Technology and the Fight Against Corruption in India

ABSTRACT

The anger against corruption in India has led to many new experiments at fighting it and technology is increasingly a part of such experiments – be it in the form of large e-governance projects or a small grassroots mobilization. Some of these initiatives have led to substantial improvement in performance whereas others remain highly contested. In this talk, Vivek will discuss a few experiments by governments and by civil society and the debate around impact of technology in fighting corruption.

SPEAKER BIO

I joined the Liberation Technology Program as the Manager in February 2011 after completing my Ph.D. in Social Sciences from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. Prior to this, I worked with campaigns on various socio-economic rights in India, including the right to food, education and the right to information. Based on these experiences I have written (and co-authored) extensively on issues surrounding the right to food, including Notes from the right to food campaign: people's movement for the right to food (2003), Rights based approach and human development: An introduction (2008), Gender and the right to food: A critical re-examination (2006), Food Policy and Social Movements: Reflections on the Right to Food Campaign in India (2007).

In working with these campaigns, I realized the widespread disparities in the provision of basic public services in India. This led me examine how Tamil Nadu, a southern Indian state, developed extensive commitment to providing such services to all its residents in my doctoral dissertation. Oxford University Press will shortly publish my book based on the dissertation entitled, "Delivering services effectively: Tamil Nadu and Beyond".

As a full-time activist, I also experimented with various IT platforms to make the campaigns effective. This interest brought me to the Liberation Technology Program at Stanford. I am currently leading a research project entitled "Combating corruption with mobile phones" that is in currently on a pilot mode in 5 states of India.