With the AI landscape rapidly expanding in India, how is it being applied in healthcare? What safeguards exist to prevent errors and misuse of AI?

In this episode, Shashank and Joanne speak to Amrita Sengupta on the use of AI in healthcare in India. They speak on auditing as a governance mechanism for AI and on using a data supply chain framework to understand the AI lifecycle for a healthcare application. They also look at ways to move towards safe and responsible data use in AI systems and adoption of accountability frameworks such as audits in India.

Amrita Sengupta is a research fellow at the CyberBRICS project. She was previously a Research and Programme Lead at the Centre for Internet and Society, India, where she focused on research at the intersection of technology and society.  Her research interests and work lie in the areas of gender and technology, digital cultures, ethics in research methods, digital access, algorithmic biases and tech design, AI governance, and sustainability and tech.

Resources:

• AI for Healthcare: Understanding Data Supply Chain and Auditability in India

• Navigating the Digitalisation of Finance: User experiences of risks and harms

• Report on AI governance guidelines development

Hosts: Joanne D’Cunha, Shashank Mohan

Editor: Gopika P

Fact Checker: Joanne D’Cunha

This podcast is created by the ⁠Centre for Communication Governance⁠ at NLUD. Reach out for any queries / suggestions at [email protected] 

(The opinions expressed in the episode are personal to the speaker. The University does not subscribe to the views expressed in the episode and does not take any responsibility for the same.)

How can India develop AI for social good and what does it involve to achieve it? How is India's thinking shaping up on the unique opportunity to host the AI summit in 2026?

In Episode 02 of Season 3 of the CCG Tech Podcast, Jhalak and Shashank speak to Abhishek Singh, CEO, IndiaAI Mission & Additional Secretary, MeitY about the work of the IndiaAI Mission & India's hosting of the next AI Summit to be called the AI Impact Summit to be held on Feb 19-20, 2026. He shares how the Summit will focus on the impact of AI across various sectors to understand both risks and benefits from the use of AI. The Summit will take a "whole of India" approach by partnering with various stakeholders along with a clear goal to ensure participation from countries in the Global South. 

The discussion also dives into the various uses of AI and how best to leverage it for social good across sectors in India. Through this exploration, the episode engages with aspects of the India AI mission, what may be involved in balancing innovation and safety, including the role of existing regulation in responding to user and data harms from AI.

Abhishek Singh is CEO, IndiaAI Mission & Additional Secretary, MeitY with responsibilities of Artificial Intelligence & Emerging Technologies, Cyber Security and Digital Skilling. He has previously served as CEO, Karmayogi Bharat in Department of Personnel & Training; and CEO NeGD, DIC and MyGov in Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India. In April 2025, he also assumed charge as the Director General, National Informatics Centre (NIC).

Resources:

• The IndiaAI Mission and its pillars

• IndiaAI mission use case library on sectoral applications of AI in India

• AIKosh

Hosts: Jhalak Kakkar, Shashank Mohan

Editor: Gopika P

Fact Checker: Joanne D’Cunha

This podcast is created by the ⁠Centre for Communication Governance⁠ at NLUD. Reach out for any queries / suggestions at [email protected] 

(The opinions expressed in the episode are personal to the speaker. The University does not subscribe to the views expressed in the episode and does not take any responsibility for the same.)

How do biased large language models (LLMs) impact women users in India, and what can be done to make these systems more fair and inclusive?

In Episode 01 of Season 3 of the CCG Tech Podcast, Shashank and Tejaswita speak to Aarushi Gupta about how LLMs are increasingly being used across sectors like education, healthcare, and agriculture. As these tools become default sources of knowledge and assistance, they discuss what the gendered consequences are of relying on AI systems that may replicate and reinforce existing inequalities.

The discussion unpacks the manifestation of gender bias across various stages of the LLM lifecycle, from training data and model development to real-world deployment. It highlights how such biases can restrict access to accurate information, reinforce discriminatory norms, and compromise user safety. The episode also considers possible mitigation strategies and identifies concrete steps that developers, policymakers, and other stakeholders can take to promote fairness, accountability, and inclusivity in the design and deployment of AI systems. 

Aarushi Gupta is a Senior Research Manager at Digital Futures Lab. With expertise in AI ethics, gender relations, and digital governance, she spearheads key projects at DFL, bridging both theoretical and applied research. Her recent work delves into gender biases in large language models designed for Indian languages, with a focus on critical social sectors such as healthcare and agriculture.

Resources:

• A Primer on Mitigating Gender Biases in LLMs: Insights from the Indian Context

Hosts: Shashank Mohan, Tejaswita Kharel

Editor: Gopika P

Fact Checker: Sukriti, Rahul Jayaraman

This podcast is created by the ⁠Centre for Communication Governance⁠ at NLUD. Reach out for any queries / suggestions at [email protected] 

(The opinions expressed in the episode are personal to the speaker. The University does not subscribe to the views expressed in the episode and does not take any responsibility for the same.)

In this episode, Tavishi and Shobhit speak with Francisco Brito Cruz of InternetLab on platform transparency in the Brazilian context. They look at how it is applied in global majority countries, ideas on risk assessments and data access mechanisms, independent regulators and what meaningful transparency would mean for an ordinary user.

Francisco Brito Cruz [Chico] is the Executive Director and co-founder of InternetLab. He is a lawyer, holding a bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree from the University of São Paulo Law School (FDUSP). Currently, he is a professor in the Digital Law postgraduate program at Fundação Getúlio Vargas Law School in São Paulo and a member of the Steering Committee of the World Movement for Democracy.

InternetLab is an independent think tank focused on human rights and digital technologies. It is based in São Paulo, Brazil, and since 2014 works as a non-profit organization. As a human rights organization, they believe that the digital environment must be vibrant, creative, inclusive, protective to fundamental rights, an enabler to the quality of the democratic public sphere, and a promoter of social justice.

Hosts: Tavishi, Shobhit

Editor: Gopika P

Fact Checker: Sukriti

This podcast is created by the ⁠Centre for Communication Governance⁠ at NLUD. Reach out for any queries / suggestions at [email protected]

(The opinions expressed in the episode are personal to the speaker. The University does not subscribe to the views expressed in the episode and does not take any responsibility for the same.)

With the exponential growth of gig platforms and gig work in India, efforts have been made to try and regulate their impact. In this backdrop, Fawaz and Shobhit speak with Soujanya Sridharan and Ritvik Gupta from Aapti Institute on how the gig economy is evolving in India.  They look at the state of gig work in India, the pros and cons of platformisation, the issues of algorithmic opacity and the ways in which legislative interventions can be applied.

Soujanya Sridharan is a Manager at Aapti Institute. At Aapti, her research revolves around forging human-centric pathways to platform and data governance. Her interest in tech policy stems from her thesis research on labour unions within India’s IT industry.  Ritvik Gupta is a Senior analyst at Aapti Institute. Much of his work focuses on India's growing platform economy, particularly location-based, platform-mediated gig work. 

Aapti is a public research institution that examines lived experiences at the intersection of technology and society. They generate insights for policy-making and technology development based on grounded research and analysis. 

Resources: 

Hosts: Fawaz Shaheen, Shobhit

Editor: Gopika P

Fact Checker: Sukriti

This podcast is created by the ⁠Centre for Communication Governance⁠ at NLUD. Reach out for any queries / suggestions at [email protected] 

(The opinions expressed in the episode are personal to the speaker. The University does not subscribe to the views expressed in the episode and does not take any responsibility for the same.)

The past decade has seen an exponential growth in gig work on platforms. AI plays a critical role in the way these gig platforms function. In this episode, Aishwarya and Nidhi speak with Jane Loo and Nadia Dabee about the role AI plays in the gig economy. They look at how gig work differs from traditional work, models for worker rights, safety and discrimination, and the future of the gig economy on platforms. 

Jane Loo is a Senior Research Associate at Singapore Management University’s Centre of AI and Data Governance and Adjunct Faculty at the SMU Yong Pung How School of Law. She works at the intersection of AI and access to justice. Her current research focuses on the impact of the gig economy and comparative approaches to AI governance including Singapore’s AI governance approach versus the EU AI Act. 

Dr Nadia Dabee is a senior lecturer at the Business School, University of Auckland, where she teaches employment law and taxation law. She is also a teaching award recipient and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (United Kingdom). She pursues research in health & safety law and employment law with an aim of improving outcomes for workers.

Resources: 

Hosts: Aishwarya Giridhar, Nidhi Singh

Editor: Gopika P

Fact Checker: Srija Naskar

This podcast is created by the ⁠Centre for Communication Governance⁠ at NLUD. Reach out for any queries / suggestions at [email protected] 

(The opinions expressed in the episode are personal to the speaker. The University does not subscribe to the views expressed in the episode and does not take any responsibility for the same.)

How does competition work in digital markets? Do we need to regulate it the same way we do for other sectors? These are some of the questions addressed in this episode where Aishwarya and Joanne speak with Manjushree RM. They look at competition regulation in digital markets, concentration of power among platforms, the harms to consumers, the situation in India, and the new draft Digital Competition Bill.

Manjushree RM is a Senior Resident Fellow and Team Lead at VIDHI Centre for Legal Policy. She has previously advised the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022, and has also advised the International Financial Services Centre Authority. Her primary areas of interest are International Economic Law and Competition Law.

Resources: 

Hosts: Aishwarya Giridhar, Joanne D’Cunha

Editor: Gopika P

Fact Checker: Joanne D’Cunha

This podcast is created by the ⁠Centre for Communication Governance⁠ at NLUD. Reach out for any queries / suggestions at [email protected] 

(The opinions expressed in the episode are personal to the speaker. The University does not subscribe to the views expressed in the episode and does not take any responsibility for the same.)

How can we address the issue of online violence faced by women and children? In what ways can platforms and law enforcement help the process? These are some of the questions addressed in this episode where Shashank and Tavishi speak with Uma Subramanian. They look at online violence in India, the particular harms faced by women and children, the role of platforms and law enforcement, the problems in reporting, and the work done in this field by RATI. 

Uma Subramanian is a social worker and has over 15 years of experience of working with children at risk. She conceptualised and co-founded RATI (Rights. Action. Technology. Inclusion.) and its Aarambh India Initiative. Under the leadership of Uma & her co-founder Siddharth Pillai, the Aarambh India initiative was awarded the Presidential National Award in the year 2017 for their groundbreaking work on Reporting of Child Sexal Abuse Material. At RATI, Uma leads the fundraising, oversees the strategic direction of the organisation and contributes across all programs in implementation of on-ground interventions.

Resources: 

Hosts: Shashank Mohan, Tavishi Ahluwalia

Editor: Gopika P

Fact Checker: Srija Naskar, Joanne D’Cunha

This podcast is created by the ⁠Centre for Communication Governance⁠ at NLUD. Reach out for any queries / suggestions at [email protected] 

(The opinions expressed in the episode are personal to the speaker. The University does not subscribe to the views expressed in the episode and does not take any responsibility for the same.)

What role do trust and safety teams play in platforms? Do we need to change the way they operate? Is governmental interventions in their function necessary? These are some of the questions addressed in this episode where Jhalak and Sachin speak with Mahima Kaul. They look at the function of trust and safety teams, the unequal distribution of resources across regions, the future of content moderation, thoughts on the coming Digital India Bill, and the differences in approach between public and private platforms.

Until recently, Mahima Kaul led Bumble's public policy work in the Asia-Pacific region. She supported research in India to develop a framework to tackle technology-facilitated gender-based violence, including risks posed by AI, by partnering with a think tank. She also worked with the Australian government on voluntary codes for the dating app industry and industry codes under the Online Safety Act. Previously, Kaul established Twitter's public policy presence in India and South Asia over a six-year stint. She managed the public policy efforts ranging from intermediary rules, codes for social media during elections, data protection, and online safety impacting users.

Resources: 

Hosts: Jhalak Kakkar, Sachin Dhawan

Editor: Gopika P

Fact Checker: Sukriti

This podcast is created by the ⁠Centre for Communication Governance⁠ at NLUD. Reach out for any queries / suggestions at [email protected] 

(The opinions expressed in the episode are personal to the speaker. The University does not subscribe to the views expressed in the episode and does not take any responsibility for the same.)