Between September 7 and 9, 2021, internet services were suspended in four districts of Haryana due to ongoing farmers’ protests. The order is not available on the Government websites and does not lay out a factual justification. We wrote to the Haryana government to officially publish all orders.
On 26th August, 2021, the Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav launched the E-Shram portal. The portal will help unorganised workers receive social security benefits. We decided to create this explainer to help you understand what the portal is and what are the various issues facing the portal.
We wrote to the Department of Financial Services about the E-Rupi. We pointed out several issues such as surveillance and financial exploitation, the lack of data protection, and exclusion. We suggested that a consultation be conducted, and that data protection norms be specified.
IFF has submitted its comments on the NDHM’s consultation paper on the Unified Health Interface.Our comments are focused on five key issues: the need for diverse feedback, market capture by the private sector, digital exclusion, financial exploitation, and the need for public digital infrastructure.
IFF submitted comments to TRAI's Supplementary Consultation Paper on Roadmap to Promote Broadband Connectivity and Enhanced Broadband Speed. Here, we highlighted the need for direct performance based incentives and about issues with public wifi networks that must be addressed.
In February, we had written to MeitY with regards to the blocking of Twitter accounts. MeitY responded to us recently, saying that they did nothing wrong. We have written back to the Ministry this week explaining how they are constitutionally required to disclose the blocking orders.
In this explainer, we delve into the various executive and policy measures taken to expand India's digital infrastructure and improve internet access. We have focused mainly on the National Digital Communications Policy, 2018, since it is is cornerstone of India's digital infrastructure framework.
With state elections incoming, we thought we would do our bit for #electionfever by analysing the manifestos of political parties across the spectrum. Our analysis is guided by our focus areas and is meant to help voters understand how political parties are looking at these issues.
The PM-WANI scheme aims to increase internet connectivity across the country by implementing a decentralised system of public access points. We created an explainer in which we discuss how, while a step towards the right direction, the scheme faces both foundational and implementational challenges.
Budget 2021-22 is a mixed bag. Though it contains praiseworthy allocations towards programs such as Digital India and the USOF and provides a stimulus to R&D, allocations towards the PMGDISHA remain low, while concerns remain that signficant capital expenditure may not take place.