Media articles

2023

Tech titans are fostering new forms of digital colonialism, both within wealthy countries and on the global stage. But it’s not too late to build a digital economy that works for everyone.

The digital economy is not working.

Democracy, freedom, and prosperity were the original promises of the internet. The world wide web was a…

2023

The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act of 2023 has rightly been criticised for failing to uphold good consent and data subject rights. One provision that has been largely overlooked is Section 16, which pertains to the transfer and processing of personal data outside India. Section 16 permits data fiduciaries to transfer personal data…

2023

Abstract

Twitter, the social-networking platform which serves as a socio-political barometer, was recently purchased by Elon Musk, owner of Tesla. Musk has fired 50% of Twitter staff, toyed with its policies on registration and posts, making it an oligarch’s doll. Clearly the world needs a ‘global digital public town hall’  governed in…

2023

The U.S.-driven Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity would result in a complete stranglehold over the economic systems of the participating countries.

In November 2019, India walked out from the trade pact called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) involving China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand…

2023

India should prioritise strong AI governance to ensure data sovereignty, promote indigenous innovation, and address ethical concerns.

ChatGPT may represent a point of inflection in public consciousness about the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its key role in society. It is time to take stock of what society should be doing…

2023

This article was written by Anita Gurumurthy and Amay Korjan for the German NGO Forum Umwelt und Entwicklung (Forum on Environment and Development), which is a civil-society network that coordinates the activities of German NGOs in international political processes on sustainable development and environmental issues.

An abridged version…

2023

Towards the end of a workshop conducted for school teachers, a curious phenomenon is often observed; many women teachers become restless. They sit tight anxiously clutching the handbags on their laps, steal furtive glances at their watches (or phones) to check the time, and even pointedly look towards the exit.

Many of them have to cook…

2023

Teachers will ‘teach to the test’ and focus on ensuring that the student can write answers to questions related to the syllabus, rather than ‘teach the learner’.

The Karnataka Education Department recently announced common examinations for grade 5 and 8 students. The Schools Association appealed against this decision, contending that…

2022
Twelve years after the Right to Education Act was passed, public investment in schools remains abysmally low.

The Karnataka Commissioner of School Education on October 19 issued a circular, allowing school monitoring committees to collect Rs 100 or more every month from each parent as a donation to the school contingency fund.

This was…

2022

The Ministry of School Education and Literacy recently released the 2021-22 Unified District Information System for Education (U-DISE) report, which provides information about all schools, teachers and students in India. A whole host of information; student enrolment, teacher deployment and school infrastructure including drinking water,…