| PYQ Relevance
[UPSC 2024] e-governance is not just about the routine application of digital technology in the service delivery process. It is as much about multifarious interactions for ensuring transparency and accountability. In this context evaluate the role of the ‘Interactive Service Model’ of e-governance. Linkage: It links to the article’s focus on transparent, accountable digital systems instead of opaque, surveillance-heavy governance. The Interactive Service Model reflects the need for citizen-centric, rights-based e-governance highlighted in the article. |
Mentor’s Comment
Digital technologies now shape governance, welfare, and everyday life. But with this convenience comes an unprecedented rise in state and corporate power over personal data. This article analyses the emerging concerns around digital constitutionalism in India. This debate has been triggered by the government’s recent move to mandate the “Sanchar Saathi” app on all mobile devices, an order later rolled back amid public pushback
Introduction
India’s digital ecosystem is expanding rapidly, with AI, surveillance systems, and automated governance tools becoming central to state-citizen interaction. While these technologies promise efficiency, they also raise profound constitutional concerns regarding liberty, dignity, privacy, rule of law, accountability, and protection against arbitrary state power. The rollback of the Sanchar Saathi mandate has intensified public scrutiny of the balance between security and rights in the digital age.
Digital constitutionalism:
|
Understanding Digital Constitutionalism
- Constitutional Principles at Stake: Includes liberty, dignity, equality, accountability, and rule of law in a data-driven world.
- Invisible Surveillance Systems: Automated processes like KYC verification, welfare distribution, police databases, and algorithmic decision-making operate with limited transparency.
- Risk of Arbitrary Power: Technology enables governance without adequate accountability, transforming everyday life into a monitored ecosystem.
Why is the Surveillance Infrastructure Expanding?
- Growing Cybercrimes: Cyber-offences increased sharply (5.9 lakh to 20.4 lakh), pressuring the state to tighten digital security mechanisms.
- Dependence on Private Entities: Telecom, social media, and fintech companies mediate critical citizen services, increasing exposure to opaque data practices.
- State-led Technological Governance: Tools like digital ID systems, police databases, and AI-based profiling are becoming integral to governance.
Efficiency Gains vs Loss of Personal Control
- Behavioural Analytics: Hospitals, insurers, schools, and government platforms profile individuals, determining access to services.
- Voluntary vs Forced Choice: “Click-through” consent is often unavoidable, reducing privacy to a formal checkbox rather than meaningful choice.
- Data-Driven Governance: Decisions affecting rights increasingly rely on opaque algorithms, weakening personal autonomy.
Surveillance Technologies and Public Life
- Digital CCTV & Biometric Systems: Widely deployed across public spaces for administrative efficiency.
- Facial Recognition Misuse: Cases abroad show wrongful arrests based on faulty technology; biases against minorities, women, and children documented.
- Indian Context: Facial recognition is used frequently without clear legal safeguards; no comprehensive national law limits abuse.
The Legal System’s Inadequacy
- Outdated IT Act, 2000: Not designed for modern surveillance or data-driven governance.
- Weak Judicial Enforcement: Privacy guidelines exist but enforcement is inconsistent, making citizens vulnerable.
- Delayed Remedies: Courts, tribunals, and oversight bodies do not provide timely relief against digital rights violations.
Way Forward Rooted in Constitutionalism
- Independent Digital Regulator: Needed for adequate oversight on state and private surveillance.
- Mandatory Transparency: State and private devices must undergo regular audits.
- Limiting Facial Recognition: Clear rules restricting its use; ban for discriminatory or non-essential functions.
- Strengthening Rule of Law: Accountability tools, proportionality standards, and judicial review must govern technological deployments.
Conclusion
India stands at a crucial crossroads: digital innovation is reshaping governance, but without strong constitutional safeguards, it risks expanding unchecked state and corporate power. Digital constitutionalism must ensure that technology enhances democratic freedoms rather than eroding them. The path forward requires transparent regulation, enforceable rights, and independent institutional oversight to preserve the constitutional promise of dignity, liberty, and equality in the digital era.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
