India’s scattered workforce: the chatbot keeping families in touch during emergencies

Covid exposed the lack of data on the country’s 140 million mobile migrant workers, but a new project in Odisha is helping to fill in the gaps Raja Pradhan is sitting cross-legged, scrolling on his phone in his village in eastern India when a green WhatsApp chat bubble pops up on the screen. “Namaskar! Apana bahare kama pain jauthibe? Apananka suchana diaantu.” (Hello! Are you going outside for work? Please share your information.) He reads the message twice, unsure whether to respond. “I don...

By Aishwarya Mohanty in Kandhamal, Odisha