Centre for Internet & Society

Metaphors of Work, from ‘Below’

by Aayush Rathi and Ambika Tandon

Aayush Rathi and Ambika Tandon authored a chapter that describes platforms as more than technological interfaces. The chapter invokes some of the metaphors that gig workers use to make sense of platforms. This chapter was part of an edited volume published by Springer. This chapter forms part of the ‘Labour Futures’ research project, hosted at the Centre for Internet and Society, India, and supported by the Internet Society Foundation.

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Designing Domestic Work Platforms

by Divyansha Sehgal and Yathrath

This research was conducted by The Center for Internet and Society (CIS) with funding from Association for Progressive Communication (APC) through the Feminist Internet Research Network (FIRN), supported by International Development Research Centre (IDRC). The authors are deeply grateful to the platform workers who talked to us and shared their experiences of finding work through Urban Company. Their responses shaped our research and their insights guided the creation of this final report.

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Procurement Through Digital Platforms

by SEWA Cooperative Federation and Centre for Internet & Society

Procurement policies, both public and private, can play a significant role in determining inclusive market participation, particularly for informal women workers and their collective enterprises.

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The State of the Internet's Languages Report

by Puthiya Purayil Sneha

The first-ever State of the Internet’s Languages Report was launched by Whose Knowledge? on February 23, 2022 (just after the International Mother Language day), along with research partners Oxford Internet Institute and the Centre for Internet and Society. This extraordinarily community-sourced effort, with over 100 people involved is now available online, with translations in multiple languages.

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Locating Migrants in India’s Gig Economy: A Scoping Report

by Kaarika Das and Srravya C

Gig workers working for on-demand platform services have been adversely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Are India’s much-lauded startups failing their women workers?

by Abhishek Sekharan and Ambika Tandon

Recent protests outside Urban Company’s head office highlight the gendered nature of work in the country’s digital economy.

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Between Platform and Pandemic: Migrants in India's Gig Economy

by Kaarika Das and Srravya C

In response to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in India, the central government announced a nationwide lockdown in March 2020.

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Datafication of the Public Distribution System in India

by Sameet Panda

In this study, we look into the datafication of social protection schemes with a special focus on the Public Distribution System in India. Proponents of datafication claim that the benefits will reach the right person and curb leakages through the automation and digitisation of all PDS processes. Aadhaar is the most important link in the datafication; supporters claim that it makes technology people-centric. This study looks at the status of PDS datafication and its impact on the delivery of the scheme in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. We also try to understand to what extent the stated objective of portability has been met and how far the challenges faced by the rights holders of the PDS have been resolved.

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Essays on #List — Selected Abstracts

by Puthiya Purayil Sneha

In response to a recent call for essays that social, economic, cultural, political, infrastructural, or aesthetic dimensions of the #List, we received 11 abstracts. Out of these, we have selected 4 pieces to be published as part of a series titled #List on the r@w blog. Please find below the details of the selected abstracts. The call for essays on #List remains open, and we are accepting and assessing the incoming abstracts on a rolling basis.

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Call for Essays — #List

by Puthiya Purayil Sneha

The researchers@work programme at CIS invites abstracts for essays that explore social, economic, cultural, political, infrastructural, or aesthetic dimensions of the ‘list’. We have selected 4 abstracts among those received before August 31, 2019, and are now accepting and evaluating further submissions on a rolling basis.

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