Our Advocacy Statements

IT for Change's Comments to the Draft National Geospatial Policy, 2021

2021

IT for Change inputted to the public consultation on the Draft National Geospatial Policy, 2021 put out by the Department of Science and Technology.

Our submission emphasized on the fact that physical locations are a shared public resource and the policy supporting wider democratization of geospatial data should allow for equal digital…

IT for Change's Response to the Public Consultation on India Digital Ecosystem of Agriculture (IDEA)

2021

IT for Change responded to the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare public consultation white paper for the India Digital Ecosystem of Agriculture (IDEA). The key points of our submission are summarized below.

The full submission may be found here.

IDEA will prevent corporate capture of core structures of the digital…

Representation Against NUE Licenses for Corporations like Amazon

2021

IT for Change is part of a coalition of NGOs and labor unions that has called on the Reserve Back of India (RBI) to not proceed with licensing corporations to run parallel financial infrastructures like Universal Payment Interface (UPI) on a for-profit basis. This coalition includes the workers' union of the State Bank of India, the largest…

Input at the Civil Society Consultation for the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries

2021

On behalf of the Just Net Coalition, Anita Gurumurthy presented the following input at the Consultation of Civil Society with the Co-Chairs of the Preparatory Committee for the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) on May 20, 2021.

Respected Co-Chairs,

Digital technologies have emerged as an…

IT for Change's Feedback to the Draft Digital Markets Act, 2020

2021

The draft Digital Markets Act envisages the obligations of data sharing by large gatekeeper platforms along with ex-ante oversight by the regulator of such platforms, in the EU. This regulation is framed as a part of the Digital Services Act Package, being discussed by the EU to regulate the digital economy.

The feedback by IT for Change…

Over 170 Civil Society Groups Worldwide Oppose Plans for a Big Tech Dominated Body for Global Digital Governance

2021

Just Net Coalition, along with more than 170 civil society groups addressed an Open Letter to the UN Secretary General urging him to shelve plans for a High Level Multistakeholder Body which, if set up, can be expected to become the default apex global digital governance and policy body. This body is to be privately funded, with strong hints…

Press Release: Open All Primary Schools Now to Avoid a Learning Crisis

2021

IT for Change has drafted a statement, endorsed by a group of educationists and social work organizations, about the urgent need to open all primary schools to avoid a crisis of learning. Read it below:

1. The Karnataka education department has opened schools selectively. Classes 9-12 have regular classes, and 6-8 have intermittent…

Press Release: Open All Schools and All Classes, with Local Hygiene Precautions

2021

IT for Change put out a press release on January 26, 2021, about the urgent need to reopen all classes across all schools with local hygiene precautions in place. The statement, endorsed by a group of educationists and social work organizations, was covered by the New Indian Express. 

The day after the release of the statement, the…

IT for Change's Feedback to the Draft Data Governance Act, 2020

2021

The Draft Data Governance Act, 2020 envisages the rules for data sharing in the EU. This initiative is part of the Data Strategy, adopted by the EU to regulate the digital economy. The summary feedback by IT for Change is available here and the detailed feedback is here. We recommend the need to focus on community approaches, away from an…

Platform Workers' Concerns with the Draft Code on Social Security Rules, 2020 – Joint Submission to Public Consultation

2020

Working closely with the trade unions All India Gig Workers Union & Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers, and the civil society organisations Aapti Institute, the Centre for Internet and Society, Tandem Research and TWN Trust, IT for Change co-drafted an input from the standpoint of platform and gig workers' rights for the…