July 13, 2024

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.

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🗳️ POLL RESULTS – Week 183

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🗓️ THE WEEK THAT WAS

Is the Global Digital Compact (GDC) a good idea?

Daily | 8 July 2024

Global Digital Compact (GDC) is a set of shared principles to outline an agenda for an open, free, and secure digital future. Representatives will review the latest draft of the GDC ahead of its adoption at the UN Summit of the Future in September. While the UN and its members are gung-ho about it, others see the GDC, in its present form, as a dystopian nightmare. Read more on this here.

Does the airport proposal for Hosur make sense?

Daily | 9 July 2024

One of the airport proposals in the pipeline is for Hosur – the industrial town in the Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu, about 40 km from Bengaluru. This has been a long-standing demand of the area’s industrialists. With Chennai expected to get another greenfield airport at Parandur and worries from some Karnataka officials, does the Hosur airport make sense? We discuss it here.

Should the totaliser be introduced in Indian elections?

Daily | 10 July 2024

The concept of secrecy/anonymity in the voting process is crucial. Parties and candidates shouldn’t know which citizens did or didn’t vote for them. That’s where this tool called a “totaliser” comes in. It’s a tool to ensure more security at the booth level. They’re not used currently in the EVMs, but there are calls for their inclusion. We unpack this here.

Does Koo’s closure spell bad news for an indigenous social media platform?

Daily | 11 July 2024

While Koo is now no more, it does raise some important points on the broader Indian startup ecosystem. In particular, what are the chances that someone else can create a truly desi social media platform from the ground up? Something like Koo, by Indians for Indians. Is it too high a mountain to climb, or is it just a matter of when not if? Find the debate here.

Is Citigroup’s report on India’s job creation right in its conclusions?

Daily | 12 July 2024

There’s a row between the Union government and Citigroup, who released a report that stated, “India would struggle to create enough jobs” even if the growth rate is 7%. The Labour Ministry has refuted the findings and stated Citigroup failed to consider comprehensive employment data. Is India’s job creation future dire, as Citigroup put it? More on this story here.