TOPIC-1: A prudent
decision.
Can computer programmes be granted
patents? On February 19, India’s patent office wisely answered this question in
the negative, putting an end to months of ambiguity over the patentability of computer programmes. In
this process, the patent office, called the Office of the Controller General of
Patents, Designs & Trade Marks, effectively reversed an August 2015
guideline that had triggered the ambiguity in the first place. Till that
guideline came, India’s stance on this
issue had been clear through a 2002 amendment to the Patents Act: that software
per se was not to qualify for patent protection. However, lawmakers also
recognised that the intention must not be to reject inventions involving
software that “may include certain other things, ancillary
there to or developed thereon”. Experts have interpreted
this exception to refer to innovations in both software and hardware. The
2015 guideline threatened to unsettle that nuance.
According to that, technical advancements could be sufficient grounds on
which to confer patents. Its nullification is welcome as such rules, though
seemingly on the side of innovation, do not enable a level playing ground. For
starters, the share of patents held by Indians has traditionally been low, and
it continues to be so. Also, the field of software is dominated by corporate
giants with deep pockets and significant expertise, and they can easily
‘out-patent’ the others out of business. The smaller companies and start-ups —
and there are far too many aspirants with that profile — then not only have to
spend huge sums of money to protect their work, but they also have to be
financially and operationally ready to defend themselves.
The patent office hasn’t left it at
just that. It has also issued a three-stage test to examine applications of
computer-related inventions. Step one is to interpret the claim. Once that is
done, step two is to deny the claim in
case the “contribution lies only in mathematical model, business method or
algorithm”. Step three is to assess if the invention is claimed in the field of
software in conjunction with a novel hardware. The important point to note is
the recognition that software in itself is never patentable. This is a prudent stance, because there are inherent problems in figuring out if software is
patentable or not. And this is true the world over. Germany and New Zealand
exclude software from patentability. In many other parts of the world, the
positions are nuanced, like the one taken by the European Patent Convention,
which does not entertain applications when they pertain
to computer programmes as such, but it does have an open mind when they
lead to “non-obvious” contributions. In
the U.S., a more open policy has led to a flood of patents, and consequently
the negative connotation that the term ‘patent thicket’ carries now. There is
a more important reason for holding back software from a patents regime. And this goes back to what MIT researchers
James Bessen and Eric Maskin showed many years ago: imitation promotes
innovation. Patents are a hindrance here.
VOCABULARY:
1.ambiguity
: the quality of being
open to more than one interpretation; inexactness.
2.stance : the way
in which someone stands, especially when deliberately adopted (as in cricket,
golf, and other sports); a person's posture.
3.ancillary :
providing necessary support to the primary activities or operation of an
organization, system, etc.
4.interpreted :
translate orally or into sign language the words of a person speaking a
different language.
5.nuance : a
subtle difference in or shade of meaning, expression, or sound.
6.confer : grant
(a title, degree, benefit, or right).
7.nullification :
the action of a state impeding or attempting to prevent the operation and
enforcement within its territory of a law .
8.deny : state that one refuses to admit the truth or
existence of.
9.prudent : acting
with or showing care and thought for the future.
10.inherent :
existing in something as a permanent, essential, or characteristic attribute.
11.pertain : be
appropriate, related, or applicable to.
12.non-obvious :
easily seen, recognized, or understood; open to view or knowledge; evident.
13.connotation :
an idea or feeling which a word invokes for a person in addition to its literal
or primary meaning.
TOPIC-2: Marshalling resources to
stay on track.
The
Railway Budget is notable both for the absence of big-ticket schemes and for
its quiet emphasis on process changes
that hold the promise of ushering in long-term improvements in the viability of the Indian Railways. Given the backdrop
of a shortfall in traffic receipts — exacerbated
by low freight demand from the core sector — Railway Minister Suresh
Prabhu’s projection of savings of Rs.8,720 crore compared with budget estimates
for the current fiscal year reflects a finance professional’s approach in
adopting austerity measures to contain
costs. Building on those gains, the budget has projected that notwithstanding
the substantial jump in salary and pension costs consequent
upon the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission’s recommendations,
the impact would be minimised to an 11.6 per cent increase in working expenses
next year. This will lead to a two percentage point rise in the operating
ratio. To address the resultant paucity of
funds for capital expenditure, the Minister plans to step up efforts to monetise various
assets, including land, and boost non-fare revenue, use the
private-public-partnership model more extensively, and work jointly with State
governments to both formulate and fund region- or city- specific projects.
Citing the international average of 10 to 20 per cent of railway network
revenues accruing from non-tariff sources, the budget sets a goal of bringing
that share on a par over the next five
years from the prevailing sub-5 per cent.
Mr. Prabhu has rightly realised that a major challenge is to recover lost
ground in freight haulage, where a
persistent decline has had a negative impact not only on the Railways’ finances
but on the economy as well. The approach enunciated
to address this spans three key tacks
— expanding the freight basket by moving away from dependence on bulk
commodities, rationalising tariffs to stay competitive and building terminal
capacity. From containerisation to
roll-on/roll-off, time-tabled freight trains, and long-term tariff contracts,
the budget has posited several steps to
regain the market share of the Railways in goods transportation.
Also
read:Railway Budget
Given the political constraints on
resource mobilisation the Railways faces in a year of a major round of Assembly
elections, Mr. Prabhu has taken a therapeutic approach to ensure a long-term
solution. Aware that the success of any plans would hinge
on their execution, he has spelt out initiatives to restructure
operational management and processes. The Railway Board is to be reorganised
along business lines with cross-functional teams focussed on areas such as
non-fare revenues, speed enhancement and information technology. Seven missions
to set horizon-based agendas have been proposed. While the objectives appear
achievable, Mr. Prabhu’s challenge will be to bring them to fruition,
especially because many potential partners, including cash-strapped State governments, may be hard-pressed to
find the money.
VOCABULARY
1.emphasis : special importance, value, or prominence given
to something.
2.ushering : show or guide (someone) somewhere.
3.viability : Capable of success or continuing effectiveness.
4.exacerbated : make (a problem, bad situation, or negative feeling) worse.
5.austerity : difficult
economic conditions created by government measures to reduce public
expenditure.
6.consequent : (of a stream or valley) having a direction or character determined by
the original slope of the land before erosion.
7.paucity :
the presence of something in only small or insufficient quantities or amounts.
8.monetise : convert into or express in the form of currency.
9.par :
the face value of a share or other security, as distinct from its market value.
10. prevailing : existing at a particular time;
current.
11.haulage : the commercial transport of goods.
12.enunciated : express (a proposition, theory,
etc.) in clear or definite terms.
13.spans :
the full extent of something from end to end; the amount of space that
something covers.
14.containerisation : a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers
(also called shipping containers and ISO containers) made of weathering steel.
15.posited:
put forward as fact or as a basis for argument.
16.hinge :
a movable joint or mechanism on which a door, gate, or lid swings as it opens
and closes or which connects linked objects.
17.fruition : the realization or fulfilment of a plan or project.
18.strapped : short of money.
