February

"Faced with a deluge of applications, Alok Kumar, Additional Commissioner of Police, announced that the city police have simplified the procedure of verifying the background of school staff. After a spate of child sexual abuse cases, the police made it mandatory for teaching and non-teaching staff to produce police no-objection certificates when they seek employment. ""Earlier, the police had to visit each home and do their background verification. Now, once we receive an application, we will check our database. If the name does not figure on the list, we will issue a no-objection certificate,"" he said. The simplified procedure will help them clear pending applications quickly."

"Ever since the 2012 release of the AP Shah Committee report looking into privacy issues in India, thought-leaders have been increasingly focused on the topic. Nevertheless, it's unlikely that India will go the way of the EU with a central data protection authority, says Kamlesh Bajaj, CEO of the Data Security Council of India. ""The report does not recommend a European-style data protection authority,"" Bajaj says, ""although some regulator will have to be there - likely sector-wise, like the RBI has done for the banking sector. Self-regulation within verticals is also a possibility."" The idea is to ensure flexibility, so that as technology moves forward, the law can keep pace by focusing on the principles rather than by getting prescriptive and compliance oriented, stymieing effectiveness, Bajaj says."

Singapore 's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) prosecuted an estimated 150 foreign workers between 2012 and the first half of this year for providing false credentials, according to Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin, reports The Straits Times. All were jailed, had their work passes revoked, and were barred from working in Singapore in future, Tan advised. He added that his Ministry had tightened requirements and also supplements its checks with third-party overseas screening agencies and verifies the authenticity of certificates directly with issuing educational institutions.