Gig workers, Assemble!
Its no secret that gig workers are on the most ignored interest groups in India. As per Niti Aayog, around 7.7 million people are employed as gig workers as of June 2022 and their number is likely to treble by 2029-30.
There is one man, Shaik Salaluddin, who is leading a movement from within the gig workers for recognition of their rights and for granting them some benefits. This is his story.
An Uber driver by profession, over the last three years, Salauddin has become a quasi-celebrity as a gig industry organizer: spearheading strikes, engaging with policymakers, and highlighting issues in the media to help improve the working conditions of his peers.
Where will VC money go in 2023?
Financial services are still the the leading sector for venture investment in 2022 despite an overall pullback in venture funding and shockwaves in the crypto industry. Fintech is expected to remain strong in 2023, with areas from payments to accounting management likely to lead the way.
Payments could remain the most-funded sector within fintech, especially startups focused on B2B payments. On the other side, cryptocurrency and blockchain, which experienced a large increase in funding in recent years, will most likely face a pullback in the wake of FTX’s collapse.
In the long run we are all dead.
We are notoriously bad at taking the long term consequences of our actions into account. Economists know this as the public good dilemma. In conservation biology, it is known as the poacher’s dilemma and also, more colloquially, as the tragedy of the commons.
This very interesting piece covers a discussion amongst an evolutionary psychologist, politics expert and sustainability scientist regarding the future of humanity.
EUs anti deforestation law
Recently, the EU agreed on a landmark law to prevent companies from selling beef, coffee, and a handful of other commodities in the EU if they’re grown on land where forests were recently cleared.
The USA has also been sitting on such a law for quire some time. Hope this acts as a nudge. The EU and USA are some of the biggest consumers of commodities that are produced by clearing forests at a large scale.