Filter Coffee #011

On other HSA considerations, data privacy, & chocolate

Dear friends,

If you’ve been enjoying my Sunday musings, why not share Filter Coffee with your friends, family and co-workers?

I’m glad you appreciated last week’s post on the daughter’s right to be considered a coparcener, and her right to a share in the HUF property. Concern may be voiced with respect to the retrospective effect of the Supreme Court Judgement and its impact on bona fide purchasers of HUF property after 2005.

Consider an HUF transaction that is sought to be reopened on the grounds that it has been concluded without the daughter’s involvement, depriving her of her entitlement.

The bona fide purchaser would contend that the transaction was in full compliance with the law prevailing at the time, and hence it ought not to be re-opened at the instance of a daughter who has now been conferred a right to the property. Her claim lies with the HUF, which has been paid the full consideration.

In the context of alienation of HUF property, the bona fide purchaser could also place reliance on Sec.55(2) of the Transfer of Property Act, which refers to sale by a person in a fiduciary capacity. A Karta or manager of an HUF acts in a fiduciary capacity — they must protect the interest of all the members, and should be able to prove that it was done in the best interest of the HUF. It is quite possible in some cases that the proceeds were used for the education, marriage, treatment, etc. of the daughter. If Karta has effectuated a sale to the exclusion of the daughter claiming an interest (although post facto), the relevant court, after considering the facts of the case, may or may not decide to reverse the sale. It may order payment of monetary compensation. The Karta of the HUF may then have to account for the share of the daughter and compensate her out of consideration received from the buyer.

Whether the Court would ask the buyer to pay some compensation is dependent on the facts of the case. On the face of it, this appears unlikely, since the daughter claiming a share in the HUF property can as well claim a share in the proceeds of the property that has been monetized. 

The counter-argument would be that if a property was sold in 2006 for say ₹10L, would the daughter get a share in ₹10L, or in today’s value of that property? The jury is out on this.

At this point, I must remind my readers that what I have said should not be construed as legal advice or as an authoritative view. It is better to seek independent legal advice, especially since the facts and circumstances of each case might differ.

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🔐 Personal Data Protection

Now to jump from HSA to a Bill that has become more important than ever in modern India - Personal Data Protection Bill (PDPB) 2019. It defines Sensitive Personal Data, among other things, to mean:

financial data, health data, sex life, sexual orientation, biometric data, caste or tribe, religious or political belief or affiliation

The Bill is now before the Joint Parliamentary Committee and is expected to become law in the upcoming Budget session.

How much do Indians value their personal data?

I posed this question to Srinivas B Vijayaraghavan (Srini), the Senior Director — Marketing of Qubole Inc, an open data lake* company that provides a simple and secure data lake platform for machine learning, streaming, and ad-hoc analytics.

*A data lake is a centralised repository that allows you to store all your structured and unstructured data at any scale

Pras: Srini, Data Privacy (or the lack of it) in India is not understood in all its seriousness. Is this perception a reality?

Srini: The inside joke among marketers is that in India, you are opted-in by default unless you choose to opt-out. This is reflective of the carelessness with which consumers click on “I accept” or “Turn location services on” before moving on to use a mobile or web app. Personal data in India is up for grabs; it is collected, monetised and even sold to 3rd parties (“how did they get my number?”) with gay abandon, not to mention, hacked to be sold again. It does seem that we in India are happy to sign Faustian Pacts* in exchange for conveniences.

*The legendary German character Faust is bored and depressed with his life as a scholar. He makes a pact with the devil and Mephistopheles, the Devil’s representative grants him magical powers in return for Faust’s soul such that Faust will be Devil’s slave eternally. This act of trading something very valuable for something very ordinary is referred to as the Faustian Pact.

Pras: Will this change? 

Srini: This might change once the Personal Data Protection Bill (PDPB) 2019 becomes law in 2020 when it is approved by a Joint Parliamentary Committee. But then it may not, in a practical sense. The recognition of data as ‘personal’ by law is not adequate until the sanctity of that data is fiercely protected by people, who right now have no idea that some of their personal data is already public.

Pras: How do you compare this Bill with regulations elsewhere in the world? 

Srini: The Bill gives Indian users the right to obtain personal data, correct, erase, update and port the data from one company to another and to raise grievances. This is old hat if you compare it with existing regulations in Europe (GDPR) and in different states in the US (California Consumer Privacy Act) where consumers need to be explicitly given the choice for their personal data to be collected and used and also have the right to have their personal records erased. You may have experienced the “acceptance” you give on many foreign websites to store cookies on your device, so that they may track your future digital footprints for ad-targeting. They do this to remain compliant with the above laws.

 Pras: Are you saying that this Bill, even if it becomes law, may not be effective?

Srini: Through the proposed law, the Govt. of India has also pushed the idea of data sovereignty by mandating certain classes of data to be stored within Indian borders to allow law enforcement agencies to investigate crimes faster (cloud providers and data centre companies rejoice!). It is, however, a matter of concern and contention that the Govt. is proposing to give itself the right to exempt any government agency from legal obligations, leading to experts foreseeing an Orwellian State in our future.

 Pras: How will this change digital consumer behaviour in India? 

Srini: The digital natives (that’s what we call the born-in-digital yuppies) might use the choice if they are aware of it, as compared to the digital immigrants (the tell-me-how-this-app-works segment) who might just continue accepting clauses that might be detrimental to their privacy. Awareness is going to be a big step once the law comes into effect, but with a 500 million-strong smartphone user community that only cares about experiences and conveniences, this is going to be a tall order indeed. But it could bring in larger changes in the way companies handle the data of Indian customers and consumers. The freedom with which they experiment on product ideas in India might be curtailed if compliance is strictly enforced. That is a big “if” in India.

Pras: Will people continue to click “Allow”, “Agree” etc. without realising that they are revealing more than they should?

Srini: While we wait for the PDPB to come into effect, whether it will make the average Indian more aware of hastily signing away her digital rights remains to be seen. I for one believe we will continue to value convenience over privacy. Hopefully, the realisation will dawn even if belated. Amen!

Pras: Thank you Srini for educating my readers and I on this important topic. Readers, please feel free to leave a comment with your reactions or questions for Srini.

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Potpourri

The first Indian actor to be featured on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Born in 1924 in Karapur, Kingdom of Mysore (then a Princely State of British India), Sabu was the son of an Indian mahout. While most reference books have his full name as ‘Sabu Dastagir’, research by journalist Philip Leibfried suggests that it was his brother’s name, and that Sabu was, in fact, Selar Shaik Sabu or Sabu Francis. His brother managed his career.

Sabu was discovered by documentary film-maker Robert Flaherty who cast him in the role of an elephant driver in the 1937 British film Elephant Boy, based on Toomai of the Elephants, a story by Rudyard Kipling. Sabu is perhaps best known for his role as Abu in the 1940 British film The Thief of Bagdad. In 1942 he once again played a role based on a Kipling story, namely Mowgli in Jungle Book directed by Zoltán Korda.

After becoming an American citizen in 1944, Sabu joined the U.S. Army Air Force as a tail gunner. He flew several dozen missions over the Pacific and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his valour and bravery.

Unfortunately, his fascinating life-story is a short one - he died of a heart attack at the young age of 39. If you wish to read more about him 🔗 please explore his Wikipedia page. Better still if you can 📺 watch this great video about Sabu by Gully Tours.

Mathrubhootham does it again

In 🔗 Filter Coffee #007, I stressed the importance of making a Will. My favourite columnist J Mathrubhootham has hit the nail on the head by injecting humour into the serious issue of making a Will. In his “Will He, Will She”, he provides a mirthful narrative about making a Will and avoiding fights among heirs. I urge you to 🔗 read his letter.

The Chemistry of Coffee

When I make coffee at home, my wife tells others that I make it look like chemistry. The right coffee blend, the right water temperature, freshly boiled milk, pre-heating the cups before serving, and other minor details come together to make the coffee drinking experience unique. Mr. Bean (not Coffee Bean) has a theory about this chemical reaction:

Coffee connoisseurs may find 🔗 this write-up in LiveMint interesting.

What’s so sweet about today?

If you weren’t aware that today was a special day, you’re in for a sweet surprise! That’s right, 13th September is International Chocolate Day!

While we don't need a special day to indulge in chocolate, International Chocolate Day gives us just one more reason to consume this delectable confection in copious quantities. The classic chocolate bar is a popular choice, but why not be a little more adventurous?  Take the chance to indulge in chocolate cake or chocolate milk pudding, extravagant meringues, pies, layer cakes, soufflé, ice creams and mousses. If you are the type to avoid sugar, don’t worry, you can still enjoy it with the rest of us. There are chocolates with 70 to 90% Cocoa that skew more towards rich and bitter than creamy and sweet.

And to spread the sweetness around, let me share 🔗 a fun chocolate recipe. All you need are a few basic ingredients, a mug, and a microwave! Have a great Chocolate day! 

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As always, I would love your input on today’s topic — what are your thoughts on data privacy in India? I’ll be back next week with Filter Coffee #012.  Until then please do take good care of yourselves and be safe.