Marching FinTech with PPI Interoperability
Introduction The Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 was introduced with the intent to regulate and supervise payment systems and designates the Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”) as the authority to do so. In furtherance of this, the RBI issued guidelines for interoperability on 16th October 2018 for all KYC-compliant Prepaid Payment Instruments (“PPIs”) such as payment wallets, […]
Live Streaming: Advancing the Principle of Open Justice
The e-Committee of the Supreme Court has released draft ‘Rules on Live-Streaming and Recording of Court Proceedings’ (“Draft Rules”) on 28th May 2021. The e-Committee has invited inputs, feedback and suggestions on these Rules that can be submitted till 30th June 2021. The aim of the Draft Rules is ‘to imbue greater transparency, inclusivity and foster access to […]
Media Reporting of Judicial Proceedings
‘Where there is no publicity, there is no justice. Publicity is the very soul of justice.’ The above quote embodies the open justice rule which is essential for a fair trial and has been affirmed several rulings like Naresh Shridhar Mirajkar v. State of Maharashtra, Kehar Singh v. State (Delhi Admn.) etc. In Mohd. Shahabuddin case, the Supreme Court talks about the advantages of […]
Regulation of Artificial Intelligence in Europe
Introduction European Union’s (“EU“) pioneering regulatory approach especially in the digital space has often been a role model for other countries. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is an example of this. Similarly, the EU draft Regulation for the purpose of governing the development and use of artificial intelligence (“AI“) released on 21 April 2021 is […]
Perceiving Spectrum Through NCLAT’s Lens
The recent order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (“NCLAT”) has caused worry to the debt-ridden telecom companies (“Telcos”) including Aircel and Reliance Communications. The order states that spectrum cannot be utilised without payment of dues to the government. It is now feared that once these dues are paid, then recovery from these companies […]
Post-Mortem Privacy
Recently, the Madras High Court (“MadHC”) stated that assertion of existence of posthumous right to privacy is ‘tenuous and amorphous’.1 The applicant sought to exercise the right to privacy on behalf of her late aunt. In this matter, while disposing off the application filed by the niece of the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu, […]
Responsible AI in Justice Administration
The launch of SUPACE (Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Court Efficiency), an artificial intelligence (“AI”) driven portal by the Supreme Court of India is in line with the confidence reposed by the Chief Justice of India (“CJI”) in these disruptive technologies.1 Last year, on National Constitution Day (November 26), he launched SUVAS (Supreme Court Vidhik […]
Health Data for Better Health Care
INTRODUCTION The alarming increase in incidents of data breaches has been a cause of worry. Facebook data breach has affected more than 500 million users worldwide.1 Big companies such as Yahoo, WhatsApp, Adobe have suffered from data breaches.2 Last year had caused a paradigm shift in terms of work culture and massively increased online activity.3 Breach of health […]
Pre-Package for MSMEs – Mitigating Distress with a Quicker Solution?
I. INTRODUCTION The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 (“Ordinance”) has come into force via Gazette Notification dated 4th April 2021. The Ordinance recognises the distress faced by micro, small and medium enterprises (“MSMEs”) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, as a mitigating measure it introduces pre-packaged insolvency resolution (“PIRP”) process for MSMEs to ensure “quicker, cost-effective and value maximising outcomes […]
The Curious Case of Non-Fungible Tokens
Sports, music, gaming, and other industries driven by increasing digitisation and higher internet usage are recognizing the emergence of non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) as a mushrooming revenue stream.1 Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey sold his first tweet for $2.5 million in a charity auction using NFTs.2 Closer to home, Indian cryptocurrency exchange, WazirX has launched a NFT marketplace for Indian artists […]