LS finally passes E-commerce bill

International Data Corp estimates India will have 7.5 million subscribers by 2003. Cable TV networks are estimated to aid a fast expansion of Internet to homes.

The bill would also enable the acceptance of electronic records and digital signatures in government offices and agencies. quot;This will make the citizens8217; interaction with the government offices hassle-free,quot; the government said in a statement.

India8217;s software industry estimates E-commerce transactions in the country, aided by the new law, will zoom to Rs 25 billion 568 million in the current 2000/01 April-March year from Rs 4.5 billion in the previous year.

The information technology bill, which also changes rules related to evidence and banking to help E-commerce, must now be passed by the upper house, the Rajya Sabha, but no hurdles are foreseen.

It then needs a stamp of approval from the president, which is considered a formality. In passing the bill, the lower house, the Lok Sabha, put behind worries linked to privacy and police harassment of Internet surfers and Web site firms.

However, concerns lingered among some members that police may misuse powers given them by the bill to search any public place and arrest without warrant anyone suspected of having committed a quot;cyber crimequot;.

Mahajan said that police needed reasonable ground to investigate and stressed that the bill specified that only policemen of high rank would be able to carry out such arrests. quot;If we remove this right for arrest of police, it would create many hurdles for us,quot; Mahajan said.

He said that special police task forces would be set up to deal with cyber crimes. Mahajan rejected the Opposition charges that it contained quot;draconian provisionsquot; and said the controversial recommendations by the Standing Committee monitor to cybercafes and register portals were never accepted by the cabinet at all.

Mahajan said special task forces would be set up within the police to deal with cyber crimes incorporating the recommendations of the standing committee even as Opposition members criticised the government for rushing through the Bill in a hurry.

On the provision allowing police officers not below the rank of DySP to raid and arrest without warrant for suspected cybercrimes, he said if it was deleted CrPC would apply to such offences making it more draconian. quot;If the house in its wisdom decides to delete the clause empowering DySP rank police officers to deal with cyber crimes, CrPC would become applicable to such casesquot;. It would be more dangerous as constables would have the powers to deal with such cases, Mahajan said.

However, he said, the entire police force has to be re-trained for making them computer savvy. quot;Unless the police is able to retrieve data from a computer, they would not be able to deal with crimes,quot; he added.

Agreeing to the Opposition criticism that some police officers might misuse the rules, Mahajan said the government could not delay a Bill just because of that reason. Such officers should be punished, he added.

Stating that the digital divide in India was one of the largest and biggest, Mahajan said the government8217;s mission was to take Information Technology to the masses. quot;We want to take it from South to North, from English language to regional languages,quot; he said.

quot;If we can do it now, in 10 years we will be global leader in Information Technology,quot; he said, adding, quot;it was not important that we become the leader or not, but it would help us serve our one billion population betterquot;.