🧭 RESEARCH TITLE (Indicative)

“Digitally Empowered Citizens? A Sociological and Anthropological Perspctives of E-Governance

and Skilling Policies in India”

🔍 KEY RESEARCH QUESTIONS

E-Governance and Digital Public Infrastructure (Point 8)

1. How do citizens experience digital state interfaces (e.g., DigiLocker, UMANG, Aadhaar-linked
services)?

2. What socio-cultural barriers (language, literacy, caste, gender) affect access and usage of e-
governance tools?

3. How does digital infrastructure reshape the everyday practices of bureaucracy and
governance?

4. Is digital inclusion translating into effective empowerment?

Digital Skilling and Human Capital (Point 9)

1. Who benefits from skilling initiatives like FutureSkills Prime and PMGDISHA?

2. How do digital skilling programs intersect with caste, class, gender, and rural/urban divides?

3. How is the idea of “employability” socially constructed in digital India?

4. Do these programs address deeper structural causes of unemployment and marginalization?

🧠 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS

Anthropology

 James Ferguson’s "anti-politics machine" – on technocratic solutions depoliticizing

structural issues

 Scott’s “Seeing Like a State” – state simplification and legibility through digital governance

 Digital Anthropology – focus on how people live with and adapt to digital technologies

Sociology

 Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts – cultural capital, digital literacy, symbolic power in accessing e-
services

 Caste and technology – how tech reproduces or challenges existing social hierarchies

 Critical Development Studies – who defines development, and in whose image?

🧪 METHODOLOGY (Mixed-Methods Approach)

Qualitative
  Ethnographic fieldwork: Interactions at Common Service Centres (CSCs), skilling centres, or
Aadhaar facilitation centres

 Interviews/Focus Groups: With citizens, bureaucrats, trainers, and beneficiaries

 Discourse Analysis: Government portals, training modules, promotional campaigns

Quantitative

 Survey on digital literacy, service accessibility, and perceived empowerment

 Use existing datasets from NSSO, NFHS, or MeitY reports for correlations (e.g., digital literacy
vs. socio-economic group)

🧩 CASE STUDY IDEAS

1. Rural Telangana or Andhra Pradesh: To assess e-service access, given BharatNet penetration

2. Urban slums (e.g., Hyderabad or Delhi): Study informal workers' experience with PMGDISHA
or UMANG

3. North-East India or Adivasi areas: Study digital skilling's cultural fit and challenges

📚 KEY READINGS

E-Governance

 Ravinder Kaur – “Brand India: Nation Branding and the Global Circuits of Capital and
Culture”

 Joyojeet Pal – Research on technology and governance in rural India

 Rita Kothari – Language politics in digital spaces

Skilling & Digital Labor

 Janaki Srinivasan – Work on digital intermediaries and social inequality

 Sharma, R. (2019) – "India’s Skill Development Mission: The Hidden Curriculum of

Employability"

 C.S. Lakshmi – Gendered access to technology in rural India

🧱 CRITICAL CONCERNS TO EXPLORE

1. Digital Exclusion: Is inclusion in digital services meaningful without addressing literacy,

language, and caste dynamics?

2. Technological Determinism: Are policies over-relying on tech as a solution without

addressing deep-rooted social problems?

3. Skilling vs. Structural Reform: Are skilling programs deflecting attention from job creation,
fair wages, and structural unemployment?
 4. Algorithmic Governance: How do platforms, codes, and data shape governance outcomes?

📌 OUTPUT POSSIBILITIES

 PhD dissertation or research paper in journals like Economic & Political Weekly,
Contributions to Indian Sociology, or Anthropology Today

 Policy brief on improving inclusivity and accountability in digital governance

 Public-facing essays or talks addressing how “digital India” is experienced from below

🔍 A. COMMON SERVICE CENTRES (CSCs)

What to Observe/Extract:

1. Everyday Practices of Digital Mediation

o How do VLEs (Village Level Entrepreneurs) navigate tech and bureaucracy?

o What kinds of informal problem-solving, workarounds, or "jugaad" practices

emerge?

2. Power Relations and Gatekeeping

o Who controls access to CSC services (caste, class, gender)?

o Are there “brokers” or intermediaries who extract informal payments or influence

access?

3. Language, Literacy & Interface Use

o What languages are services offered in?

o How do citizens with low digital literacy engage with systems?

4. Perceptions of the State

o How do people understand government through these digital interfaces?

o Do they perceive the state as more helpful, more opaque, or unchanged?

5. Inclusion and Exclusion

o Who uses the CSCs regularly? Who avoids or is excluded from them?

o Do caste or gendered spatial dynamics determine who enters and who doesn’t?

🔍 B. SKILLING CENTRES (e.g., PMGDISHA, FutureSkills Prime)

What to Observe/Extract:

1. Social Background of Trainees

o What is the caste/class/gender profile of trainees?

 o Are people self-motivated, or are they attending due to pressure (e.g., scheme
conditions, employment obligations)?

2. Aspirations and Expectations

o What do trainees think digital skills will offer them?

o Are their aspirations aligned with what the training actually delivers?

3. Curriculum vs. Reality

o How standardized is the curriculum? Does it address context-specific needs?

o Are training methods culturally and linguistically accessible?

4. Hidden Curriculum

o Are ideas of discipline, obedience, self-entrepreneurship, or “being employable”

promoted in subtle ways?

o How is the ideal digital citizen or worker framed?

5. Post-training Outcomes

o Do people actually get jobs? What kinds of jobs?

o Are digital skills translating into economic or social mobility?

🔍 C. AADHAAR ENROLLMENT / FACILITATION CENTRES

What to Observe/Extract:

1. Biometric Encounters

o How do people react to biometric machines (iris scans, fingerprints)?

o Are there instances of machine failure, and how are they negotiated?

2. Identity and Legibility

o How does Aadhaar shape people’s understanding of their identity and citizenship?

o Are there anxieties, myths, or resistance around being “datafied”?

3. Social Sorting and Errors

o What happens when people are denied Aadhaar or face mismatches?

o Are these experiences patterned by caste, literacy, or geography?

4. Interaction with Bureaucrats

o Are enrolment agents polite, indifferent, or hostile?

o How much digital/bureaucratic power do agents exercise over marginalized users?

5. Trust and Surveillance

 o Do people trust Aadhaar? Do they understand how their data is used?

o Is there a perception of surveillance, or is it seen as benign efficiency?

📖 Anthropological Themes You Can Explore Across Sites

 Techno-bureaucratic Mediation – How does digital infrastructure reshape state-society

interaction?

 Moral Economy of Citizenship – Who is seen as deserving or undeserving of state attention

in digital spaces?

 Embodied Experience of the Digital State – Through biometric scans, waiting lines,
paperwork, touchscreen use

 Ethics and Informality – How people navigate rules, bend them, or make ethical decisions
under constraints

 Temporal Politics – Time spent waiting, re-applying, or dealing with “system not working” –
often invisible but crucial

🎯 Suggested Fieldwork Tools

 Participant observation (spending time in centres during work hours)

 Semi-structured interviews (citizens, VLEs, trainers, facilitators, bureaucrats)

 Field notes on social space (seating arrangements, gendered access, signage, crowd control)

 Document analysis (pamphlets, curriculum material, posters)

 Photo-elicitation (if ethically permitted) or sketching the spatial setup

🔍 2. Skilling Centres (e.g., PMGDISHA, FutureSkills)

These centres are meant to enhance human capital for the digital economy. Ethnography here can
uncover the social life of skilling.

What to Extract:

a. Aspirations and Motivations

 What do learners hope to gain from digital skilling—jobs, prestige, migration,

empowerment?

 How is the idea of a “digital future” imagined?

b. Pedagogical Culture

 How is digital literacy taught? What assumptions are embedded (e.g., on English, tech-
savviness)?

 How do instructors relate to trainees? Is there a hierarchy?

c. Gendered Access and Participation

 Who enrolls in these programs? Who drops out—and why?

 How do household norms affect women's or girls' participation?

d. Mismatches and Frictions

 Are the skills taught (e.g., typing, using apps) aligned with actual job market needs?

 How do trainees interpret the gap between training and employment?

🔍 3. Aadhaar Facilitation Centres

These centres represent a biometric interface with citizenship. They're crucial for analyzing how
state legibility is produced.

What to Extract:

a. Embodiment and Bureaucracy

 What happens when bodies don’t fit the system—e.g., worn fingerprints, aging eyes,
deformities?

 What are the narratives around biometric failure or rejection?

b. Negotiating Digital Identity

 How do citizens understand their Aadhaar—as a right, as surveillance, as compulsion?

 How does Aadhaar change people’s experience of being a citizen?

c. Intermediation and Exploitation

 Are there unofficial “fixers” or agents helping people navigate the system—for a fee?

 How are illiterate or elderly people supported (or exploited) in this process?

d. Symbolism and Meaning

 Is Aadhaar seen as a symbol of inclusion, modernity, dignity—or as exclusion, state control?

 How is it narrated in local discourse (e.g., through religious, cultural, or emotional

metaphors)?

🧠 Anthropological Insights Gained:

Category Potential Themes

Technological Citizenship How digital systems reconfigure state-subject relations

Mediation and Translation Role of local actors in translating policy into practice

Digital Inequality New exclusions based on literacy, caste, geography

Affective Labor Emotional labor of navigating digital bureaucracy

Category Potential Themes

Everyday State How the “state” is perceived through its digital arms

Power and Informality Rise of new actors (VLEs, trainers) with informal authority

Fieldnote formats, interview guides, or coding themes for qualitative analysis

🧑‍🌾 1. Citizens / Beneficiaries of E-Governance and Skilling Schemes

These are the people most affected by digital inclusion efforts — and the most important voices to
center.

🔍 What to Extract:

a. Experiences with Digital Services

 Ease or difficulty accessing Aadhaar-linked services, DigiLocker, e-health, or land records.

 Trust (or lack thereof) in digital platforms vs. traditional offices.

b. Feelings of Inclusion or Exclusion

 Do people feel more empowered or alienated by digital governance?

 How do caste, literacy, language, and gender impact access?

c. Perception of Skills and Opportunity

 What do "digital skills" mean to them?

 Has skilling led to a real job, income, or upward mobility?

d. Aspirations and Imaginaries

 How do citizens imagine “digital India” and their place in it?

 Do they see technology as liberating, threatening, or simply imposed?

e. Workarounds and Resistance

 Strategies to bypass tech failures: biometric mismatches, login issues, unresponsive apps.

 Are there moments of resistance, satire, or negotiation with the digital state?

🧑‍🏫 2. Trainers (Digital Literacy or Skilling Programs)

These individuals mediate the transmission of knowledge and values—and reveal the hidden
curriculum of digital empowerment.

🔍 What to Extract:
a. Classroom Realities

 Gaps between official curriculum and what is actually taught.

 Challenges in conveying abstract or technical concepts in local languages.

b. Social Barriers

 Observations on gender dynamics, dropout reasons, resistance from parents or

communities.

 Cultural mismatches between trainees and digital learning content.

c. Hidden Labor

 Emotional labor of teaching: encouragement, hand-holding, tech support.

 Navigating bureaucratic expectations vs. on-ground realities.

d. Performance Pressure

 Quotas, audits, deadlines from higher-ups.

 How success is measured and performed (e.g., inflated outcomes?).

🏢 3. Bureaucrats / Government Officials (District Collectors, Block Officers, MeitY Staff, etc.)

They reflect how policy intent meets administrative practice.

🔍 What to Extract:

a. Institutional Vision

 How do officials interpret “digital inclusion,” “empowerment,” or “efficiency”?

 What goals are prioritized—reach, speed, visibility, or quality?

b. Logistical and Ethical Challenges

 Problems with data errors, tech glitches, infrastructure gaps.

 Concerns around data privacy, surveillance, or accountability.

c. Metrics vs. Meaning

 Are success stories fabricated, exaggerated, or manipulated for political ends?

 Do bureaucrats recognize discrepancies between policy and practice?

d. Politics of Implementation

 Who gets what, where, and why? Any favoritism or neglect based on caste, region, or
politics?

 Role of private actors or contractors in implementation.

👥 4. Focus Groups (Mixed Beneficiaries or Specific Demographics)

These offer collective narratives, peer comparisons, and group dynamics of meaning-making.

🔍 What to Extract:

a. Shared Challenges

 Common pain points (e.g., Aadhaar linking errors, miscommunication, irrelevant training).

 Group strategies to overcome barriers (peer help, local hacks).

b. Differentiated Experiences

 Compare experiences by gender, age, caste, or occupation within a group.

 Do women feel differently than men? Do older adults approach tech differently?

c. Cultural Interpretations

 How is the digital state talked about? As “distant father”? “Mechanical boss”? “Invisible
help”?

 Use of local metaphors, satire, or religious beliefs to describe tech.

d. Mistrust and Rumors

 Are there circulating rumors (e.g., Aadhaar = surveillance, skilling = scam)?

 What do these say about power, fear, or past betrayals?

🧠 OVERARCHING THEMES TO ANALYZE

Theme Sample Analysis Angle

Digital Subjectivity How do people understand themselves as “digital citizens”?

Social Reproduction How do tech programs reinforce or challenge caste/class hierarchies?

Affective Governance How does hope, fear, shame, or pride operate in digital skilling or service use?

Disjuncture between official success narratives and lived failure or

Technocratic Gaps
workaround

Embodied Experience Biometric data collection, waiting in line, fatigue from system failure

Sample interview guide or focus group discussion protocol

🧾 1. INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR BENEFICIARIES (CITIZENS)

🔹 A. Introduction & Consent

 Introduce yourself and the purpose of the study.

 Explain that their participation is voluntary and anonymous.

  Seek verbal or written consent (prepare a simple consent form in local language).

🔹 B. Background Information

 Name, age, gender

 Caste/community

 Education level

 Occupation & household livelihood

 Internet/mobile access

🔹 C. Experience with Digital Governance (e.g., CSC, Aadhaar, DigiLocker)

1. Have you used any government digital services recently? (e.g., land records, pension,
certificates)

2. How did you access the service — yourself or through someone else?

3. Was the process easy or difficult? Why?

4. Did anyone help you? (probe: VLE, broker, family, NGO)

5. Have you ever faced issues like biometric failure, login problems, or document mismatch?

🔹 D. Trust and Understanding

6. Do you understand how your personal data is used?

7. Do you trust these digital services? Why or why not?

8. Do you prefer using a digital system or going to a government office in person?

🔹 E. Impact on Life

9. Has the digital service made your life better in any way?

10. Are there things you used to get easily but now find harder with digital systems?

🧾 2. INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR TRAINEES AT SKILLING CENTRES

🔹 A. Background

1. What course are you enrolled in? How did you find out about it?

2. What do you expect to gain from this training?

3. What is your family’s opinion about this course?

🔹 B. Learning Experience

4. Is the content easy to understand? In what language is it taught?

5. What kind of digital devices do you use? (smartphone, computer, etc.)

6. What challenges do you face in learning?

🔹 C. Aspirations and Opportunities

7. What kind of job or future are you hoping for after this course?

8. Has anyone from your centre got a job? If yes, what kind?

9. Do you think this training will help you find work?

🔹 D. Social Dimensions

10. Do you feel treated equally here (regardless of caste/gender/class)?

11. Are there people who dropped out of the course? Why?

🧾 3. INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR VLEs / Trainers / Government Officials

For Village Level Entrepreneurs (CSCs)

1. How long have you been running this CSC?

2. What services do you offer most frequently?

3. What are common problems citizens face?

4. How do you help people who cannot read/write or understand tech?

5. Do you face pressure to meet quotas or deadlines?

For Skilling Trainers

1. What kind of students attend your sessions?

2. How do you handle different literacy levels or language barriers?

3. Do trainees get placed in jobs?

4. What challenges do you face in delivering the curriculum?

For Bureaucrats / Implementers

1. How is success measured for e-governance or skilling programs?

2. What are the main challenges in implementation?

3. How are exclusions or system failures tracked and addressed?

4. How does the government plan to make these systems more inclusive?

👥 4. FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION (FGD) PROTOCOL

Group Size: 6–8 participants

Duration: 45–60 minutes

Setting: Safe, quiet, familiar space (e.g., village school, community centre)

🔹 A. Warm-Up Questions
  How do you usually interact with government services?

 Have you heard about or used any online services for this?

🔹 B. Key Discussion Themes

1. Accessibility

o Who finds it easy or difficult to use digital services or training?

o Are women, older people, or Dalits/Adivasis treated differently?

2. Experience

o Share a story of a good or bad experience with Aadhaar, DigiLocker, or skilling

programs.

3. Perceptions

o What does “Digital India” mean to you?

o Do you think these programs are helpful or just showpieces?

4. Agency and Aspirations

o What do you want from the government’s digital programs?

o What would you change to make them better?

🔹 C. Wrap-Up

 What message would you give to policymakers about digital services and training?