AI’s Next Test: Reaching India’s Women Workers

AI’S NEXT TEST — REACHING INDIA’S INFORMAL WOMEN WORKER

Syllabus:

GS 2:  

• Transparency & Accountability.

GS 3:

• IT & Computer
• Artificial Intelligence

Why in the News?

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes a key driver of economic growth under the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, policymakers and institutional investors are increasingly emphasising the need for inclusive AI governance that aligns with ethical standards and social responsibility. With nearly 82% of India’s working women employed in the informal sector, ensuring that AI benefits women workers has emerged as a critical policy priority for achieving inclusive development, gender equality, and digital empowerment, while also addressing climate change and promoting sustainable business practices.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH

• Transformative Technology: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, financial services, education, manufacturing, and logistics, offering unprecedented opportunities for productivity enhancement and economic growth while supporting green economy companies and addressing climate change challenges.
• Inclusive Development: The developmental impact of AI will depend upon whether its benefits reach vulnerable groups, particularly women engaged in informal employment, rather than remaining concentrated among digitally privileged populations—a consideration increasingly important to institutional investors and international investment funds making investment decisions based on ethical preferences.
• Economic Opportunity: AI can improve productivity, reduce information asymmetry, expand market access, facilitate financial inclusion through exchange traded funds and index funds, and enhance livelihood opportunities for women workers, contributing to improved market capitalisation and market valuation of inclusive enterprises.
• Digital Public Goods: India’s expanding Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) creates an enabling ecosystem for deploying AI solutions at scale across diverse socio-economic sectors, supported by frameworks similar to those used by NSE Indices Limited and the National Stock Exchange for structured investment solutions.
• Viksit Bharat Vision: Inclusive adoption of AI is essential for achieving the goals of Viksit Bharat 2047, ensuring that technological progress contributes to equitable and sustainable economic development aligned with sustainable investing principles and ESG-focused indices.

WOMEN IN INDIA’S INFORMAL ECONOMY

• Large Informal Workforce: Approximately 82% of working women in India are employed in the informal sector, including agriculture, domestic work, home-based enterprises, self-employment, and micro-enterprises—a segment increasingly recognized by asset managers developing thematic index products and passive investment products.
• Agricultural Participation: Women constitute a significant share of India’s agricultural workforce, making AI-enabled precision farming and advisory services particularly relevant for rural livelihoods, with potential support from green thematic indices and responsible investment products.
• Low Productivity: Informal employment is generally characterised by lower productivity, limited access to technology, inadequate social security, and constrained market opportunities—factors that represent non-financial risks for equity investment strategies focused on inclusive growth.
• Digital Exclusion: Many women continue to face barriers in accessing smartphones, internet connectivity, digital financial services including ETFs, and advanced digital technologies.
• Untapped Potential: Empowering women with AI-enabled tools can substantially improve income generation, entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, and overall economic participation, aligning with evolving investor preferences for ethical investing and social responsibility.

HOW AI CAN EMPOWER INFORMAL WOMEN WORKERS

• Smart Agriculture: AI-powered advisory systems can provide personalised recommendations on crop selection, weather forecasting, pest management, irrigation, and market prices, enabling women farmers to improve productivity and incomes while promoting sustainable business practices and reducing harm to animals through precision farming that minimizes animal cruelty.
• Financial Inclusion: AI can facilitate access to digital credit, insurance, savings products including index funds and exchange traded funds, and financial literacy through simplified, multilingual, and personalised digital platforms, with fund managers increasingly incorporating ethical screening in their investment decisions.
• Market Access: AI-enabled digital marketplaces help women entrepreneurs, artisans, and self-help groups connect directly with consumers, reducing dependence on intermediaries and improving their market valuation, similar to how the Nifty 500 universe provides diversified sectoral representation.
• Skill Development: Adaptive AI learning platforms can provide customised vocational training, entrepreneurship support, and digital literacy based on individual learning needs, incorporating ethical considerations and animal welfare awareness in relevant sectors.
• Public Service Delivery: AI-powered multilingual chatbots can simplify access to government welfare schemes, entitlements, healthcare, education, and grievance redressal mechanisms, following a traffic-light system approach with green band indicators for accessible services.

GOVERNANCE PRIORITIES FOR GENDER-RESPONSIVE AI

• Gender Impact Assessment: AI systems affecting employment, credit, welfare delivery, healthcare, or public services should undergo gender impact assessments to identify and mitigate discriminatory outcomes, similar to the ethical screening process used by the Nifty100 ESG Index and other ESG-focused indices that evaluate ethical investment criteria.
• AI Literacy: Digital literacy programmes should integrate AI awareness and practical applications through existing initiatives such as Skill India, DAY-NRLM, DDU-GKY, and Mission Shakti, incorporating principles from the AIM framework and AQ framework for comprehensive skill development.
• Digital Safety: Protection against deepfakes, online harassment, cyberbullying, identity theft, and technology-facilitated gender-based violence is essential for ensuring women’s confidence in digital platforms, reflecting ethical standards promoted by organizations like the Ahimsagain Foundation that advocate for ahimsa principles and the ahimsa investment movement.
• Accessible Redressal: AI-related grievance mechanisms should be available in regional languages, ensuring accessibility for women from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, following saatvik principles of transparency and fairness.
• Inclusive Data: AI systems should be trained on diverse, representative, and unbiased datasets to minimise algorithmic discrimination and improve fairness, with constituent weights and stock weights adjusted through semi-annual rebalancing similar to methodologies used by the index services subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange for calculating free-float market capitalization.

CHALLENGES IN AI ADOPTION FOR WOMEN

• Digital Divide: Gender disparities in access to digital devices, internet connectivity, and digital skills continue to limit women’s participation in the digital economy and access to passive investment products and financial services.
• Algorithmic Bias: AI models trained on biased or incomplete datasets may reinforce existing gender stereotypes and discrimination, representing non-financial risks that concern institutional investors and asset managers focused on ethical investing.
• Low AI Awareness: Many women in informal occupations remain unfamiliar with AI technologies and their potential applications, limiting their ability to benefit from thematic investing opportunities and structured investment solutions.
• Cybersecurity Risks: Growing instances of deepfakes, online abuse, misinformation, and digital fraud disproportionately discourage women’s online participation, requiring robust ethical standards and protective frameworks.
• Language Barriers: Limited availability of AI tools in local languages restricts accessibility for large sections of India’s rural female population, hindering their participation in equity investment strategies and digital financial services.

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES SUPPORTING AI AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

• IndiaAI Mission: Strengthens India’s AI ecosystem through investments in computing infrastructure, innovation, and responsible AI development, attracting interest from international investment funds and fund managers focused on purpose-driven investing and thematic benchmark creation.
• BHASHINI: Promotes multilingual digital services and AI applications in Indian languages, improving accessibility for diverse linguistic communities and supporting values-based screening for inclusive technology adoption.
• Digital India Mission: Expands digital infrastructure, internet connectivity, digital public services, and digital inclusion, creating opportunities for women to access ETFs, index funds, and other financial instruments.
• Mission Shakti: Strengthens women’s safety, empowerment, and economic participation through integrated support systems aligned with social responsibility and ethical preferences.
• Skill India Mission: Enhances employability through digital skills, vocational education, and emerging technology training, including AI-related competencies that prepare women for opportunities in green economy companies and sustainable investing sectors.

WAY FORWARD

• Promote Inclusive AI Design: Ensure that AI systems are designed using representative datasets and incorporate gender-sensitive principles throughout their development lifecycle.
• Strengthen AI Literacy: Integrate AI education into existing skill development programmes targeting women, Self-Help Groups (SHGs), farmers, and informal workers.
• Enhance Digital Safety: Strengthen legal safeguards, grievance redressal mechanisms, cyber awareness, and enforcement against technology-enabled gender-based violence.
• Expand Multilingual AI: Develop AI platforms supporting all major Indian languages to improve accessibility and usability for rural and underserved communities.
• Encourage Public–Private Collaboration: Foster partnerships among government, industry, academia, startups, civil society, and international organisations to develop AI solutions tailored to women’s livelihood needs.

CONCLUSION

Artificial Intelligence has the potential to become a powerful catalyst for inclusive economic growth if its benefits reach India’s vast informal workforce, particularly women. Achieving the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 requires ensuring that AI is not merely technologically advanced but also equitable, accessible, safe, and gender-responsive. By investing in digital literacy, inclusive governance, ethical AI, and women’s economic empowerment, India can harness AI as a transformative force that strengthens both productivity and social justice.

SOURCE : The Hindu

MAINS PRACTICE QUESTION

“Artificial Intelligence has the potential to accelerate inclusive development only if it addresses existing social and gender inequalities.” Discuss the opportunities and challenges associated with AI adoption for women in India’s informal economy. Suggest policy measures to ensure gender-responsive AI governance. (15 Marks, 250 Words)