Surveillance apps in welfare, snake oil for accountability, Pg6

Key Highlights:

• Government initiatives like biometric attendance and the NMMS app aimed at improving accountability in welfare programs have shown limited effectiveness.
• The NMMS app, introduced in 2022, intended to curb inflated worker attendance in MGNREGA, has been circumvented through manipulated photographs.
• Mandatory Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) for Take Home Rations (THR) via the Poshan Tracker faces challenges due to connectivity issues and potential for manipulation.
• The push for tech-driven accountability overlooks issues like exclusion, inefficiency, privacy invasions, and worker demotivation.

Detailed Insights:

• Initial enthusiasm for digital tools like biometric attendance to ensure punctuality in government offices has waned due to practical challenges and unintended consequences.
• The National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) app, designed to ensure accurate worker attendance in MGNREGA, has been exploited through the use of irrelevant or manipulated photographs.
• The Ministry of Women and Child Development's (MoWCD) mandate for Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) via the Poshan Tracker for Take Home Rations (THR) aims to prevent the diversion of benefits but faces implementation hurdles.
• Experiences with Aadhaar-Based Biometric Authentication (ABBA) in the Public Distribution System (PDS) have demonstrated how tech-driven solutions can exclude vulnerable populations and create new avenues for corruption.
• The focus on tech-fixes distracts from addressing fundamental issues of work culture and social norms, which are crucial for fostering responsible behavior among government employees.
• Despite evidence of the limitations and failures of surveillance apps, the government continues to invest in these technologies, raising concerns about vested interests and the creation of assured markets for tech companies.
• The government's conscious ignorance of the problems created by these apps, such as exclusion and privacy invasions, highlights the phenomenon of agnotology, where knowledge is deliberately suppressed.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Agnotology: The study of how and why certain forms of knowledge do not come to be, often due to deliberate cultivation of ignorance.
• Accountability: The obligation of individuals or organizations to answer for their actions and be held responsible for their performance.
• Responsibility: Encompasses not only fulfilling obligations but also acting in the public interest and being self-motivated to do good.