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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.