Attention to NTDs, dream of an equal, accessible internet and the struggles of CIC -Governance Now

Attention to NTDs, dream of an equal, accessible internet and the struggles of CIC

Here is a list of stories from our magazine and website that you must read on the weekend

GN Bureau | April 29, 2017

#weekend stories #NTDs #Lokpal Act #access to internet #central information commission #national museum

A giant yellow inflatable schistosomiasis worm, with ‘Making Schistory’ printed on it, floated on Lake Geneva, marking the five years since the London Declaration on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Though in 2015 about 1.59 billion people received treatment for at least one of the 18 diseases that constitute NTD, blinding, maiming, disfiguring and debilitating their victims, the global attention on the subject has waned over the years.

Read: Of being impoverished and diseased

If it was needed at all, the supreme court has cleared the air. The Lokpal Act, it has ruled, is perfectly implementable even without the pending amendments. The interpretation from the apex court is welcome, but the government does not seem to be in any hurry to appoint the ombudsman in the first place. What is the history of the Jan Lokpal Bill? What can the government do to fight corruption?

Read: Lokpal can be set up without LoP, yes, but who’s in hurry?

Mozilla is working on two separate goals in net neutrality. One is to bring everyone online; ensure that everyone has access to the internet. The other is to ensure that the network should remain open and diverse. We want people to have access to the whole diversity of the internet and not just in some parts. The debate on neutrality has been playing in India for two years in a more developed way than anywhere else in the world.

Read: For a free and open access

With the help of Right to Information (RTI), the common man not only has the right to know, but also the right to question those in power. This is the foundation of democracy,” said prime minister Narendra Modi at the tenth anniversary celebrations of the Central Information Commission (CIC) in 2015.Come 2017, and the very tenet stands questioned. The commission is expected to help the country usher in transparency, but it stands accused of doing just the opposite.

Read: CIC’s changing status quo

To say that footfall in museums is declining will be a faulty assumption. Even with a vast array of digital platforms now available to view, study and learn about archaeological collections, the National Museum in New Delhi remains crowded with visitors including mostly school and college students, art lovers and tourists. Governance Now takes rounds.

Read: Where centuries meet

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