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Whose Technology is it Anyway? An exploratory essay on the political economy of India's digital revolution
— by Abhineet Nayyar — last modified Apr 11, 2025 03:42 PMThe story of India's digital journey has become an oft-cited tale of economic success across the globe, inspiring similar experiments in other nations in the Global Majority world - most prominently across sub-Saharan Africa. At home, however, this tale has been used to rapidly normalise the deployment of digital technologies. In this process, these innovations have not just bolstered the state's control over individuals and their actions, but have also enabled the tech elite to extract more value from workers, small businesses, and even consumers.
Navigating the Digitalisation of Finance: User experiences of risks and harms
— by Amrita Sengupta, Chiara Furtado, Garima Agrawal, Nishkala Sekhar, Puthiya Purayil Sneha, and Vipul Kharbanda — last modified Apr 10, 2025 05:49 AMOur study unpacks the experiences of marginalised users navigating the digitalisation of finance. Through a survey of 3,784 users, 18 interviews and 7 focus group discussions, our study’s findings highlight user experiences of risks and harms while accessing digital financial services, unpacking experiences specifically of persons with disabilities, transgender persons, gender and sexual minorities, elderly persons, women, regional language-first users, and persons facing digital and economic vulnerabilities.
Bahujan Digital Publishing Infrastructures
— by Yatharth — last modified Jan 20, 2025 10:48 AMIn this study, we look at alternative Bahujan digital publishing as sites where Bahujans can claim media representation and how a vision of an anti-caste internet is emerging through these publishing practices.
Explainer | Predatory Pricing
— by Abhineet Nayyar, and Isha Suri — last modified Dec 23, 2024 11:07 AMWho doesn't love discounts? After all, that is what got so many of us on the internet for the first time. And yet, earlier this year, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, in its draft Digital Competition Bill, mentioned 'Pricing/Deep Discounting' as one of the Anti-Competitive Practices, or ACPs, that the draft Bill relies on. Does this mean that discounting or pricing can be anti-competitive? If so, how do we identify this form of predatory pricing?
AI for Healthcare: Understanding Data Supply Chain and Auditability in India
— by Amrita Sengupta (PI), Shweta Mohandas (Co-PI), (In alphabetical order) Abhineet Nayyar, Chetna VM, Puthiya Purayil Sneha, Yatharth — last modified Nov 30, 2024 08:17 AMThis report aims to understand the prevalence and use of AI auditing practices in the healthcare sector. By mapping the data supply chain underlying AI technologies, the study aims to unpack i) how AI systems are developed and deployed to achieve healthcare outcomes and, ii) how AI audits are perceived and implemented by key stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem.
Explainer | Tying and Bundling
— by Abhineet Nayyar and Isha Suri — last modified Dec 23, 2024 11:05 AMEarlier this year, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs released the draft Digital Competition Bill for public comment. Although much has been written about the ex-ante process it proposes, there is little discussion of the nine Anti-Competitive Practices, or ACPs, that the draft Bill builds on. Even when it exists, this discussion is often accompanied by heavy jargon, thereby limiting its accessibility for small businesses, workers, and consumers who are most affected by these ACPs.
Platforming precarity: Data narratives of workers sustaining urban platform services
— by Aayush Rathi, Abhishek Sekharan, Ambika Tandon, Chetna V. M., Chiara Furtado, Nishkala Sekhar, and Sriharsha Devulapalli — last modified Oct 15, 2024 02:42 AMCIS conducted quantitative surveys with over 800 workers employed in the app-based taxi and delivery sectors across 4 cities in India as part of the ‘Labour Futures’ project supported by the Internet Society Foundation. The surveys covered key employment indicators, including earnings and working hours, work-related cost burdens, income and social security, and platform policies and management. Findings from these surveys are presented as data visualisation briefs centring workers’ everyday experiences. These data briefs form a foundational evidence base for policy and action around labour rights, social protection, and urban inclusion in platform work.
Gig and platform workers’ perspectives on worker collectives
— by Shaik Salauddin — last modified Aug 13, 2024 02:50 AMThis report highlights findings from a survey conducted by the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers’ Union on platform workers’ perspectives around various worker collectives, particularly platform worker unions and cooperative societies. The survey was conducted with workers working for app-based platform companies like Ola, Uber, InDriver, Swiggy, Zomato, and Flipkart.
Future of the Commons: A Conversation on Artificial Intelligence, Indian Languages, and Archives Conference Report
— by Soni Wadhwa, Puthiya Purayil Sneha, Garima Agrawal and Nishant Shankar — last modified Aug 06, 2024 03:24 AMWe are pleased to share our report on the ‘Future of the Commons: A Conversation on Artificial Intelligence, Indian Languages, and Archives’ conference, held in July 2024 at the Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Limited (MKCL) in Pune.
Combinations and Competition: Why the draft DCB must account for digital mergers and acquisitions
— by Abhineet Nayyar and Isha Suri — last modified Aug 08, 2024 07:47 AMMergers and Acquisitions (collectively, M&As or Combinations) have been a common practice in industry consolidation for many years now. In fact, as Zuckerberg’s infamous quote suggests, it might be one of the central pillars of today’s internet economy.
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