Media articles

2022

India’s Budget 2022 presents digital infrastructure as key to economic recovery for the pandemic-hit economy. Several proposals suggest the ambition for digital resilience: Universal last-mile broadband connectivity, DESH-Stack e-portal for digital enskillment and jobs, delivery of hi-tech services to farmers, and digitalied backbones for…

2021, 2022

For-profit edtech needs to be banned, and the government must play an active regulatory role.

After a Congress member of Parliament from Tamil Nadu highlighted the unethical practices of the Indian edtech companies in Parliament, the Ministry of Education (MoE) issued an advisory. The advisory asked parents to “verify that content…

2022

In June 2021 Google and BYJU’S announced a partnership to provide education services in India. A press release from BYJU’S said, “the simplicity, flexibility, and security of Google ‘Workspace for Education’ and BYJU’S unmatched content pedagogy come together on the ‘Vidyartha’…

2021

The Draft Data Accessibility and Use Policy is silent on the norms, rules, and mechanisms to bring to fruition its vision.

In February 2022, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) released the draft India Data Accessibility and Use Policy 2022 (or Draft Policy) for public consultation. The Draft Policy aims at…

2021

In the landmark case from 2018, Justice K. S. Puttaswamy vs Union Of India, the Supreme Court pitched Aadhaar-enabled welfare delivery as a promising move that can eliminate leakages in service delivery and address the “malaise” of ghost and duplicate beneficiaries. The court also cautioned the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)…

2021, 2022

For-profit edtech needs to be banned, and the government must play an active regulatory role.

After a Congress member of Parliament from Tamil Nadu highlighted the unethical practices of the Indian edtech companies in Parliament, the Ministry of Education (MoE) issued an advisory. The advisory asked parents to “verify that content…

2021

This is an electronic interview conducted between Anita Gurumurthy and The Quint, India on cybercrime in India and its larger cause in the wake of the 'bulli bai' app incident in January, 2022.

Q. How do the digital spaces become a readymade tool for people to harass and humiliate women? Does the anonymity on offer on these platforms…
2021

Our research associate, Khawla Zainab, along with Kriangsak Teerawitkajorn from the Just Economy and Labour Institute (JELI) were part of the third episode of the second season of the Gig Podcast hosted by Bama Athreya.

The Gig Podcast is about the women and men who work in the so-called 'gig  economy' worldwide. They find work through…

2021
Why legalizing crypto assets is dangerous

The Indian Government appears convinced that cryptocurrency is a dangerous proposition. Cryptocurrency enables relatively invisible transactions, with serious implications for crime, terrorism, money laundering, tax evasion, etc. Another worry is that the crypto mania is getting built of purely…

2021

The pandemic has exposed India’s ambivalence about scientific knowledge. While masking and distancing constitute scientific wisdom, we see mass disregard of these in festivals and polls. The pandemic has exposed another ambivalence — about beliefs on the purpose and processes of education. Education experts’ views have sharply contrasted with…