ABSTRACT
For the Government of India, the transactional economy is critical to its vision of India as a knowledge economy. However, the issue is whether or not to regulate platforms and their many services. I would like in this chapter to try and explore some aspects and anxieties related to the pursuit of a transactional economy in India by highlighting some examples - the nationwide Digital India programme led by government, along with what would seem to be consolidations in the e-commerce economy and cartographic anxieties related to Google Maps. In spite of massive investments in projects geared towards the expansion of the digital footprint in India across many levels, it is clear that the state is not in a position to control or curb disruptive socialities on platforms that thrive on connectivities and socialities such as Whatsapp and Facebook. The anxieties emerging around the digital domain are compounded by India’s lack of preparedness and inability to compete with the global platforms and/or build capacities in sectors that are key to the shaping of the knowledge economy.
