- Description
- I work with the Program on Liberation Technology at Stanford University. Before this, I worked with the Right to Food Campaign and other rights based campaigns in India. To learn more, click here.
About Author: Vivek Srinivasan
Posts by Vivek Srinivasan
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People without a crisis
Posted on April 8, 2013 |Some people are in a crisis and others are enjoying prosperity...who should the government help? A serious policy debate. -
It’s a…
Posted on January 30, 2013 |I have been wondering for a while how I would announce to you the gender of the child once we got to know it. If it’s a girl, I’ll change my website to a pink theme and have balloons floating around was my first thought. I did not have an idea what I’d do with a boy. The thought lasted just a few seconds before I embarrassed myself with putting the child-to-be in gendered containers. I myself had been fond of pink for a long time. I remember a shopping trip during my primary school days when I demanded pink... -
The start of a long journey
Posted on November 22, 2012 |Joy, fear, pride, panic, love, relief and a range of other nouns could have explained my emotions when I heard the news from Dr. K. To be honest, my dominant reaction was ‘eh, ok’. After all, it’s not a new release of an iPad or some other cool gadget on which you start getting excited nine months in advance, right? We were merely dealing with an organism that was then just a set of twenty or so cells, dividing itself like bacteria and fighting its way to a temporary shelter. Not something to be excited about so much in advance.... -
Useful links on Open data
Posted on August 18, 2012 |Useful links on open data and how it could be used in making governments more transparent. -
Understanding Tamil Nadu’s commitment to public services
Posted on August 9, 2012 |My doctoral dissertation on Tamil Nadu's extensive commitment to providing basic public services -
Coupons and cash transfers give people a choice unlike the PDS
Posted on August 9, 2012 |This is a part of a series of articles on the proposal to shift from PDS to coupons or cash transfers. To see the introduction, click here. Another strong argument for coupons or cash is that the recipients will have the choice to spend it on what matters most to them. Proponents of reform have argued that the Indian policymakers tend to be paternalistic, and often argue that if the government gives cash instead of grains, poor people may misuse it, including by drinking it away. They have argued that it’s important to trust poor people to make choices that matter... -
Gift of the Magi 2.0
Posted on August 9, 2012 |O. Henry's "Gift of the Magi" retold in the digital era -
Poverty as a choice: Response to a friend
Posted on August 9, 2012 |This is a response to a long and rambling comment by a dear friend. Dear Venki: thank you for being an avid reader, even if it is against your best instincts J I can always take some words of encouragement from a “senior” of my high-school days. Your words were encouraging and I am keen to accept the personal remarks. That said, I will have to respond to your worldly wise(?) comment about poverty being purely a choice. That is a little too tempting, considering that much of our relationship is built on arguments. Let’s get an argument out of the way. If you... -
Combatting corruption with mobile phones
Posted on August 9, 2012 |A project for proactive transparency using mobile phones -
Need for public service mobile application foundation for India
Posted on August 9, 2012 |During my last visit to India, I participated in a few meetings on questions such as strengthening the right information act, the role of the PDS, and other social issues. In all these meetings there was a vigorous debate on how mobile phones could be used on each of these issues given the rapid spread of mobiles in rural India. Despite periodic discussion about the use of technology, I did not hear viable ideas among my activist friends. I believe that this is in part because most of them are not advanced users of technology, and they have definitely not...
