A welcome move: On India’s net neutrality regulations
India will now have among the strongest net neutrality regulations
In a vital(महत्वपूर्ण/जीवनाधार) decision that will help secure(सुरक्षित) the rights of Internet users in the country, the Telecom Commission has approved the recommendations(सिफारिशें/प्रशंसा) of the Telecom Regulatory Authority(अधिकार) of India (TRAI) on net neutrality(निष्पक्षता/तटस्थता). By endorsing(पुष्टि/समर्थन करना )steps that call for amendments(संशोधन/सुधार) to access services licences for Internet Service Providers(प्रदान करनेवाला/कमाऊ) (ISPs) and Telecom Operators, the Commission has made it clear that any violation(बाधा/उल्लंघन) of net neutrality will be treated(इलाज किया) as a violation of the licence conditions(परिस्थिति). It has said that some specialised(विशेषीकृत) and emerging(उभरती हुई ) services such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) may be exempt(मुक्त/छूट देना) from the non-discriminatory(गैर-भेदभाव ) principles(सिद्धांतों से), but these cannot be at the cost of the overall(संपूर्ण/समग्र ) quality of Internet access. Combining(मिलाना/संघटित करना) this approval with the fact that TRAI had barred(वर्जित/बाधित) telecom service providers from charging differential rates for data services (zero rating, for example), India will now have among(के बीच में) the strongest(सबसे मजबूत/शक्तिशाली) net neutrality regulations. This is as it should be. Net neutrality is the basic principle of an open Internet that does not allow for content discrimination(भेदभाव/पक्षपात) by ISPs. The user is free to access any web location at the same paid-for speed without any discrimination by the ISP.
This proviso(नियम/शर्त) has helped democratise(लोकतांत्रिक /प्रजातंत्रीय बनाना) the Internet and undergird its growth from a networked system of computers that enabled e-commerce, social interaction(संपर्क/बातचीत), knowledge flow and entertainment, among other functions. Internet pioneers(मार्ग-निर्माता/अगुआ) — including(समेत/सहित) World Wide Web inventor(आविष्कारक) Tim Berners-Lee and Transmission Control Protocol/IP Protocol co-inventor Vint Cerf — have consistently(लगातार) maintained(बनाए रखा) that the principle of net neutrality is built(बनाना/निर्माण करना) into the structure of the Internet itself. The layers(तह/परत) and protocols(रिपोर्ट) for connectivity(संयोजकता) via the network have been erected(स्थापित/निर्माण किया) in such a way that access(पहुंच/प्रवेश) is seamless(निर्बाध/अखंड) irrespective(बावजूद) of the nature of the physical infrastructure of the network. It is to the credit of the Telecom Commission and TRAI that this principle has been upheld(बरकरार) in India — in contrast, in the U.S., on President Donald Trump’s watch, the Federal Communications(संचार-व्यवस्था/यातायातमार्ग)Commission repealed(को निरस्त कर दिया) net neutrality regulations that had been put in place by the Barack Obama administration. The repeal was ostensibly(जाहिरा तौर पर) to allow ISPs and broadband providers to invest in new technology although evidence(सबूत/प्रमाण) shows that such investment was not affected(प्रभावित) by the regulations. The other argument(तर्क/युक्ति) for the repeal has been a functional(कार्यात्मक ) one, suggesting(प्रस्तावित करना) that the Internet is very different today, controlled by a handful of big companies, unlike the much more egalitarian(समतावादी/समानाधिकारवादी)environment earlier; and that therefore, the principle is redundant(निरर्थक/व्यर्थ) now. This is misleading(बहकानेवाला/धोखे से भरा हुआ). In India, for instance(उदाहरण के लिए,), the steep growth in Internet access and use has allowed for newer services to thrive(कामयाब/बढ़ना). The government should now ensure(सुनिश्चित/आश्वस्त करना) that net neutrality is followed in practice.
Important Vocabulary
1.Vital(महत्वपूर्ण/जीवनाधार
Synonyms: basic, critical, crucial, decisive, fundamental
Antonyms: additional, extra, inessential, insignificant, meaningless
2.Neutrality(निष्पक्षता/तटस्थता)
Synonyms: disinterest, noninterference, non partisanship
3.Emerging(उभरती हुई )
Synonyms: appear, arrive, come up, crop up, develop
Antonyms: abandon, decrease, disappear, drop, fall
4.Exempt(मुक्त/छूट देना)
Synonyms: immune, absolved, clear, cleared, discharged
Antonyms: hindered, prevented, accountable, answerable, liable
5.Strongest(सबसे मजबूत/शक्तिशाली)
Synonyms: able, active, athletic, big, capable
Antonyms: broken, delicate, easy, feeble, fragile
6.Discrimination(भेदभाव/पक्षपात)
Synonyms: bigotry, favoritism, hatred, inequity, injustice
Antonyms: equity, fairness, impartiality, justice, tolerance
7.Interaction(संपर्क/बातचीत),
Synonyms: communication, cooperation, synergy, intercommunication, reciprocal action
8.Pioneers(मार्ग-निर्माता/अगुआ)
Synonyms: colonist, colonizer, developer, explorer, founder
9.Erected(स्थापित/निर्माण किया)
Synonyms: boosted, elevated, hoisted, implanted, lifted
Antonyms: lowered, horizontal, leveled
10.Seamless(निर्बाध/अखंड)
Synonyms: logical, smooth, coherent, consistent, ordered
Antonyms: intermittent, irregular, rough, uneven, defective
11.Egalitarian(समतावादी/समानाधिकारवादी)
Synonyms: democratic, equitable, even-handed, impartial, just
12.Misleading(बहकानेवाला/धोखे से भरा हुआ).
Synonyms: ambiguous, deceitful, disingenuous, evasive, false
Antonyms: accurate, correct, frank, honest, right
13.Thrive(कामयाब/बढ़ना)
Synonyms: bloom, blossom, boom, develop, flourish
Antonyms: cease, decrease, fail, halt, lessen
