The Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) hosted the launch of the book titled “OTP Please! Online Buyers, Sellers and Gig Workers in South Asia” authored by Vandana Vasudevan, Visiting Fellow, CSEP. The event was held on Monday, September 8, 2025 at Multipurpose Hall, India International Centre (IIC), Lodhi Estate, New Delhi – 110003.

The launch was followed by a panel discussion with the author, eminent journalist Vir Sanghvi and Santosh Desai, MD & CEO, Futurebrands India. The discussion was moderated by Sajith Pai, Partner, Blume Ventures.

About the book

We all use apps. We want a cab in five minutes, groceries in ten, biryani in twenty. In a world where everything is promised fast, fresh and effortless, OTP Please! reveals the hidden human stories behind South Asia’s booming app economy: from the gig workers who race against time to the small sellers struggling against the algorithm of the big tech platforms, and the restless customer who can’t stop tapping ‘Order Now’. It is about a great transformation that technology is slowly bringing about in the way we move, eat, work and live. Whether it is India’s hyperlocal delivery boys or Pakistan’s ride-hail drivers, from Nepal’s app startups to Bangladesh’s e-marketplace sellers, this is the first book to reveal what really powers our digital ease and what it quietly takes away. It explores the dynamics between the different actors on this stage; the workings of tech companies and the role of policy is this evolving space. Deeply researched, and yet breezily narrated, the book is essential reading to understand this extraordinary digital age we inhabit.

Author

Vandana Vasudevan

Vandana Vasudevan studied at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and has worked in the corporate sector for nearly two decades. She shifted career tracks and became a development sector professional, consulting for various national and international organizations after obtaining a PhD in urban development from the University of Grenoble, France. Vandana Vasudevan has written extensively for mainstream newspapers on a variety of subjects and has been a columnist for Mint and DNA. Besides OTP Please, she is also the author of ‘Urban Villager: Life In an Indian Satellite Town’ and ‘Tough Customer’.

Panelists

Vir Sanghvi

Vir Sanghvi is among the most celebrated Indian journalists of his generation. His career straddles print, television, books and now, new media. When he was 22, he was appointed editor of Bombay magazine, making him the youngest editor in the history of Indian journalism. He has served as editor of Sunday magazine and later of the Hindustan Times for several years. Vir Sanghvi has won numerous awards during his career for both TV and print. He is the author of five books and his columns in HT, Brunch and Print continue to enthral a new generation of readers.

Santosh Desai 

Santosh Desai has spent his professional life at the intersection of brands and culture. Over the past four decades, he has worked in advertising and marketing, serving as President of McCann Erickson India and CEO of Future brands. He now leads Think Consumer Technologies, which works with start-ups on growth and consumer insight. Alongside his professional work, he writes regularly on the social and cultural shifts shaping everyday India. His weekly column City City Bang Bang in the Times of India, now in its 21st year, reflects on how the country is changing in small but telling ways. His first book, Mother Pious Lady – Making Sense of Middle Class India, looked at the texture of post-liberalisation life. His forthcoming book, Memes for Mummyji – India After the Mobile Phone, explores how technology is subtly but profoundly reshaping how we live.

Moderator

Sajith Pai

Sajith Pai is a Partner at Blume Ventures, an early-stage Indian venture fund. At Blume, Sajith oversees investing in the ‘Domestech’ domain, comprising consumer and India B2B businesses. Sajith is a prolific writer; his writing ranges across startup topics and the Indian tech landscape to business and culture and has been published in Scroll, Quartz, Buzzfeed & The Times of India. He is well-known for his Indus Valley Annual Report, an annual review and roundup of the Indian startup ecosystem. He was LinkedIn’s Top Voices 2020 for sharing “insights from the intersection of technology, business and culture”.

All content reflects the individual views of the speakers. The Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) does not hold an institutional view on any subject.

Please contact Gurmeet Kaur at GKaur@csep.org for general queries and Ayesha Manocha at AManocha@csep.org for media queries.