India First

Supporting India’s Unorganised Workforce During the Lockdown As days, weeks and months have passed since India’s first novel coronavirus (nCoV) case identified on 30-Jan , the country has progressively moved from safety advisories issued by Union and state governments to restricting travel internationally and domestically, to   voluntary nationwide curfew suggested by the Prime Minister, to declaring a weeks-long lockdown of the country. While doctors, United Nations and World Health Organisation supported the lockdown, bringing the country (barring essential services) to a halt has extracted its economic price from all layers of society, even as the lockdown has succeeded in slowing down the spread of the virus across the length and breadth of the country. High level dynamics of India’s unorganised workforce India has an estimated workforce of about 50 crores (500 million), of which over 70% (Table 1.1) (35 crores/350 million) are believed to work in the unorg...

The Potential of combining Aadhaar and Periodic Labour Survey Since about 45 years, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation under the Government of India has been conducting quinquennial Employment and Unemployment Surveys . These surveys are the primary data input to the government on labour force-related attributes, which in turn can guide the government in its employment-related decision-making. India is the largest democracy and the second most populated country in the world. It also has the largest population of young citizens. The government of any democracy is duty-bound to enable realisation of the aspirations of its population. And the pressure on the government is considerable when a huge percentage of the population is under 25 years of age. By having access to sample-based employment and unemployment data no more frequently than once every five years, a government in inherently heavily disadvantaged in assuming its role as an effective generator of ...

Social impacts of technological advancements, and what governments could do about them Technology has transformed our lives irreversibly. Be it trains, automobiles, aeroplanes, computers and so much more, for much of the world’s population surviving without technology is literally unimaginable. The last few decades have made transformative technology available to large percentages of populations across the world. What were fascinating concepts a few decades ago have been commercialised and are available today, not necessarily expensively. Much as technologies that surround us amaze and delight us, creating desires and demands where none may have existed some years ago, several comforts offered by technology come at prices we are paying and will pay more individually and collectively as societies and nations. Ordering books online reduces the need for bookshops and their sales people, even as it creates a few new professions. Driverless car technology, once it becomes more rob...

Very well-balanced argument in favour of the digital landscape the Union govt is constructing as an enabler for both social and economic reform. Digital platforms and tools on a nation-wide scale will bring corruption and inefficiency to very low levels, and will save govts HUGE amounts of money, making it available for a whole lot of avenues where India desperately needs to invest. Along with the investment in Digital India, Aadhaar, and other revolutionary digital enablers, the govt needs to strengthen laws to ensure information sharing happens for legitimate purposes only and it's illegal to sell personal information. http://www.asianage.com/opinion/oped/170317/data-privacy-needs-much-better-safeguards.html