DNA profiling Bill full of loopholes, violates privacy: Congress
New Delhi, Aug 26 : The Congress on Sunday said the DNA profiling Bill prepared by the Narendra Modi government was full of loopholes and would violate the right to privacy in its current form. It termed the proposed legislation as "ill-conceived" and an attempt by the government to "strengthen the conformity that surveillance breeds".
Congress Spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that the DNA profiling Bill was the latest in a series of attempts by the Modi government to "snoop and spy on ordinary citizens".
"The introduction of DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2018, in a hush-hush manner, in the recently concluded monsoon session of Parliament is another attempt towards this mala fide objective," Singhvi said.
"Surveillance breeds conformity. And this government is an absolute conformist government. The DNA bill is an attempt to strengthen this conformity," he added.
He said that "fearing backlash" from opposition in the Rajya Sabha, the government withdrew the bill after listing it in the business of the House, but then it notified it in the business of the Lok Sabha, where it has a majority, at late night on August 8 and introduced it the next day.
Singhvi clarified that the Congress party was not in principle against DNA profiling, but the government should first bring a comprehensive data protection law "encompassing issues pertaining to all the sectors and ministries" after wide public consultations.
"The DNA Database could be another Aadhaar-like database, without adequate protection and safeguards. DNA samples can reveal more intrusive information about a person and hence there is a greater risk of this information getting misused," Singhvi said.
The Congress leader pointed out that the A.P. Shah Committee on privacy has expressed its concerns on the issue of breach of privacy by DNA profiling.
"The Committee made several recommendations including ensuring safeguards against breach of data by the government, right of citizens against retention of data, notification and mandatory consent of data subject taken before sharing the data with third party, besides many. The bill does not seem to consider either of the recommendations," he said.
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Indian startup's 'Drishti' satellite launched aboard SpaceX rocket
New Delhi (PTI): Bengaluru-based space start-up GalaxEye's Mission Drishti satellite was launched on Sunday aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from California.
Mission Drishti is the world's first OptoSAR satellite, integrating electro-optical (EO) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors into a single operational platform, according to the company.
While EO sensors capture high-resolution images during sunlight and clear skies, SAR sensors provide all-weather and all-time images, using radar pulses.
In a statement, Suyash Singh, founder and CEO of GalaxEye, said, "With the satellite (Mission Drishti) now successfully in orbit, our immediate focus is on completing its commissioning. As we move through this phase, we are already witnessing strong global interest in the differentiated datasets enabled by our OptoSAR payload."
The satellite will help address long-standing limitations of conventional systems and enable more reliable and consistent data acquisition across diverse environmental conditions, the company said.
As a dual-use Earth observation satellite, the mission will support use cases across defence, agriculture, disaster management, maritime monitoring, and infrastructure planning.
The satellite is also expected to complement India's broader initiatives, including the 29 active Earth Observation satellites outlined in ISRO's recent annual report.
The launch came after five years of indigenous research and development, and extensive environmental testing and performance validation of the Mission Drishti.
In a statement, Lt Gen AK Bhatt (Retd), director general of Indian Space Association (ISpA), said, "GalaxEye has achieved what only a few global players have, which is seamlessly combining optical and SAR capabilities on a single platform to enable persistent, all-weather intelligence."
What stands out is not just the technology, but its broader impact on how downstream applications will increasingly define value in the space economy, particularly in Earth observation, where timely, decision-grade insights are critical," he added.
ISpA is the premier industry association of space and satellite companies in the country.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh also took note of the Mission Drishti launch, saying the development marked a significant milestone in India's space journey.
In a post on X, the minister said, "The successful launch of the world's first OptoSAR satellite, and the largest privately-built satellite in the country, reflects the immense potential of our young innovators driving nation-building."
GalaxEye aims to scale up Mission Drishti to a constellation of 10 satellites by 2030, developing a robust and sovereign Earth observation infrastructure for India.
