ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 outlines the main themes and contributions of the book. The central aim of the book is to understand how intersections between rise of digital technologies and inequalities exposed by the pandemic will shape the future of work in urban India. The larger argument is that imparting the new skills needed for digital work requires an attentiveness to existing economic and social inequalities. Experiences of the pandemic in India have revealed the fragility of an informal urban economy while enabling the digitally connected upper and middle classes to continue with business-as-usual. There is a need, therefore, to approach the future of work both in terms of benefits to those who have advanced technological skills, and vulnerabilities among those who do not have the same kind of access to education and skills, and hence lack secure work. The chapter also considers how the rise of a digital economy in India both reflects a longer history of urbanization, including colonial and post-independence policies, as well as incorporates the global hegemony of neoliberal policies in contemporary urban development.
