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Navigating the Digitalisation of Finance: User experiences of risks and harms
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by
Amrita Sengupta, Chiara Furtado, Garima Agrawal, Nishkala Sekhar, Puthiya Purayil Sneha, and Vipul Kharbanda
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published
Apr 08, 2025
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last modified
Apr 10, 2025 05:49 AM
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filed under:
Financial Platforms,
Digital Financial Harms,
Homepage,
Digital Financial Services,
Featured,
Researchers at Work
Our 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.
Located in
RAW
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Whose Technology is it Anyway? An exploratory essay on the political economy of India's digital revolution
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by
Abhineet Nayyar
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published
Apr 11, 2025
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filed under:
Telecom,
Researchers at Work
The 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.
Located in
RAW
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Buying into the Aakash Dream - A Tablet’s Tale of Mass Education
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by
Sumandro Chattapadhyay
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published
Apr 25, 2016
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filed under:
Aakash,
Research,
Education Technology,
Internet Histories,
Researchers at Work
The low-cost Aakash tablet and its previous iterations in India have gone through several phases of technological changes and ideological experiments. Did the government prioritise familiarity and literacy about personal technological devices over the promise of quality mass education generated by low-cost devices? This article by Sumandro Chattapadhyay and Jahnavi Phalkey (India Institute, King's College London) was published by EPW in the Web Exclusive section. Here is the unabridged version of the article.
Located in
RAW
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Call for Proposal: Big Data for Development – Initial Field Studies
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by
Sumandro Chattapadhyay
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published
Apr 28, 2016
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last modified
Apr 28, 2016 07:28 AM
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filed under:
Big Data,
Data Systems,
Big Data for Development,
Research,
Researchers at Work
The Centre for Internet and Society, as part of a project with the University of Manchester and University of Sheffield, is inviting calls from researchers to undertake a brief initial study of a specific instance of use of big data for development in India. This is an exercise to build preliminary understanding of the landscape of big data for development in India, identify key research questions and priorities, and start developing connections with researchers interested in the field. The studies will be 6 weeks long - running from May to June 2016 - and the researchers are expected to produce a 3,000 words long report. We will support three field studies.
Located in
Jobs
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April 2016 Newsletter
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by
Sunil Abraham
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published
Apr 30, 2016
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last modified
May 10, 2016 06:26 AM
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filed under:
Access to Knowledge,
Telecom,
Accessibility,
Internet Governance,
Researchers at Work
Welcome to the CIS newsletter for April 2016. The key issues we worked on this month included the Aadhaar Act 2016, Standard Essential Patents, cyber security of smart grids, and involvement of international agencies in the smart cities project in India.
Located in
About Us
/
Newsletters
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On Fooling Around: Digital Natives and Politics in Asia
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by
Nishant Shah
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published
Nov 03, 2011
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last modified
May 14, 2015 12:11 PM
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filed under:
Digital Activism,
Web Politics,
Researchers at Work,
Digital Natives
Youths are not only actively participating in the politics of its times but also changing the way in which we understand the political processes of mobilisation, participation and transformation, writes Nishant Shah. The paper was presented at the Digital Cultures in Asia, 2009, at the Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
Located in
Digital Natives
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Blog
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DWRU, BBGS & MKU - The Covid-19 Pandemic and the Invisible Workers of the Household Economy
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by
Geeta Menon
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published
Jun 16, 2020
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last modified
Jun 19, 2020 12:34 PM
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filed under:
Covid19,
Research,
Network Economies,
Researchers at Work,
Digital Domestic Work
Domestic Workers Rights Union (DWRU), Bruhat Bangalore Gruhakarmika Sangha (BBGS), and Manegelasa Kaarmikara Union (MKU) have prepared a report on the invisibilisation of domestic workers under the Covid-19 pandemic and a set of demands directed at the government and resident welfare associations (RWAs) for better, dignified and just treatment of domestic workers in Karnataka. We at CIS are proud to contribute to and publish this work as part of the ongoing 'Feminist Internet Research Network' project supported by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC).
Located in
RAW
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Brindaalakshmi.K - Gendering of Development Data in India: Beyond the Binary
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by
Brindaalakshmi.K
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published
Jun 30, 2020
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last modified
Jun 30, 2020 10:26 AM
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filed under:
Welfare Governance,
Data Systems,
Big Data for Development,
Research,
Gender, Welfare, and Privacy,
Transgender,
Researchers at Work
This report by Brindaalakshmi.K seeks to understand the gendering of development data in India: collection of data and issuance of government (foundational and functional) identity documents to persons identifying outside the cis/binary genders of female and male, and the data misrepresentations, barriers to accessing public and private services, and
informational exclusions that still remain. Sumandro Chattapadhyay edited the report and Puthiya Purayil Sneha offered additional editorial support. This work was undertaken as part of the Big Data for Development network supported by International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada.
Located in
RAW
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Raina Roy and Abhiraj Bag - Kolkata’s trans community has been locked out of healthcare and livelihood
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by
Raina Roy and Abhiraj Bag
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published
Aug 01, 2020
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last modified
Aug 01, 2020 02:54 PM
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filed under:
Gender,
Covid19,
Research,
Gender, Welfare, and Privacy,
Researchers at Work
Over six months into the outbreak of Covid-19 in India, it has become clear that the pandemic does not affect everybody equally. It has amplified the sufferings of the already-marginalised trans community. Raina Roy spoke to 10 trans persons and trans rights activists in Kolkata over the course of the past few months to better understand the situation. The piece was transcribed by Abhiraj Bag and edited by Kaarika Das and Srravya C, researchers at the Centre for Internet and Society, India. This work is part of a project at CIS on gender, welfare and surveillance, supported by Privacy International, United Kingdom.
Located in
RAW
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IFAT and ITF - Protecting Workers in the Digital Platform Economy: Investigating Ola and Uber Drivers’ Occupational Health and Safety
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by
Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT) and International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), New Delhi office
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published
Jun 25, 2021
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last modified
Jun 29, 2021 06:53 AM
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filed under:
Digital Economy,
Researchers at Work,
Digital Labour,
Covid19,
Research,
Platform-Work,
Featured,
Homepage
Between July to November 2019, Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT) and International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), New Delhi office, conducted 2,128 surveys across 6 major cities: Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Jaipur, and Lucknow, to determine the occupational health and safety of app-based transport workers. CIS is proud to publish the study report and the press release. Akash Sheshadri, Ambika Tandon, and Aayush Rathi of CIS supported post-production of this report.
Located in
RAW
