October 28, 2023

Good morning. Every Saturday, we publish the results of polls from feature stories that were published the past week. We also give a brief overview of the topics that were discussed.

🗳️ POLL RESULTS – Week 148

🗓️ THE WEEK THAT WAS

Should the government have access to the first originator of messages?

Daily | 23 October 2023

The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 imposed upon certain social media intermediaries the obligation to enable the identification of the first originator of certain messages should the government demand so. While such a demand tears apart the basic principles of E2EE, it has been justified by the Indian government in the name of national security. Read more on this here.

Is Delhi’s EV push on aggregators the right approach?

Daily | 24 October 2023

The Delhi government has cleared the ‘Delhi Motor Vehicle Aggregator and Delivery Service Provider Scheme’, a.k.a Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy 2.0. The overarching goal is to promote green and sustainable mobility. This means companies like Uber and Ola will need to shift to EVs. On the surface, this seems like a reasonable proposition, but is it the right approach? We discuss it here.

Can regional rapid rail be the future of inter-city travel?

Daily | 25 October 2023

The latest addition to India’s growing public transport options is the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS). The first route, a 17-km stretch connecting Sahibabad and Duhai Depot stations, was recently inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Named ‘Namo Bharat’, it’s part of the larger Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut network. Is this the future of high-speed rail travel for the masses? We unpack this here.

Is India’s ‘Aatmanirbhar’ self-employment good for the economy?

Daily | 26 October 2023

Aatmanirbhar Bharat, or a self-reliant India, is among the most prominent stated goals of the incumbent government. The idea is that the country will achieve self-reliance in a whole host of economic activities. Its citizens too, are then encouraged to be self-reliant and seek a living independent of traditional employment means. However, self-employment is more than just flashy start-up evaluations and IPOs. Can the Prime Minister’s exhorted ‘pakora’ sellers be the self-employed who’ll be a solution to India’s employment challenge? Find the debate here.