News Type: News

The National Law School of India University is excited to announce its Digital Public Records Project. The two-year research project is supported by Thakur Foundation, and will focus on research, engagement and policy advocacy to chalk out ways in which accessibility and transparency of public records can be improved in India.

Background

A key vision in the Union Government’s Digital India programme is ‘Universally Accessible Digital Resources’. Although the vision documents discuss open formats and interoperability, by focussing on resources rather than records, this articulation elides the question of the legal status of public information, and whether the government is obliged to provide accessibility across a range of data. 

Despite the existence of specific laws and policies, much work remains to be done before India can boast of meaningful access and use of public information to improve public accountability. In the absence of a normative framework that addresses the status of public records in the digital era, practices across government agencies have naturally varied widely. As a result, sharing of such public records largely fails to meet substantive goals of transparency and accessibility.

Project activities 

• Noting the fact that openness in digital government requires intervention from different fields and perspectives, the project will conduct an interdisciplinary conference involving people who work on these issues in different fields – archivists, historians, public policy scholars, civic tech and right to information actors, as well as data platform builders from public and private institutions. Their perspectives will help shape the agenda for the researchers in this project. Follow-up events will be conducted at the midpoint and end of the project as well with the same set of participants.
• The project also intends to publish a series of papers taking a deep dive into the practices of the executive when it comes to record-keeping. The focus will be on practices, policies, notifications etc., at the Ministerial or Departmental level, which form the most direct basis for the government’s handling of records. For this series, government records will be classified into broad categories, such as
  – Records that are legally public, such as subordinate legislation, public orders, policy documents, circulars etc.
  – Financial records
  – Internal government communication
  – External government communication
• With these inputs, the project intends to develop a draft framework law that harnesses experiences and approaches within and outside India, and attempts to clarify the legal status, standards and executive obligation with respect to public records in India.
• The project will also explore ways in which public tools and datasets can be built as demonstrations of the recommendations made. Efforts will be made to collaborate with interested institutions in this regard.

Call for Applications

Research Fellow

All roles are full-time based out of the NLSIU campus in Bangalore. Due to COVID related restrictions, engagement may begin on a remote basis.

Role Description

• Develop and implement the research agenda for the initiative under the supervision of the project lead.
• Conduct original, empirical research on identified issues
• Leverage new and existing advisory networks and partnerships across academic institutions, research organisations and government. 
• Participate in, and organise platforms for discussion of issues related to the research.
• Lead the dissemination of research findings and policy-relevant insights.

Who should apply

• A degree in law, and either a Masters degree or relevant post-qualification experience
• 2+ years of post-qualification academic or professional experience
• Excellent research, writing and communication skills.
• Familiarity with contemporary law and policy issues.
• Experience in designing and executing research projects will be preferred.

How to apply

Write to with the subject heading “Application for Digital Public Records Project” with – 

• Your CV
• A published writing sample or extract on an issue of law, technology or public policy (not more than 2000 words)  
• A short statement of purpose (not more than 500 words)

Deadline for applications is 18th July, 2021.

Sixty-year-old Rathnamma’s small frame belies her levels of enthusiasm that exceeds that of most younger students. She disarmingly asks all those she met in the NLS corridors “Oota Ayta” (Did you eat your lunch?) or “Yenu Naashta” (What did you eat for breakfast?).

Her association with NLSIU goes back right to its years of inception, and after working in the Lower Management Service in the University, Rathnamma retired from the University after 32 years of service.

Beginning of the NLS journey:

“My younger brother was working as an attender in the Bar Council Office when he met the NLSIU Founder-Director Prof (Dr) N R Madhava Menon, who employed him as an attender in the University. Prof Menon would enquire about our family from time to time and I would also help his wife with some work. He later offered me a job at the University. I joined NLS on March 13, 1989, a few months before my brother’s death. I worked in the Central College premises for about four years before the University shifted to the Nagarabhavi campus.”

Life at NLS:

“There were very few people on campus at the time and construction was still underway in the Nagarabhavi campus. Many current and former faculty members were young students when I started working here. I remember telling a few of them off for making a lot of noise during the evaluation process by the examination department,” she reminisced with a smile.

I used to help in sweeping and cleaning the premises, readying classrooms before the start of term and other such jobs on campus. I have helped across various departments but my primary work was an attender in the reception area. I would also check in on our faculty members if they needed anything from time to time. Several of them would bring snacks and even share it with me, which was touching.

After several years of service, Prof Menon said that I should be given easier jobs since I was older and so, the younger attenders were given the cleaning jobs. I was then shifted to the Examination department (now known as the Academic Administration department) where I have been working for the last 10 years. My daughter Mangala also worked with the Distance Education Department for a decade in the University.

Lemon tea, a speciality?

Rathnamma also seems to take great pride and joy in what she serves. “Several times, teachers would have lectured for long hours and would just want something warm and soothing for the throat. So, they would ask me to get them some hot water, tea, or coffee. Even the former Vice Chancellor Venkat Rao would tell me, ‘Whenever I come, you need to prepare some nice coffee for me’,” she said.

But Lemon tea seems to be Rathnamma’s specialty from how she describes it. “Many people had a habit of asking me for lemon tea. I usually make it with ginger, lime and some mint leaves.”

During this interview, when I expressed I had never gotten to taste this special concoction, Rathnamma promptly said “You come, I’ll make it for you!” And in less than an hour she had already made the lemon tea and brought it to my desk, stating, “You need not step away from your work. I will bring it to you.”

Fond memories:

“Several students took my phone number while leaving the University and even when they came visiting the campus, they would come see me every time, she recalled fondly. Recalling her interaction with members of the University, she said: “Prof Menon would call me “Nanna Magalu” (My daughter), and whenever he interacted, would check how I was doing and if anyone was giving me any trouble.”

Rathnamma also speaks Telugu quite fluently and she attributed this learning to Prof KC Gopalakrishna, a former faculty member at NLSIU. “He would speak to me in Telugu and I would speak to him in Kannada so both of us improved on the languages we didn’t know well,” she said.

Looking forward:

It’s been 32 years of service. I have also grown old and have the usual aches and pains that age brings with it. There is a time for retirement and one can’t keep wishing to stay and work when it is time to leave. It applies to everyone in any job no matter what the position. I am surrounded by my siblings and their families and now there is more time to spend with them. Now, I just want to stay home and relax.

The Governing Bodies of the University have reviewed and adopted the ‘NLSIU Inclusion and Expansion Plan 2021-25’(hereafter ‘Plan’) in April-May 2021. This Plan anticipates and responds to two key developments:

• Increasing student diversity by admitting students from various marginalized and disadvantaged sections of Indian society while expanding the University student intake in a phased manner;
• The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 encourages larger multi-disciplinary higher education institutions that enroll significantly higher numbers of students.

The University has developed a Strategic Plan to ensure that NLSIU consolidates and builds on its status as India’s No 1 Law University. The Strategic Plan rests on three key dimensions: Student Inclusion & Expansion, Faculty & Research, and Finance & Infrastructure.

Student Admissions – Inclusion and Expansion

NLS currently has 660 students enrolled in our on-campus programmes. By 2028-29, we aim to reach a projected size of over 2,200 students. Student intake will increase in existing academic programmes:
5-year BA LLB. – 1500 students
LL.M. – 120 students
MPP – 240 students

The University aims to reinvent the 3-year LLB programme using NLSIU’s unique curricular and pedagogical approach to legal education. This programme will commence with an intake of 120 students.

Further, the University is rapidly developing technology platforms for online and hybrid educational content in order to introduce several courses for pre-law, law students and professionals.

Simultaneously, the University will implement a new inclusion policy that provides for reservations for the following categories in a phased manner over the next four Academic Years.

Vertical Categories:
Scheduled Castes (15%)
Schedules Tribes (7.5%)
Other Backward Classes (27%)
Economically Weaker Section (10%)

Horizontal Categories:
Persons with Disability (5%)
Women (30%)
Karnataka Students (25% Compartmentalized)

In addition to these reservations, the University will develop a stronger Financial Aid policy and Academic Support programmes to ensure all students benefit from a transformative education at NLSIU.

2. Intellectual Leadership: Faculty and Research

In order to ensure that NLS maintains the highest academic standards of teaching and research we must recruit and retain the best faculty in various fields. We will strive to maintain a 1:15 faculty-student ratio across all programmes.

It also aims to develop a research faculty structure to engage scholars in research projects, and reorganise research publications to achieve and sustain internationally peer recognized scholarly output.

Further, the University will recruit a cadre of researchers to support and build on faculty research. The University will reorganize its journals and incentivize research on critical public issues. The University has identified five research clusters that are currently being developed:
1. Law, Technology and Society
2. Labour and Work
3. State Capacity and Reform
4. Justice and Legal System Reform
5. Climate Justice

3. Finance and Infrastructure

In order to remain a residential campus the University will need to expand academic and residential facilities. The Plan will utilize fee revenues from on-campus and off-campus academic programmes and research grants to provide for annual revenue expenditure. Further, the University will need to raise capital grants from the government, philanthropists, alumni and businesses to successfully implement this Plan.

In AY 2021-22 the University will move from the planning phase and take the first steps towards the implementation of this Plan. Simultaneously, we are reaching out to diverse stakeholders for further conversations, guidance and contributions to this Plan. Further updates will be available on the University website.

View official Press Release.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself/your background?

I am from Bangalore, and grew up in the city. After completing my Master’s program, I worked in the Technology, Media and Telecommunications practice at Nishith Desai Associates. I’ve spent the past few years working in research, and prior to coming to NLS, I was Director of the Centre for Communication Governance at National Law University Delhi. I am also a Senior Research Fellow at the Digital Asia Hub.

 What are your main areas of teaching? How did your interest in these areas begin?

I am starting off with Contracts. My work has largely focused on technology law and policy, and more specifically on the right to privacy. I’ve spent a lot of my time on the various kinds of arrangements that tech companies engage in, with their users and the several other organisations in the industry – first learning to read and draft these agreements, and then trying to understand the impact that they have on human rights. I am keen to use that experience in the classroom. In time, I hope to be able to teach courses that also deal with the many other aspects of technology and human rights that I’ve worked on in the past few years.

The importance of your chosen subject – Contract Law:

Contract law is a foundational subject for any law student. It is key to understanding how the law treats private / commercial arrangements. At the same time, given the number of products and services we consume on a daily basis in this age, contracts are also a part of everyday life for many of us. Irrespective of the path a student chooses in their legal career, they are likely to engage with contracts and contract law in many different forms, and I’m looking forward to working with the students at NLS on this subject.

Your thoughts on starting your teaching journey at NLS? What are your plans ahead?

I’m excited to be here, and look forward to engaging with the faculty, staff and students, a process which I’m sure involves as much learning as it does teaching. I hope to be able to work with the research community here at NLS, and build on my experience in studying the impact that technology law and policy has on individual rights and our society.