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It is easy to shit on the politician's statement, but at least try to understand where they are coming from. India is facing massive crises on multiple fronts.

It is easy to shit on the politician's statement, but at least try to understand where they are coming from. India is facing massive crises on multiple fronts. Huge number of youth enter the job market every year and there simply aren't enough jobs to go around. Driving employs a lot of people who vote, so he can't just ignore their concerns. In many states, unemployed youth are likely to create a law and order crisis or exacerbate one that already exists. Neither does India have a huge amount of money lying around to fund something like UBI. However, this situation didn't just happen on its own. Indian bureaucracy stifles private businesses by all kinds of vague regulations. A lot of effort is needed to rectify this and some people in power understand this, though it would take some time for them to bring the rest of them on board. Secondly, the automobile industry in India is extremely significant. I believe they also bring in a substantial amount of foreign exchange now. If the global market is moving towards driverless technology, then India's corporates can't afford to be left behind. And they will put a lot of pressure on the law makers. Finally, these politicians aren't very principled people. They will definitely change their tune under the right circumstances.

hn_throwaway_99 9y ago
I think it's already the case that there are tons of "make work" jobs in India. When I visited, in the hotel I stayed at there were like 4 doorman at the entrance. In the shared office building where I was working, there were 2 people manning the copier - if you wanted to copy something, you had to hand it to the copier attendant, who would make your copies and then bring them back to you. I think your comment is pretty accurate. It's one thing for us to laugh at the minister, but we don't really have any other solution for the huge numbers of people who will be put out of work if driverless cars take off in India.

hn_throwaway_99 9y ago

I think it's already the case that there are tons of "make work" jobs in India. When I visited, in the hotel I stayed at there were like 4 doorman at the entrance. In the shared office building where I was working, there were 2 people manning the copier - if you wanted to copy something, you had to hand it to the copier attendant, who would make your copies and then bring them back to you. I think your comment is pretty accurate. It's one thing for us to laugh at the minister, but we don't really have any other solution for the huge numbers of people who will be put out of work if driverless cars take off in India.