Vol. 5 No. 4 (Jul-Aug) (2024): Indian Public Policy Review

					View Vol. 5 No. 4 (Jul-Aug) (2024): Indian Public Policy Review

In IPPR's August issue, Namita Mathur's paper discusses the precarity of employment and the absence of social security for vulnerable migrant workers and explores the shortcomings of the laws and policies meant for protecting their interests. The paper by Boyd et al examines the barriers and incentives to collaboration between the Indian and American private space sectors and makes policy recommendations to advance the mutual objectives of the sector in both countries. In their paper, Harmon et al examine how India’s current approach to AI governance may impact the trajectory of U.S.-India technology cooperation, after exploring India's AI governance choices, possible regulatory model, and its national priorities. Dikumoni Hazarika and Rohil Oberoi's paper looks at the effectiveness of different technology instruments in enhancing transparency, accuracy, and accountability of Public Distribution System in the delivery of subsidised food grains in Assam. Chidambaran Iyer infers a few policy lessons for India for establishing a mobile manufacturing sector from the experiences of four Asian countries – South Korea, Taiwan, China, and Vietnam – that have walked down this path.

 

Published: 2024-08-21
  • Socioeconomic Vulnerabilities of Migrant Labour Households in Delhi

    Namita Mathur
    1-18

    The paper discusses the precarity of employment for vulnerable workers, and the laws and policies meant for protecting the interests of migrants. To provide a more complete picture of the migrants belonging to the marginalized and vulnerable sections, field work was carried out in two slums of Delhi to gauge their socioeconomic conditions, nature of employment, and living conditions. The employment structure in Delhi has also been examined, using secondary data, to gauge the pattern of informal employment. The figures reveal a very sordid picture, as a majority of the workers in Delhi do not have any social security or legal protection of their jobs, and work under terrible conditions. While the social security system has been expanded to cover informal workers, migrant workers are still excluded, as the institutional structure of these schemes is creating problems in being accessible to migrants. All these factors point towards the complete lack of visibility of migrants for decades from the policy framework. There is an urgent need to develop strategies that reduce the vulnerabilities of migrants in the cities and help alleviate their miseries.

  • The Future of U.S.-India Private Sector Space Collaboration

    Jollice Boyd, Omar Husayni, Peter Jarka-Sellers, Aditi Mahesh, Sophia Salazar, Felix Spiekerkoetter
    19-50

    India and the United States have dramatically deepened their cooperation on space exploration and technology in recent years. The two countries have codified their collaboration in the space domain through bilateral and multilateral agreements, including the U.S.-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) and the Artemis Accords. At the same time, private companies are playing an increasingly prominent role in each country’s civilian, military, and commercial space ambitions. While accounting for the differences in maturity and growth between each country’s private space sector, this paper examines the barriers and incentives to collaboration between the Indian and American private space sectors. This paper's recommendations aim to guide policymakers from both countries in bridging their respective private sectors to advance mutual objectives.

  • Decoding India’s AI Governance Strategy and its Implications for the U.S.-India Bilateral Relationship

    Sez Harmon, Morgan Wilsmann, Gandhar Joshi, Aldrin Ballesteros, Pip Baitinger
    51-82

    India is developing a unique approach to the governance of artificial intelligence (AI) and is staking out a leadership role in multilateral dialogues on responsible AI. This paper reviews India’s available AI governance choices, as the country defines its regulatory model, and highlights their associated trade-offs. It also analyses these choices in light of the government’s national priorities, as well as India’s perceived advantages and weaknesses in various industries that might utilize AI systems. With this background, this paper examines how India’s current approach to AI governance may impact the trajectory of U.S.-India technology cooperation.

  • Augmenting Use of Technology in Implementation of NFSA-2013 Documenting Evidence From Assam

    Dikumoni Hazarika, Rohil Oberoi
    83-104

    Technology has the potential to help governments live up to their ambitions for public policy and delivery. To increase the efficiency of the Public Distribution System (PDS), the Government of India has launched multiple Information and Communication Technology (ICT) intervention projects under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013. The article looks at the effectiveness of Aadhar Seeding, Biometric Authentication Systems, Fair Price Shop (FPS) Automation, Integrated Management of Public Distribution Systems (IMPDS), Mobile Applications (Mera Ration App), and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)- in enhancing transparency, accuracy, and accountability of PDS under NFSA, 2013 in the delivery of subsidized food grains in Assam. The study relies on secondary data. The augmentation of technology has the potential to increase the effectiveness, transparency, and accountability of the NFSA implementation and address the issue of food security. The authors suggest that ensuring the feasibility of FPSs, creating dashboards for data and reports for NFSA stakeholders, conducting social audits, and developing efficient monitoring and evaluation frameworks within the NFSA can greatly improve the efficiency of the PDS in Assam.

  • Mobile manufacturing path for India: Lessons from other Asian countries

    Chidambaran Iyer
    105-128

    For almost two decades now Government of India has tried out numerous policies for establishing mobile manufacturing in the country. Though mobile production facilities started their operations in India in 2005, studies have shown that it is only low value assembly that is carried out in the country. In this paper, we infer a few policy lessons for India from the experiences of four Asian countries – South Korea, Taiwan, China, and Vietnam – that have walked down this path. We argue that for India to attain its goal, increasing public investment in mobile technology research will help. Our paper suggests that government should incentivise local firms to establish linkages with mobile manufacturing multinational firms. To capture more value, domestic firms that manufacture mobiles need to focus on R&D, marketing and branding activities.