Shubhi Mathur

Great insights into where the public affairs profession stands in India, where the policy landscape is changing fast impacting the society, government and business, as the country pushes its way to becoming a developed economy. For Public Affairs Forum of India, another big stride. Thanks Indian School of Public Policy (ISPP) in helping put the report together. AJAY KHANNA Vishwanath TS Harish Krishnan Raman Sidhu Deepshikha Dharmaraj Chetan Krishnaswamy Medha Girotra

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RAKSHA... Risk anticipation support we all need on speed dial :) Founder Aarathi Krishnan has a sterling track record and a tonne of credibility and work at the frontier of decision intelligence - if you need support on knowledge, insight and decision-making for pre-crisis, crisis and/or complex environments. www.rak-sha.com #RiskGovernance #FutureReady #RAKSHA

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Environmental Crime data in India has faced several limitations. Until 2013, no public data was available. In 2014, a chapter on environment-related offences was added to the National Crime Records Bureau's ‘Crime in India’ stats. However, issues persist in the reporting and interpretation of this data. Here is a thread on the limitations of #EnvironmentalCrime data: https://lnkd.in/g-V2_tNh #endENVcrime #CrimeData

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Regardless of today's events, I hope that the majority of the elite recognize that Indian voters are intelligent, calculated, and deeply value harmony, rejecting violence. Isolated incidents do not define the country as a whole. Additionally, EVMs are an improvement over booth capturing, and while increasing VVPAT usage nationwide is beneficial, EVMs are not inherently problematic. Lastly, a strong opposition is essential to keep the government accountable. #results #Indianelections2024 #thoughts

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🔔 New Op-Ed | Reaching New Heights of Policy Success Policymaking in India faces resistance from entrenched interests and a complex web of interdependencies. Leveraging data, AI, and emerging tech can drive a shift toward future-oriented governance, writes Ajay Kumar for Business Standard. Read ⬇️

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I write with Shashank Pandey on the proposed changes to the RPWD rules for disability certification. These new rules, designed to fulfill the vision of the RPWD Act, 2016 for a barrier-free society, risk becoming significant obstacles for persons with disabilities (PWDs) in securing their rights to inclusion and accommodation. We highlight the many challenges in obtaining a disability certificate—challenges that these new regulations could exacerbate. Moreover, it’s concerning that the changes appear to be a reaction to the controversy surrounding Puja Khedkar's misuse of the system through fake disability certificates, EWS-Creamy layer quota manipulation, and multiple name changes. The response to this unfairly places the burden on PWDs, further marginalizing them and subjecting them to an othering gaze. Our article also reflects on how these changes mirror broader societal views toward PWDs—views that they now have to contend with, alongside the new rules that reinforce such attitudes and create additional barriers. Link to the article - https://lnkd.in/gA2EhJi2 The Quantum Hub

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Public Policy professionals.. here’s an insightful report from the Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI) in collaboration with the Indian School of Public Policy presenting a comprehensive view on perspectives of stakeholders, industry experts, and outlining challenges such as talent retention and navigating regulatory complexities. Do look up! Indian School of Public Policy (ISPP) #Alert

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In a new paper for our Carnegie Endowment for International Peace# IndiaElects2024 series, Caroline Mallory and I assess to what extent India's 2024 election reflects a repudiation of the fourth party system and a reversion to a more decentralized, fragmented era https://lnkd.in/eaR2DA7G

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Thank you Nihal J. Krishan & Council for Strategic and Defense Research conducting this brilliant event Topic of discussion for my panel was ➤ ‘India's Quest for Technological Sovereignty: Navigating the AI Boom and Crafting an Independent Tech Policy’ which involved industry experts. Found the conversation very insightful examining the responses of the government, prominent AI developers, digital rights organizations, civil society, and technology experts to the rapid proliferation of AI both in India and globally. How the dialogue involved drawing inspiration from certain aspects of AI strategies employed by the US, EU, and China while charting its own distinct trajectory for AI advancement. #Artificialintelligence #Deepfakes #Techpolicy #IndianElections #EthicalAI #ResponsibleAI

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The recent Supreme Court ruling on the Electoral Bond scheme has rightly been hailed as progressive, marking a victory for greater transparency in electoral politics and expanding the citizen's 'right to know' while curbing unlimited political funding from loss-making companies. However, this judgment’s impact on weakening the chances of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) of winning the upcoming Lok Sabha elections starting next week appears to be minimal. https://lnkd.in/gGtvjni8 #ElectoralTransparency #CitizensRights #PoliticalFundingReform #SupremeCourtJudgment #LokSabhaElections #BJPNDAGovernment #LegalReform #CorporateAccountability #DemocracyInAction #JudicialEmpowerment #ElectoralBonds

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Dr Sasmit Patra is an interesting parliamentarian to watch, bringing to the fore issues of an institutional nature. It may be the more reasoned deliberations at the back-end, of MPs like Dr Patra, that produces real work, in the absence of maturity and substantive depth in those leading the poor quality of the opposition's grouse mining narrative spins. Building congruency, needs a reasonable nod to reality, and that is compromised by the poor quality of legislative deliberations descending purely to exacerbating issues in the pursuit of vote-banks, rather than act as a check on government excesses. Even our institutional structures like courts, in many cases, appear to prefer moral posturing rather than building a bridge to better policy implementation, the decontextualized nature of their abstractions, and a procedural morass. where the fealty to procedural means have overtaken substantive and practical ends (tareek pe tareek!) - leads any resolution into an endless procedural maze. The tough task of "performing" in governance, making a careerist bureaucracy with its deep vested interests work, is difficult even for the strong willed, and may not even be in the agenda as the primary focus of those slanted by their electoral bargains.

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Dis-and #misinformation in #election campaigns: In this article, I tried to capture key lessons learned from the Shakti Collective (India) and a blueprint for the future to make collaborations easy. 1. Importance of Interdisciplinary teams was a crucial differentiator to ensure every spoke in wheel was coming together to function like a well-oiled machine. 2. Power of collaboration and amplifying fact-checking networks helped​ protect millions of voters from poll-related misinformation 3. Incorporating language diversity in fact-checking. While those that speak English have access to fact checks and verified information, the same is not always true of other languages. Ensuring language amplification was key behind the success of the collective. 4. India's election wasn't infected with deepfake content many feared. But risk is certainly no longer just hypothetical. 5. Biggest threat posed by disinformation is that it is not just fake content that makes people believe false things—it's also making them less likely to accept truthful information. 6. One of the most valuable lessons we learned from the Shakti Collective is that when we want to encourage people to do something big, we need to make it easy.

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Key Findings: 1. Political News: Rated highest for misinformation with an average score of 4.2 on a five-point scale. 2. All News Categories: Those who have voted but do not plan to vote again rate misinformation consistently high across all categories. 3. Voter Behavior: Misinformation not only reduces the appetite for news but also negatively impacts voting intentions, particularly among those disillusioned by past voting outcomes. 4. Main Reasons: Most respondents believe misinformation aims to influence voting behavior and religious sentiments.

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In the last three months, I worked with Roohi Sharma and Anirban Chaudhury on understanding where nonprofits stand in their digital journey. It has been so enriching to continually debate on what do we mean by this amorphous word "digital". In collating the responses of the participant organisations and experts, we asked ourselves many questions. Some led to answers, some led to more questions. In both the intuitive and counterintuitive findings, the need for a structured mentorship (87.5% participants) and additional technology employment (90% participants) stood out. The report synthesises the findings with the secondary research to sketch the current landscape of digital transformation of nonprofits in India. We believe the report will inform, stimulate, and excite the sector. Do read, engage, discuss!

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Understanding the Impact of Misinformation on News Consumption and Voting Behavior | Ami Kumar looks into our latest report, "From Smartphones to Ballot Boxes: The Impact of Misinformation on Indian Voters," highlights the alarming perception of misinformation across different news categories. Key Findings: 1. Political News: Rated highest for misinformation with an average score of 4.2 on a five-point scale. 2. All News Categories: Those who have voted but do not plan to vote again rate misinformation consistently high across all categories. 3. Voter Behavior: Misinformation not only reduces the appetite for news but also negatively impacts voting intentions, particularly among those disillusioned by past voting outcomes. 4. Main Reasons: Most respondents believe misinformation aims to influence voting behavior and religious sentiments. This twofold effect of misinformation underscores the urgent need for robust media literacy and fact-checking initiatives. For an in-depth analysis, access the full report here: https://lnkd.in/d48t4N34 #Misinformation #VoterBehavior #MediaLiteracy #FactChecking #DigitalAge #IndianVoters

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Happy to have contributed a chapter, along with Kriti Singh, titled "Responsible & Ethical Framework In Online Gaming: A Shared Responsibility" for the first edition of Online Gaming in India Technology, Policy, and Challenges - Edited by Prof. Lovely Dasgupta and Prof. Shameek Sen. Published by Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, it is by far the most comprehensive literature capturing various aspects of online gaming and its intersection with policy and regulation. The Dialogue

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Marking the election result day with colleagues here (and in other locations and remotely)! A day of number crunching and decoding and now listening in to the Prime Minister. Active and busy days ahead for us in public policy. #indiaelections #publicpolicy #government #politics

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I love when my friends strike out and build something amazing. This time it's Aarathi Krishnan, who is a week away from the official launch of RAKSHA Intelligence Futures. RAKSHA works at the frontier of decision intelligence and aims to be the risk anticipation support everyone needs on speed dial. If you're seeking advice and support on knowledge, insight and decision making for pre-crisis, crisis and/or complex environments, contact Aarathi and the RAKSHA team. www.rak-sha.com  #RiskGovernance #FutureReady #RAKSHA

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