Paper entitled “Employment and Dignity Under Beneficial Owners of Information, Automatic Identification and Surveillance Technology” to be presented at Nalanda University

A paper entitled “Employment and Dignity Under Beneficial Owners of Information, Automatic Identification and Surveillance Technology” to be presented at Nalanda University during 25th Annual Conference of Indian Association of Social Science Institutions which commences on October 25.

The paper entitled “Employment and Dignity Under Beneficial Owners of Information, Automatic Identification and Surveillance Technology” will be presented at the 25th Annual Conference of the Indian Association of Social Science Institutions (IASSI) to be held at Nalanda University, Rajgir, during 25-28 October 2026. The abstract of the paper has been published in the book of abstracts published at the university by IASSI. The paper authored by Dr. Gopal Krishna, Advocate, Patna High Court captures the six epoch making phases of the Information Technology (IT), automatic identification and surveillance industry in India and their ramifications for the employment and dignity. It will be presented during the technical session on Digital Futures: Technology, Society and Well-Being in a Changing World. 

The paper maps these phases and the emergence of the IT-era in India. Amid resistance from the trade unions who were worried about the adverse impact of IT industry on employment in the mid 1960s, the first began during 1955-1970, with the establishment of the Department of Electronics was established and the Electronics Corporation of India Limited. Today, there is a full fledged Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology which functioning with an objective to rewrite the India’s landscape with e-government, e-industry, e-innovation, e-learning, e-security, e-inclusion, e-diplomacy and internet governance. It is promoting internet, IT, IT enabled services, electronic-biometric identification and semiconductor devices and laboratories.

In the second phase, during 1970-1984, the government set up a committee in 1969 to examine the impact of automation on employment ahead of the establishment of the first software export zone, Santacruz Electronics Export Processing Zone in Mumbai in the 1970s. 

In the third phase, during 1984-1991, the New Computer Policy, Software Policy and Electronic Policy was adopted and Centre for Development of Telematics laid the foundations for the growth of IT industry in the country. Indian Railways adopted computerized ticket reservation system while studying concerns regarding possible negative impact of the IT policy on the structure of employment.

In the fourth phase, during 1991-1998, the Department of Electronics established Software Technology Parks (STPs) in 1991 with satellite communication links which enabled Indian software companies to develop software applications on their international clients’ computers from India.

In the fifth phase, during 1998-2005, the National Task Force on Information Technology and Software Development was constituted, Software Technology Parks of India established in different cities and the Information Technology Act, 2000, the first e-commerce law was enacted in pursuance of the resolution on United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)’s Model Law on Electronic Commerce by UN General Assembly in January 1997 for electronic transactions, e-commerce and e-governance. In this phase, Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) replaced ballot papers for elections since the general elections of 2004. 

In the sixth phase, during 2005-2024, administrative approval was provided for Unique Identification of all the residents of India, which is based on biometric “technologies that measure and analyse human body characteristics, such as 'fingerprints', 'eye retinas and irises', 'voice patterns', "facial patterns', 'hand measurements' and 'DNA' for authentication and automation purposes in the face of concerns regarding Artificial Intelligence (AI) replacing human workers with robot workers. The legitimate uses of computers in education, science, research, statistics and defence as also in commercial and industrial establishments has been normalized and naturalized in this phase.

The paper underlines that responding to the need for legal protection of workers, the four labour codes- Code on Wages, Social Security Code, Industrial Relations Code and the Occupational Safety Code-have been enacted in this very phase. Among other aspects, the paper infers that recognition of gig workers and platform workers as a separate class of workers by Social Security Code of 2022 paves the way for ensuring labour rights, social security, and welfare programmes for platform workers.It can shift towards citizens, workers and employee and make beneficial owners of technologies subservient to the democratic consent of the citizens.

The opening address will be by Professor Sachin Chaturvedi, Chairperson, IASSI and Vice-Chancellor, Nalanda University. Prof. Dhananjay Singh, Member-Secretary, Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi. Prof. S. Mahendra Dev Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) will deliver the inaugural lecture. Shivkumar Kalyanaraman, Chief Executive Officer, Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India will deliver the keynote address on Digital Futures: Technology, Society and Well-Being in a Changing World. S. Gurumurthy, Chairman, Vivekananda International Foundation and Editor, Thuglak will address the Special Panel on Indian Methodologies for Issues Before Social Sciences.