CDF was launched on 30th October, 2019 with a vision to conduct actionable research on the impact of digitisation on the economy and society. The inquiries are analytical, without any pre-determined bias, multi-dimensional and evidence-based, and provide policy and regulatory insights that enable the transition to an optimal digital economy and society.
The Centre was established and incubated as an entity by the India Development Foundation (IDF),
a private non-profit research organisation set up as a Trust in 2003.
Launch event of
Choice, Competition &
Innovation (ICCI) under
the aegis of CDF
WEBINAR
No. 1
29th - 30th July 2021
The launch event featured technical sessions and the keynote address by Mr. Ashok Kumar Gupta, Chairperson of the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
The Role of Data in
Vaccine Development,
Distribution and
Deployment
ROUNDTABLE
No. 8
November 2020
This Round Table was a part of ‘Novel Data Sets in Social Science and Public Policy Research’ Programme - how data is collated, analysed and extrapolated, as well as data incompleteness, inaccuracies, privacy and standardization.
The Indian economy, society and polity are undergoing fundamental and profound structural transformations due to digitisation. The one thing we cannot afford is to lose all control over the direction and pace of change and, consequently, have limited or no control over our own future. It is equally manifest that excessive controls will cripple the innovation so critical to the growth of the digital economy and society. Control, therefore, involves not mere value judgement, but also careful calibration.
The first step, we believe, is to undertake long term scenario building research on various aspects of digitisation. Can we consciously “invest” in those possibilities that are most desirable? Can we avert the many pitfalls that lurk amidst this sea of opportunities? CDF aims to be a key contributor to that large national endeavour. Thinking of the future generation requires us to start now, plan invest ahead and stay the course
We envisage a long and possibly perpetual state of transition that India would pass through on the road to becoming fully digital. Along this journey, a number of issues have already arisen and will continue to confront us. They need to be addressed with a clear vision of the desired future that we wish to attain. Our aim would be to focus not on the immediate commercial or political impact, but on the people.
How digitisation is impacting or can be made to impact lives and livelihoods of people will be the central theme of our research efforts. How markets, regulations and policies need to be structured to best leverage digital for the people is the central purpose of CDF. Our aim is not to stray into ideological or philosophical debates, but to provide frameworks in which commerce and business remain viable while being people centric.
India has a unique advantage of being a very diverse society. We have people with diverse preferences within the same income class and diverse incomes among people with similar preferences. And, given our size, regardless of how narrowly we define a particular stratum of our society, we will have millions of actors undertaking millions of actions leaving digital footprints that are amenable to all forms of mathematical and statistical analyses and experimentations. Indian data can, therefore, generate great value for Indians and the world. The over-arching research question in front of CDF is the following: How best to steer the evolving
Indian digital economy and society to maximize its value to its citizens? Our research would encompass key domains such as healthcare, agriculture, financial services and retail. We intend to investigate how policy and regulation are impacting, and can be made. CDF will create a network of researchers in India and abroad, host thought leaders on the digital economy, solicit research on various topics, invite independent researchers to work with CDF and follow an active policy of dissemination of its research. Its clientele will consist of academics, businesses and policymakers.
Our focus remains on the following key aspects:
CDF will raise funds without making any commitments regarding the outcome of research projects. CDF, in turn, is committed not to undertake any research based on any pre-conceived notions, theories or positions. All research papers would be public documents to be freely used by governments, businesses, media and other stake holders as well as international entities.
Centre for The Digital Future at the India Development Foundation, in collaboration with other researchers and institutions, aims to explore the use of real-time and other novel datasets to address research questions raised by experts.This project is supported by Facebook's Data for Good initiative.
Choice, Competition and Innovation or CCI is a research initiative that serves the vital objective of disseminating distilled thoughts resulting from academic research, pertaining to strategy, competition and innovation in the digital domain.
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