The Telangana government has accused the Andhra Pradesh government of violating copyright laws, alleging that it copied web pages, including designs and data formats submitted for the ‘ease of doing business’ (EoDB) presentation. The alleged plagiarism pertains to information provided to the Ministry of Commerce, where states are required to respond to 340 queries regarding their systems for facilitating business. While the original submission deadline was June 30, the Department of Industrial Policy extended it to July 7.
Telangana filed a case with the Cyber Crime cell against Andhra Pradesh, asserting that the latter reproduced their web designs without permission. Arvind Kumar, Telangana’s Principal Secretary for Industries, claimed that screenshots and typos were strikingly similar, suggesting an unethical copying of software allocation. The investigation is ongoing.
Parakala Prabhakar, Communications Advisor to Andhra Pradesh, vehemently denied the accusations, labeling them as slander. He emphasized the state’s commitment to reforms and asserted that there was no need to copy from others.
In response, Telangana’s Minister for Industries, K T Rama Rao, wrote a letter to Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, underscoring the importance of ethical practices for securing favorable rankings in EoDB. The allegations add a layer of controversy to the already competitive environment, with last year’s EoDB rankings placing Gujarat first, followed by Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana at the 13th position. Telangana officials pointed out that the AP government copied information related to the e-filing of the Commercial Courts tracking system, even reproducing spelling mistakes from their webpage, reinforcing their claim of plagiarism.