Digital States, Analog Lives: Technocratic Rationality and the Politics of Exclusion in India’s DBT Welfare Regime

Rejitha Nair () and T. Kannan ()
Additional contact information
Rejitha Nair: Shiv Nadar University, Shiv Nadar School of Law
T. Kannan: NALSAR University of Law

Chapter 17 in Technology, Management, and Design for Social Justice, 2026, pp 371-389 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract India’s Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system—one of the world’s most ambitious digital welfare initiatives—channels subsidies directly into bank accounts via biometric and mobile platforms. While hailed for reducing corruption and improving efficiency, it often imposes new barriers for the poor, elderly, women, and marginalized groups. Fingerprint mismatches, network failures, and banking errors translate into exclusion, routinely dismissed as technical glitches. This chapter argues that DBT represents not mere reform but the rise of technocratic rationality, which prioritizes efficiency and auditability over justice and dignity. Drawing on Weber, Scott, Eubanks, and Morozov, it situates India within global debates on digital welfare and social justice. Comparative cases from Brazil, Estonia, Kenya, and Jamaica reveal that empowerment depends less on technology than on institutional design. The chapter concludes by proposing reforms to reorient digital welfare towards rights, care, and democratic accountability.

Keywords: Technocratic rationality; Digital welfare state; Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT); Aadhaar; Welfare rights; Exclusion by design; Biometric governance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-032-20821-7_17

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9783032208217

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-20821-7_17

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Books from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().