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Silvia Masiero
Dr Silvia Masiero is an Associate Professor of Information Systems, Department of Informatics, University of Oslo. Prior to this she was a Lecturer in International Development at the School of Business and Economics, Loughborough University. Her research focuses on the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the field of socioeconomic development. In particular, she studies the multiple forms of embeddedness of the IT artefact in development policy and governance, with a specific interest in its participation in the politics of anti-poverty programmes. Her current work revolves around the role of digital technologies in reshaping the politics of the Public Distribution System (PDS), the biggest food security scheme in India.
Silvia holds a Ph.D. Information Systems from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and a M.Sc. Development Management from the same institution. She is also a member of the LSE Conflict Research Group, where she pursues a parallel research stream on the use of ICTs in the management of complex humanitarian emergencies.
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PDS computerisation: What other states can learn from Kerala
Given the leakage in the Public Distribution System, Indian states are being encouraged to computerise their PDS. This column analyses Kerala’s experience with PDS computerisation and highlights mechanisms through which technology combats leakage in the state’s PDS. However, it argues that computerisation needs to be coupled with deeper interventions to remove incentives for corruption.
Aadhaar, demonetisation, and the poor
There is a view that an Aadhaar-centred apparatus of digital inclusion can shield the poor from the problematic effects of demonetisation. In this article, Silvia Masiero argues that constraints of technology ownership, access to informational networks, and infrastructural readiness prove the argument wrong. Other means are needed to reduce the severe humanitarian consequences of sudden cashlessness.