On India in the last decade

As an NRI living abroad I travel to India at least once every year without fail. Every time I visit, I get a snapshot impression of what has changed that year. Given that I have nearly thirteen such snapshots so far, here are my main takeaways in terms of what has changed.

Mind you, these are my impressions based on life in and travels around a Tier 2 metropolis in a Southern State with a progressive, relatively rich and educated population.

1. Digital blitzkrieg

   • The introduction of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) that allows transactions via a QR code with a smartphone has unleashed a digital revolution. Everyone from auto richshaws to coconut sellers display QR codes with which secure cashless payments may be made nearly instantly. No more fumbling with cash, no more fights and quarrels over getting change etc.
   • I can confidently leave the house with just my phone now and pay with it nearly everywhere.

2. Religion, politics and polarisation

   • Indians have always been very religious but the past few years have seen religion being intertwined with politics into a toxic cocktail that has crept into every aspect of Indian life.
   • People have become extremely sensitive about religion, extremely defensive and extremely polarised with a sense of "us" versus "them".
   • Religion has become somehow associated with patriotism and love for country in an ethno-nationalistic sense. Majority of the people are unaware or possibly unable to distinguish between the two.

3. Social media

   • Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram and Twitter have become very popular and are being used by nearly everyone.
   • Whatsapp has become so popular that some government agencies are even using it to provide their services and updates notwithstanding that it is a private company providing a private service that may be insecure or may be shut down at any moment.
   • Social media is also a cause for the spread of religious hate and polarisation mentioned above.

4. Rising inequality

   • If you're working in a multinational company (IT/BT) with a desk job, your life could never have been better. Salaries have gotten competitive, life has become more comfortable and services have become more numerous.
   • But if you are not, then life has gotten worse. The rising costs of living in a big city has made the poor poorer and the rich richer. Nothing is being done to address this and people are suffering.
   • COVID-19 has played a major part in amplifying this issue.

5. Gigs and Apps

   • The gig economy has taken over and there are app-based services everywhere.
   • Need to travel, need to shop, need to get house repairs, need to get someone to pick something from one place and bring it to another - there's an app for all of it. Its rampant and based on the services that they provide at the prices that they do, I wonder if they are regulated in any way at all and how they sustain.
   • The impact of it all is that if you have the money, then you essentially have everything you need at your fingertips. Life has gotten very comfortable indeed.

6. News

   • News has become a joke and is now equivalent to entertainment. Hundreds of new channels blasting what they call "NEWS" 24/7 in big red / yellow lettering where every minute is breaking news.
   • Most of the newscasters simply do not seem to understand the difference between news and opinion.
   • I miss the days when news was a short 30m reading of the dry factual happenings of the day in formal unemotional language by serious looking news readers.

tags: #india