This talk will begin with broadly discussing opportunities and concerns in the deployment and goveranace of information and communication technologies to advance social equity focusing on India's digital stack (biometric ID and direct bank payment transfers).

The second part of the talk will focus on community-based research in Andhrapradesh from the book, "Patching Development: Information Politics and Social Change in India," which asks the following key question: How can development programs deliver benefits to marginalized citizens in ways that expand their rights and freedoms? Political will and good policy design are critical but often insufficient due to resistance from entrenched local power systems. The book introduces the concept of "patching development" as a top-down, fine-grained, iterative socio-technical process that makes local information about implementation visible through technology and enlists participation from marginalized citizens through social audits. These processes are neither neat nor orderly and have led to a contentious sphere where the exercise of power over documents, institutions and technology is intricate, fluid and highly situated. The book throws new light on the challenges and benefits of using information and technology in novel ways to implement development programs.