Ab hausle se jeene de
Ab khauf nahi hai seene mein
Har raaste ko cheerenge
Hum kaamyabi cheenenge
Sab kuch mila paseene se
Matlab bana ab jeene mein
DTW
During the Week, doors of MadhyaMaheshwar Temple in Garhwal Himalayas were opened for the Summer. One of my favourite places to trek or “just be there”, it is situated at an elevation of 3,497 m and is one of the Panch Kedar pilgrimage circuit, comprising five Shiva temples in the Garhwal region. Last two summers have been difficult for the pilgrims, trekkers and most importantly local informal businesses whose livelihood depends on the short 5 months business generated during the yatra season. In fact, I would already at MadhyaMaheshwar when you would be reading this newsletter on Sunday Evening! Would be sending you good vibes throughout the trek.
On these trekking/pilgirmage routes, you would find small halts (पड़ाव) where you could relax and eat food. The local vendors are a pleasant sight after a long climb and offer their best wares and stories.
I have discussed about the evolving relationship of work and platform as well as how platforms have been modifying the nature of work. The term frequently used is Gig Economy or Shared Economy or On-demand Work. I would use the terms interchangeably in this newsletter. I have spoken about Platform and Work in general here , Platform and Passion here and Platforms and Informal Sector but this newsletter is about Platforms and Street Vendor.
This relationship through the lens of Risk mitigation, Income generation, Skill Building and Empowerment.
Risk Mitigation should be the first priority. The biggest fear of street vendor is “eviction“ and loss of livelihood/identity. Multiple government agencies and development sector organisations are working towards creating processes and platforms to ensure that the street vendors’ right to livelihood are protected. One interesting perspective shared by Gen Anil Kumar Bhatt from ISpA was use of GIS technologies and platforms for effective mapping of vending spots for urban planning thus creating an inclusive space for all. Street vendors specially in mountains and other natural disaster prone regions can definitely benefit from advance information using SpaceTech platforms about weather events thus preventing loss of lives and livelihood.
Income Generation may be a very straight forward outcome of digital transformation of street vendors. Access to better markets, better credit and other financial products and efficiency in scaling businesses can be facilitated through platforms. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) through Prime Minister Street Vendor's AtmaNibhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme collaborated with FoodTech platforms like Swiggy and Zomato for home delivery of street food in six cities. Such initiates can help bring street food vendors on platforms to increase their customer base and lift them out of poverty.
Skill Building through platforms can help street vendors to improve their business skills, and to help vendors conduct their daily businesses more efficiently. Use of technology in their business processes can help reduce the drudgery associated with many manual processes. For example, Skill India along with Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 3.0 implemented a skill building program for street vendors on health and safety standards, safety provisions under COVID-19 protocols, effective communication techniques with staff and customers, new-age skills such as digital literacy, financial literacy, digital payments and e-selling.
Empowerment through digital transformation can bring profound change to our society. Street vendors are amongst the most vulnerable sections of the society and even within them women, disabled and migrants bear the brunt of the oppression and drudgery of being on the street. Neighbourhood E-commerce Digital Platforms like TRICE can help them to connect better their local patrons in communities and be treated with respect and dignity. Our friends at Digital Junction led by Nikhil and Jasminder Singh Gulati of Digital Desh are onboarding small vendors on Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) thereby helping them use an open source platform and remain independent of big tech algorithms. Similarly, innovative use of digital technologies can help street vendors overcome their digital and financial illiteracy.
What could be sweeter than an incoming voice message announcing money!
I was also glad to be part of the Digital Street series of symposium at New Delhi organised by Centre of Excellence for Digital Transformation at IFHE Hyderabad and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung India Office.
We were privileged to hear from street vendors, street vendor unions, academicians , technologists, policy researchers, development professionals and corporate leaders. The challenges identified by the participants related to the perception of technology being used more for regulation than empowerment of informal sector in general and street vendors in particular. Digital technologies adoption challenges by street vendors and specially the most vulnerable amongst them was highlighted as a major barrier for digital transformation of the informal sector. Anxiety about loss of street vendor identity coupled with financial risk and fear of disintermediation by the tech platforms was shared by street vendors and other stakeholders.
This initiative is year long engagement with the stakeholders across the country. We are proud to partner with ICFAI Group institutions across India to create a platform to bring them together. We have planned regional consultations at IBS Kolkata, IBS Bengaluru, IBS Dehradun and IBS Jaipur over July-August 2022 to conduct brainstorming sessions and filed visits.
Do let me know if you would like to contribute or recommend somebody who could help us.
OTW
Over the Weekend, couple of friends and I started on our 10th Annual Himalayan Summer Trek 2022 from May 21st to 29th in association with AAGAAS.
As usual , we would be trekking with friends and family in Garhwal Himalayas between Mandakini and Alaknanda Valley. This is primarily organised with local support to promote eco-tourism and thus may not have any luxury/paraphernalia but focuses on great experience and even better company. If you feel that a friend, colleague or a family member might be interested in this trek, please ask them to use the link to join to WhatsApp group for Annual Himalayan Trek organised by AAGAAS, Pipalkoti and you could also join us for the next trek!
See You Soon.
I Love You
Shailendra
OTM
Opportunities through MountainSpeak are available through the Digital Street
Digital Street aims to develop a framework for facilitating digital transformation of street vendors.
The Centre of Excellence for Digital Transformation (CEDT) at IFHE, Hyderabad is proposing to work on a project titled “Digital Street” in collaboration with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES). This action research project focusing on digital transformation of street vendors in the tourism industry is proposed to be conducted between May 1, 2022, and November 30,2022. Please let us know if you would like to contribute to the project.
Next events would be held at Kolkata, Bengaluru, Dehradun, Jaipur and Hyderabad over next few months.
The likely participants may have experience in digital transformation, informal sector, travel technologies, Tourism, street vendor issues amongst others. They may come from government, academics, consulting, corporate, policy making, start ups, non-profit and advocacy groups. I would also request you to also recommend experts and stakeholders for the project.
Please reply to this email with a copy to your recommended guests OR alternatively, fill in the Google Form to help us to contact them directly.