VARSHA BANSAL
Independent Journalist
A bit about me
Hello. I am an independent journalist based in Bangalore, India.
Our lives have moved online, and I am curious about how technology impacts people in expected and unexpected ways. My stories are usually at the intersection of technology and people, culture, human rights and business.
I am a regular contributor with WIRED. My work has also appeared in TIME, Slate, MIT Technology Review, Al Jazeera, Caravan, Vogue Business, Rest of World and Coda Story. Previously I worked with Economic Times and Mint.
I was an AI Accountability Fellow 2022 with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. I was longlisted for International Journalist of the Year Award 2023 by One World Media for my series of stories on Indian gig workers.
My reporting on the Indian government's imposition of technology on women healthcare workers was supported by a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
I hold a Master's degree in Journalism from Georgetown University. Lived in Washington, D.C. for three years and worked at Kiplinger magazine.
Recently published
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Urban Company was the last good gig work platform in India — WIRED
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Gig workers are being stabbed, stoned and abused in India — WIRED
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Find a job in 60 days or leave the country — Rest of World
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India's government wants total control of the internet — WIRED
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Meet the most powerful Uber driver in India — Rest of World
other work
2021
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How missed calls became Covid-19 lifeline in rural India — Slate
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Robo-chefs making their way into Indian cloud kitchens — Rest of World
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WhatsApp fight with India has global implications — WIRED
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India's vaccine booking system CoWin gives troubles — WIRED UK
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Covid exacerbated the issue of child marriage in India — Caravan
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The challenges of counting Covid-19 deaths in India — Slate
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How Indians are turning to Twitter for Covid-19 aid — MIT Technology Review
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Why Stripe invested in Pakistan's startup Safepay — Rest of World
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India bets a glitchy software to vaccinate 300 million people — MIT Technology Review
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How one-tap digital loan apps pushed Indians to take their own lives — WIRED UK
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India's biometric system Aadhaar proves exclusionary to pregnant women in Indian — Coda Story
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A local police unit in India's fight to curb the spread of child sexual abuse content online — Rest of World
2020
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Indian techies race to build the next TikTok after the ban — Rest of World
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Hyderabad wants to keep an eye on all its citizens — Mint
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How Hyderabad in India transformed from being a tech hub to a city with excessive surveillance — Coda Story
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Kashmiri entrepreneurs managed with slow internet for over a year — The Juggernaut
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How Indian creators became collateral damage with a TikTok ban — WIRED UK
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Zoom weddings become the norm India during Covid-19 — Rest of World
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One country, two internets — Rest of World
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How video apps became a megaphone for Indian society — Rest of World
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