Topic-specific proposal from the existing IFT content
The idea to investigate
Develop one secondary-city digital cluster with employer projects, assessed skills and secure work practices.
This is a proposed pilot, not a completed project. The responsible team, location, budget, baseline and independent review must be agreed before implementation.
Data reference table
Evidence Snapshot
Read each value with its reporting period, population and limitations. A historical national reference is not a local baseline or proof that an IFT proposal works.
5 measurement records still need data and a review of their relevance.
| Signal | Reference Value | Period / Population | How to Read It | Source Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paid digital work | Not established Data required — not zero | Reporting period: Information Required Population and geography: Information Required | Proposed measure; no observed value is established here. Limitations: Define the measure, unit, reporting period and covered population; obtain a traceable dataset and review its suitability for this topic before using a number. | Source organisation: Information Required Direct source URL: not yet verified Source publication date: not established Verification status: Data required |
| Earnings and retention | Not established Data required — not zero | Reporting period: Information Required Population and geography: Information Required | Proposed measure; no observed value is established here. Limitations: Define the measure, unit, reporting period and covered population; obtain a traceable dataset and review its suitability for this topic before using a number. | Source organisation: Information Required Direct source URL: not yet verified Source publication date: not established Verification status: Data required |
| Employer diversity | Not established Data required — not zero | Reporting period: Information Required Population and geography: Information Required | Proposed measure; no observed value is established here. Limitations: Define the measure, unit, reporting period and covered population; obtain a traceable dataset and review its suitability for this topic before using a number. | Source organisation: Information Required Direct source URL: not yet verified Source publication date: not established Verification status: Data required |
| Women/rural participation | Not established Data required — not zero | Reporting period: Information Required Population and geography: Information Required | Proposed measure; no observed value is established here. Limitations: Define the measure, unit, reporting period and covered population; obtain a traceable dataset and review its suitability for this topic before using a number. | Source organisation: Information Required Direct source URL: not yet verified Source publication date: not established Verification status: Data required |
| Cybersecurity readiness | Not established Data required — not zero | Reporting period: Information Required Population and geography: Information Required | Proposed measure; no observed value is established here. Limitations: Define the measure, unit, reporting period and covered population; obtain a traceable dataset and review its suitability for this topic before using a number. | Source organisation: Information Required Direct source URL: not yet verified Source publication date: not established Verification status: Data required |
Different surveys, administrative records, estimates and reporting years are not interchangeable. No combined IFT score is calculated from these rows.
Evidence coverage and review log (CSV) · Structured evidence register (JSON)
Section 01
Where the problem happens
Define the economic failure without reducing people to a count.
Connectivity and course completion do not prove access to real, safe, fairly paid digital work.
Extend software, AI, data, design and platform opportunities beyond major cities. This topic must be tested through actual worker and firm outcomes, not announcements, registrations, certificates, sanctioned posts or gross investment alone.
Required local context
Record state, district, city/block, village/ward or industrial cluster; date and reference period; worker/firm group; occupation and sector; work status, hours, earnings or business stage as relevant; source/method; and uncertainty. Do not infer street-level conditions from a national survey estimate.
Section 02
Why the problem happens
Test demand, capability, access and business conditions together.
Demand & market
Is there verified paying demand for the work, product or service? Treat it as a hypothesis until records, worker/firm experience and alternatives are checked.
Capability & match
Do demonstrated skills fit the tasks and required proficiency? Treat it as a hypothesis until records, worker/firm experience and alternatives are checked.
Finance & cash flow
Are capital, working capital, payment timing and risk appropriate? Treat it as a hypothesis until records, worker/firm experience and alternatives are checked.
Infrastructure & access
Do land, utilities, logistics, internet, mobility and care enable participation? Treat it as a hypothesis until records, worker/firm experience and alternatives are checked.
Rules & institutions
Are registration, compliance, contracts and remedy understandable and predictable? Treat it as a hypothesis until records, worker/firm experience and alternatives are checked.
Quality & inclusion
Are earnings, safety, stability, progression and access acceptable across groups? Treat it as a hypothesis until records, worker/firm experience and alternatives are checked.
Section 03
How the parts work together
Each component needs an owner, service and outcome.
Software and AI
Define the eligible user, capability or input, responsible actor, process, handoff, cost, standard, failure trigger, remedy and evidence record.
Data and cybersecurity
Design and content
Digital marketing and e-commerce
Cloud and FinTech
HealthTech, AgriTech and EdTech
Digital inclusion
Section 04
A solution suited to India
Fix the binding constraint instead of applying one scheme to everyone.
Verify baseline
Measure the actual local constraint in digital economy, including distribution and missing evidence.
Protect livelihoods
Contain urgent wage, safety, cash-flow, closure or exclusion risks while longer changes are designed.
Connect the pathway
Join capability, infrastructure, finance, institutions and paying demand around the worker or firm journey.
Pilot
Develop one secondary-city digital cluster with employer projects, assessed skills and secure work practices.
Decide transparently
Compare net benefit, job quality, equity, cost, viability and displacement before scale.
Decision checks
Durable demand; Net income; Job quality; Worker safety; Small-firm fit; Productivity; Equity; Environment; Maintainability
Section 05
Roadmap
Protect now, test the economic mechanism and build durable capability.
- 0–90 DAYS
- Diagnose & protect
Verify the worker/firm journey, immediate loss, market reality, responsible actor and fastest safe correction.
- 3–18 MONTHS
- Pilot & measure
Develop one secondary-city digital cluster with employer projects, assessed skills and secure work practices.
- 1–5+ YEARS
- Institutionalise
Fund skills, infrastructure, operations, market links, protection, maintenance, transparent review and continuous upgrading.
Section 06
How to measure improvement
Track additional durable value—not activity alone.
KPI 01
Paid digital work
Record: definition; baseline; target; actual; source; period; group; attribution.
KPI 02
Earnings and retention
Record: definition; baseline; target; actual; source; period; group; attribution.
KPI 03
Employer diversity
Record: definition; baseline; target; actual; source; period; group; attribution.
KPI 04
Women/rural participation
Record: definition; baseline; target; actual; source; period; group; attribution.
KPI 05
Cybersecurity readiness
Record: definition; baseline; target; actual; source; period; group; attribution.
Result status: Baseline pending, active measurement, insufficient evidence, improved, mixed, no improvement, displacement or harmful. Publish gross and net effects separately.
Section 07
Risks and protections
Growth should not transfer hidden cost to workers, firms or communities.
Job-quality risk
Temporary, unsafe, unpaid or misclassified work counted as success.
Firm risk
Debt, compliance or technology imposed without demand and capability.
Equity risk
Women, youth, disabled, rural or low-income participants excluded.
Displacement risk
Subsidised activity replaces existing work without net gain.
Evidence risk
Registrations, announcements, estimates and outcomes are mixed.
