Effects of Globalisation on Indian Society
UPSC notes on the social effects of globalisation in India: culture, family, women, youth, elderly, workers, farmers, tribals and the gig economy.
SyllabusGS I · Effects of globalisation on Indian society
Prerequisites: Globalisation and Indian Society — overview · Salient Features of Indian Society
The Hook: The App in Your Pocket Is Also an Employer
In June 2022 NITI Aayog’s report India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy estimated that India had about 77 lakh gig workers in 2020-21 and projected the number to reach about 2.35 crore by 2029-30. A year later, in July 2023, Rajasthan enacted the first State law for the registration and welfare of platform-based gig workers.
Food delivery, ride-hailing and online freelancing are products of global technology and capital. They have created flexible work for millions — without the security of a job. The question this raises runs through the chapter: has globalisation widened opportunity, deepened insecurity, or both?
The Core Concept
What globalisation means
Globalisation is the growing interconnectedness of the world through flows of goods, services, capital, people, technology, information and ideas. Sociologist Anthony Giddens describes it as an intensification of worldwide social relations, in which local events are shaped by events far away — and vice versa. Marshall McLuhan’s phrase “global village” captures the communication side of the process.
India’s turn. Facing a balance-of-payments crisis in 1991 — foreign exchange reserves had fallen to a few weeks of imports and the RBI pledged gold abroad — India adopted liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation (LPG). The New Industrial Policy (24 July 1991) dismantled most industrial licensing; India became a founding member of the WTO in 1995. Technology — mobile phones, the internet, digital payments — then carried globalisation into everyday life.
Cultural effects: three possibilities
| Process | Meaning | Indian example |
|---|---|---|
| Homogenisation | Global (often Western) culture displaces local culture | Global fast-food chains, brands and fashion in every city |
| Hybridisation / glocalisation | Global forms adapt to local tastes, and local forms blend with global ones | Global food chains offering vegetarian menus; Indian music mixing global genres |
| Revival and assertion | Globalisation strengthens interest in local identity and tradition | Global spread of yoga (UN International Day of Yoga, 21 June, since 2015); regional cinema reaching world audiences |
“Glocalisation” is associated with the sociologist Roland Robertson; “McDonaldisation” — the spread of fast-food principles of efficiency, predictability and control to other sectors — with George Ritzer (1993). The safe Mains position is that India shows all three processes at once: homogenisation at the surface, hybridisation in practice and revival in identity.
Group-wise effects
| Group | Positive effects | Negative effects |
|---|---|---|
| Women | Jobs in IT, services and export industries; exposure to rights discourse; financial independence for some | Low-paid, insecure work in garment and electronics assembly; double burden of paid and care work; commodification in advertising |
| Youth | New careers, global education, digital entrepreneurship, aspiration | Consumerism, jobless growth, skill mismatch, mental-health stress and social-media pressures |
| Elderly | Better medical technology; remittances from migrant children | Out-migration of the young; weakening of joint family support; isolation |
| Workers | New sectors (IT-BPM, logistics, platforms) | Informalisation and contractualisation; gig work without social security |
| Farmers | Access to export markets and new inputs | Exposure to global price volatility; input-cost rises; agrarian distress |
| Tribals | Some access to markets and services | Displacement from mining and industrial projects; cultural erosion |
| Caste groups | New occupations outside caste-based work; urban anonymity; Dalit entrepreneurship | Shrinking public-sector jobs (where reservation applies); new inequalities in private employment |
Effects on social institutions
graph TD
G[Globalisation] --> F[Family]
G --> M[Marriage]
G --> L[Language]
G --> W[Work]
G --> C[Consumption]
F --> F1[Nuclear and dual-career households
transnational families]
M --> M1[Later marriage, online matchmaking
but endogamy largely persists]
L --> L1[English as a language of mobility
pressure on minor languages]
W --> W1[Service and platform jobs
informality and insecurity]
C --> C1[Brand culture, credit, aspiration
new lifestyle diseases]Diaspora and remittances. Globalisation multiplied Indian migration abroad. India is the world’s largest recipient of remittances (World Bank), which support household consumption, education and housing in States such as Kerala — while creating “left-behind” families, especially elderly parents.
The gig and platform economy
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| NITI Aayog estimate (June 2022) | About 77 lakh gig workers in 2020-21; about 2.35 crore projected by 2029-30 |
| Code on Social Security, 2020 | First statutory definitions of “gig worker” and “platform worker”; enables social security schemes for them |
| Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023 | First State law on gig workers’ welfare |
| Union Budget 2025-26 | Announced identity cards and registration of gig workers on the e-Shram portal, and health cover under PM-JAY |
Issues: algorithmic management, income volatility, no minimum wage or social security by default, occupational safety (especially for delivery riders), and the question of whether platform workers are “employees” or “partners”.
Constitutional and ethical anchors
- Article 21 — the right to livelihood is part of the right to life (Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation, 1985).
- Article 38 and 39 — the State shall minimise inequalities and prevent concentration of wealth.
- Article 43 — a living wage and decent conditions of work.
- Article 51A(f) — value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture.
Memory Anchors
Three cultural outcomes: “Homogenise, Hybridise, Revive” → “HHR” — every culture answer covers all three.
Group checklist for Mains: “Why Young Engineers Worry For Their Careers” → Women · Youth · Elderly · Workers · Farmers · Tribals · Caste groups
Thinkers: Giddens (definition), McLuhan (global village), Robertson (glocalisation), Ritzer (McDonaldisation).
One-line Mains hook: “Globalisation has made Indian society more connected and more unequal at the same time — the task of policy is to keep the first and correct the second.”
For Prelims
- New Industrial Policy: 24 July 1991; India a founding member of the WTO (1995).
- Code on Social Security, 2020 defines gig and platform workers.
- Rajasthan (2023) passed the first State law on platform-based gig workers.
- NITI Aayog (2022): about 77 lakh gig workers in 2020-21; about 2.35 crore by 2029-30.
- International Day of Yoga (21 June) was adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2014.
- India is the world’s largest recipient of remittances (World Bank).
For Mains
- Dimensions: cultural (homogenisation vs hybridisation), economic (jobs, informality, inequality), social (family, marriage, caste, gender), demographic (migration, diaspora), political (identity assertion), environmental (consumption, waste).
- Keywords: glocalisation, cultural hybridity, McDonaldisation, informalisation, precarity, platform economy, transnational family, digital divide, consumerism.
- Value-addition: NITI Aayog 2022 gig report; Code on Social Security 2020; Rajasthan’s 2023 Act; remittances; Olga Tellis (livelihood); International Day of Yoga as cultural export.
- Balanced position: globalisation is neither a pure good nor a cultural invasion. Its effects depend on education, skills, social protection and the strength of local institutions.
Common Traps
In the News
- June 2022 — NITI Aayog report on the gig and platform economy.
- July 2023 — Rajasthan enacted the Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act.
- February 2025 — Union Budget 2025-26 announced e-Shram registration and PM-JAY health cover for gig workers.
Practice
Prelims
A global fast-food chain introduces a fully vegetarian menu in an Indian city to suit local food habits. This is best described as
Solution
Glocalisation — global products and practices adapted to local cultures (associated with Roland Robertson). Homogenisation would mean local culture being replaced by a uniform global culture; Sanskritisation is caste mobility by imitating higher castes; Westernisation is adoption of Western ways, not adaptation of a global product to local taste.
Answer: D
Consider the following statements about gig and platform workers in India:
- The Code on Social Security, 2020 defines “gig worker” and “platform worker”.
- Rajasthan enacted a State law for the registration and welfare of platform-based gig workers in 2023.
- Under Indian labour law, gig workers are treated by default as regular employees of the platform, with security of tenure.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Solution
Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Statement 3 is incorrect — gig and platform workers are generally not treated as regular employees, which is precisely why separate social security provisions and State laws have been framed for them.
Answer: B
The phrase “global village”, describing a world drawn together by electronic communication, is associated with
Solution
Marshall McLuhan. George Ritzer gave “McDonaldisation”; Roland Robertson popularised “glocalisation”; Anthony Giddens wrote on globalisation as the intensification of worldwide social relations.
Answer: A
Mains
“Globalisation has not homogenised Indian culture; it has hybridised it.” Critically examine.
Solution
Introduction: Globalisation — the intensified flow of goods, capital, people and ideas, accelerated in India after 1991 — has transformed cultural life. Whether it homogenises or hybridises is a central sociological debate.
Body:
- Evidence of homogenisation: global brands, fast food and fashion; English as the language of mobility; standardised urban lifestyles; pressure on minor languages and crafts.
- Evidence of hybridisation: glocalised menus and products; fusion music and cinema; regional content on global streaming platforms; festivals with new commercial forms.
- Evidence of revival: yoga and Ayurveda globally (International Day of Yoga); diaspora sustaining Indian traditions; assertion of regional and religious identities.
- Critical view: hybridisation is uneven — urban middle classes experience it as choice, while tribal and craft communities may face erosion; cultural markets favour what sells.
Conclusion: Indian culture has shown remarkable absorptive capacity — homogenisation at the surface, hybridisation in practice and revival in identity. Protecting vulnerable languages, crafts and communities keeps the exchange two-way.
Quick Revision
| Point | One-liner |
|---|---|
| LPG reforms | New Industrial Policy, 24 July 1991 |
| WTO | India a founding member, 1995 |
| Cultural outcomes | Homogenisation, hybridisation (glocalisation), revival |
| Thinkers | Giddens, McLuhan, Robertson, Ritzer |
| Gig workers | About 77 lakh (2020-21) → 2.35 crore (2029-30) — NITI Aayog 2022 |
| Law | Code on Social Security 2020; Rajasthan Act 2023 |
| Remittances | India the largest recipient (World Bank) |
| Livelihood | Article 21 — Olga Tellis (1985) |
Key Takeaways
- Globalisation’s social effects differ by group — analyse women, youth, elderly, workers, farmers, tribals and caste groups separately.
- Culturally, India shows homogenisation, hybridisation and revival at the same time.
- The gig economy is the new frontier: flexible opportunity paired with insecurity, now entering law and policy.
Related Topics
- Globalisation — quick revision
- Globalisation — practice questions
- Role of Women and Women’s Organisations
- Urbanisation: Problems and Remedies
- External Sector and Trade
- The Indian Diaspora