Part I: How India Learnt to Pay Differently There are technological revolutions that announce themselves with great fanfare, and there are those that quietly become part of everyday life. UPI belongs to the second category. Its most visible symbol is a little black-and-white square that now appears almost everywhere—in the neighbourhood grocery shop, beside aContinue reading “The QR Code That Changed India -I”
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The QR Code That Changed India-III
Part III: From the Tea Stall to the World The story of UPI would be incomplete if it ended with the QR code at the neighbourhood shop. What began as an attempt to make domestic payments simpler has now acquired a larger significance. India is increasingly exploring whether the architecture that transformed payments at homeContinue reading “The QR Code That Changed India-III”
The QR Code That Changed India-II
Part II: The Price of Free There is a curious paradox about UPI. The more successful it has become, the easier it is to forget that it costs money to run. For the user, a UPI payment is almost completely frictionless. We scan a QR code, enter an amount, authenticate the transaction and the moneyContinue reading “The QR Code That Changed India-II”
From Press Release to Public Conversation -II
Part II — From Information to Influence If the architecture of communication has changed, the role of the government communicator must change with it. The challenge is no longer simply to disseminate information but to create understanding, build credibility and, where necessary, persuade citizens and stakeholders that a particular course of action is both necessaryContinue reading “From Press Release to Public Conversation -II”
AI and Labour: Preparing for a Future We Cannot Stop
There is a question about artificial intelligence being asked almost everywhere today: Will AI take away our jobs? It is an understandable question, but perhaps not the best one with which to begin. Every major technological transformation has changed the nature of work. The steam engine, electricity, computers and the internet each eliminated some occupations, createdContinue reading “AI and Labour: Preparing for a Future We Cannot Stop”
The World Cup: A Primer from Grandpa-VIII
Letter VIII: When Technology Joined the Beautiful Game My dear Parth, Viyanka, and Veyd, In my last letter, I told you about the referee and how an English referee named Ken Aston invented the yellow and red cards. I also promised to tell you how modern technology now helps referees make difficult decisions. This isContinue reading “The World Cup: A Primer from Grandpa-VIII”
Beyond the Hydrogen Train
A Journey Towards a New Energy Era A train moved quietly across the plains of Haryana. Unlike the locomotives that have powered India’s railways for generations, it left behind neither smoke nor the smell of diesel. Its only visible emission was a plume of water vapour. To many, it was simply another railway trial. YetContinue reading “Beyond the Hydrogen Train”
Conversations at the Edge of History-II
Podcasts as the Archives of the Future The rise of the long-form podcast may ultimately prove to be more than a cultural or technological phenomenon. It may represent a profound transformation in the way human civilisation records itself. What appears today as an explosion of digital conversation may tomorrow be recognised as one of theContinue reading “Conversations at the Edge of History-II “
Conversations at the Edge of History -I
Dwarkesh Patel and the Rise of the Serious Podcast In recent years, the long-form podcast has evolved from a niche digital experiment into one of the principal arenas of contemporary discourse. Politicians, scientists, entrepreneurs, philosophers, and cultural figures increasingly prefer podcasts over conventional television interviews or newspaper conversations when they wish to reflect freely, speculateContinue reading “Conversations at the Edge of History -I”
The Second Mind: Part – III
A Three-Part Reflection on Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Human Intelligence. Control, Catastrophe, and the Fragility of Intelligence Beyond disruption and creativity lies a more unsettling terrain—one defined not by possibility alone, but by vulnerability. AI, for all its sophistication, rests upon foundations that are at once powerful and fragile: data, infrastructure, and systemsContinue reading “The Second Mind: Part – III”
