Re:Gmail banned in Indian government offices
by greenyoda on Saturday February 28, 2015 @01:32PM
(#9124523)
"The e-mail services provided by other service providers shall not be used for any official communication," the notification says..."
The U.S. government also mandates that official government e-mail accounts be used for official business, since we have laws that require the archiving of official communications (to avoid corruption, etc.).
For example, there was a controversy a few years ago when the head of the EPA, Lisa Jackson, was found to have been doing EPA business using the e-mail alias of "Richard Windsor", in an apparent violation of federal records laws.[1]
There are also industries like finance where laws mandate that e-mails must be archived for a certain period of time to make them accessible to regulators in case improprieties are alleged. Many other businesses also want to keep archives of employee e-mails in cases patent disputes or other lawsuits arise.
Re:Gmail banned in Indian government offices
by mc32 on Saturday February 28, 2015 @11:53AM
(#9124203)
No, they don't ban Gmail in particular, they banned all non-NIC email providers in general. This is not a focused ban, it's a general ban. Obviously they want to have editorial control over government employee generated information.
Re:Gmail banned in Indian government offices
by theshadowmonkey on Sunday March 01, 2015 @12:08AM
(#9126101)
When dealing with a lot of sensitive government data a lot of things can happen. It makes so much sense to ban widely used email services where appropriate. Indian media houses just try to make an issue out of nothing just to grab attention instead of concentrating on things that matter. These days media houses like times of India are becoming bad examples of responsible journalism. It's a shame.
Re:Gmail banned in Indian government offices
by denzil_correa on Saturday February 28, 2015 @02:07PM
(#9124642)
Oh no, not again. The amount of times this news has been circulated over the last 1-year is amazing.
August 30, 2013 : Cyberspying: Government may ban Gmail for official communication [0]
October 29, 2013 : Govt. mulls ban of official usage of Gmail, Yahoo [1]
March 27, 2014 : Centre asks for ban on Gmail, Yahoo and Facebook sites in government offices [2]
September 12, 2014 : Email services like Gmail and Yahoo! may be banned for government's official use [3]
I looked around for an official notification but could not find any. Usually, it is the DeitY (Department of Electronics & Information Technology) that issues such notifications and the latest one still makes NIC mails a "preferable" option over a mandatory ones [4].
Re:Gmail banned in Indian government offices
by leereeves on Saturday February 28, 2015 @12:39PM
(#9124353)
> monitoring online activities ... on official computers, block content which it feels is adversely affecting productivity ... and also have a right to delete e-mails or internet history
Is this unusual in India? In the US this is normal.
Re:Gmail banned in Indian government offices
by kornakiewicz on Saturday February 28, 2015 @02:04PM
(#9124634)
When I was working in American financial institution we got the same, all Google services (expect Youtube) were banned. I had a little experience in working for big companies, but I think it's pretty standard, isn't it?
Re:Gmail banned in Indian government offices
by DyslexicAtheist on Saturday February 28, 2015 @04:19PM
(#9125096)
could be additional reasons such as the fear of sensitive data being transmitted to a company notorious for it's close relationship with the US surveillance apparatus
The Indian railway ticketing system is bafflingly terrible.
I'd love to hear from people who live there about what it's like, and if there's any chance it can turn around. It's kind of surprising to me that India is not much more powerful than it is.
Re:Gmail banned in Indian government offices
by Sfi81 on Saturday February 28, 2015 @12:20PM
(#9124298)
Well i live in India and while I can't comment on "starting a business" etc, I must say that over past few years i have found IT enabled services (both government and private) refreshingly easy to use and in some cases superior to what i have found in developed markets -especially Europe. Train tickets are very easy to book online and you actually need only the text message with the confirmation number and a proof of identity to travel. Online tax filing now comes with many fields pre populated and corporates can now only file online - no paperwork. Seeing any registered company's annual filings takes about 5 mins to process. The providend fund is now online and so is passport application. When I've travelled abroad especially in Europe, i sometimes find their systems charmingly antiquated.
Re:Gmail banned in Indian government offices
by theshadowmonkey on Saturday February 28, 2015 @12:05PM
(#9124246)
Yes. Thats one of the things India needs to improve upon desperately. Despite all these there is huge potential considering the 1 billion population and the fast adaptation of new technology.
The U.S. government also mandates that official government e-mail accounts be used for official business, since we have laws that require the archiving of official communications (to avoid corruption, etc.).
For example, there was a controversy a few years ago when the head of the EPA, Lisa Jackson, was found to have been doing EPA business using the e-mail alias of "Richard Windsor", in an apparent violation of federal records laws.[1]
There are also industries like finance where laws mandate that e-mails must be archived for a certain period of time to make them accessible to regulators in case improprieties are alleged. Many other businesses also want to keep archives of employee e-mails in cases patent disputes or other lawsuits arise.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_P._Jackson#EPA_Administra...
August 30, 2013 : Cyberspying: Government may ban Gmail for official communication [0]
October 29, 2013 : Govt. mulls ban of official usage of Gmail, Yahoo [1]
March 27, 2014 : Centre asks for ban on Gmail, Yahoo and Facebook sites in government offices [2]
September 12, 2014 : Email services like Gmail and Yahoo! may be banned for government's official use [3]
I looked around for an official notification but could not find any. Usually, it is the DeitY (Department of Electronics & Information Technology) that issues such notifications and the latest one still makes NIC mails a "preferable" option over a mandatory ones [4].
[0] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/internet/C...
[1] http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/govt-mulls-ban-of-offi...
[2] http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/centre-ban-yahoo-gmail-so...
[3] http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-09-12/news...
[4] http://dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/2014%2012%2008%20Posti...
Is this unusual in India? In the US this is normal.
http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/india
They come 142nd out of 189 countries!
The Indian railway ticketing system is bafflingly terrible.
I'd love to hear from people who live there about what it's like, and if there's any chance it can turn around. It's kind of surprising to me that India is not much more powerful than it is.