Webinar on Technology and Policy-“Challenges for Governance”: 26th September 2024
Praxis committee organized a webinar by Dr. Jai Asundi, the Executive Director at the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), Bangalore, India. CSTEP is a not-for-profit research organization with a mission to enrich policymaking with innovative approaches, using science and technology for a sustainable, secure, and inclusive society. Dr. Asundi has been involved in research and development projects in multiple areas and his current focus is on organizational development. He spearheaded the creation of the Centre for Air Pollution Studies at CSTEP and the establishment of Al for Social Impact as a sector of research.
The webinar started with Dr. Asundi talking about India’s commitment to science and technology through various science and technology policies over the years. He highlighted a few cases in which he shared how science has developed over the years; the first case was the ‘Green Revolution’ in which he told us about how the food production system was changed through technological use and what contributed towards the success of the green revolution. The second case was of the telecom revolution in which he highlighted how society went from using telegraphs to telephones. He talked about how telephones were luxury at a point in time and now it’s an everyday need. The third case was UIDAI in which we got to know that the Indian government made this biometric project such a great success and made it the largest biometric project in the world.
At last, he talked about the criteria for technology assessment as in which technology is suitable and its impact on the environment and people. The webinar ended with a question-and-answer round for students, the conversation explored several aspects of the intersection between technology, policy, and governance.
