voting system. Members of the Rajya Sabha , which represents the states , are elected by the members of State legislative assemblies by proportional representation , except for 12 members who are nominated by
3760-459: The Act clearly provides that ‘occurrence of any public emergency’ or ‘interest of public safety’ is a sine qua non for the application of these provisions. Neither of these are secretive conditions or situations. Either of the situations would be apparent to a reasonable person. Interception of communication by authorized Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) is carried out in accordance with Section 5(2) of
3854-616: The Cabinet Secretary at Central Government level and Chief Secretary of the State at the State Government level. The same mechanism is applicable for the interception under the CMS Project also. Additionally, there is an inbuilt mechanism of check and balance as Security Agencies/Law Enforcement Agencies cannot provision the target and the provisioning agency cannot see the content. Business Standard criticised
Central Monitoring System - Misplaced Pages Continue
3948-565: The Central Monitoring System which will facilitate and prevent misuse of lawful interception facility." The announcement was described as "muted" by Time magazine . On 9 March 2011, Minister of State for Communications & Information Technology, Sachin Pilot stated that the CMS was to be set up for the " Lawful Interception and Monitoring of communications to address the national security concerns. It will automize
4042-617: The Centre for Internet and Society, warned that the lack of privacy laws and government accountability makes the programme "very worrisome." Cyberlaw specialist Pavan Duggal stated that the "system is capable of tremendous abuse" and "even legitimate conversations could end up being tracked". Mishi Choudhary, executive director, Software Freedom and Law Center stated that, "There has been no public consultation on this issue. No one knows what they have proposed or whether it has parliamentary mandate. We don't even have empirical data on phone tapping from
4136-637: The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 or Section 5(2) of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 read with Rule 419 A of Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules, 2007. Earlier the provisioning of Interception of the Telephone was being done by the Telecom operators on the basis of duly authorized order by the competent authority in accordance with 419A telephone rule. Traditionally, the Law Enforcement Agency
4230-617: The DoT dated 10 June 2013, which reportedly said that CMS had "undergone successful pilots" and was "likely to be commissioned" by the end of 2013. The government began rolling out the CMS, state by state, in April 2013. In July 2013, BlackBerry granted the Indian Government access to its messaging services. It is presumed that CMS will be used to monitor these services, although it may be done through C-DOT's Lawful Intercept and Monitoring (LIM) system. It will make two amendments to
4324-657: The DoT. Indian amateur radio licence and VU- call-sign is mandatory for operating any category of amateur radio equipment within Indian territory. Indian amateur radio exams can only be taken by Indian citizens. Foreign passport holders can apply for reciprocal Indian licences based upon a valid amateur radio call-sign from their country of residence. Amateur Station Operator's Certificate and licences always bear mention of location of transmitting equipment. Portable and mobile amateur radio stations require explicit permission from WPC. Amateur radio operators from United States of America do not have automatic reciprocity in India. Use of
4418-555: The Government of India, who has been duly authorized by the Union Home Secretary or the State Home Secretary, as the case may be: Provided that in emergent cases: (i) in remote areas, where obtaining of prior directions for interception of messages or class of messages is not feasible; or (ii) for operational reasons, where obtaining of prior directions for interception of message or class of messages
4512-462: The Government; is the presiding member and chairman of the cabinet and is responsible for bringing a proposal of legislation. The resignation or death of the prime minister dissolves the cabinet. The prime minister is appointed by the president to assist the latter in the administration of the affairs of the executive. The Union Council of Ministers includes the prime minister, Cabinet Ministers and Ministers of State (MoS). Each minister must be
4606-752: The Indian Telegraph Act 1885 – read with rule 419 (A) of Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules 2007 obliges telecommunications service providers to maintain extreme secrecy in matters concerning lawful interception. Further, under Rule 25(4) of the IT (Procedure and Safeguards for Interception, Monitoring and Decryption of Information) Rules, 2009 (Interception Rules) and Rule 11 of the IT (Procedure and Safeguards for Monitoring and Collecting Traffic Data or Information) Rules, 2009 (the ‘Traffic Data Rules’), ‘strict confidentiality shall be maintained’ in respect of directions for lawful interception, monitoring, decryption or collection of data traffic,” The following rules were made under
4700-706: The Indian Telegraph Act to allow for intercepting and monitoring through the CMS and to allow "collecting, storing and analyzing message pertaining to information of any nature by the Telegraph Authority". In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 7 of the Indian Telegraph Act , 1885 (13 of 1885), the Government of India made Rule 419A of the Indian Telegraph Rules, 1951. Directions for interception of any message or class of messages under sub-section (2) of Section 5 of
4794-430: The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 read with Rule 419A of Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules, 2007. Following is the list of authorised Law Enforcement Agencies for Lawful Interception: Central Agencies Director General of Police , of concerned state/Commissioner of Police, Delhi for Delhi Metro City Service Area only. Call data records (CDRs) can be sought by following the statutory provisions contained in Section 92 of
SECTION 50
#17327915266484888-588: The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 shall not be issued except by an order made by the Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Home Affairs in the case of Government of India and by the Secretary to the State Government in-charge of the Home Department in the case of a State Government. In unavoidable circumstances, such order may be made by an officer, not below the rank of a Joint Secretary to
4982-484: The Republic of India in the Constitution, and both names appears on legal banknotes, in treaties and in legal cases. The terms "Union government", "central government" and " bhārat sarkār " are often used officially and unofficially to refer to the government of India. The term New Delhi is commonly used as a metonym for the Union government, as the seat of the central government is in New Delhi . The powers of
5076-591: The TERM Cells. Telecom operators in India are required by law to give access to their networks to law enforcement agencies. The Indian Government set up the Centralized Monitoring System (CMS) to automate the process of government-approved Lawful Interception & Monitoring of telecommunications. The Cabinet Committee on Security approved the project of CMS with government funding of INR 400 Crores. Pilot trials have been completed and
5170-470: The Union Home Secretary or the State Home Secretary, as the case may be. The Hon’ble Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional validity of interceptions and monitoring under Section 5(2) of the Act through its order dated 18.12.1996 in Writ Petition (C) No.256/1991 by People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) Vs. Union of India. It has also observed that the right to hold a telephone conversation in
5264-428: The Union government. Parliament is bicameral in nature, with the Lok Sabha being the lower house , and the Rajya Sabha the upper house . The judiciary systematically contains an apex supreme court , 25 high courts , and hundreds of district courts , all subordinate to the supreme court. The basic civil and criminal laws governing the citizens of India are set down in major parliamentary legislation, such as
5358-628: The act to respond to changes in technology. The legislation was repealed after the passage of the Telecommunications Bill 2023. The Indian Telegraph Act, passed in 1883, was intended to give the Central Government power to establish telegraph lines on private as well as public property. At the time the Act was conceived, India was still under the rule of the British Raj . Telegraph was first installed in 1851 and
5452-493: The advice of the prime minister. Presently, the President of India is Droupadi Murmu . The vice president is the second-highest constitutional position in India after the president. The vice president represents the nation in the absence of the president and takes charge as acting president in the incident of resignation impeachment or removal of the president. The vice president also has the legislative function of acting as
5546-413: The approving authority within three working days and that such interceptions shall be got confirmed by the concerned competent authority within a period of seven working days. If the confirmation from the competent authority is not received within the stipulated seven days, such interception shall cease and the same message or class of messages shall not be intercepted thereafter without the prior approval of
5640-526: The budget will be presented on the 1st day of February. The budget has to be passed by the Lok Sabha before it can come into effect on 1 April, the start of India's fiscal year . The Union budget is preceded by an economic survey which outlines the broad direction of the budget and the economic performance of the country for the outgoing financial year India's non-development revenue expenditure had increased nearly five-fold in 2003–04 since 1990–91 and more than tenfold from 1985 to 1986. Interest payments are
5734-431: The cabinet ministers, often overseeing a specific aspect of government; or ministers of state (independent charges), who do not report to a cabinet minister. As per article 88 of the constitution, every minister shall have the right to speak in, and to take part in the proceedings of, either house, any joint sitting of the houses, and any committee of parliament of which he may be named a member, but shall not be entitled to
SECTION 60
#17327915266485828-422: The chairman of the Rajya Sabha . The vice president is elected indirectly by members of an electoral college consisting of the members of both the houses of the parliament following the system of proportional representation employing the single transferable vote and the voting is by secret ballot conducted by the election commission . The Prime Minister of India , as addressed in the Constitution of India ,
5922-400: The country. As an advisory court, it hears matters which may specifically be referred to it under the constitution by the president. It also may take cognisance of matters on its own (or 'suo moto'), without anyone drawing its attention to them. The law declared by the supreme court becomes binding on all courts within India and also by the union and state governments. Per Article 142 , it is
6016-471: The duty of the president to enforce the decrees of the supreme court. In addition, Article 32 of the constitution gives an extensive original jurisdiction to the supreme court concerning enforcing fundamental rights. It is empowered to issue directions, orders or writs, including writs in the nature of habeas corpus , mandamus , prohibition , quo warranto and certiorari to enforce them. The supreme court has been conferred with power to direct
6110-504: The fact that a warrant need not be obtained. Firstpost criticised the lack of information from the government about the project and the lack of a legal recourse for a citizen whose personal details were misused or leaked. The Hindu also criticised the lack of information available about the system. The Indian Express criticised the introduction of the system in the absence of accountability and "any reasonably effective safeguards" to protect privacy. The Times of India criticised
6204-662: The governance of British India , the Government of India Act 1935 (the longest Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom until surpassed by the Greater London Authority Act 1999 ) was aimed at devolution of powers by establishing provincial governments and the creation of civil service institutions . However, it was unpopular amongst Indians and is considered a failure as it did not give Indians self-rule and permanent dominion status (the form of government followed in Canada , Australia and New Zealand ) as
6298-546: The government. It's like a black hole." Human rights activist Neingulo Krome described CMS as "a threat to democracy" and also felt that the agencies involved could "soon challenge the authority of the government itself". Government of India The Government of India ( ISO : Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India and colloquially known as the Central Government )
6392-416: The higher level are assisted by one or many additional secretaries , who are further assisted by joint secretaries . At the middle they are assisted by directors/deputy secretaries and under secretaries. At the lower level, there are section officers, assistant section officers, upper division clerks, lower division clerks and other secretarial staff. The Civil Services of India are the civil services and
6486-404: The internet in the country" and claimed that the project would "strengthen the security environment in the country". CMS was mentioned by Minister of Communications and Information Technology Kapil Sibal on 1 January 2011, while addressing the media to announce his 100-day agenda for the Indian telecom sector. Sibal mentioned it in passing, telling the media that "Steps will be taken to establish
6580-505: The introduction of CMS without public debate or Parliamentary accountability. The paper also felt that Indian privacy laws were "lax", and "far worse than American law on these matters". Forbes India pointed out that a consequence of CMS would be that innocent citizens could be wrongly accused of criminal activity. The New York Times argued that India did not need centralised interception facilities to have centralised tracking of interception requests. The paper also expressed support for
6674-519: The legislature in India are exercised by the Parliament , a bicameral legislature consisting of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha . Of the two houses of parliament, the Rajya Sabha (or the 'Council of States') is considered to be the upper house and consists of members appointed by the president and elected by the state and territorial legislatures . The Lok Sabha (or the 'House of the People')
6768-445: The move toward extensive "surveillance capabilities enabled by digital communications" suggests that governments are now "casting the net wide, enabling intrusions into private lives". Ganguly also felt that increasing surveillance around the world was an attempt by governments to "grapple with the power of social media that can enable spontaneous street protests". Praveen Swami , strategic affairs editor of Network18 , felt that "There
6862-402: The people themselves. But the handful of ministers is not expected to deal personally with the various problems of modern administration. Thus the ministers lay down the policy and it is for the civil servants to enforce it. The cabinet secretary ( IAST : Maṃtrimaṇḍala Saciva ) is the top-most executive official and senior-most civil servant of the Government of India. The cabinet secretary
6956-461: The permanent bureaucracy of India. The executive decisions are implemented by the Indian civil servants. In the parliamentary democracy of India, the ultimate responsibility for running the administration rests with the elected representatives of the people which are the ministers. These ministers are accountable to the legislatures which are also elected by the people based on universal adult suffrage . The ministers are indirectly responsible to
7050-521: The powers conferred by this section: The ownership and operation of satellite communications systems and amateur radio equipment is strictly regulated in India. Satellite phones have to either be purchased in India from an authorized distributor or can be imported into India after receiving permission from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Following the Mumbai terror attacks in 2011 ,
7144-508: The present manual system of interception and monitoring, which will enhance the secrecy of intercepted numbers and will cut down the delay in provisioning." On 15 October 2012, The New Indian Express reported that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had requested for authorization to access CMS once it became functional. The paper also stated that a pilot trial was underway. Mint cited an internal note from
7238-419: The president. India is currently the largest democracy in the world, with around 900 million eligible voters, as of 2019. In India, power is divided between the governments of the union and the states of India , the latter being ruled by the chiefs ministers . The state legislature is bicameral in five states and unicameral in the rest. The lower house is elected with a five-year term, while in
7332-538: The privacy of one's home or office without interference can certainly be claimed as "Right to Privacy", and accordingly, held that telephone tapping would infringe the Right to Life and Right to Freedom of Speech & Expression enshrined in Articles 21 and 19(1)(a) respectively of the Constitution of India, unless it is permitted under the procedure established by law. The Hon’ble Court further observed that Section 5(2) of
7426-425: The radio spectrum outside of public licence-free broadcast frequencies needs approval from Wireless Planning & Coordination (WPC) wing of the DoT. Reception of radio traffic from Government or law-enforcement and defence organisations is strictly forbidden. Import and operation of radio scanners or radio communications receivers capable of listening to HF VHF UHF and satellite aircraft or maritime radio frequencies
7520-469: The recommendations of the Council of Ministers, among others. The President, as the head of state , also receives the credentials of ambassadors from other countries, while the prime minister , as head of government , receives credentials of high commissioners from other members of the Commonwealth , in line with historical tradition. The President is the de jure commander-in-chief of
7614-494: The single largest item of expenditure and accounted for more than 40% of the total non-development expenditure in the 2003–04 budget. Defence expenditure increased fourfold during the same period and has been increasing to defend from a difficult neighbourhood and external terror threats. In 2020–21, India's defence budget stood at ₹ 4.71 trillion (equivalent to ₹ 5.5 trillion or US$ 66 billion in 2023). In 2009, several ministers are accused of corruption and nearly
7708-469: The state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the republican idea of the separation of powers . The executive power is vested mainly in the President of India , as per Article 53(1) of the constitution. The president has all constitutional powers and exercises them directly or through subordinate officers as per the aforesaid Article 53(1). The president
7802-405: The state government to levy property tax and charge users for public utilities like water supply , sewage etc. More than half of the revenues of the union and state governments come from taxes, of which 3/4 come from direct taxes . More than a quarter of the union government's tax revenues are shared with the state governments. The tax reforms, initiated in 1991, have sought to rationalise
7896-500: The system is anticipated to be progressively implemented from the end of the financial year. The 2007-08 annual report of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) stated that the requirements for the CMS project had been finalized by the Telecommunication Engineering Center (TEC), after deliberations with security agencies, and that the first phase of the project, covering the "national capital",
7990-456: The tax structure and increase compliance by taking steps in the following directions: The non-tax revenues of the central government come from fiscal services, interest receipts, public sector dividends, etc., while the non-tax revenues of the States are grants from the central government, interest receipts, dividends and income from general, economic and social services. Inter-state share in
8084-513: The telecom network. The TERM Cell who are the field unit of DOT and carries the enforcement and regulation of licensing conditions in the field will be sole authority to provision the interception orders but interception orders will be obtained by Law Enforcement Agencies in according to the 419A telephone rule. Government has set up the Centralized Monitoring System (CMS) to automate the process of Lawful Interception & Monitoring of telecommunications technology. Government of India on 2015-12-02 in
8178-480: The transfer of any civil or criminal case from one state high court to another state high court, or from a Court subordinate to another state high court and the supreme court. Although the proceedings in the supreme court arise out of the judgment or orders made by the subordinate courts, of late the supreme court has started entertaining matters in which the interest of the public at large is involved. This may be done by any individual or group of persons either by filing
8272-554: The union tax pool is decided by the recommendations of the Finance Commission to the president. Total tax receipts of Centre and State amount to approximately 18% of national GDP. This compares to a figure of 37–45% in the OECD. The Finance minister of India usually presents the annual union budget in the parliament on the last working day of February. However, for the F.Y. 2017–18, this tradition had been changed. Now
8366-411: The upper house one-third of the members in the house gets elected every two years with six-year terms. Local governments function at the basic level. It is the third level of government apart from union and state governments. It consists of panchayats in rural areas and municipalities in urban areas. They are elected directly or indirectly by the people. India has a three-tier tax structure, wherein
8460-484: The world's largest democracy , and the 4th largest economy in the world. Even though much remains to be done, especially in regard to eradicating poverty and securing effective structures of governance, India's achievements since independence in sustaining freedom and democracy have been singular among the world's new nations. The Government of India is modelled after the Westminster system . The Union government
8554-490: Was "a growing discrepancy and power imbalance between citizens and the state" and that in the Indian scenario, there were "no checks and balances in place". Sunil Abraham , executive director of Bangalore-based non-profit Centre for Internet and Society, advised Indians to "stop using proprietary software, shift to free/open source software" and "encrypt all sensitive Internet traffic and email using software like TOR and GNU Privacy Guard". Pranesh Prakash, director of policy at
8648-557: Was approaching the various telecom companies based on the numbering scheme of the target telephone number. In CMS setup there is no change in the Interception authorization order envisaged in 419A telephone rule except that now the Law Enforcement Agency will go to only TERM Cell for any interception order provisioning irrespective of telephone numbering scheme. There is no change in the existing LIS / LIM system in
8742-640: Was previously promised. Between midnight on 15 August 1947 and 26 January 1950 , India was an independent, self-governing dominion of the Commonwealth of Nations , a constitutional monarchy with a Prime Minister and a Governor-General as the viceregal representative of the head of state, George VI . Its unicameral legislature, the Constituent Assembly , was tasked with drafting the country's constitution. The Constitution of India came into effect on 26 January 1950 , making India
8836-420: Was scheduled to be implemented by 31 March 2008. It also stated that C-DOT had finalized the "scope, architecture and dimensioning of the network". The 2008-09 annual report stated that proof of concept had been demonstrated and that R&D activities for the project were "ongoing". The Government of India budgeted $ 150 million for the system as part of its 12th Five Year Plan , with Cabinet ultimately approving
#647352