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India's Private Security Industry

Gated Communities and Visitor Apps

How gated housing societies spend on guards, gates and visitor management apps like MyGate, and debates about exclusion and domestic workers' access.

Gated communities buy private security.

Spending

Societies pay for guards, gates, cameras and intercoms from maintenance fees.

Visitor apps

Apps like MyGate and NoBrokerHood log visitors, deliveries and domestic workers.

Club goods

Security in a gated society is a club good: members share it, outsiders are excluded.

Domestic workers

Workers may face checks and restrictions, raising dignity concerns.

Deliveries

Apps manage the flood of delivery workers.

Effects on cities

Gated communities can separate rich and poor areas.

The gate approval

A resident approves a delivery on MyGate before the guard lets the rider in.

Thinking gated security benefits everyone equally

It's a club good that excludes outsiders.

Key takeaways
  • Gated societies buy private security.
  • Apps manage visitors.
  • Security is a club good.
  • Access rules affect workers.
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