C for Capsule: What India cared about in 2025?

In this episode of the GenC Podcast, we’re switching things up with a monthly policy catch-up: no jargon, no academic overload, just what’s actually been happening and what people have been saying. And today feels especially meaningful because it’s PLCP Day, a day we mark because 5th February is when India’s Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy (PLCP) in the year 2014 was officially adopted, embedding public participation into how laws and rules are made.At Civis, public consultations are at the heart of what we do. We track them, simplify them, collect citizen responses, and share that feedback with government bodies. Over time, this has helped us build a rich body of consultation data not just numbers, but patterns, priorities, and concerns that keep coming up across issues and communities. This episode draws directly from those insights.From environmental questions around the Sanjay Gandhi National Park eco-sensitive zone in Mumbai, to internet and data protection rules that shape how our personal data is used every day, we unpack the themes citizens spoke about the most in 2025. Environment, internet, and labour emerged as key areas of concern, pointing to deeper anxieties around health, privacy, dignity, and livelihoods.We also take this moment, in the spirit of PLCP Day,  to reflect on what it means to be an active citizen as Gen Z. Sometimes that looks like responding to a consultation or staying informed. Sometimes it’s quieter: asking questions, paying attention, or choosing empathy in everyday life. Because participation doesn’t always have to be loud to matter, but it always counts.Show notes Draft Zonal Masterplan for Eco- Sensitive Zone of Sanjay Gandhi National Park - https://www.civis.vote/consultations/1345/readDPDP Rules, 2025 Consultationhttps://www.civis.vote/consultations/1083/readThumbnail Photo: Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS)