Digital Bh@rat Learning from 50 digital footprints

Copyright 2014-15, Digital Empowerment Foundation All Rights Reserved

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Published by INOMY Media Pvt. Ltd.

Editors Saleema Razvi Syed S. Kazi

Cover Design & Layout: Jaspreet Singh & Sapna Subba

The content of the book can also be seen at www.digitalknowledgecenter.in

Edition: 2014 ISBN: 978 - 81 - 927717 - 3 - 1 Price: Rs. 500; $25; €20

Printed in India by Shree Jee Enterprises

Contacts: Digital Empowerment Foundation Tel: 91-11-26532786 [email protected] www.defindia.net

Content

Introduction 8 aAqua 12 Reuters Market Light 18 MouthShut 24 Eko 30 Grassroutes 36 Panjab Digital Library 42 Pratibadh 48 Gramin Radio Inter Networking System (GRINS) 54 Vasundhara Krishi Vahini 90.4 MHz 60 Radio Active 66 Farm ERP 72 Mango Technologies 78 DigitALly 84 Kissan Krishideepam 90 School Report Cards (DISE) 96 Bookbox 102 Drona 108 Kisan Sanchar 114 Mobile Antakshari 120 ToeHold 126 DesiCrew 132 Common Service Centre 138 NREGAsoft 144 SWHITS 150 Old Age Pensioners’ Payment and Monitoring System 156 Fishnet ReALCraft 162 Akshaya 168 IPaidABribe 174 Prison Management System (PRISMS) 180 The Public Distribution System, Chhattisgarh 190 Empowering India 196 Rajiv Aarogyasri Community Health Insurance Scheme 202 104 HMRI 208 Wireless for Communities (W4C) 214 AirJaldi 220 EGMM 226 Online Hearing Screening Project 232 HarVa 238 FINO 244 Panini Keypad 250 Raftaar 256 HindiWordNet 262 Infochange India 268 India Water Portal 274 Peer Water Exchange 280 BIOTIK (Biodiversity Informatics and Co-Operation in Taxonomy 286 for Interactive Shared Knowledge Base) AWATAR 292 Barefoot College 298 Chanderiyaan 304 SMSOne 310 Introduction

The existing developmental and governance challenges and the continued search for means and channels to improvise and scale up performance and delivery of services brings in the relevance and significance of how Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) can play a wider facilitative role. In the last decade this focus has found increasing place in policy, programme, research and implementation domains. The advent of ICTs powered by the World Wide Web has given a new insight, meaning and significance to plug the gaps in development divide and bring the majority of the periphery population to the mainstream. Pilots and experiments have been rolled out nationwide in India covering all 35 States and Union Territories. There have been illustrations on the ground of how innovative deployment of ICTs have brought in transformations for the end beneficiaries and helped to streamline processes and mechanisms to serve the citizens. This is being documented in the 50 case practices brought out in this publication. In the midst of so many ICT interventions, concerns and apprehensions have time and again been pointed questioning of longevity of pilot projects is valid. Sustainability and overcoming duplicity are concerns still being raised. And there are other genuine concerns well known. Attempts are and ought to be continued to infuse long term insights and meaning and substance to various ICT programmes at both national and state level.

The Greater Developmental Challenges There are multiple facets to the challenges in inclusive, holistic and decentralised development and governance framework in India. The challenges are split into – vision, mission, method, processes, mechanisms, platforms, will power and what not. The development lag has been attributed to the poor vision and achievement rates in UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that this country has been a key party to the visibility of a missing network of knowledge and experiments on ground has denied sharing of ideas and examples within this country. The missing element also lies in absence of a fool proof mechanism till date to provide grievance redress provisions for the millions who deserves to be heard all the time. The capability of the human resource to manage and run the system and institutions has been another wider manifestation of a ‘wrong man in the right place’ or ‘right man in the wrong place’ phenomena. The meaning and significance of social investment has lacked continued upgraded interpretations and actions there upon. The lack of the technology component to better social outcomes has lacked holistic consideration until now. The insight of technological exclusion and social inclusion has lacked a smooth relationship. The real meaning and experimentation of community participation in development and governance processes has still not ensured a meaningful engagement of the millions to determine their own needs and solutions supported by the social welfare mandate of the governments of the day. The sectoral area of development that continues to hog policy-programme priority maintains a slow progress rate be in health, education, livelihood and women empowerment domains. At procedural level the challenges continues to be in enabling transparency and accountability in services delivery. The limitations in affordability and accessibility of services for the end citizen users poses a wider question mark on the increasing capacity of the government systems to absorb pressures and challenges even after 60 years of country’s independence. One of the most critical development needs, perhaps the most fundamental inputs required, that continued to be ignored is information dissemination of citizen entitlement based schemes and services. This ‘information poverty’ holds the key in continued alienation of the silent majority from the mainstream development and growth process as well as denial of the fundamental civic right to good governance. Another notable hindrance is identified in centralized nature of services delivery that has caused a gigantic road block towards decentralised and democratized services delivery involving grassroots agencies. And there are other hindrances highlighted time and again.

The Positive e-Vibes The advent of ICTs has been a democratic boon to meet some of our major development and service delivery limitations. The utility of ICT devises, platforms and applications have found relevance in health, education, livelihood, good governance, entertainment, culture and heritage promotion, environmental sustainability, connectivity and access, agriculture development, language promotion, natural resource management, social inclusion of excluded groups, and women empowerment. A few examples are – Project 104, HMRI in health sector that provides information, consultancy, and counselling services to more than 80 million people in Andhra Pradesh; project DigitALLY that caters to enhanced teaching and learning in government schools in rural India; project TOEHOLD that uses the web to promote famous Kolhapuri chappals in Karnataka made by poor women collective; project Panjab Digital Library that has digitized more than 4000 periodicals, over 80000 books and over 9000 rare photographs in Punjab; project RAFTAAR that has been credited to bring out world’s first Hindi language search engine for the 300 million plus Hindi speaking citizens; project Wireless for Communities (W4C) considered as India’s one of the first wireless solution for rural communities; project KISAN SANCHAR that caters to agricultural information services needs of lakhs of farmers in North India; and project EKO that has been instrumental in financial inclusion practices for rural customers. The diversity in deployment of ICTs is notable. The use of the Internet has been widespread in all ICT interventions as front end delivery channel especially for information services delivery. Customized solutions in terms of automated decision support system, monitoring and tracking system, work flow process management and others are notable. Wireless technology and solutions with low carbon footprint has been on ground. The usage of the mobile platform has seen tremendous expansion with more than 800 million mobile subscriber bases in India. The new found relevance in community radio and social media are the latest entrants in development sector having wider development and governance ramifications across the country. The digital interventions and experiments in development and governance have enhanced the effectiveness and transparency in services delivery until last mile. The delivery rate has increased with affordability and accessibility concern removals. The vast opening of knowledge networks and sharing has been proven on ground with many pilots and few sustainable interventions. An alternative and yet complimentary mechanism for grievance redress has been found out with neutral support of ICTs. There is a new pool of IT talented manpower that has redefined a new ‘Digital Bharat’. Social investment in the country has found new meaning in ICT inclusion element. Social and digital inclusiveness has found a common ground. Community participation has found a new meaning and interpretation with ICT facilitated set ups. Political will and administrative support has a new significance with positive waves nationwide. The relevance in ICTs deployment has found substantive impact in information dissemination, training of front line workers, interpersonal communication, and monitoring and tracking of service delivery measures. The multitude of digital solutions has offered dynamic platforms to seek remedies to development needs – Internet, mobile, social media, and community radio. The development partnership has discovered a new found significance and necessity in Public Private Partnership (PPPs) and Public Private NGO Partnership (PPNPs). The processing, use and sharing of knowledge and resources have found alternative channels in ICT mediums like never before. Information sharing and dissemination has seen a new revolution in terms of time, speed, and accessibility. The concern of knowledge repositories has found its solution in so many digital reservoirs including knowledge portals. Cultural specific needs of communities are being addressed through measures like local language specifications. The digital revolution is for sure in this country after success of its very own Green and White Revolutions. Decision making and implementation mandate has its added value added inputs and quality support with ICT usages. The adoption of newer methods in services delivery facilitated by ICTs has redefined implementation and delivery. Efforts at giving a new meaning to public trust in capability and dedication of service providers is on the ground. There is new found professionalism in services delivery especially at Government to Citizen (G2C) level which has proved cost effective, reliable, trustworthy and transparent. The traditional meaning of demand-supply of services delivery has a new focus and acceptance with ICTs. Digital inclusion has found wider acceptance in the country at all levels – policy, implementation and community. The development impact has been counted on – more employability, income generation, promotion of entrepreneurship, timely receiving of entitlements, decentralization of services delivery, accessibility and affordability enhancement, more informed citizenry and responsible service delivery channels, and government closer to the citizens till the last mile. There is more and more deployment and promotion of good practices in diverse development strategies and programmes. Community resource management has a renewed focus and enhanced thrust.

The Very Many ‘e’ Challenges The ICT challenges are equally issues of major concern. Local language support in ICT solutions remains a both technical and financial obstacle. Longevity of ICT programmes has baffled development practitioners and policy and programme executioners for long. The ‘golden’ period of ICT interventions in the pilot phases and quick transition to the ‘sunset’ phases has been worry in financial, technical and manpower investments. While the PPP model has fitted well with the stakeholders, what has walled much of its outcome is lesser inclusion of the NGOs in the wider PPNP. Local language specification needs is still an operational and implementation hurdle. The biggest challenge is independency and sustainability of the ‘e’ programmes. The question that is raised is on the efficacy of the ‘e’ models which may need a critical look. The larger sociological concern is how much technology enabled programmes are decentralised and actually democratized in the world’s largest democracy.

About the Case Practices This compendium gives an overview of the 50 identified digital case practices which will give a perspective of how insightful deployment of Information Communication Technology (ICT) tools and applications, including hardware and software, can to a wider extent mitigate or bridge the gulf in expectations and delivery from both users and delivery point of view. The selection of the case practices has been based on innovation in methods, devises, deployment, sectors and outcome. It is hoped that readers will find enough inputs to think and throw newer insights in their area of expertise and experimentations. Any errors in the compendium may be ignored as human errors!

Editors Saleema Razvi Syed S. Kazi aAqua is a multi-platform aAqua problem-solving service that synergistically connects farmers to agricultural experts for the purpose of solving the real, day- to-day problems of the Indian farmer in a timely manner.

Achievements Category »» Provides access to expert informa- e-Agriculture tion for a rural agricultural com- munities that have not benefited Organization from India’s technological revolu- Agrocom Pvt. Ltd., in part- tion and economic boom nership with IIT Mumbai »» Uses multiple platforms for ac- Platform of product cessibility and flexibility (Internet, Internet SMS/text, voice, offline comput- Website ers) www.aAqua.org »» Provides an accessible database of the collective wisdom of over 22,260 members from across India »» Operates in four languages (Hindi, English, Marathi and Kannada)

12 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

Traditionally disadvantaged when expert agri-information. it comes to access to information aAqua was launched in 2003 technologies, India’s rural agricultural and, since then, has seen a growing sector also lags behind the rest membership across the country of the country when it comes to thanks to its comprehensive database productivity, economic development and accessible interface. It can and standard of living. aAqua is an be accessed by Internet, SMS/text multi-platform ICT service designed or phone and is in four different to improve the living standards of the languages. rural farmer through timely access to

Practise Background

According to the Planning economy of the country Commission, in 2005 more than half ∙∙ Raise the standard of living of the of India’s workforce was employed rural poor in the agricultural sector, which ∙∙ Overcome the obstacles in the contributed only 20% of the country’s way of rural development: small GDP. Furthermore, more than half farms, remote and isolated of the agricultural workforce was locations and lack of infrastructure, illiterate and only 5% had a higher education and economic secondary education. Additionally, opportunities there were more than 170 million ∙∙ Let rural areas enjoy the benefits of rural poor in the country. the technological revolution and According to the Telecom economic boom that other areas Regulatory Authority of India of the country are experiencing, (TRAI), in 2010 less than 1.5% of the rather than get left behind country’s telecom subscriptions came ∙∙ Give the small farmer access from rural areas. Furthermore, the to the same useful and timely tele-density, or number of telecom information that larger, connected subscriptions per 100 citizens, and farms have mobile subscription rates in rural A number of other public and private areas were only one half and one ICT initiatives have recently been third, respectively, of those in urban launched specifically targeted to areas. the agricultural sector. For example, As long as rural poverty persists, the Ministry of Agriculture launched rural-to-urban migration will continue Agricoop (www.agricoop.nic.in) to contribute to urban poverty and to provide information about its over-stress city resources. Given these services, crops etc. and Agmarknet conditions, the challenge was to (www.agmarknet.ap.nic.in) to assist harness the power of information and with agricultural marketing and communication technologies (ICTs) pricing. In the private sector, Tata to help: launched mKrishi (www.tcs.com/ ∙∙ Improve the productivity of the offerings/technology-products/ agricultural sector so that it can mKRISHI/Pages/default.aspx) and contribute more to the overall

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 13 Reuters launched Reuters Market and mobile-based ICT platforms, Light (www.reutersmarketlight.com), including agricultural certification, both of which are mobile phone aps. warehousing, sales, education, Presently, a range of agricultural finance and credit, insurance, services are available through Internet consulting services and marketing.

Implementation Process

Initially a 2003 student project at the Today, the aAqua team also Developmental Infomatics Lab of IIT, includes the International Crops Mumbai in conjunction with Vigyan Research Institute for Semi-Arid Ashram and Krishi Vigyan Kendras Tropics (ICRISAT), the Universities (KVK) in Baramati, Maharashtra, of Agricultural Sciences at Dharwad the project was launched under and Raichur in Karnataka, the G.B. the leadership of Anil Bahuman, Pant University of Agriculture Managing Director, Professor Krithi and Technology in Pantnagar, Ramamritham, Chair of the Board, Uttarakhand as well as KVKs at Bishnu Pradhan, Advisor to the Board, Dharwad and Gulbarga, in Karnataka. Dr. Kadarbhai, Advisor to the Board Taking a bottom-up approach, the and Dr. Yogesh Kulkarni, Advisor to first thing the team did was to poll the Board. farmers for their needs and priorities.

Project Features

Technology Platform Indian farmers’ real day-to-day aAqua enables direct communication issues is established between farmers and agricultural Queries are organized into 22 forums experts using the Internet platform organized in six main categories: for timely problem-solving. It is Agricultural Q&A from KVKs, SMS text a synergistic process that takes messages, the National Agricultural advantage of both top-down and Innovation Project (NAIP) farmers’ bottom-up information to the mutual queries, email, aAqua project benefit of the farmer and the aAqua information and general information. team. Here’s how it works: As of May 2012, there have been over ∙∙ The farmer goes online to post 39,000 posts in over 15,000 topics by a question in one of the four 22,620 members. languages currently supported Queries can be made via the (Hindi, English, Marathi and Internet, voice and text/SMS. The Kannada) advantage of the Internet and smart ∙∙ The farmer receives an answer phones is that photographs can be prepared one of the aAqua team included with queries and, therefore, of experts within one to three days added to the database for future ∙∙ Questions and answers are posted reference. This has proved to be both online and available to all a useful and popular feature with ∙∙ As the process is repeated users. hundreds and thousands of times, a comprehensive database of

14 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Accessibility & Inclusiveness Compared to traditional offline One of the current accessibility services, the aAqua online service challenges has to do with rural access has a number of advantages and to the Internet and, specifically, use disadvantages and serves a different of the Internet to access information goal. Offline services are typically on farming. According to a study by local, personal and community- the Internet and Mobile Association based, while online services collect of India (IAMAI) only 13% of and distribute information from a rural Internet users use it to find wider demographic. Offline services information about farm techniques often require staff and an office but and only 8% about fertilizers. can provide face-to-face service Recognizing the limitations of rural including hands-on demonstrations Internet access (low levels of Internet and agricultural workshops, while penetration, limited infrastructure, online services require an investment electricity shortages, and slow dial-up in computer hardware and software service) aAqua has been designed in order to communicate. to operate on a number of different Offline services are often only platforms for the sake of accessibility. available during certain business First, the website is largely hours, while online services are text-base and has been designed available twenty-four hours a day, to function on slow Internet seven days a week and, therefore, connections. Second, Agrocom has whenever the farmer wants them. developed a PC-based application Offline services often provide called “aAqua Offline” that requires immediate feedback and a personal only occasional Internet connection. experience but are limited to the aAqua Offline terminals are available expertise of the staff present, while it at a number of State agricultural can be necessary to wait up to three universities and could be rolled out days for a response from aAqua ’s to more locations. Third, aAqua is online service but the user has access available via voice and SMS service. to a much broader range of expertise. Because 80% of farmer queries Presently, aAqua members are presently made via SMS text come from 26 states and 3 union service, aAqua developed tools for territories and have used all four GPRS enabled mobile phones and of aAqua’s supported languages. traditional push messaging for low aAqua experiences approximately cost handsets. one question per hour, mostly from The aAqua interface is designed farmers. There have been over 4.3 for flexibility and accessibility. Users lakh website views. In 2009, the can communicate in one of four average user posted 2.6 questions languages (Hindi, English, Marathi and visited the site 33 times. aAqua’s and Kannada) and use the keyboard pilot phone project sent over 9.9 that they are most comfortable with. lakh voice messages to over 26,000 Presently, the principal languages of farmers every three days in two the Internet are English and Hindi. languages. According to a 2009 IAMAI report on vernacular content, only 25% of Community Participation aAqua provides a communication Internet users are aware that there channel between farmers and is vernacular content online. aAqua experts and also a peer-to-peer therefore, is structured to fill a real farmers’ network. In this way, farmers need for expanded language options.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 15 can also answer questions, share be increased, marketing efforts can their experiences with techniques be improved to improve the visibility that they have already tried in the of the service, and marketing can field and build relationships with be expanded to reach beyond the each other. This social networking Internet (for example, using radio and feature has proved very popular with television). Also offline applications members. Farmer’s input was sought that are not dependent on net- from the first stage of the project. connectivity can be provided such Taking a bottom-up approach, the as dedicated aAqua computers at first thing the team did was to poll agricultural centres and fairs or even farmers for what they needed and aAqua kiosks in villages where there is what their priorities were. aAqua currently no Internet kiosk. also solicits feedback from its users Also, since members have requested in order to learn from real user- a live-chat feature to better enable experience.. social networking, adding that feature could attract new members Replication & Scalability to the service. The database content In order to better serve it’s could be used in future for a range demographic and attract more of agricultural and non-agricultural members, aAqua’s tools and software purposes. An example of the latter can be scaled up in a number of might be using the content for a ways. For example, the number of rural-based television show. supported languages and dialects can

Conclusions

The aAqua experiment has been feedback, address the issue of low a success and its prospects are Internet penetration in rural areas encouraging. However, moving and capitalize more on its name and forward it needs to respond to user brand.

Lessons Drawn From The Practise aAqua solicits feedback from its ∙∙ A surprising diversity of crops, users in order to learn from user- concerns and interests, including experience. A random sampling of wheat, mango, rise, sugarcane, 43 farmers from the states of Andhra cotton, turmeric, tomatoes and Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu others, even within any one given and Karnataka revealed the following region trends: ∙∙ Many users happened to come ∙∙ aAqua has had the most across the site while browsing the penetration in Maharashtra web rather than by being aware ∙∙ The most popular website features of it beforehand or looking for it besides Q&A are ‘crop doctor,’ specifically a service that allows users to Website usage has also revealed the upload photos for diagnosis, and following trends: information about the market and ∙∙ The website is not just being used government schemes

16 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints by farmers, but also by students, as well. For example, in 2007, aAqua agricultural consultants and agri- was able to save grape farmers in companies Nagpur Rs. 12 crore. However, those ∙∙ The average farm user has a involved typically had 200 acres of landholding of at least 10 acres, land and could invest on average Rs. which suggests that more mid- 10,000 per acre. sized farmers are using the service User feedback indicates that issues than small, subsistence farmers such as providing more detailed answers, providing a function to Another lesson learned was ensure all questions are answered, that larger farmers can be more providing more up-to-date entrepreneurial and more willing information regarding bank loans to experiment with technology and and organic farming and providing new techniques than small farmers. an online chat room need to be Nevertheless, it is important that addressed for going forward. any benefits and lessons learned are disseminated down to small farmers

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 17 Reuters Market Light (RML) is a Reuters pioneering mobile phone-based highly-personalized professional Market information service specially designed to support the Indian Light farmer community.

Achievements Category »» Personalizes the needs of the indi- m-Agriculture & Livlihood vidual farmer as per the individual preferences of crops, markets, and Organization location of each farmer in his local Thomson Reuters language Platform of product »» Provides daily spot crop prices Mobile from 1000+ mandis across more Website than 250 crop varieties www.reutersmarketlight. »» Provides localized-level weather com detail for more than 2000 talukas »» Delivers crop advisory with updat- ed and personalized information sourced from experts »» Delivers commodity news with timely and accurate information covering a range of issues such as subsidy information & price trends

18 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

RML was launched in India in the 2008. Today RML operates in 13 states state of Maharashtra in October 2007, in India and covers over 250 crops as a pioneering transformative service and more than 1000 markets and that brings transparency and fairness 2800 weather locations across these to an underserved world market, states. followed by its launch in punjab in

Practise Background

The population of India is over 1.1 technology revolution the country billion, and increasing every minute. is experiencing. The Telecom In 2005, the Planning Commission Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), estimated that there are 238.5 in its Quarterly Report of June 2010 million poor people in India, of which revealed that the total number of 170.3 million reside in rural areas. telecom subscribers (wireless and Overall, about more than half the wire-line) in India is 671.69 million, of total workforce – 58.4% -- remains which only 9.46 million are from rural employed in agriculture, which areas. contributes only one fifth of India The total internet subscribers in Gross Domestic Product. the country are 16.72 million, and Given these figures, it is obvious broadband subscribers are 9.47 that an overwhelming amount million. This put the overall tele- of farmers in rural areas are poor density of the country at 56.83%. and do not significantly contribute However, the tele-density in rural to the economy of the country. India is 26.43. Even in mobile phone The Planning Commission also coverage, rural India lags behind. reports that half of those engaged While there are 635.51million in agriculture are still illiterate and subscribers to wireless operators, only just 5% have completed Higher 33% are from rural areas, as of June Secondary education. 2010. The reasons for the backwardness As India looks towards becoming of farmers in India are many. Most a superpower, it becomes glaringly farmers live in remote areas on obvious that rural India – and farmers small farms and are disconnected – are not yet part of this boom. As a from the rest of the country, in result, there is significant migration terms of infrastructure, education from rural areas to urban pockets, and opportunities. Reflection of this thereby increasing urban poverty. The concern can be seen in the budgetary solution, then, is to make investments allocations the government of India in rural India, curtailing migration and reserves for rural India: Rs 42,874 crore increasing their standard of life. in the 9th Plan, which was raised to Rs Farmers suffer because they do 76, 774 crore in the 10th Plan. not have access to information about Another indicator of the new farming techniques, which backwardness of rural India can include fertilizers and products. be seen by its position in the Bigger farmers who have connectivity

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 19 are able to take advantage of these address these issues. The challenge developments, but the small farmers remains in improving connectivity get left behind. and developing ICT based solutions It has become obvious to many that farmers can use. invested in the agricultural sector that technology is an effective medium to

Implementation Process

RML is a pioneering transformative The key innovations include: service that brings transparency ∙∙ Product Innovation: Launch of and fairness to an underserved the information card (RML direct world market. For the first time, card) and delivery of the service decision-critical content is delivered via all handset models and on all as per the individual preferences operators of crops, markets, and location of ∙∙ Process innovation: Sourcing each farmer, in his local language, process for news and market data aligned tightly with his daily work has been continually improved schedule, in a mix of relevant local from the widely fragmented and international content, as per the market but also provide local stage of his individual crop cycle, in news that helps save farmer a highly simple user-experience for transportation costs or better the farmer, across all handsets and plan their operations based on telecom operators, and can be easily availability of power purchased over the counter in a ∙∙ Business model innovation: RML variety of rural outlets. has built its entire operating This has resulted in RML having model from scratch, from content a financial and emotional impact on sourcing through to delivery and the farming community by helping customer support. This industry them achieve better yields, secure sector - personalized professional better prices, and feel empowered information services for farmers – vis-a-vis the strong middlemen did not exist until RML launched community. The information enables the business in 2007. farmers to take informed decisions Many new companies are trying to and reduces their production and replicate the business that will only marketing risk thereby directly help take this service to millions enhancing their livelihood. of farmers thereby multiplying the The two biggest changes RML has empowerment as well as the financial brought about in society are building benefit. The two biggest changes a social innovation ecosystem, RML has brought about in society which fosters sustainable business are empowerment of the farmer in practices, economic development, the truest sense and direct financial and corporate responsibility, and the benefit that is already raising their empowerment of the farmer leading incomes. to direct financial benefit to their incomes.

20 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Project Features

Technology Platform phones. Farmers access ‘seed to The farmer has to go through the sales’ information in local language following three simple steps to through sms, including spot crop subscribe to RML services. The first prices on a daily basis, localized zilla is buying the RML scratch card from weather forecast, crop advisory for a agri input shops, local banks and selected crop, other agri information. other sources. Then he/she needs to It has been noted that farmers will call the toll free number given on the share that information with those card (1800-2-708090) and activate closest to them and thereby, RML the service which starts with weather can indirectly help entire farming and market info, news about crops communities. Also, the fact that RML etc getting delivered to the farmers’ is offered in a few Indian languages phone. has helped build up its community There is no technical action base around the country. expected of the farmer, thus Further the RML Board has signed keeping the process free from any a Memorandum of Understanding technological complication at the (MoU) with over 15 agriculture farmer’s end, and the service is research institutes and agriculture available across all handsets and universities. Their content is operators. processed, aggregated and then delivered to farmers in a personalized Accessibility & Inclusiveness manner in the local language at the The delivery of messages from right time of the crop cycle. Reuters Market Light is over the In addition, RML has signed MoUs mobile phone, without the consumer with the agriculture marketing having to use any messaging function boards of several state governments on his own. In order to facilitate in India. Regular input is taken from constant interaction with both the the government through formal and existing and potential consumers, informal interactions (e.g. one to RML has a toll free number where the one meetings with the government farmer can call (Monday to Saturday, officers in the agriculture ministry and 10 AM to 7 PM). The numbers through conferences organized by supports any problems such as initial the industry and government bodies) activation, registration of queries, to ensure the efforts of RML are also suggestions etc. aligned with the wider priorities of All calls are attended by trained the government to help the under- personnel to ensure all that farmers served farming community. (despite varying degrees of literacy levels) can enjoy the service equally. Sustainability & Cost Effectiveness Also, the famer has a number of RML board plans to take the business languages to choose from, and to other emerging economies therefore will be able to speak to wherever farmers suffer information customer care with ease. asymmetry. This progress is being tracked like any other operating Community Participation business within Thomson Reuters to RML provides personalized ensure full visibility on operational professional information service to and financial progress. The project the farming community via mobile was investment heavy – it was started

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 21 with an initial investment of $100,000 TV shows especially for farmers, farm in 2007, and has yet to break even. management systems software and so on. RML’s simple information Replication & Scalability delivery system has a greater reach While there are other ICT based agri than many of these projects that are projects which aim to help farmers restricted to certain geographical get better yields through timely areas. However, even RML has not information, many of them do not covered all the states of India, and in have the solid financial support that capacity has potential to scale up that RML has. Other projects have even more. included online help portals, tele- centers where farmers can call up,

Conclusions

Reuters Market Light is changing in India gets only 20-25% price of the face of rural India. In a country their final produce vis-a-vis 40-50% in where conditions are harsh and the developed world. farm yields lessen amid mounting The lack of timely and reliable loans, there is a welcome spotlight information on spot prices of their on how technology can be used to crops in different markets prevents help the farmers. Using Information them from getting a fair rate. and Communication Technology The same can be said of timely (ICT), Thomson Reuters is providing and localized weather forecast, analogous services to farmers in rural information on government schemes India, where nearly 60 percent of the or sources of finance and timely tips working population makes their living that help improve their productivity. from agriculture. Reuters Market Light (RML) can The project is to help the millions bridge that gap with a wide range of of farmers who do not have timely decision-critical content via mobile and affordable access to relevant phones. decision-critical information. A farmer

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Previously farmers did not have schemes. access to timely, relevant, accurate However, when looking at the & unbiased information being service, one must also ask the basic largely dependent on middlemen. question: is this information which RML provides power to the farmer the farmer cannot get from his local allowing them to negotiate better, krishi centers? To that end, RML is decide when and at which market making access easier, but not adding to sell, take precautions based on very fresh, dynamic content in the localized forecasts, and improve famer’s hand. However, this should their sowing & cultivation practices not be a criticism because some and access timely support offered farmers are unable to collect timely through various government information from these sources and a

22 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints message on the mobile phone adds make people’s lives easier, especially greatly to their convenience. This in the rural areas. is another example of how ICT can

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 23 MouthShut is India’s largest and MouthShut most comprehensive Person to Person (P2P) Consumer Informa- tion Exchange – an online com- munity where India’s most vocal and influential consumers gather to exchange ideas that impact the purchasing decisions of mil- lions every day.

Achievements Category »» Provides a comprehensive data- e-Business base of authentic product reviews across various categories Organization MouthShut.com (I) Pvt Ltd »» Organizes the collection, compari- son and summation of consumer Platform of product generated content Online/Broadband »» Provides key resource material to Website help consumers make informed www.MouthShut.com decisions related to product com- parisons and finally purchase »» Offers a platform where corpo- rates and consumers can actually interact with each other for mu- tual benefit

24 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

An ironic name, since the website increasingly deemed as marketing asks its users to do exactly the mouthpieces of large organizations. opposite, MouthShut is a hugely Millions of such consumers gather popular Indian website dedicated online every day and speak their mind to product reviews written by on their real-life experiences with consumers. MouthShut organizes products and services. The passion the collection and collation of with which they rant and rave, the user-generated, rated content to sincerity in these reviews is captured fundamentally influence the word- one review at a time. of-mouth concept. MouthShut.com Reviews of hundreds of thousands capitalizes on the diminishing role of of products provide MouthShut a rare professional reviews in influencing repository of the most critical end- consumer decisions. result of all the product development Empowered by the Internet, and marketing – the final and the average consumer ascribes uncensored take of consumers, greater credibility to the views of the customers who are the target another similar consumer than that audience of products and marketing of professional reviewers who are messages.

Practise Background

India has 100 million internet users, channeled into understanding the the majority of which are in the psyche of the Indian consumer, cities. This might be only 8% of the and at the same time, giving that Indian population; however, one consumer a voice. MouthShut’s thing is obvious: even online, the experience has seen very rapid results Indian retains his/her talkative nature. with a huge increase in membership Indians have long laughed about the rather quickly. This tied into a Neilson typically Indian habit of talking about global survey which revealed that everything and everyone, and often, 87% of Indians accessing the internet ignoring personal space of others. trusted user reviews more than any On top of that, often they fancy other kind of advertising. themselves experts on a range of Through its robust online subjects, and word of mouth carries a community, MouthShut has become lot of weight. a very vital source of information for When it comes to blogging, social the average online consumer in India, networking and other interactive and it has forced many companies aspects of the internet, online Indians to look at these reviews and respond have adapted to them very quickly. to them, in order to retain their Facebook and Orkut are extremely customers. It has been a dynamic popular in India. shift in the corporate-consumer At the other end of the spectrum relationship, and ICT was directly a is how these online habits can be factor for this.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 25 Implementation Process

MouthShut was started as a website than 34,600 MouthShut members in the year 2000, India’s first and were surveyed with the help of Zarca largest Person-to-Person Information Interactive to obtain feedback on the Exchange. Hundreds of sub- redesigned website. The relaunch categories and thousands of products also came with many new categories. were listed for consumers to write To further enhance the site, their candid and unbiased opinion. MouthShut developed ‘MouthShut Soon after starting MS-Points™ Shopping’, a unique and for writing a review, MouthShut comprehensive platform where introduced a similar scheme for consumers can compare prices, review rating. Members now gained features, reviews and ratings of points for rating a review. The next products that they want to purchase. year, MouthShut began its innovative It is an innovative way of making SORT Technology™. They also consumers take a prudent decision. launched the innovate ‘Dial-the- On the design front, MouthShut CEO™’, whereby the members of launched its seasonal logos with MouthShut get to speak to the CEO. the idea of celebrating the spirit of MouthShut displaced its sole changing seasons. The company also Indian competitor to become the kept up contests to keep its users only consumer portal this part of the engaged. ‘Design Your MouthShut world. It popularity was obvious: It Logo’ invited members to come had to launch a member support up with their own interpretations cell due to an increasing number of of the existing MouthShut logo. support issues. It even went in for a The endeavor was a huge success. redesign. MouthShut also connected the The following years saw a lot of ‘Trusted Circle™’ to the email boxes of activity from MouthShut. It launched its members. its own survey tool and also tied up MouthShut has also spread its net with Zarca Interactive, a pioneering offline. It has crafted partnerships online research company. They with major multiplexes, bookstores, began competitions to attract more media houses and airlines to make a people such as the exclusive Fly great start. Free to Dubai contest. At the same On popular demand, MouthShut time, MouthShut also empowered added new sub-categories -- organizations in the banking sector bookstores, keyboards, and cigarettes. with direct consumer feedback. In 2006, MouthShut decided to ask Over time, the company also its users to come up with a reference launched marketing initiatives. plan for its redesign. The redesign 2003 was the year of contests. One process began in full throttle. contest after another succeeds The MouthShut user interface in keeping all the members of design experts used the member MouthShut coming back to the site. suggestions that were generated All through the year the response of through an online survey in its new the members has been enormous redesign. MouthShut also started and the contests are well competed video reviews. Now consumers do and thrilling. MouthShut also went not necessarily have to key in reviews in for a redesign, decided after more but can video blog their opinions and

26 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints reviews via a cellphone or camcorder. It also introduced a discussion forum The redesign included a where members could discuss and completely new cool look, a debate on products leading to more popular intelligent search feature informed decisions being taken. for all three type of searches for In 2007, MouthShut launched getting instant and accurate results, its pioneering service: MouthShut the ability to write reviews from Corporate Blogs. Service providers Facebook and Google Chrome, a now have a platform to interact Blog editor which made it easier with their target audience, resolve to write reviews, a completely new issues, plot strategies and win over business page, a comparison page customers by simply showing to which helped compare products of them that they actually listen and different brands and get the updated respond to them. This feature also specifications, recommendations, brings in the bulk of the company’s overview and details of the product. revenues.

Project Features

Technology Platform had come up with a comprehensive Anyone who knows how to use platform that belonged only to the the internet can use MouthShut. consumers. And the reason of coming It is based on user-friendly design up with MouthShut was precisely and architecture. The site is also not this – to give a voice to the consumer loaded with heavy videos or images who is supposedly the king. which makes it easier for those with At the same time, MouthShut slower internet connections to log on has also regularly actively engaged and post comments on. its users by asking them to help with redesign ideas or hosting Accessibility & Inclusiveness competitions. User feedback is At MouthShut there are as many as positive because based on the 67,000 products and services listed on number of reviews one writes, they the site, which by any standards, is an get star treatment on the site. Those impressive amount of sub sections. profiles get popular, and it gives users MouthShut really holds the monopoly a reason to keep coming back. as a consumer review site in India. This lack of any real competition has Sustainability & Cost Effectiveness enabled MouthShut to be known as MouthShut is a profitable business. It a champion of the consumer cause makes money from online advertisers and helped it emerge as the sole and also from businesses that pay to brand. The company insists that host their corporate blogs on the site. ‘when one thinks consumer one It is highly sustainable. While it needs thinks MouthShut, when one thinks to watch out for competition, it also unbiased consumer opinions, one has the first mover advantage in the thinks MouthShut’. market. Community Participation Replication & Scalability Consumer empowerment is at the MouthShut is easily replicable, and fore of all businesses. Yet, no one as the site is in English, it would be very successful in local languages.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 27 At the same time, MouthShut has information on the go. It can many scalable possibilities, much also further explore tie ups with as experimentry with mobile businesses in the non-virtual world! applications and offer shopping

Conclusions

MouthShut is a platform for cited in various newspapers and consumers to voice their opinions on journals for its innovative marketing thousands of products and services campaign behind the backs of auto that are manufactured by and sold rickshaws in India, being the first to to India’s 250 million consumers. It use autorickshaws as a medium for is also a repository of critical data for marketing campaigns since 2001. manufacturers to improve customer MouthShut painted the URL satisfaction, marketing strategies and of its website behind the backs product development. MouthShut’s of thousands of rickshaws in goal is to empower the consumer. Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata Fanciful advertising and marketing etc. Portals have reported that this strategies cannot be a substitute for rickshaw advertising concept has quality. been so successful that other large The American political activist, companies have imitated this idea in Wendell Phillips once said, India. Popular blogs have cited the “Revolutions are not made; they MouthShut rickshaw campaign as the come”. In India, the consumerist most creative original innovation in culture witnessed a revolution of startup advertising. The site wants to sorts with the advent of MouthShut. ensure that the average consumer In fact, MouthShut has even can write about his experience about advertised on the back of local any and every product, and this rickshaws indicating how inclusive need not be the domain of a richer and down to grassroots level the clientele. website wants to be. It has been

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

There’s an addage which says the user experiences, MouthShut has ‘consumer is king’ but when one has effectively given Indian consumers a no choice but to believe what the formal platform where they can talk market is telling you, it can’t possibly about the same things. hold true. However, with the advent The key change that MouthShut of the Internet and proliferation has been able to bring by organizing of free speech online, people are opinion into neat sections is that absolutely free to express their companies now know where to opinions about the products they use. come to understand the market While many people have personal reaction to their products. While blogs and social networking pages some have threatened to sue where they offer opinions about their MouthShut because of unfavorable

28 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints reviews, others have instead chosen phase between corporates and to engage with the customers consumers, and it is a welcome and understand their gripe. This change. interaction is also heralding a new

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 29 Eko is India’s first financial inclu- Eko sion project - a cloud based core banking system with a mobile phone front-end aimed at help- ing people in the lower income group to do banking.

Achievements Category »» Uses the mobile phone as an ena- m-Business & Commerce / bling tool for small value financial Banking transactions Organization »» Developed a distribution net- Eko India Financial Services work and a multi-modal technol- (P) Ltd ogy platform capable of profitably handling millions of consumers, Platform of product across different geo-locations mobile »» Helps access a variety of product Website offerings starting from a ‘no-frills’ www.eko.co.in savings account to mass payment solutions. »» Provides customer service points (CSPs) in different parts of Delhi/ NCR, Bihar and Jharkhand which in turn serve as the “banks”

30 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

On one hand there are banks entire functioning complements offering more and more specialized the financial services infrastructure, services to their customers while powered by innovation and on the other there is a large technology. population – especially in developing Today Eko has over 150,000 countries – that is completely left customers and over 1500 retailers out of this phenomenon. They across the country. Eko leverages typically remain under-served existing distribution networks; either because they themselves are existing behavior and interaction illiterate or semi-literate or the value mechanisms to ensure that barriers of their transactions is financially for adoption are very low. The nonviable for financial services endeavor is to build a rapidly scalable companies to service them. Eko model by addressing the challenges targets these individuals working of the existing models and by using on the fundamental premise of mobile technology to help bring the giving everyone a bank account. Its network cost down significantly.

Practise Background

Fewer than 360 million of India’s inclusion. 1.2 billion population have bank Eko is one such solution that helps accounts. In contrast, there are 800 users to make financial transactions million mobile connections in the at any time to anywhere, using country. For the millions of unbanked the mobile phone as a medium. In customers in India, they weren’t many fact, using the mobile phone and ways of saving or sending money encouraging small value transactions across the country to relatives. That – as low as Rs 20 – has been a hugely is, until e-banking projects began profitable business for Eko. cropping up, helping foster financial

Implementation Process

Eko delivers financial services like acknowledgement of the successful savings, cash deposit/withdrawal, transaction. Users can further use the money transfers and over-the- service by dialing a number based counter payments. The workflow string and giving a missed call. There of Eko is simple. The prospective is no application installed, no SMS customer has to visit the next-door and no GPRS connectivity required. retailer termed as CSP (Customer The service works even on the Service Point), and fill out a form. cheapest handsets. A savings account is created and The Eko transaction initiates a mapped to the number of the USSD (Unstructured Supplementary customer instantly. The customer and Service Data) message that works the CSP both receive an SMS as an on all handsets including ultra-low

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 31 cost handsets and all GSM networks also make the solution rapidly and without requiring any special immensely scalable, making this a downloads, internet connectivity or choice platform for universal financial provisioning. On CDMA networks, the access and micro-transactions in transaction is sent as a missed call. developing countries like India that Based on the short-code 543, dialed have a growing mobile penetration. numbers are securely forwarded Eko’s innovation lies in the user to Eko’s SimpliBank by the telecom interface that enables financial provider. SimpliBank then debits the transactions by simply number transaction initiator, crediting the dialing, using a mobile phone. recipient with money, after checking It leverages the fact that a user’s the defined limits and rules for both 10-digit mobile number can be used the customers and the ‘authorization as a unique identifier and thus as token’. a personal bank account number. This authorization token is another Therefore, every account number is patent filed innovation by Eko. Every mapped to the corresponding mobile customer who enrolls is provided number of the user. Since masses are with a “signature booklet” - a printed number literate and comfortable with collection of 50 OTPs - uniquely dialing a phone number, hence, this identified by a serial number. Each system is better for them as SMSs can OTP consists of 6-digits interspersed be too complicated. For simplicity, randomly with 4 blanks to be the only transaction syntax on Eko’s replaces by a 4 digit PIN number. The platform ‘SimpliBank’ is as follows: following could be a list of ‘signatures’ *543***# in one’s registered signature booklet: Let’s say that the person ‘A’ (with 84_9_4_2_3. signature 8419243243) wants to Let’s assume that the user’s PIN transfer Rs. 200/- to person ‘B’ (with is 1234. The user then replaces the mobile number 9876543210). The blank placeholders with the PIN person A performs the following two that only user knows. Now, it will steps: become 8419243243. This system 1. Dials the following string: works as a one-time use, and the *543*9876543210*200*8419243243# next transaction will have a new 2. Presses the call button on phone. pin, making this entire system less susceptible to fraud. Therefore, To either deposit or withdraw the security is ensured by three factors: money, the user visits the next-door a registered mobile number, a valid retailer. The experience is similar to signature from the ‘signature book’ the experience in recharging the which is registered along with the prepaid mobile account balance. By users account and the PIN. this basic system, Eko believes it has This solution also does not tuned into the needs of the target require any additional installations, segment of providing secure, simple downloads or point-of-sale devices and convenient financial services in a for smart-cards or biometrics. These cost - effective and scalable manner.

32 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Project Features

Technology Platform interact and resolve their queries, as Eko has been able to leverage mobile well as ‘Eko Counters’ (retailers), who phone technology, to the point that act as the “always available” interface the most basic handsets can be used to talk, discuss and learn more about to make financial transactions. In the service. doing so, it has allowed many people, ordinarily left out of banking, to use Community Participation Small value transactions through numbered passwords to make small a banking infrastructure bring value transactions, and thereby opportunities for the consumer. savings and so on. Saving money safely, ability to The use of mobile technology – in transfer money coupled by speed its most basic form (SMS, with no and affordability of premium services internet needed) has truly allowed over small value transactions, have Eko to be a bottom of the pyramid opened up a new world for many banking solution. The project of the consumers. Most customer leverages existing behaviors and interviews have a common thread education extended by the telecom running through them – they feel service providers: requirement of their money is safe and structured only numeric literacy, comfort with savings are possible. Due to this very the missed call behavior, and existing tangible benefit, the Eko community behaviors for SIM purchase, balance is growing. enquiry over USSD and balance recharge process. Therefore, Eko does Sustainability & Cost effectiveness not ask its customers to stray too Eko is profitable on every transaction far from their established behavior basis and hence absolutely patterns and has become an easy fit sustainable on its own. It has a wafer- for them. thin margin of 0.025 per cent - 25 paise on Rs. 1,000. EKO needs to keep Accessibility & Inclusiveness scaling up for its profits to increase. In Eko’s basic working model is both 2010/11, it had transactions of around accessible and inclusive because of its Rs. 1,200 crore. sms based mobile banking. However, Scalability is a function of two beyond the basic framework, users important elements (i) Mobile can find following information Networks and (ii) Retail channels. anywhere, anytime and any number Since there is no discrimination on of times: account balance, mini the mobile service and retailer’s statement, insurance premium, availability in the country, the specific transaction details, and project is a high growth business acknowledgement on every deposit/ opportunity. withdrawal. There is also a toll-free helpline available for the customer to

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 33 Conclusions

Eko has pioneered a low-cost solution Clients highlighted on Eko’s Web to secure USSD channel and hence site include individuals such as Salim, extends banking service over mobile a fruit seller with three children who is as a missed call behavior to large now saving Rs. 20-30 a day in his first- unbanked population in India, which ever bank account. The organization makes it a unique project globally. works with the State Bank of India It enables 800,000 clients, many of along with small-business partners them migrant laborers in Delhi, Bihar in India, and is funded in part by and Jharkhand, to carry out millions investments from the Chicago-based of transactions daily. Since financial Creation Investments Social Ventures services are inaccessible to a majority Fund. of India’s population, Eko makes Founded by Abhishek Sinha and banking possible with its simple, Abhinav Sinha, both graduates of the instant, and safe banking and money- Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, transfer services known as mini- Ranchi, Eko has opened a world of savings accounts — with transactions financial possibilities for many of handled via mobile phone. India’s poorest.

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Mobile is a medium through which seen in using a mobile as a tool for everyone on the planet remains banking. connected and as the delivery device Mobile banking as a concept (handsets) becomes cheaper and is largely used for two purposes, intelligent, this will make intelligent fund transfer (transfer of funds from applications, meaningful content one bank account to another) and available and most utility services merchant transactions (purchase will have find their value in being of travel and movie tickets, among delivered only through the mobile others). The Reserve Bank of India device. However, India does have (RBI) has allowed only a bank-led some time before it can truly realize model for mobile banking and not the potential of banking through the a telecom-operator-led model for mobile. mobile banking to avoid situations India, which has 600 million like money laundering or terror active mobile phone connections, financing. Hence, the pace in which according to the Telecom Regulatory mobile banking grows in India Authority of India (TRAI), has one of depends on the pace in which banks the highest mobile penetrations in prepare themselves to adapt to the world. However, mobile banking mobile banking technology. as a concept is yet to take off in a Most large banks offer mobile big way even among the educated banking services and applications masses, with some projects serving to their users through tie-ups with the poorer sections of the population. mobile application developers. State The comfort with which people use Bank of India’s (SBI) mobile banking internet banking to perform various service is called SBI Freedom, while banking transactions is yet to be ICICI Bank’s service is named iMobile

34 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints and HDFC Bank offers customers value of funds transferred through mobile applications like ‘ngpay’ and national electronic funds transfer ‘mChek’. Most of these services allow (Neft) has been doubling almost users to conduct all basic banking every year. In 2010-11, the volume transactions. of funds transferred through Neft However the volume of doubled to 13.23 crore and the value transactions through these channels of transactions too doubled to Rs is very difficult to find out. Since most 9,39,149 crore. of the mobile transactions happen As banks allow more banking through the internet, they would opportunities through mobiles, even all be clubbed under the figures of the services of Eko and other such internet funds transfer. According m-banking projects will expand to to RBI figures, the volume and incorporate various other functions.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 35 Grassroutes is a fellowship pro- Grassroutes gram that enables young peo- ple to become change agents through social journalism and experiential learning.

Achievements Category »» Creates platforms for urban com- e-Culture & Entertainment munities to experience authentic village experiences and reconnect Organization with their roots Grassroutes »» Helps village communities to ac- Platform of product cess and avail of sustainable liveli- Social Media Based hood opportunities Website »» Helps in conservation & promo- www.Grassroutes.in tion of local lifestyles, cultures, tra- ditions, bio diversities and econo- mies

36 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

The program encourages youth to go The program is designed to achieve on a road-trip where they travel over two objectives, firstly to bring the a fortnight across rural India to places amazing stories of change from the where organizations are creating grassroots to the mainstream and significant impact at the grassroots secondly to inspire a large section level, meet the people involved, of Indian urban youth into social experience first-hand the impact of action, using social media. These their work and finally, bring to fore objectives are achieved through a these stories of change through new special emphasis on internet and and social media. These stories of social media tools; to disseminate rich change are packaged into online/ and inspiring digital content from the offline activities through media grassroots in the form of travelogue channels aimed at inspiring more videos, photos, interviews, photo youth into social action. essays, blogs, stories which originate from the trips.

Practise Background

Today, India’s population is growing. population growth. Food production Figures indicate that over 35% of our also has to be increased by 3% every population is below the age of 20. By year to meet their needs. 2020, it is expected that 325 million For those born in urban settings people in India will reach working and attending good schools and age, which will be the largest in the college, these figures might be world. However, these figures are not alarming, yet, they do not directly without their challenges: 5 million affect them. However, going children are out of school in India, out forward, India cannot afford for the of a total of 100 million out of school richer classes to be disconnected or children in the world. More than 25% apathetic to the problems of rural of our urban population lives without India. The crux of Grassroutes is that sanitation and 24% lives without it takes fellows out of their comfort access to tap water. We need 66,000 zones by taking them to unknown primary schools and 3000 new health territories where place, people and centres every year to cater to our set-up is new – and rural.

Implementation Process

In 2008, four young engineers various media content from their founded Grassroutes, using their own journey. funds. They made an announcement Soon after, Grassroutes started in October 2008 about the to distribute this media through programme, and asked people to various channels, and won a second apply. By the end of the year, they prize at the India Habitat Young had 3 teams and 14 fellows starting Visionary Award 2009 for being out on road trips, ready to bring back one of India’s best solutions to

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 37 tap the youth energy of India for hand to the change-makers and good/development. Encouraged, using their skill-set to help the local they began their second edition, community in their own little ways, which had 3 teams and 11 fellows. the fellows make the transition to In a year, they had 550 people on social activists as well. their Facebook group, 480 youth/ After the road-trip, the fellows journalists/change-makers following serve as an ambassador for the updates and 280 active subscribers to non-profit, they design and run the newsletter. campaigns to benefit the NGO (and The Grassroutes fellowship its community) and engage more involves travelling across India, people in their efforts to support meeting change-makers, working its activities. They do this by using with grassroots organizations, social media tools to bring to fore the learning developmental issues and stories and experiences from their living on less than $1 a day! During trip, and screen travelogue videos all of it, the fellows are required to of their trips in various colleges, capture their experiences via social conferences and festivals to inspire journalism and experimental learning. more youth into social action. These stories are then used to drive The focus of the Grassroutes campaigns and the fellows become program is to help youth realize change-agents themselves. and develop two vital values; social However, in order to successful entrepreneurship as a way of thought achieve all these goals, Grassroutes to identify grassroots level problems puts the fellows through a month- and develop solutions to address long mentoring process by social them, and social journalism, an entrepreneurs and leaders from approach of observing social issues diverse sectors prior to the road-trip. like development, rights, access to This includes skill-training in using information etc at the grassroots, and social media tools to drive action for presenting it to a larger audience good. This process is meant to enable using media tools in a compelling the fellows to have a structured manner and to spark conversations perspective of the program, the in communities which can solve the road-trip and its objectives, and the issues at hand. process culminates with a day-long Grassroutes seeks to achieve gathering of all the fellows and the above objectives through a mentors. special emphasis on using internet During the road-trip, the teams and social media to drive youth travel to a pre-decided location and population to action. Some of the key spend a week there trying to research instances where these technologies and understand the on-ground are used as part of the program reality – the problem at hand, the include using new-age social media non-profits, the change-makers and tools like Twitter to engage a large their actions, the community and youth audience real-time with the local government. They play the conversations on developmental role of social journalists and capture issues, opportunities to drive social the stories of all the people involved change, crowd-sourcing ideas in community development, and on (using social networks and contests their return, share them with the rest to engage youth in ideating for of the country. By lending a helping grassroots solutions, fundraising,

38 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints volunteering), and creating rich, Since its inception in August 2008, interesting digital media content Grassroutes has spawned 40 fellows. from the grassroots which appeals Today the organization works from to youth. Grassroutes saves costs 7 different locations in 3 countries to and at the same time delivers a make the fellowship run smoothly. service which enables them to create The average age of the team is 23! positive social impact.

Project Features

Technology Platform Community Participation The entire objective of Grassroutes One of the central pillars of revolves around capturing Grassroutes is interacting with youth information at the grassroots level on a continuous basis at all stages of and then transferring it to an urban the program, including the road-trips. audience via all available media tools. A team-builder webpage prior to the In fact, the intended audience for road-trips help fellows find team- Grassroutes is urban, and they need mates from different parts of the to be connected to social media country and build a strong team with including Facebook, twitter, blogs, complementary skills. The Grassroutes YouTube and so on to fully participate Blog (both from the organization and with the programme. the fellows) has showed impressive participation from the community Accessibility & Inclusiveness in the form of constructive and The Grassroutes fellowship and insightful comments. experience is all about access and The Grassroutes road-trip platform inclusiveness. Its ultimate aim is to (www.netvibes.com/Grassroutes) sensitize urban pockets about rural provides a one-stop showcase of NGOs. The first point of access is the all the media that fellows gather/ road trip for fellows, many of whom create during their road-trips. The would never be able to travel through system allows for commenting villages if it was not for this program. from registered Netvibes users. The Inversely, for the villagers, there is Grassroutes Facebook page engages increased access to the cities via the youth in discussions on road-trips for fellows. social change, exchanging excellent Since the experiences of the video/audio/text resources. Apart fellows are packaged into interesting from the above, Grassroutes hosts and inspiring travelogue videos/ contests on social networks for youth photo-essays/blogs and other on areas relating to using internet media which is dispersed to a larger (and social media) for social change youth population by means of social – thereby interacting with a larger networks, blogs and digital media audience. channels, urban youth have increased access to them. This experience is Sustainability & Cost effectiveness critical for the fellows to translate In the first 2 editions (2008 & 2009), change into action, and it allows Grassroutes had been self-funded other young people to involve by the founding team owing to the themselves with Grassroutes. small costs involved. However, the structure of the program has proven

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 39 to have a very good potential to be change through follow-up projects. self-sustaining. The program itself is Most of these projects involve not capital-intensive, with the only extensive use of social media. costs being the road-trip expenses, Therefore, while other programs administrative expenses and costs can come up to do similar work, incurred in developing a sound ‘social Grassroutes has certainly proven itself media for social change’ curriculum. the trail blazer in this regard. Grassroutes has since then At the same time, the potential to positioned itself as a paid program scale is strikingly huge in Grassroutes. that requires fellows to pay a nominal With its easily demonstrated fee for the fellowship. This cost is sustainability and growing interest in subsidized on a needs-basis through the youth community, Grassroutes scholarships for which funds is raised has aims to scale to a larger from donors. In effect, Grassroutes fellowship program with more than is functioning easily as a non-profit 100 youth selected as fellows in each sustainable venture. edition and trained to use social media for change. With each young Replication & Scalability fellow reaching out to his/her local Grassroutes is the first and only community and inspiring more youth fellowship program for youth that to engage in social action, the social actively engages in enabling youth to impact will be very significant. The use social (and new) media for social impact of the scale will be clearly change. Grassroutes requires fellows felt as the program will aid in social to use their road-trip experience to media maturing as a platform for create measurable positive social driving development in India.

Conclusions

The urban-rural divide in India is a hand. simple reality. Many city born children Grassroutes has tapped into that may have visited villages or small feeling, to the extent, that today towns, but often they do not have ‘fellows’ are happy to pay for the a real connection. As much as they experience. However, at the same might ‘know’ about the problems in time, keeping social journalism rural India, most of them will never central to the experience, the truly experience it. However, in every fellowship forces these students to generation, there are socially minded engage with what they see much people who are eager to make that beyond being simple spectators. It connection, and to find a way to is indeed an innovative solution to contribute to the larger causes at bring together the two Indias.

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Digital content and channels hold a play an important part in penetrating strong role in development. The low- the urban-rural divide and bring cost distribution channels that digital development to the masses. technology is bringing into play will Grassroutes firmly believes that the

40 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints current generation of youth, being cheapest and easiest way to reach more ICT conversant than previous this audience, especially those in generations by order of magnitude, urban centers, and engage them can take a strong leadership role in in making a positive impact to the using digital content/channels for society. development. Digital content is the

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 41 The Panjab Digital Library (PDL) Panjab locates, digitizes, preserves and makes accessible the ‘accumulat- Digital ed wisdom’ of the Panjab region, without distinction as to script, Library language, religion, nationality, or other physical condition through the portal: www.PanjabDigiLib. org. Achievements Category »» Panjab Digital Library is India’s first e-Culture & Heritage digital library, which is free for us- ers after they register on the site, Organization funded by private citizens and a Panjab Digital Library number of institutions Platform of product »» Offers over six million pages about Web Panjab’s history in the form of Website manuscripts, books, newspapers www.PanjabDigiLab.org etc. for research for users »» Provides a digitized compilation of over 4000 periodicals and over 8000 books including the Guru Granth Sahib (from 1653), inscrip- tions of Guru Gobind Singh ji, Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib, Bhag- vat Puran in Gurmukhi & Sanskrit, Bhagvat Gita printed in 1866, and many Persian works, which include beautiful manuscripts of Koran Sharif »» Provides over 168 hours of histori- cal interviews and over 9000 rare photographs online »» Allows users to create accounts where they can save files, make notes and also participate in fo- rums

42 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

Panjab Digital Library was started destroyed by those forces who are in 2003 by the Nanakshahi Trust trying to conquer a region, PDL with the mission to digitize as many decided they did not want to risk historical documents pertaining to losing Panjab’s literature and heritage the greater Panjab region as possible. in the future. With the idea that the Many of the documents being first knowledge transfer was oral, digitized are over 300 years old, and the second written, and the third will physically not survive the next wave digital; PDL has taken the lead 50-100 years. In order to preserve the in preserving precious works of its information they carry, PDL has been history and culture. carefully been scanning and digitizing PDL as an online research source these works. Over time, their method will is also helping scholars and and equipment for digitizing has researchers around the world access reached international standards, documentation from the Panjab and they are able to comply with region. By making available so international benchmarks. much data, PDL is, in a way, fuelling Panjab Digital Library, on average, interest in the history of this region. digitizes 5000 pages a day, spending It is only a matter of time that other around Rs 5 lakh per month. Very states, cultures, religions follow suit aware of how invaluable works are and painstakingly digitize all their lost to history by accident, or worse, precious historical works.

Practise Background

The destruction of books, sadly, has conditions so that they don’t become a powerful political tool disintegrate. Often, even universities over the centuries. Ch’in emperor do not know how to house these Shih Huand-ti ordered the first materials, or do not have the recorded “official” burning of books budgets to keep them well. However, in 213 BC. Since then censorship and preserving these old materials has destruction have been used to make been made so much easier with the history bend to present sensibilities. onset of the digital age where these There are, of course, terrible accidents works can be easily scanned, digitized that result in the loss of invaluable and archived for future generations. books. The Sikh Reference Library The project itself has also had an was destroyed in a fire on June 7, added benefit for researchers and 1984, destroying a majority of the rare historians. As part of the process, documents. Many old documents PDL has been acquiring previously don’t have duplicates, so when they undocumented, uncatalogued, or get destroyed, or even fade over time, simply unknown works that talk of there really is no way to recover what the history of the Panjab region. It will is lost. help any future works on the history At the same time, the process of of the region immensely. At the preservation is not an easy one as same time, PDL is paving the way for handling originals means keeping preservation and digitization in India. them in appropriate storage In this way, the PDL project aims

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 43 to improve expertise in the field and technology and integration to establish common grounds for future reference tools have revolutionized collaborative work by specialists the ability to create electronic replicas from the global community. Digital of print materials.

Implementation Process

PDL started as an extremely small PDL owns the right to use the gift as organization, with one desk and it wishes. However, donated material one employee. Today, the office needs to be cleared with PDL and has grown and shifted into a new there is a separate policy for rare building. From three employees, books and archives. At this time, PDL they now have 30. And from only accepts material in 5 languages: scanning 5000 pages a month, they English, Hindi, Urdu, Persian and now document 5000 pages a day. Punjabi. Expensive equipment has been Obviously, the volume of material bought to properly scan the pages of PDL has managed to put together is old documents. significant, and therefore equal care There is a workflow that is is taken to ensure that it is backed followed: the relevant documents up properly and cannot be lost. The are first identified, and then an PDL IBM server is currently stored overhanging high definition camera and maintained by the Nanakshahi captures a still of each one of those Trust in SAS Nagar, Panjab. The data pages. Next, the pictures are ‘fixed’ on this server is backed-up regularly or edited, on the computer. The and the back-up information is stored materials are then put together, and off-site on multiple Tape Drives and verified for any mistakes or missing DVDs. The Nanakshahi Trust does not pages, and are finally made accessible use any of the PDL or project images online. There are 35 installed for their own purposes unless given work-stations and a very high data express permission. processing power. PDL has also taken great care to As it has grown, PDL has also ensure they back up their data. To this instated a number of policies for end, PDL back-ups are kept in more smooth functioning. Due to licensing than one media. One copy of backup issues, some material is only available is always online. For offline backups to participating members and PDL employs DVDs (three copies), institutions. Even for casual visitors, LTO4 Tapes (2), IBM Storage Servers unless they log into the site, they (1) and SATA hard disks (1), to store can only access the first 5 pages of its data, apart from the online storage books. PDL also does not allow users server. to download either entire books or Copies of these backup articles manuscripts or attempt to download are further stored at two separate its entire database. locations to avoid complete and Because many people have come instant loss in case of a calamity or forward to gift PDL old newspapers war. Earlier all backups were on two and materials they have had with DVDs and one hard disk, but the them, the NGO has come up with a organization decided to change the policy regarding gifts. Once received, strategy to ensure greater safety.

44 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints To remain professional, PDL has interdisciplinary basis to complete also instituted working groups, such a given project. The functions of a as PDL Content Selection Working working group also include reviewing Group, PDL Copyright & IPR Issues existing applications, evaluating Working Group and PDL Digital Data goals, effectiveness, usability and Management Working Group. Group design in order to provide feedback members consist of programmers, for further improving presentation professionals and researchers and functionality. who work and collaborate at an

Project Features

Technology Platform it to keep its core value of providing PDL itself uses a lot of equipment, free and accessible digital services to including scanners and storage hard the citizens. To generate revenue PDL drives, but for the user it is a simple has initiated many corporate services web experience where they can read/ focused on digitization and digital access historical literature from the content management. These include: Panjab region. The site also gives digital imaging solutions, data mining users a personal account where they services, digitization training and can save pages, make notes and digital image management solutions. participate in forums. Because PDL has successfully acquired hardware and manpower Accessibility & Inclusiveness and properly trained employees, the The aim behind the project is to software of the digital library and its increase accessibility and thereby implementation scheme is such that interest in the history of the greater it can be customized any which way, Panjab region. The service is free to making enough room to add new use for ordinary citizens, as long as fields, categories and genres as per they register. However, the materials the project needs. are available in their original form, and therefore are in English, Hindi, Replication & Scalability Punjabi, Persian and Urdu. Those who While digital libraries exist the world cannot read these languages do not over, and in India, PDL is a very have the options of translations as unique project from many points yet. of view. It is the only project that is completely focused on Panjab’s Community Participation heritage as there is no other The broader community in Punjab institution in the world focusing has rallied around this project and solely on Panjab’s heritage. It is run many people have offered materials as a non-profit NGO providing free from their personal collections to services in digital preservation of help enhance the project. heritage, and providing access to the Sustainability & Cost Effectiveness digital data through internet, which PDL has grown on donations, but also happened to be at no cost to the is actively working out a strategy user. whereby it can generate some Apart from these PDL plans to revenue as well. It is keenly working soon launch sections on thesis/ on sustainability models, which allow paper, articles, political/historical

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 45 documents, poster/painting, maps, (audio visuals), and personal diaries, murals, numismatics, multimedia memoir and correspondence.

Conclusions

Panjab Digital Library has chosen to learn from the single minded and a unique mission for its project; professional manner in which PDL to source and preserve historical has approached its work. information about the greater Today, scholars and interested Panjab region for posterity. It is not parties from all over the world can an academic venture in the strictest simply log into the simple-to-use sense; it chooses to highlight a website and navigate to the section community and its achievements. But there their interest lies. It can only be to the end that it has been successful, hoped that other groups also learn to there is no doubt that many smaller leverage ICTs in such a healthy and academic institutions could stand positive manner.

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Some of PDL’s material has been is that as it has expanded, it has drawn from the Panjab Languages adhered to professional and Department; there are items from the international trends in digitizing and Government Museum and Art Gallery storing materials. Additionally, texts of Chandigarh, Jawaharlal Library of were included without distinction the Kurukshetra University and Chief as to script, language, religion, Khalsa Diwan. In a sense, many of nationality, or other human condition. their collections might have perished This means that while the focus or not been accessible to ordinary stayed in Panjab, texts written by all citizens – especially those who could kinds of people have been included not physically visit their facilities – in the collection instead of myopically had it not been for PDL’s clever and only including works by Punjabis. In passionate use of technology to that sense, this project has shown preserve their cultural heritage. others how to use ICTs for both Another factor to note in the preservation of culture, and inclusion. manner in which PDL has operated

46 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 47 Pratibadh is a 13-year-old publi- Pratibadh cation distributed in 53 districts across Bihar, Punjab and Haryana, bringing about an information revolution in villages.

Achievements Category »» Acts as a tool of empowerment, e-Culture & Heritage rights, and access to information for its rural readers Organization Panjab Digital Library »» Uses information and communi- cation technology tools such as Platform of product mobile phones, digital cameras, Web email and cyber cafes to com- Website municate between reporters, sub- www.PanjabDigiLab.org scribers and readers »» Reports on success stories, photo- graphs, issues related to local gov- ernance, village sanitation, right to information, »» Provides suggestions to improve rural living, tackle corruption in various government scheme »» Helps disperse information and advice related to agriculture and dairy innovation »» Uses rural reporters as potent agents of information, knowl- edge, advocacy, investigation and surveys

48 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

Pratibadh is known as the ‘wall’ trainings to understand the nuances newspaper because it is put up at of reporting, use of modern gadgets, village council offices, offices of milk and writing for print, mobile phones societies, agriculture offices and other and e-newsletters. places where the right audience As a development newspaper reads its stories, many of which targeting rural and low literate with have an agricultural theme. From its their participation, this product humble beginnings in 1996 with just is a very progressive effort. The 1,000 copies, the fortnightly is now development newspaper, published read in Hindi or Gurmukhi by more fortnightly, is pasted on the walls than 800,000 people in over 35,000 of milk cooperatives and Panchayat villages. buildings in three states, covering The publication’s efforts to use around 40,000 villages. This information and communication community newspaper uses the technology tools such as mobile strong network of milk cooperatives phones, digital cameras, email to ensure that it reaches villages and cyber cafes to communicate which would otherwise be difficult between reporters, subscribers and to reach. It has been influencing the readers has allowed its network to lives of over 600,000 milk cooperative spread successfully. Pratibadh has farmers. It is a perfect two way a network of at least 600 reporters channel as the van that delivers the also known as rural communicators newspaper is also used by farmer to cum rural reporters in villages, who send feedback. are provided intense three-day

Practise Background

India, especially the rural pockets, scheme, agriculture and dairy suffers from an information gap. innovation. What sets this apart Areas like health, agricultural from many other initiatives is that productivity and education have long local reports from rural communities suffered from the lack of relevant sniff out important stories which advice and new information reaching need to be covered, instead of news the right people at the right time. emanating from national studies/ Over the years, many initiatives sources which often are unable to have been implemented to get find resonance with a local audience. information across, like workers in Further, by using ICT tools to the field, community radio, SMS help in story collection, the scope based projects, and newspapers, like of the news has increased. In fact, in Pratibadh. dealing with rural matters, the use The newspaper gets reports on of technology has repeatedly shown success stories, photographs, issues that ICT can help populations bridge related to local governance, village both the information and digital sanitation, right to information, divide in a very effective and efficient suggestions to improve rural living, manner. corruption in various government

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 49 Implementation Process

In 1996, Anupam Shrivastava started that it reaches villages and pasted on the Hindi wall newspaper Pratibadh the walls of milk collection centers to in collaboration with an international influence the lives of over 6,00,000 aid organization and the Patna dairy milk cooperative farmers. project in Bihar to create awareness It was piloted in 1996 in around among the rural populace about 1000 villages of Bihar (Patna, Bhojpur their surroundings and issues directly and Vaishali districts) with Patna Dairy connected to their livelihood such Project and replicated in in over 64 as farming and animal husbandry. Milk Cooperative Unions around the The success of Pratibadh can be country. In 2001, Pratibadh launched gauged not only from its financial its Bangla edition with Bengal Milk sustainability but also because it is Federation, 2002 in Punjabi with a tool of empowerment, rights, and Punjab Milk Union, 2003 in Haryana, access to information for its rural 2003 in Maharashtra and 2005 in readers. Uttaranchal. It has been accepted The central idea behind Pratibadh by the ministry of Panchayati Raj as was to develop a short term solution a viable alternative media to reach to disseminate information to rural areas and is being piloted in rural and low literate populations. 10,000 panchayats in Bihar by the However, as with all community ministry and by the National Food media, the central theme was to do it Security Mission in 3601 panchayats with the participation of the people of Haryana. themselves. Using ICT tools and ‘rural Pratibadh has its own style of communicators’ and ‘rural reporters’, collection information for stories. Pratibadh was a method in which Often, readers send letters by post to to bridge these two channels to Pratibadh, which are then followed create something apt for the target up by their reporters via mobile. population. Photos are scanned and emailed, and There is a long way to go however now that digital cameras are available in bridging the digital divide, and the in villages, soft copies are also posted same can be said for the information to the paper. The rural reporters are divide, and there was a thought that paid for their work, and many of them by creating a transfer of information, are able to find additional reportage the process could be sped up. The work through their association with ICT tools used for this knowledge the paper. transfer are basic in nature; SMS, The reporters are potent agents of LCD projectors, computer based information, knowledge, advocacy, communication and software and so investigation and surveys. They on. also collect data and other related The end product, Pratibadh, information for Pratibadh at rural published as a fortnightly events and so on. In this manner, the developmental newspaper is pasted paper is evolving and growing as it on walls of milk cooperative and gets older. Panchayat buildings in three states in Lack of information on scope of over 40,000 villages. This community development is one of the reasons for newspaper uses the strong network underdevelopment of the third world. of milk cooperatives to make sure A vast chunk of rural population has

50 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints been out of domain of commercial without using the traditional means interest of media houses. The of communication through the Pratibadh initiative is trying to change new means of communication .The the scenario. It is simply put a thick success of the projects depend on the broadsheet based wall newspaper integration and incorporation of the since 1996 reaching 40,000 villages existing systems of knowledge into in three states of Bihar, Punjab and the new ones created by the ICTs. The Haryana through its network of 600 participation invoked by ICTs should rural reporters. not run contrary to the community Lately, Pratibadh has enabled all its norms. reporters with ICT training and tools It is important that the new media for not only collecting information is used as a tool to enhance the news and reports but also use ICT traditional means. New media should tools like Emails, PDF, LCD projectors, be used as a catalyst for bringing PPTs to reach out to rural masses in change, revival and development. groups and communities. With the New media is the potent force for the introduction of some more business revival of traditional media because modules like Rural Communication, of its penetration, personalisation Rural Research and Rural Market and effectiveness. It is the traditional Pratibadh is now growing fast. media which further makes the new This just goes to show that rural media acceptable, applicable and development cannot be achieved effective.

Project Features

Technology Platform circulation of each edition and Pratibadh uses technology in the regions it is subscribed from. collecting information for the paper Although the subscription is paid by and then in preparing the paper itself. the concerned societies and village ICT tools such as SMS, emails, digital councils, each local agency collects it photographs and so on are used in from villagers associated with them. collecting and sharing information. However, because it is pinned up at In designing and sharing the paper, locations convenient to villagers, it is computers, LCD projectors, as well highly accessible. as software such as PageMaker, Corel draw and other similar programs. Community Participation This is a paper based on community Accessibility & Inclusiveness participation and relies heavily on The wall newspaper is typically put community reporters to help run up on village council offices, offices of it. To that end, Pratibadh is deeply milk societies, agriculture offices and rooted in local communities. agriculture technology management agencies, and on the walls of the Sustainability & Cost Effectiveness Although the operational premises of some influential non- geographical domain is rural India, governmental organizations and Pratibadh is very much a profit- individuals. making venture, with approximately It is affordable as well. Its Rs 60 lakh annual turnover. At least subscription rate varies between 90% of the revenue comes from Rs 5 and Rs 8, depending on the

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 51 subscriptions. As mentioned, the and deploying them in rural subscription rate varies between communicative events. Rs 5 and Rs 8, depending on the circulation of each edition and Replication & Scalability Pratibadh has survived and grown the regions it is subscribed from. over 10 years without any funding However, the subscription is paid by or support. It has sustained itself the concerned societies and village on its commercial viability. It has councils; each local agency then the potential to grow even more collecting it from villagers associated with the introduction of some more with them. coverage of business modules like Pratibadh has also started rural communication, rural research the process of incentivizing and rural markets. At the same time, it rural reporters by using them has a model which can be extended as investigators for quantitative beyond its agricultural focus and data collection for rural research replicated by other groups.

Conclusions

There are many ways to get At the same time, it has information to people in rural India, encouraged journalism at the local which includes programs on the level, which is a happy by product national broadcaster, leaflets and of the initial idea. Ventures like so on. Pratibadh’s method, by using Pratibadh, which focus on the local reporters to pick up on local ‘bottom of the pyramid’, are made stories, has been effective because stronger because their approach is of its targeted reach. By focusing on not necessarily top down, but instead agricultural matters, and providing treats its rural clientele as perfectly the paper to people (and at places) capable of providing for themselves. where it will have the most impact, it And even more impressive is the fact has managed to create a ripple effect. that it can pay for itself and has not It reaches over 800,000 people which built itself as a business model based is no small feat. on donations.

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Pratibadh has kept a focus on what its sensible pricing has allowed it to and how it wishes to deliver news. grow exponentially over the past few The paper carries no political news, years. and no high selling stories of scandal. As it expands, Pratibadh could Instead, it focuses on its subject experiment with digital editions (for matter. It also gives useful information eg, SMS newsletter) or expand the such as job adverts, announcements scope of its subject matter. However, for recruits for the army and railway of prime importance is the fact that and other such nuggets that have the it has highlighted community issues maximum impact at the local level. outside of radio and television. The simple workflow followed by

52 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 53 GRINS, or Gramin Radio Inter Net- Gramin working System, is an enhanced automation system for com- Radio Inter munity radio stations. It is also expanding its offerings to video Networking and content distribution systems, System to enable distributed applica- tions for agriculture, healthcare (GRINS) and education in rural areas.

Achievements Category »» The current release of GRINS al- Community Broadcasting lows radio station operators to schedule broadcasts; preview pro- Organization grams, record live transmissions Gram Vaani Community Media »» Maintains an extensive semanti- cally searchable library Platform of product Radio »» In future releases, GRINS will be enhanced to handle telephony Website calls, sending and receiving SMS www.gramvaani.org messages and Internet connectiv- ity to share and stream content with other GRINS deployments

54 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

Built on Gram Vaani’s MINP platform, and processes at community radio GRINS was piloted successfully at stations by providing technological Radio Bundelkhand, one of the first systems to non-profit organizations community radio stations to start who want to set up community radio broadcasting in India. Today, GRINS stations in India and elsewhere. is used to improve technology

Practise Background

GRINS is the flagship product of Gram and provide contextual information Vaani. Gram Vaani is an initiative to to people. enable participatory media services Community Radio aims at covering for rural India. Media is an important an area of 5-10km radius, and agency to provide information through that, cover stories specific to that inspires people, empowers the community. Local stakeholders, communities, brings knowledge often through the local university, and awareness for equitable NGOs or agricultural institutions, development, and streamlines normally start these radio stations. the interaction of villages with Depending on the equipment used, governments and external agencies the station can cost anywhere from to enforce responsible politics. Rs. 3.5 lakh to Rs. 16 lakh. However, currently the Gram Vaani aspires to build an effectiveness of media services in eco-system consisting of information rural areas is limited because local production and consumption by communities are not involved in the bringing together rural communities, media delivery process, low-cost development NGOs, regional and and appropriate technological tools local government agencies, national are not available, and organized and vernacular news agencies, and information delivery systems are customer-centric corporates. Through absent in most rural areas. Both GRINS, the cost of running the station community participation and and the technological aspects of the information delivery systems are radio station can be improved. critical to enable media effectiveness

Implementation Process

The GRINS system is a plug-n-play has been designed specifically for server to run a community radio community radio stations in remote station. It enables radio station and rural areas, to keep costs low, operators to schedule broadcasts, provide extremely robust functioning, preview programs, make and receive and enable rich features for greater phone calls, record live transmissions, community interaction. and maintain an extensive Some of the key features of GRINS semantically searchable library, all that distinguish it from other radio through a single user-interface. GRINS

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 55 broadcast platforms are as follows: target population of rural areas ∙∙ Commodity Hardware: GRINS in India and other developing does most processing in-software countries. The use of large icons to eliminate the need of buying and simple navigation makes expensive audio hardware, and GRINS easy to use even for yet imposes very low processing radio operators who are new to overhead on the system. For computerized systems. this reason, GRINS can be run off ∙∙ Diagnostics: A key feature of commodity PCs and single board GRINS, the system can actually computers, significantly reducing detect any network faults or audio the costs of setting up community cable errors or poor audio quality radio stations. through Digital Signal Processing ∙∙ Service oriented Design: All (DSP), and guide the operators functionality provided by GRINS on how to fix the problem locally. is handled by different services, This reduces the downtime of such as the audio service for play the system so that radio stations out, archive service for recording, located in remote rural areas do library service for storage, etc. not have to wait for a technician to Each of these services can be run visit them and fix small problems. either on a single machine, or off GRINS is already being used by 68 multiple machines. This makes the community radio stations across India deployment of GRINS extremely and in order to improve its reach, flexible to be able to fit into any is experimenting with introducing kind of a radio station setup. sms-based services to improve ∙∙ Application Development interactivity. The innovativeness lies Platform: The open API of GRINS in eliminating expensive pieces of allows third party developers to audio and telephony hardware that build their own radio applications are used in commercial radio stations, using the various underlying and substituting them through audio services that GRINS provides. For processing in software. example, you can build specific This enables GRINS to run applications for the broadcast of off commodity hardware and educational programs or health considerably reduces the cost programs, which allow quick of setting up community radio search and playback features for stations. In addition, integration with the respective topics. In the future, telephony and the Internet adds once GRINS begins to support the considerable flexibility to design telephone, video, and Internet novel application the radio platform. planes, these applications can This is a unique way of combining the even be multi planar in nature. broadcast nature of radio with the bi- ∙∙ Easy to use Interface: The GRINS directionality provided by telephones user interface has been especially and cellphones. designed keeping in mind the

56 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Project Features

Technology Platform instructions are available online. Its The GRINS system has been designed platform supports Windows and specifically keeping the rural Linux (Ubuntu). environment in mind. It rarely uses With GRINS, stations do not need a textual interfaces – most operations telephony hybrid, or make changes to are performed through the use of mixer settings to record calls or to put easily memorable picture icons. It also calls on air. GRINS makes it as simple recognizes the fact that community as clicking a button. One can preview radio setups can be complicated audio over headphones even while with lots of network and audio cable another program is playing. The same connections. A careless movement headphones can be used also for or misconfiguration can easily bring monitoring what audio goes on air, the station off air. Therefore they and to listen and talk to phone callers. have designed a diagnostics test that GRINS supports Internet streaming automatically checks all connections to Icecast and Shoutcast servers. using Digital Signal Processing. Anybody over the Internet can tune Sine waves are synthesized and in to the station! a Fourier Transform is done at the A content library is integrated other end to check the audio quality with GRINS. All programs can be being delivered -- as soon as any stored with GRINS and a playlist flaws are detected, the radio station made later. One does not need to operator is guided on how to resolve keep content partitioned in different the problem locally without having to folders on the computer. Additionally, wait for external technical help. a caller database of listeners can be Accessibility & Inclusiveness maintained, and within that one can Keeping in mind the different types track villages and the communities to of stations, from all over the country which they belong. that could use this system, GRINS has been designed to be easily installable. Community Participation GRINS is currently in use at 68 It is available freely online. The community radio stations across installation procedure consists of the India, some of which are mentioned following steps: below: ∙∙ Define the configuration for your ∙∙ Radio Bundelkhand, Orcha: radio station using the online Development Alternatives wizard. GRINS is flexible in its ∙∙ Gurgaon ki Avaaz, Gurgaon: The deployment model – it can be Restoring Force deployed to run off one computer ∙∙ Tashi Delek Radio, Dharamshala: or multiple computers, depending Tibetan Children’s Village upon the existing setup and ∙∙ Kumaon Vaani, Mukteshwar: TERI scalability requirements. ∙∙ Jago Mumbai Radio, Khar, ∙∙ Download all relevant installation Mumbai: Union Park Residents packages on to a USB stick, save Association the configuration on to the same ∙∙ Sangam Radio, Pastapur, AP: USB stick, and insert it one at a Deccan Development Society time in each machine that is to ∙∙ University of Hyderabad, form a part of the GRINS setup. Hyderabad Installation files and detailed

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 57 ∙∙ Radio Namaskar, Konark, Orissa: they wish to target. Young India The USP of GRINS is it is user ∙∙ Radio Nagar, Ahmednagar, friendly and easy for radio operators Maharashtra: Snehalay who are new to computerized systems. The technology is targeted Sustainability & Cost effectiveness towards the rural areas, and it has Using GRINS could significantly been made user friendly with use of reduce the cost of setting up easy to memorize icons and would be community radio stations since introducing changes in the interface the community radio stations have to keep it simple. to face economic constraints and GRINS is developing business cannot afford to splurge on audio models to help not only the project hardware. GRINS is appropriate for to sustain itself, but also help them as most processing is software community radio stations and other based and it eliminates the need of media outlets in rural areas to sustain buying expensive audio hardware. themselves. GRINS will encourage rural community radio stations to flourish Replication & Scalability because it provides the technical There is only one alternative to GRINS support they so need. Moreover, in the market, which is a US based financial stability being the key issue software priced at about $5000, and for community radio stations, GRINS no Indian community radio station also provides revenue streams. With uses it. GRINS, even though it is open telephony support for community source, charges Rs 55,000 for its black radio stations, the callers can record box that includes a markup, although a 30 second advertisement which stations have the option of buying can be aired and the revenues can their own hardware and then simply flow at a local level. Apart from that, installing GRINS. With no competitor a list of CRs in India will be listed on in sight at the moment, GRINS is Gram Vaani’s website and advertisers aiming to expand its reach to 4000 wanting to reach the grass roots can community radio stations. advertise on the community radio

Conclusions

GRINS is not a content producer, one that runs both on GRINS and it only provides the technology to independently. A caller dials a broadcast this content and share number and leaves a message, and it with other radio stations. And other callers can dial the number the company is always innovating. and listen to the message, as well as GRINS can help integrate different leave their own messages, creating content services in the future and the a question-answer forum. Radio company is planning to work in this stations can potentially use the app issue. to conduct polls. In a way, GRINS To turn a profit, it plans to is helping shaping the course of introduce a voice-SMS application, community radio stations themselves.

58 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Lessons Drawn From The Practise

We have a strong belief that and “completeness” gap, but rural information asymmetry is responsible and marginalized communities for many evils in the world. This do not have access to them, and information asymmetry is present the current services provided often because of a lack of information by Google, Youtube, etc. do not access tools in rural environments, do a great job in searching and or if access is available then because recommending relevant content non contextual and incomplete to rural communities. We think that information is provided by news appropriate technological systems agencies or media companies. carefully tailored for the bottom- The new forms of Internet based of-the-pyramid populations are participatory media such as blogs necessary to enable participatory and wikis can bridge the “context” media services in rural environments.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 59 Vasundhara Krishi Vahini (90.4 Vasundhara MHz) is a first of its kind local agriculture development radio Krishi Vahini channel hosted in Baramati, providing inputs to farmers on 90.4 MHz agricultural issues and concerns as well as bringing the commu- nity together.

Achievements Category »» Provides timely inputs to the local Community Broadcasting farming community on issues re- lated to agriculture Organization Vidya Pratishthan’s Institute »» Provides a unique and focused of Information Technology tool on disseminating pertinent (VIIT) Baramati information in rural areas Platform of product Radio Website www.radiovasundhara.com

60 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

Community radio is a broadcasting The area covered by the Vasundhara organization established to provide Vahini CR radio station is around communication support for the social, 35-40kms surrounding the college economic and cultural development campus. of community on a non-profit basis. The radio station has its own Based on that principle, the Baramati broadcast and recording studio, based Vidya Pratishthan’s Institute transmission tower and equipment of Information Technology (VIIT) for outdoor recordings. It is a state has launched a community radio of the art radio station, which has channel, Vasundhara Krishi Vahini standard recording, editing and 90.4 MHz, run out of the university. transmission facilities. The service is The basic aim of the radio station is run and managed by local people to satisfy the community’s needs for addressing issues relating to the information: in this case because it is community in the local language, based in an agrarian community, its Marathi. The broadcasting time is in major programs discuss agricultural the morning 6.00 am to 10.00 am and issues. However, the station also 4.00 pm to 8.00 pm. focuses on environmental, health, The main objective of the and other vital issues. Vasundhara Vahini community radio Vasundhara Vahini -90.4 MHz, is to provide the information to run by Vidhya Pratishthan’s Institute the farmers, weaker sections of the of Information and Technology, society and other communities in Baramati was launched in April 2004. rural areas.

Practise Background

Radio serves as an important reliable information on climate, plant development tool for creating nutrition, production seeds, fertilizers, awareness, spreading information new trends and water information, and facilitating communication, integrated with infrastructure and despite (in some cases) the absence socio-economic factors is essential of policy support and government for land users to exercise the best aid. It is extremely effective for choice among options in using these geographically bound communities resources to achieve sustainable level in areas with poor infrastructure of food production and developing where people do not have access to in an increasingly complex the mainstream national and regional environment. media. Most of these farmers will probably With Vasundhara Vahini in not have internet access in their particular, special attention is lifetime, and don’t even have regular paid to the farmers in the area. access to a telephone. Although an Agriculture has been in mainstay of increasing number of communities the Indian’s economy and over 70% have access to a television, there is of its population lives in rural areas a shortage of content that is locally as much as 49% of the land area determined, relevant, appropriate is cultivable. Timely availability of and accessible in local languages.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 61 Printed materials though available than 70 percent of the population. in local languages, do not help the This is where radio can be of yeoman farmers who are illiterate-that is more service.

Implementation Process

Vasundhara Krishi Vahini was A sample of programs on air: started in April, 2004 at Baramati, ∙∙ Santvani: This program gives brief with dissemination of agricultural and descriptive information of information in mind. The station the Abhangas from the Saints operates twice a day, in shifts four of Maharashtra. This program is hours, both in the morning (6am- narrated and given by Dr. Sandip 10am) and evening (4pm-8pm). Tapkir professor from T.C.College There are over 2000 hours of the Baramati. Santvani is broadcasted agricultural related programs ready daily morning at 6.10 am and for broadcasting. It covers around evening at 4.10 pm. 30,000 farmers. ∙∙ Bhutkalat Aaj Kay Ghadala: This Their main focus is the farming program gives information of and also the student community. particular days in the past such as The role of the community radio is in Birth, Death or Awards to the great order to empower local communities individuals in history. The program and encourage local participation is broadcasted daily at 7 am and 5 and address local issues specially pm on Vasundhara CR. relating to the farmers and weaker ∙∙ Ayushya Ghadavinari Manasa: section of society. Through this This program is to introduce project, the users get important the people who have overcome and useful information on various tough situations by working agri-related aspects like-new varieties hard, fighting against poverty, of seeds, updated commodity rates, uncultured, illiterate family weather forecasts, various pesticide backgrounds and inadequate and medicines, animal dieses etc. and facilities of education and recent research done by the scientist betterment of life. This program is from various agricultural universities. broadcasted on Monday, Tuesday Doctors are invited to talk about and Wednesday at 8.20 am and various diseases and give expert 6.20 pm on Vasundhara CR. advice on treatment, and on a lighter ∙∙ Goan Gada: This program gives note, local music is broadcast. The the detailed information of programme content includes: folk villages in Baramati and other songs, dramas, skits, conversations, towns which include historical, debates, stories, poems, lectures political, geographical structure of specific subjects, celebrations of and agricultural information of various festivals, career guidance the villages. This program helps programs, inter college competitions to discuss the current happenings and so on. The station also offers in the particular village or town. training in community radio for This program is broadcasted every interested parties, and occasionally, Friday at 8.20 am and 6.20 pm on an agro-study tour. Vasundhara CR.

62 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints ∙∙ Agri based programme: A few inventive ways of engaging with the programs called Krushi Sandesh, community. For example, a feature Sheti Pathashala, Pashudhan, called “Black Box” allows farmers/ Bhumiputra, Shashandarbar & housewives to call in from their Hello Sheti Prashna Manjusha homes, without having to pay for are aimed at the farming the call. A mobile phone is attached community in Baramati. The inside a box and taken around the majority of farmers there are community. People can press a sugarcane cultivators, as there button, connect with the station, and are a few factories in the region. talk to the RJ. The same farmers also practice This has been done keeping in multi cropping and vegetable mind the cost constraints of making farming. Tips are given via the frequent calls. Another feature is to shows, weather reports from the highlight successful members of Indian Metrological Department the community, be it farmers who and advice from experts from the have done well or women who have College of Agriculture, Pune. contributed to the neighborhood. Inspirational stories help community While students help in running bonding. the station, they have also found

Project Features

Technology Platform station has further accessibility. At Radio is possibly the best and the same time, the hours of the radio cheapest technology available in station are kept with people’s needs rural areas. Radio is a medium that in mind. does not presuppose that people can For example, in the early hours, the read, therefore people listen to radio station plays music, both local and because they can understand the religious, which many housewives language or dialect it the programs appreciate as they can start the are broadcast in. day with some calming sounds. Because of its unrivalled access The heavier discussions take place and its low production costs, radio around tea time when people can is the technology that best meets sit down and focus. In fact, there has the information and communication been much thought into the exact needs of rural pockets of the country. programming of the station so that Unlike television, it is not expensive. everyone can listen to shows that Radio can reach communities at they like. the very end of the development road-people who live in areas with no Community Participation Community radio is a social process phone and no electricity. This is why it or event in which members of the has been chosen and also why it has community associate together to been successful. design programs and produce and air Accessibility & Inclusiveness them. It is a medium through which The radio station is free to access, community helps the community. and can be done so by anyone with The station is independent of a radio set. Since mobile phones government, donors or other double up as radio sets today, the institutions. Agricultural information

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 63 varies after every 40-45 kms, due to Israel and the organizers wanted the environmental changes, climate crop farmers of Baramati to benefit from pattern soil conditions etc. Therefore, this conference. Vasundhara Vahini the information, available to a 30 km decided to give out radios (costing radius is very apt. Rs 40 each) to the delegates with At the same time, the community earphones in their kits, which allowed is very involved in the making of them to follow the conference. the programmes. To begin with all radio station management and Sustainability & Cost Effectiveness While Vasundhara Vahini is hosted at radio jockeys are from Baramati, VIIT, however, it has been able to earn and they regularly go to the field to money through local advertising. As produce programming. This includes Baramati town is reasonably well off, interviews with community members, and has chains such as Bata shoes feedback, and live calls and so on. present there, the station has been The idea of community radio is to able to get them to advertise on involve the whole community, and radio. They claim to be able to make Vasundhara Vahini makes sure it does around Rs 40-50,000 per month that that. can cover salaries and other basic Vasundhara Vahini has tried costs. various novel approaches to getting information to farmers. For example, Replication & Scalability it arranged near-simultaneous Community radio is very popular all on-air translation into the local over the country, and to that end, Marathi language of an international is already replicated across India. conference on grapes in Baramati, However, Vasundhara Vahini can help which was attended by over 2,000 set up local stations outside their delegates. There was one hitch specific geographical reach though. Key speakers were from

Conclusions

It has been observed that farmers that is why it has such a deep impact. believe farmers. When they can be The listener has a choice to brought face to face with success change the channel from Vasundhara stories in their own communities, Vahini to another radio station; they they are most likely to follow suit. can hear Bollywood songs instead This same principle applies to other of local singers and so on. However, aspects of life, termed at times ‘word when asked during a survey as to why of mouth advertising’. Community they do not do that, the answer was radio does not simply disseminate emotional: “because it is ours”. information but it personalizes it, and

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Community radio has been popular allows illiterate people to engage over the country. The main advantage with it, and also can be on in the is that it offers localized content, background while people go about

64 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints their daily chores. UNESCO calls it can they thrive? Technical issues and a mouthpiece for voiceless people, financial insecurity cast a cloud over giving an indication of how important the future of many of these ventures; it is to local communities. however, it seems that Vasundhara However, the question one needs Vahini in particular is one of the more to ask about community radio is that successful examples, with a strong despite many stations coming up, backing.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 65 Radio Active is an urban commu- Radio Active nity radio catering to heteroge- neous and diverse groups, where people from different communi- ties are encouraged to make use of the station for their develop- ment.

Achievements Category »» Drives social change Community Broadcasting »» Educates communities and the Organization public towards socially responsive RADIO ACTIVE CR 90.4MHz behaviour Platform of product »» Shares skills, knowledge, insights Radio and promotes initiative in indi- viduals Website www.jgi.ac.in »» Helps preserve, protect, promote and popularize Indian heritage, art and culture »» Acts as a catalyst in meaningful social transformation and devel- opment »» Sensitizes and spreads awareness on vital issues confronting the community.

66 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

Radio Active CR 90.4 MHz was community. It fosters community launched on 25th June 2007, by the participation through: Jain Group of Institutions, as part of ∙∙  Participation through its social outreach program. The radio contribution- giving out ideas, station located in central Bangalore voicing an opinion, call back etc caters to different groups by interest ∙∙ Participation through attendance such as the LGBT community, -being present while recording in disabled groups, people living with the field, participating in a survey, HIV/AIDS, auto-drivers, senior citizens, participating in eye camps etc and by geographical locations. ∙∙ Participation through Consultation Radio Active was launched with the process- Focus Group meetings, aim of providing a medium to the listening committee meetings etc marginalized community whose ∙∙ Involvement in the delivery of a voices are often lost given the routine service as partners- RJs, Program of an urban life. Producer etc ∙∙ Involvement as implementers In addition to that, the station ∙∙ Participation in the real decision also wanted to involve students in making at every stage- planning, understanding the problems of the implementation and evaluation

Practise Background

While mainstream media helps in therefore of far greater interest and disseminating information about involvement. national-level news, it is up to Acknowledging this means of regional and local news channels and creating meaningful, relevant and papers to focus on the smaller issues quality content, Radio Active is in facing communities. However, very the process of bettering its content often, not all stories can be covered. through constant and innovative Also to a large extent, despite call-ins methods so that it is well received and letters to the editors (or tweets, by the public, relevant consumer today) they cannot have the same and concerned citizens. The radio interactive value that radio does. station hopes to bridge this gap Radio sets are on in the background by taking constant feedback from as people drive their cars, cook food, public; monitoring reactions which do physical labour and even exercise! come via telephone, working with Radio also reaches numerous people focused groups during workshops who cannot read or do not own a and making its participants evaluate TV. Radio’s popularity in India is well content that is jointly generated grounded. through its radio station. Radio Active It has been often been noted that is still working to improve its quality community radio, which covers a of transmission and refine its delivery radius of 5-10kms, is able to generate through technological innovation the kind of local content that people and physically mapping the area want to hear. It is personal and about where transmission is received. their local neighbourhood and

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 67 Implementation Process

The community radio station that capacity building workshops in radio began with a transmission of 8 hours, production and feedback collection. now has started to broadcast for 15 Priyanka’s main motive is to use the hours, with programs produced by radio station to air views and address local community members which issues faced by the LGBT community. includes: Priyanka and her team of volunteers ∙∙ Residents from Srirampura use the radio to highlight common ∙∙ LGBT Groups issues faced by them in terms of ∙∙ The disabled community sexual harassment, unemployment, ∙∙ Senior citizens lack of housing, etc. ∙∙ Animal activists Due to the passions of some ∙∙ Environment groups workers, many different kinds of ∙∙ Auto drivers projects have been launched via ∙∙ NGOs and other institutions the station, for example, “Prerna”, Empowering Community Members With the backing of Jain Group of in Business Skills. This was done in Institutions, it has been able to grow association with ACCION International successfully, and has an interesting and seeks to work with potential team of people working there. Radio micro- entrepreneurs. The program Active staff members are all residents is a business training module of the neighbourhood, many of developed for adult learning based them with colorful backgrounds on the knowledge and experience of themselves. Some are social workers. entrepreneurs. They coordinate with the community Radio Active has been actively members in program production and working in the areas of health, outreach activities. literacy, civic issues, animal welfare, RJ Jaydev, is visually impaired human rights, environment, care and in a position to switch on the for the elderly etc. An interesting station by himself, without any campaign launched by Radio Active assistance. He co-ordinates programs is the “Story Hour”- with the main on all disability related issues and is aim of inculcating reading habits presently working on the production among children living in the slums. of a Radio Serial on sensitizing people Radio Active respects diversity and on disability issues called Beyond promotes inclusion, following a Affliction. partnership approach and therefore The radio station also works with is able to network very well with sexual minorities. RJ Priyanka from different groups like the Government, the LGBT Community (Transgender) NGOs, and institutions, social workers helps in broadcasting programmes to and students, thereby ensuring contribute towards the development participation. of her community and society. She is instrumental in coordinating

68 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Project Features

Technology Platform public, on issues ranging from power This is a community radio station cuts, water shortage, garbage issues, that is broadcasted on FM airwaves. street dog management, transport or The technical setup includes a 50 general civic and social issues. There watt transmitter (1+1 mode), a PC, are many more personalities like him recorders, microphone and a tower of who entertain and educate their 30 meters height. The user experience listeners on a regular basis. has been positive, as the technology Radio Active is also very is very easy to use, operate and run, interactive. It has live radio programs with a little training. Even the illiterate wherein listeners can call in to air and visually impaired people can their views, problems and so on. comfortably make use of the station. With community radio, the focus is on dialogue, on finding solutions Accessibility & Inclusiveness collectively without any coercion Radio Active is a medium for different or influence and the station is a community groups to converge and perfect ground to bring together all discuss issues of relevance, to find stake holders to discuss and debate solutions, to look at empowerment, and look at workable solutions. The and to encourage participation in station also welcomes all members of community issues. Radio Active the community and no restriction is respects diversity and promotes placed. It is interactive as well; all the inclusion, thereby engaging the listeners need is a mobile phone to air community. The station is working on their views. providing behavioral change through radio serial dramas - in HIV/AIDS and Sustainability & Cost Effectiveness LGBT related issues, thereby reducing Radio Active needs about Rs 2 lakhs the and stigma and discrimination. to run per month. This revenue In addition through community- cannot be earned though radio based projects, Radio Active looks advertisements alone, and so, the at livelihood solutions from the station has come up with some members. In fact, it is overwhelmingly innovative ways to raise revenue. focused on aspects of a community Radio Active has launched a number that make it inclusive. And being a of community projects which makes radio station, it can be accessed by all the station viable and sustainable community members with a radio set. such as: ∙∙ Spotless Bangalore: A community Community Participation based environment restoration Radio Active consists of a vibrant project, spread over 2010-15, and active community of people. which looks at recycling dry For example, RJ Shiv Kumar is an waste like paper, and plastic auto driver by profession but also is and composting wet waste for a social activist and a philanthropist manure to cultivate kitchen who appears frequently on news gardens and mini nursery. This channels for being the country’s first project works with community auto driver to be a radio jockey on a members, institutions, NGOs and community radio station. He hosts governmental organizations. a live radio program called ‘Mukha Through this project, apart from Mukhi- Face Off’ made by general the money generated through

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 69 recycling, community members personal development. Through are empowered as their livelihoods this project, income is generated improve, in addition to their local through training programs and surroundings. workshops. ∙∙ Street Animal Welfare and ∙∙ Memberships: Radio Active Management: A humane project collects membership fees, thereby that works on encouraging people ensuring that the audiences have to adopt community (street) dogs. a sense of vested ownership in the The main objective is to create station. Each member is charged awareness and mass education Rs. 2 per month or Rs. 24 annually. among the public on street dog ∙∙ Other Activities: Other activities management and welfare. It that ensure constant financial aims to involve communities in aid are competitions, community adopting street dogs, and also events, promotional items to have mass sterilization and like calendars, books T-shirts, vaccination drives. They help composting. treat dogs that are malnourished, injured, diseased. Through this Replication & Scalability Radio Active is the model of an project, money is generated from urban community radio station adoption camps, street animal arts, located in a campus, with community and dog related merchandise. participation in a heterogeneous ∙∙ Radio Active Life Skills Program: environment. As a model it is highly Radio Active Life Skills Program is replicable, and is intended to be so. a highly flexible and interactive Community radio, on the whole, program for the young minds. The is not a very scalable project as it program attempts to help children is limited by a geographical reach. to increase self- confidence and However, as Radio Active programs self-esteem, develop health have demonstrated, by starting attitudes, and equip them with various programmes it can scale its the knowledge of essential like impact. skills to encourage positive

Conclusions

Radio Active has engaged with can take on multiple campaigns the community to a deep level. not just to build awareness about Even when discussing the station, issues, but to financially sustain it emphasis is given to the RJs who when advertising is not enough. It have day jobs in the community. It is a great lesson for projects, which is an impactful project which has immediately turn to funders because strived to involve the community as they cannot think of any other fully as it can. Radio Active has also sustainability model. demonstrated how a radio station

70 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Community radio has proven to be example of the kind of communities a very successful form of local media that crop up in cities and the amount in India. This is because much of of attention they need to start India’s population is still battling with living together as one unit. At the misinformation, age old prejudices same time, by inviting community and social stigma. While some radio members to start their own shows, it stations are set up in more rural also allows rickshaw drivers and other settings with the aim to educate people with rather mundane jobs, to farmers and so on, sometimes the show off their creative side. Projects focus on cities can be lost. In this like these must be encouraged. context, Radio Active is a welcome

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 71 FarmERP is a multi-user, multi- Farm ERP location farm resource planning software suite. It is a comprehen- sive farm management software developed for growers, agricul- tural institutions, agricultural universities, grower associations, exporters, consultants and gov- ernment depts. It helps in gener- ating reports compatible to the formats prescribed for GlobalGAP and other Quality Certifications.

Achievements Category »» Brings together an output of rig- m-Content orous efforts put in by agriculture, procurement and IT experts. Organization Shivrai Technologies Pvt Ltd »» Provides centralized data man- agement for huge amount data Platform of product at various levels like farm, grading Mobile/PDA and pack houses etc Website »» Secures personified access to eve- www.farmerp.com ry module at every level. »» Helps in systematically managing farm related data »» Runs on secured Internet server with security certificate »» Can be tailored as per your busi- ness requirements providing pro- curement planning and schedul- ing for season and year »» Helps in successful management of agribusiness, demonstration or research plots.

72 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

FarmERP is a multi-user, internet For farmers with access to based solution being used by smartphones and/or internet agri-business companies, contract connections, this can be a real boon. farming companies and exporters. Users can access their utilities and This solution help minimize data content on handheld gadgets and management worries at various mobile phones. While FarmERP levels of business operations. A is gearing towards richer farmers strong reports module provides to because of its technological nature, be an excellent tool for decision however, it has been noted that making. Anytime, anywhere secured smaller farmers are getting its benefit access to the data is possible as it through farmer collectives. Therefore, is internet based and data resides the trickle-down effect is resulting in on Central server. It also consists better – and more professional -- farm of comprehensive set of farm data management by farmers with various management modules. sizes of land holdings. One can manage farmer grower Benefits of FarmERP include: information with reference to ∙∙ Useful in macro level crop contract farming, procurement, planning, scheduling, supply of agriculture inputs etc. procurement and supply Task allotments for field level staff, ∙∙ Improves operational efficiency & SMS communication to staff and staff performance levels. farmers, procurement scheduling, ∙∙ Saves on fertilizer, pesticide, easy but secured access and strong equipment, inventory costs using reports module are some more stock management module. features of FarmERP Online. Data ∙∙ Strong reports module which from multiple farms located at helps in decision making based on different geographical locations, can analysis of real time data also efficiently managed using this ∙∙ Complete production to solution. marketing cycle management.

Practise Background

The population of India is over 1.21 people are engaged in agriculture billion, and increasing every minute. and the contribution of this sector In 2011-12, the Planning Commission towards the Indian economy. estimated that there are 269.3 There are many reasons for this million poor people in India, of which poor contribution including small 216.5 million reside in rural areas. land holdings, lack of proper irrigation Overall, about more than half the facilities, poor cold storage chains, total workforce – 58.4% -- remains and also (but not limited to) the lack employed in agriculture, which of professionally run farms. FarmERP contributes only about one fifth of tackles the last problem. our Gross Domestic Product. The Farming has been the backbone numbers clearly indicate that there of India, with the farmer gaining an is a discrepancy between how many iconic image as the son of the soil.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 73 However, due to the complete lack in the cities was for apples and not of family planning, each family had oranges, he could ensure a profit by multiple children between whom choosing to grow apples, should his the family land would eventually be soil permit. distributed. In fact, land distribution In the same vein, many projects led to the mushrooming of small began to sprout around the use of farms in so many places across India. ICTs, encouraging farmers to adopt Over time, it was noted that many modern practises by embracing the modern agricultural practises eluded latest technologies. For that, mobile these farmers. For example, many phones have been a great help, since of them did not know about multi the Indian population has adapted to cropping (growing different crops mobile phones in a fast and effective at different times of the year), or manner. This allows information to be the latest fertilizers and pesticides. delivered right to the farmer’s hands. Many of these farms did not have FarmERP was developed as a farm a professional system to manage management software, and to that their daily wage labourers, and end, has tried to inject some degree finally, some did not understand the of management and professionalism demands of the market. For example, into what has traditionally been a if a farmer knew that the demand family owned enterprise.

Implementation Process

FarmERP was born when the consolidated manner. founders, Sanjay Borkar, and his However, once the software partner Santosh Shinde, both design was complete, the challenge computer engineers, wanted to was to find farmers willing to adopt use their skills to modernize the their offering. FarmERP has sales agricultural sector. The business people on the ground who meet was started in 1996, but they firmly government officials to find out focused on agriculture only in 2000, names of progressive farmers in the and by 2003-4 they had made area. Once armed with a list of names, in-roads into farm management. these sales people meet with them Their first big experiment was with and demonstrate the software, to the grape growers of Nasik, who convince them to try the product. have traditionally been known as Over time, the product has also progressive farmers due to the nature gained a buzz over the internet, with of their produce. Grapes are also used inquires coming in from Maharashtra, in creating wine, besides being eaten Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and even as they are. Karnataka. The software was then designed Outside of presenting software so that farmers, right from those to manage the field, FarmERP also who had 5 acres to those who had offers farmers an interactive platform 100 acres, could use the product for through which they can support activities such as record keeping, decisions regarding pest and disease scheduling their crops, then management. This was piloted with maintaining their financial accounts grape farmers who needed to ensure and getting their reports in the that their grapes adhered to the

74 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints food safety regulations of European software system, which helps to countries where they exported manage and plan entire processes their produce. The farmer can, after of farm production, post production installation of the software, search and sales, marketing and accounting. very quickly to retrieve agrochemical It also helps to improve the farm name and dose details based on pest producer’s operational efficiency or disease. and profits by optimizing resources, FarmERP is an easy-to-use, user- allowing him to maintain quality and friendly GAP (Good Agricultural improve staff performance levels. Practices) compliant computer

Project Features

Technology Platform people, and awareness needs to The FarmERP mobile utility can created and ultimately, the software be directly downloaded from the needs to be sold to them. company website www.farmerp.com/ mobile. The user can complete a one- Community Participation While the product is available to step registration process in about 1-2 any farmer who wishes to use it, minutes. Users simply download a 67 the reality is that many farmers kb client -- once -- to their entry-level are illiterate and cannot use such handsets or download to PC/laptop complicated software. However, that and transfer it to mobile though cable does not mean that they cannot take or Bluetooth. advantage of the farm management Accessibility & Inclusiveness system. Farmers club/cooperatives The company has tried to make have started to use FarmERP and FarmERP simple and interactive so through the software hand out that farmers have no trouble using it. individual advice to smaller farmers. It is available in local languages, not This is very effective, especially when just English, and has incorporated the farmers are growing the same pie charts and other visual aids crops to be sent to the same market. to help farmers understand the In many places, farmers have information they are putting in. It can begun to grow ‘exotic’ produce such be customized to the understanding as bell peppers, strawberries, broccoli of the farmer. By putting in their and so on, and need guidance as to information on a regular basis, how to best grow them. The software they can track the growth of their has allowed them to work together, produce and also identify why the as a farming community, and take crop fails. At the same time, options advantage of the ICT revolution in like identifying pesticides for grapes agriculture. are an easy solution for on-the-spot troubleshooting. Sustainability & Cost effectiveness The FarmERP subscription rate For the company, they feel that starts at Rs 15,000 for the year. The there is a greater effort to educate packages increase in price as the farmers about the uses of an ICT demand of the farmer, and to that based system than there is an effort in end it is an expensive product. Small actually building the software. This is and marginal farmers would be because the concept is alien to many

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 75 unable to directly buy the software, domain, which will help farmers, but could take advantage of it to support their critical on farm through a corporate, if possible. decisions, are being built in India. While FarmERP has been operating FarmERP offers mobile-based in the Indian agricultural sector for solutions as well as a full-fledged a few years, it has not captured the software solution. The visible market. For that, it will have to be difference between FarmERP and more aggressive in its sales strategies, many of these agricultural initiatives and perhaps come out with a low is that while many of them focus on cost version for small land-owners. providing the farmer with information Since technology is not yet keeping (weather, crop pricing etc.) FarmERP pace with ICT enabed ideas in India, offers an entire management system. only time will tell how the majority Even its grape-focused pesticide of farmers will react to FarmERP once solution system was well received. they are connected to the internet/ Encouraged with the response they mobile phones and are faced with are coming up with similar utilities the choice of taking a subscription. for other crops like, pomegranate, mango, cotton, maize, soyabean, Replication & Scalability sugarcane etc. In that end, the Various robust, user friendly and company has a lot of space to interactive mobile utilities, calculators grow and adapt to the needs of the and applications for agriculture modern farmer.

Conclusions

For any business to grow, the agricultural sector. businessman has to organize himself The problem so far has been professionally, keep a track of his not in creating applications to help activities and track his profits and farmers but in creating awareness losses. Using the same logic, FarmERP within the farming community for the offers an easy management solution need for such applications. However, to farmers, customized to their FarmERP’s experience has shown that needs, which can help them increase there is a great potential in this sector, their profitability. The backbone of and that through ICTs, big changes this product is based in ICT, which can be brought about. can be used very effectively in the

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Practitioners from the field have encourages ICT based initiatives discovered the direct impact that ICT into its official policies. ICT can help solutions can have on the ground, farmers leapfrog into the 21st century including in the field of agriculture. and complete on an international This is the reason it is crucial that playing field. The agricultural sector the government incorporates and is too vast and varied for any one

76 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints technology solution to change the be encouraged so that agriculture in landscape and therefore, many more India can undergo an overhaul! projects such as FarmERP need to

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 77 Mango Technologies is a dynam- Mango ic company that is a complete software solutions provider for all Technologies connected devices like low cost 2G to 3G phones, netbooks, MIDs and has developed the world’s thinnest and most lightweight operating system for mobile phones, and in-house tools to develop mobile applications.

Achievements Category »» Plays a pivotal role in the conver- m-Content gence of the factors in the devel- opment in communication infra- Organization structure Mango Technologies »» Provides availability of connected Platform of product devices at increasingly lower price Mobile Based points Website »» Helps drive towards technology www.mangotechno.com adoption in multiple areas such as agriculture, e-governance, health- care, education, social sector

78 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

Mango Technologies is a leading believed the maximum growth developer of software for mobile in connected devices is expected phones. They develop complete to happen. Mango Technologies solutions for handsets and work understands the requirements of across the entire spectrum of the end users in these emerging devices-from low cost handsets to economies, and this is why their smart-phones. They have developed products have always been fine- an entire application framework that tuned to cater to their needs. could be ported onto mobile phones, Mango Application Framework and which was specifically targeted at is the application & UI framework harnessing the entire potential of low that has been developed by Mango cost 2G to 3G phones. Technologies for use on low to Subsequently Mango mid cost handsets. This platform Technologies have also developed enables these phones to acquire PC-based tools to develop functionality that would otherwise applications and UI for this platform, not be supported in this segment in an extremely short duration of of phones and enables them with time. These tools have helped the “Application on Demand” scenario for customers to retain their edge over this segment. This results in additional their competitors, in the fiercely benefits for their customers as they competitive mobile phone market. can develop applications which suit This is extremely important in their specific needs. emerging economies, where it is

Practise Background

With urban markets stuttering under in low-end handsets in spite of the effects of the downturn, rural their limited processing capability, India has become more important memory, screen size and data than ever before for mobile handset download speeds. makers who are racing against time The motivation to develop to make inexpensive handsets with this project was the huge gap in high-end functionalities. Powering aspiration of the consumers and them is Mango Technologies, which what is given to them by the current has set its sights firmly on this set of devices. The company also segment not just in India but other considered the opportunity that countries as well. existed in the market for this product. Initially Mango Technologies was Primarily, in the low cost handset part of the incubation centre at IIM segments, most handsets were Bangalore. The startup’s dream of shipped from China. There, the OEMs conquering the price barrier was do not have the time to concentrate pegged on its key innovation—the on the UI aspects, and it was felt that software that drives a mobile phone. the company could help differentiate Mango’s team had developed an the low-cost market by providing application framework with smaller the user a different experience on his feature modules that can perform low-cost phone.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 79 Also, the market for developing healthcare, education etc., and it applications is huge, since it is the was felt that this framework would emerging markets that have the help bridge the gap that exists in this demand for unique applications-in segment.

Implementation Process

The Mango Application Framework with an initial corpus of Rs 10-12 lakh is designed specifically for terminal pooled in from their own savings and devices with limited memory and borrowings from friends and relatives. processing capabilities. It brings In 2006 the company received a along a rich set of PC-based tools “small funding” from Ojas Ventures that assist in the following tasks: that helped scale operations faster. User Interface design Application Now the company employs a large development Complete testing as number of people and has leading a virtue of the above, the time-to- manufacturers like Qualcomm and market is significantly reduced. Texas Instruments—which has since abandoned its low-cost handsets Key features include: foray—as its customers. ∙∙ “Application on Demand” for the Mango’s application framework end user in this segment comes with a designer tool and ∙∙ Advanced, Component-based a phone simulator, which allows architecture handset makers to perform much of ∙∙ Lowest Memory Footprint in the their user interface development on low-mid cost handset segment a personal computer. This software ∙∙ Ensured Portability as 80% of comes at one-tenth of the cost and development and testing is a huge advantage is that whereas performed on the PC environment normally the time to market is nine ∙∙ Multiple Language support months to the year, Mango takes only ∙∙ Lower power consumption with 3-4 months. 30 to 50% faster handset software The software can also be adapted development & test to suit various regions of India ∙∙ OTA Application download and speaking different dialects, and also execution across other geographies that the ∙∙ High Performance on single-chip company is targeting, like China based platforms and the East European market. The The firm was launched ago by Sunil development time has been reduced Maheshwari, 34 and Lekh Joshi, 32, by addressing activities that took up who met while working for a startup maximum time during the phone company, Quasar Communications development cycle. (it was later bought over by Sasken). Their first product was slated for They were designing the hardware launch in China in alliance with China and software for mobile handsets, Telecom. The same software was which got them thinking about the launched in all Indian languages. The addressable gaps in the market. They Indian market sells around 150 million found there was no one to address handsets a year while China sells this huge inexpensive mobile market. around 200 million. In the next three Initially they funded the company years, the company plans to power

80 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints handsets in Latin America, parts of company will touch Rs 500 crore. Africa and Eastern Europe. That will happen when revenues start With very ambitious plans, the coming from innovative services that founders expect sales to zoom to Mango will provide to the handset Rs 20 crore in a year’s time as its users, in collaboration with the local software reaches more handsets. operators. By 2013, Maheshwari estimates the

Project Features

Technology Platform to-market, thus helping the OEMs in The framework, as well as the coming out with phones as and when standard/customized applications, user requirements change. Also the is provided as part of the handset applications result in increased data which the user receives. The software service usage, thus generating more and the User Interface are generally revenues for our Telco customers. installed into the chip at the OEM The unique applications that stage of the phone development Mango Technologies has developed cycle. Once the device in end user’s are built specifically keeping in mind hand Mango product allows them to the gap between the supply and change the user interface as per their demand for content. One of the requirement and download their own applications that the company has script to be run on these low to mid developed has an ’intelligent-sensing’ cost emerging market devices. mechanism, by which it understands Mobile phone base hardware user preferences and stores these requirement meant that the end user preferences for further use by the would require a mobile phone of any user. This helps in specific and type (though the product is primarily targeted content being displayed to ported on low-cost to mid cost the user. Other such applications are handsets-<$ 200 segment). in the pipeline for future launches. Accessibility & Inclusiveness Community Participation Using the framework, end-users of The UI solutions help increase the low-cost phones are provided an interactivity quotient of users with entirely new experience. Apart from their phones. Though the framework the User Interface, which is greatly makes the low-cost phones more enhanced, the overall phone also powerful this is not at the cost of becomes more powerful. This is usability. Also the framework has enabled by the framework, which several new applications apart from permits the presence of applications the standard telephony and non- that help the user with applications telephony apps that one would find that simplify life. on a standard mobile phone. This Even direct customers-the chipset results in increased usage of the vendors, the OEMs and Telecom phone to access data, which results in operators benefit from the product. simplifying the user’s life. The framework has the least memory footprint, thus reducing the BOM Sustainability & Cost Effectiveness The application framework is costs for Chipset vendors. Phones sustainable in that it works with the with this product have the least time-

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 81 entire mobile phone ecosystem, community works specifically on to build value for every player in apps for mobile phones with the the mobile phone value chain. framework, thus producing value for Additionally it helps build revenues Mango, for the developers and more through two avenues: importantly the users as well. ∙∙ By licensing the framework out, Mango gets revenues for every Replication & Scalability The product is unique in that it phone that the framework is makes the simple low-cost handsets implemented on more powerful than they ever were ∙∙ By selling the framework, previously. In the past, it was believed Mango gets a lump-sum for that some applications would run the framework that has been only on high-end smartphones, developed and also that it was only these In both cases the framework will also expensive phones that could have have applications that are compatible brilliant UIs. However, this is available with the framework. This makes the even on the phones that Mango products scalable. Once an initial set Technologies work on, and this is of phones is shipped out with the made possible through tools that software in the chipsets, the company they have developed in-house. Also, will also work towards setting up the framework provides almost the the developer community, which entire functionality that is available would be enabled by providing on high end phones on phones that SDKs to work on the platform to cost approximately 1/10th the price this community. This would lead to of these advanced phones. an app-store where the developer

Conclusions

Digital content is very important to be more specific. It is the role of in today’s context, as well as in the ICT tools to enable that the immense overall scheme of things for India reservoir of information is made and all other emerging markets. The available to the people who need it information available in the world can the most, as this is what would lead be accessed at a moment’s notice to inclusive development for all, i.e. by harnessing the power of today’s development in its truest sense.` technologies - PC and mobile phones

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

There is no questioning the is taking technology to people in transformative powers of the mobile pockets which were inaccessible phone as a vehicle of social change before. But what if these phones, the and social outreach. From simple very instruments of transformation communication and messaging to themselves, were inaccessible? advanced agricultural and medical The Mango Application applications, the mobile phone Framework is designed specifically

82 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints for terminal devices with limited Mango’s idea is simple. Create an memory and processing capabilities. interface for mobile phones that It brings along a rich set of PC-based gives even the cheapest handsets tools that assist in user interface the ability to function like pricier design and application development. top of the line multimedia enabled This platform enables these phones phones. It is an idea which has huge to acquire functionality that would implication for digital inclusion. A otherwise not be supported in this phone with Mango suddenly has the segment of phones. ability to give even the poorest user a digital window of opportunity.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 83 DigitALly is a patented multi- DigitALly media-enabled teaching tool, developed by the Pearson Educa- tion Trust, which helps teachers manage an open repository of learning objects, which are multimedia-enabled and sylla- bus-specific. Achievements Category »» Provides thousands of learning ele- e-Education & Learning ments such as animations, diagrams, simulations, videos, 3D interactivity, Organization worksheets etc., which are all designed Pearson Education Services to ensure superior teaching / learning practices. The learning objects are Platform of product mapped to various Indian syllabi. Offline »» The attractive TIC (Teacher In Class) Website mode of DigitALly allows teachers to www.digiclass.in access the pre-loaded content in the classroom. Also, they can leverage a powerful collaborative assessment en- vironment called “Group Quiz”. »» The user-friendly PFC (Prepare For Class) mode of DigitALly allows teach- ers to customise lesson plans by add- ing/editing/deleting learning objects. They can use the comprehensive “Search” option to find desired objects in the vast repository. »» Schools can track the effectiveness of the solution with a powerful reporting dashboard. »» The easy-to-use features of the appli- cation are constantly upgraded, in re- sponse to teachers’ feedback and their changing needs. »» DigiClass solution offers Teacher Train- ing, Certification and Assessment pro- grammes to ensure the effective use of the solution.

84 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

DigitALly™ is a patented and award- English, Hindi, Mathematics, Social winning multimedia-enabled Sciences, Environmental Science, teaching tool that empowers Basic Mathematics, Business Studies, teachers to customise their teaching Statistics, Accountancy, Physics, sessions, keeping the learners’ pace Chemistry and Biology. in mind. This preloaded repository The multimedia content helps has several thousands of animations, in making the classroom learning self-explanatory diagrams, 3D more engaging, resulting in better interactive animations, worksheets, understanding and retention of quizzes, e-books and several hours concepts. It also empowers teachers of experiments – all designed to to customize their teaching sessions, make the classroom session more keeping the students pace in mind. engaging. DigitALly is constantly In 2011, Pearson’s introduced upgraded with new features and DigitALly 3.3.0, an updated version content. with new easy-to-use features. DigitALly has syllabus-specific DigitALly has over 7,000 animations, content for CBSE, ICSE, HSEB, IGCSE-I, 10,000 self-explanatory diagrams, IGSCE-M, and AP, Karnataka, Gujarat 3D interactivity, worksheets, quizzes, and Maharashtra State Boards. It e-books and several hours of covers Kindergarten to class 12 and experiments all of which are regularly encompasses the following subjects: updated.

Practise Background

There are a huge number of people the needs of the audience are kept in who believe that education in India mind during the creation process. is simply a matter of learning by rote. For any technology to affect Children are simply memorizing development on a large scale, it their syllabus instead of actually must be easily accessible, easy- engaging with it. In fact, students to-use, scalable, cost-effective have a large number of subjects and and sustainable. And ICT offers all a huge information download, and these features; and with its reliance unless there is a similar intervention on telephones and computers, in teaching methods, there can be commodities abundantly available a danger that they will not be able in India, it reaches a larger audience. to imbibe all this information. This is Hence, any technology-based where ICT tools can help, both the solution or service that utilizes the teaching and the spread of good available basic resources and is education. easy to use and implement can be Digital content has the power to easily replicated and adapted in any reach places that books cannot. So environment. given the great economic diversity of Pearson Education Services our country, it is the perfect way to has attempted to go beyond the disseminate knowledge and create traditional chalk-and-talk teaching sustainable development. Effective method that often creates a digital content can only be created if non-engaging, non-interactive

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 85 classroom. Sensing a need for a more tool that empowers teachers to comprehensive and engaging model customize their lesson plans and vary of knowledge delivery, which would their teaching method to suit each result in better understanding and student’s learning requirement and retention of concepts, they created pace. DigitALly helps teachers do just DigitALly. It is a vibrant and engaging that. They can edit the preloaded multimedia content ensures an content to suit their requirements interactive classroom and easy and also add new subjects and understanding of difficult concepts. content. They can also edit content Also, they wanted to create a created by other teachers and users.

Implementation Process

Simply put, DigitALly, takes the create courses. They have available traditional blackboard and through to them, videos, animations, the use of technology, elevates it into e-books, 3D objects, images, a dynamic learning center. Teachers teaching slides, lesson plans and can use interactive tools to show many more. Teachers can create/ and teach students multiple aspects edit question papers from the of their coursework, making it more repository of questions. fun for everyone. Since 2003 -2004, ∙∙ Schools can add new subjects/ DigitALly has undergone regular chapters, which appear in a updations in technology. It has different color. It also supports ensured that DigitALly has the latest many more file formats for the content and information which is new files that teachers might current. want to upload. In the PFC mode, teachers can also select a few The application offers two modes of objects and add them to their usage: favorites. It contains: Edutainment ∙∙ Teach In Class (TIC): It is an easy- contains collaborative games, to-use and attractive interface interactive games, print games, through which teachers can access try it yourself), Infozone (contains the preloaded content in the pictionary, timelines, personalities, classroom. Teachers can leverage a did you know, spell check), powerful collaborative assessment poems and rhymes, atlas contains environment called Group Quiz. interactive maps and quizzes), 3D Teachers can view objects added Anatomy and entrance prep. by other teachers/users. ∙∙ Prepare For Class (PFC): It is a With the ‘My Links’ feature, teachers user-friendly mode through which can access the edited/new learning teachers can add/edit/delete objects that were created under learning objects/teaching slides. the PFC mode. They can also access Teachers can use the ‘search’ objects uploaded by other teachers/ option to find and add desired users. The preloaded content is objects to the teaching slides. regularly updated. Teachers can search and create In the latest DigitALly 3.3.0 question papers and print them version, the TIC mode interface has for classroom usage. Teachers been completely changed for easier can add subjects, chapters and navigation and to accommodate

86 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints the new features. The new table it easier to locate the desired object. of contents is more detailed DigitALly is currently being used with chapters and units clearly in 2000+ schools in India, Nepal, UAE, demarcated. The comprehensive Maldives and other countries. It has search tool allows teachers to search made teaching simpler are learning for specific objects by typing in the more interesting and engaging. Since keywords. The tool also suggests DigitALly functions on the cognitive words after a minimum of 3 letters learning approach, it makes it easier have been typed in. The search for students to understand and retain results are displayed under the information. various object type headings, making

Project Features

Technology Platform Community Participation DigitALly needs to be installed by DigitALly has received positive individual teachers. The installation feedback from teachers and students. itself compromises of two parts, the Some teachers have said that it has first is the installation of the DigitALly increased student interaction, interest server followed by installation of the and curiosity. Children are eager to DigitALly client. The server comes attend the classes in computer- aided on a hard disk which requires about classrooms. The most important thing 80 GB free space to install. Once a for the schools is that the content validation number is entered, the is mapped to the syllabus used in machine is registered. The rest of the the school such as the CBSE board. files are then installed manually, and Students as well as teachers have need a Windows operating system gained tremendously from this smart to work. introduction in the field of education, keeping them abreast with the Accessibility & Inclusiveness changing times. DigitALly requires a computer, internet connection and PowerPoint, Sustainability & Cost effectiveness all of which are available in most The product is priced as per the schools today. It is easy-to-use and number of classrooms in which it can be easily integrated into the is implemented. All the content school life. DigitALly’s content is and mapping to the syllabus/units/ customized for the various Indian chapters in DigitALly are available for syllabi and is created using an Indian institution to modify and update. This accent. Teachers can edit content feature is available to pre-bundled added by other teachers/users also. objects as well as institution content The Light Box feature allows teachers objects. to create image libraries and also The dependence on Pearson access libraries created by others. Education Services with regard to However, it cannot yet be used in content is only for newer content and rural schools which do not have bug-fixes if any. However, what this basic infrastructure like computers; means is that as long as the content electricity etc. This problem can be can be updated and modified, the overcome with state led infrastructure sustainability of the software is not an investment in education. issue. It would be very problematic if

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 87 the software could not adjust to any clients. The institutions have the changes in the syllabus. option to add as much as of content objects depending on the free disk Replication & Scalability space. There is no limitation on the The architecture used in the school number of content objects. The other premises is similar to a web based area in which DigitALly is scalable is in offering. It has the capability to the amount of languages in which it service hundreds of classrooms / is offered.

Conclusions

DigitALly challenges the current helping children learn. teaching practises in thousands Innovative and progressive of schools across India, by simply methods will help elevate India’s making use of the ICT tools available teaching methods to greater heights today. Children in urban settings as students. Already, DigitALly are used to technology; they watch offers content, based on a range television, they play on computers of syllabi of different state Boards and some even have mobile such as Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, phones. Given this techno-inclusive Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and West lifestyle, it was a glaring omission Bengal as well as CBSE and ICSE. In that technology had not been used the future, it can expand to cover in their learning. On the other end, more boards, states, languages and teachers have found that using audio- perhaps, even elementary courses or visual tools with syllabus content college level courses. loaded into them have also helped in

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

DigitALly has shown that students remote schools in Jodhpur and Kota and teachers both benefit from (covering 5 districts in each). They incorporating technology into set up a computer lab with at least learning. While it has been running 10 computers in the schools, and a successfully in urban schools, this server with our multimedia content. experiment also suggests that In another initiative, Edurite perhaps ICT tools for the act of reached more than 10,000 teaching can be used, both to close government schools in Goa, the digital divide and to help students Karnataka and Orissa that have learn better. implemented the technology This experiment is already solution in these schools so that no underway in many states. Some child is left behind and rural India state governments have begun to has easy access to educational install computer labs with DigitALly technology. technology and with help from One can only hope that in Edurite, have begun to train teachers the future, all of India’s school in its usage. In Rajasthan, Edurite has children can benefit directly provided ICT solution to over 450 from the use of technology in

88 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints education. DigitALly helps create series of innovative mechanisms, comprehensive educational content thus removing physical and cultural that can be delivered through a barriers in knowledge dissemination.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 89 Karshaka Information Systems Kissan Services and Networking (KISSAN) is an integrated, multi-modal delivery Krishideepam of agricultural information system, which hosts Kissan Krishideepam: A weekly agriculture television pro- gram - in Malayalam, that provides selective information dissemination of best practices, success stories, departmental news, news on various schemes, market analysis, cultivation methods, analysis of current issues, etc. Achievements Category »» Translates the rich academic and e-Education & Learning practical agricultural information aggregated through the KISSAN- Organization Kerala Network into viewer friendly Indian Institute of video/multimedia content Information Technology and Management (IIITM-K) »» Provides the farmers with right in- formation of regional relevance re- Platform of product garding best farming practices, soil Online/Phone and water management, forecast and precautions on pest and dis- Website ease incidences, weather and mar- www.kissankerala.net ket information etc. »» Develops and sustains a platform for interaction between farmers and experts in a more appealing and ac- ceptable form »» Initiates a system for healthy feed- back from the beneficiaries of vari- ous developmental activities initi- ated by the government »» Influences a positive change in the agriculture scenario by empowering the farmers with latest information; hence enhancing the total agricul- tural productivity.

90 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

KISSAN is a farmer centric ICT enabled for interaction between viewers information system. It is an e-Govt. (farmers). It reaches out to farmers project providing information to across the state making them the farmers on time. It has within it aware of current news, schemes, an agricultural portal – kisankerala. promoting sharing of best practices net, a mobile platform, a dedicated through success stories etc. The video channel on you tube, tele-call serial provides opportunities for all center (real time advisory services) agriculture related organizations and its flagship program, Kissan and the government to reach out Krishideepam (KKD) -a television to interested farmers and agri- based agricultural information enterprises. Its reporters go out dissemination system. KKD is extensively into the field so as to produced by the Indian Institute cover agricultural issues in depth. It of Information Technology and also has agricultural scientists helping Management Kerala (IIITM-K) and write the show scripts, and therefore, targets the entire farming community instead of being a generic program of Kerala. on agriculture, the insights and tips The television program also has are very helpful to farmers. a toll-free telephone call center

Practise Background

Kerala is a beautiful state at the production of the main crop, Kerala southernmost tip of the Indian is also a major producer of spices peninsula with an economy focused that form the cash crops of the state. on agriculture. The abundance Kerala produces 96% of the country’s of water due to the 34 lakes and national output of pepper. Other other small streamlets, innumerable important spices are cardamom, backwaters and water bodies and 44 cinnamon, clove, turmeric, nutmeg rain-fed rivers flowing over the terrain and vanilla. of the state and also the adequate Other cash crops that constitute annual rainfall of 3000mm received the agricultural sector include tea, by this state facilitates agriculture to a coffee, pulses, coconut, cashew, areca great extent. nut, and ginger. However, over the The staple crop is rice or paddy. years the contribution of agriculture About 600 varieties of rice are grown to the economy has declined, from in the sprawling paddy fields of 17.48% in 2004-5 to 11.54% in 2009- Kerala. In fact the Kuttanad region of 10. A number of reasons have caused the district of Kerala is known as the the decline, and the state has taken ‘rice bowl of the state’ and enjoys a it upon itself to engage with the significant status because of this. Next farmers, hear about their problems to rice is tapioca which is cultivated and offer them advice as to how to mainly in the drier regions. Tapioca is increase productivity. a major food of the Keralites. Besides

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 91 Implementation Process

Kissan Krishideepam is broadcast The project has developed very in the local language. It provides rich media content as part of the selective information dissemination KKD program. The same videos of best practices, success stories, are available on KISSAN’s you tube news on various schemes, market channel. The content is viewed analysis, cultivation methods, and regularly there and farmers also analysis of current issues and so on. access the online portal to submit Care has been taken to ensure that questions. The farmers can post a the show is authentic and totally question and seek expert answers for produced in-house by agriculture the same. More than 10,000 questions experts. have been answered and archived The team has completed under specific categories. production and telecast unbroken An in-house team at KKD handles weekly episodes over the last five the entire production cycle, and this years through Asianet, the leading includes post-production work. KKD commercial satellite channel in has its own camera crew as well as a Kerala. It attracts more than 65 lakh studio from where anchors host the viewers across the state and outside. weekly show. Most of the material The program maintains high quality comes from the people themselves. with the best TAM rating in similar Once they receive a tip off from local programs category. The key feature panchayats and krishi bhavans, the of KKD is the services delivery model team is off to cover the story – good that allows agriculture experts from or bad. They can do a success story, any organization to offer timely interview, or showcase how an and effective assistance to farmers agricultural project can go bad if care anywhere in the state. The KISSAN is not taken. project is a role model for IT facilitated This means a very exhaustive or e-extension services delivery in production cycle as well. The team agriculture. works all week, travelling up and The project was officially launched down Kerala, shooting from sunrise on 1st November 2003 (which is to sunset! The TV show itself has been also Kerala day). The KKD episodes on for over 8 years, seen by over 65 are conceptualized, produced and lakh people and is broadcast in 66 developed at IIITM-K along with the countries. The entire project has cost agricultural officers and scientists about 1.9 crores over the past 8 years. from the Department of Agriculture.

Project Features

Technology Platform field and indoor production. The The project uses various technology post production is done by using platforms like internet/ broadband video and audio editing tools like for aggregation and dissemination of Apple’s Final Cut Studio (FCP), Adobe web content. The media production Premiere, Avid Express etc. The call uses SONY (DSR 400 series) digital centre team uses ordinary telephone camcorders and accessories for lines which are available toll-free for

92 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints landline users. The calls are landed farming community in Kerala. on BSNL switch and diverted to the The integrated model of Kissan call centre at Technopark. the project ensures the speedy aggregation of relevant information Accessibility & Inclusiveness from various sources, and The contents are highly interactive. dissemination through cross media The video content is mounted online platforms. The project is supported in collaboration with Google YouTube with an agri-data center with fully - www.youtube.com/kisssankerala. professional management to cater Farmers can post any question to various information requirements though the portal - www.kissankerala. of the farming community in Kerala. net and seek expert advice on the Use of multi-pronged technology same () The farmers can also take to both view the show, and send its expert advice through the toll free message across, invites community call centre (1800-425-1661) The KKD participation from within Kerala and program is telecast through a satellite often from viewers outside it. channel (three times per week) and at the end of the program, the toll Sustainability & Cost Effectiveness free numbers are advertised to ensure The project is sustainable. The the interaction. DVD`s and CDS are television program generates some also available for the farmers to view income through advertisements the program as part of continuous from agriculture related and allied learning. agencies. The portal also runs on a sustainable mode. Community Participation The project is unique in many ways. Replication & Scalability This is the only project that has The integrated delivery model is integrated multi-modal delivery of highly scalable. The dynamic portal information services for the farming based services are highly scalable community. Krishideepam is the first and easily replicable in any other television program directly produced place. The entire application has and telecast by a State agricultural been developed using open source department as part of e-governance, technology. and it has been well received by the

Conclusions

The project solves the problem of 3-4 kiosks, which provide information content gaps by providing authentic and e-governance services to the agricultural information through public. There have been cases of various methods -- television, web, farmers who have been featured telephone etc. The farmers can for new practises, only to become choose any medium to seek the celebrities because people want relevant information. Apart from this, to learn from them. With the good information is also delivered through being highlighted and the bad being Akshaya, Information Centers (CSC) discussed, agriculture in Kerala has a in Kerala, where the farmers seek strong support line. information through these kiosks. The KKD team has a few guidelines Each village has got a minimum of in terms of producing a successful

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 93 program which include the following: more than an answer to a query. ∙∙  Content should addresses issues The system must further help of relevance to each target direct him/her to relevant agencies customer group. in the relevant geographic ∙∙ There must be systems to support location, or, assist in taking authentic and validated dynamic the experts to the farm under content and advisories of value consideration. Hence information to users, available on demand. services have to be integrated with In KISSAN this authentication field level services supported by a and validation are provided diversity of organizations. KISSAN- by agricultural officers and Kerala shows how to build such scientists in existing government services integration. organizations, university and ∙∙ The services team has to be research institutions. agile and responsive to the ∙∙  Dynamic information systems information requests and feedback and services in open community received and to generate alerts context like agriculture need for concerned agencies to act effective feedback driven appropriately. combination of mass media KISSAN-Kerala is an altogether like TV and information delivery new generation ICT driven and knowledge empowerment services delivery and knowledge services through portal and call empowerment system that takes center. KISSAN-Kerala shows an inclusive approach of diverse how such a feedback driven stakeholders coming together to information and extension enhance the services provided system is possible and effectively to farmers more effectively than implemented by using a portal they were earlier able to. This has as meeting ground of different been made possible by the coming agencies, smart use of TV mass together of institutions over the media for selective dissemination KISSAN platform as an integrated of practices, schemes and services delivery model that uses opportunities with a telephone call advanced knowledge managed center that reaches the services information, interaction and even to those without access to collaboration portal, mass media and Internet or IT literacy. telephone call center. ∙∙ A user like the farmer needs much

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

There have been many initiatives is the crucial element in its continued in the sector of e-Agriculture, success. using mobile phones and video to The show is also planning ahead disseminate information. The KISSAN and trying to target those farmers project has used a multi-pronged who might not be watching TV strategy to this end. Further, the shows or reading text messages. It KKD show has made sure it has used is felt that voice content has more experts and not simply scriptwriters acceptability than the text based to produce agricultural shows, which content, especially when it comes

94 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints to the local language. KISSAN has services, crop information, crop initiated certain voice based content diseases, weather information and services, and is planning to expand news and announcements. it for providing crop management

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 95 School Report Cards is an online School system to track elementary gov- ernment school progress across Report India. This unique software gives a uniform format to national level Cards information and can be easily (DISE) read.

Achievements Category »» Provide users comprehensive in- e-Education & Learning formation on all the vital param- eters, be it student, teacher or Organization school related variables National University of Educational Planning and »» Displays concise, accurate infor- Administration (NUEPA) mation about each school in a & Department of School standard format which is easy to Education understand Platform of product »» Allows meaningful comparisons Web to be made among schools across the nation Website www.schoolreportcards.in »» Allows the use of these reports in constructive conversations, which lead to improved education for all children across the country

96 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

The government’s flagship education of Educational Planning and programme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Administration (NUEPA), New Delhi. (SSA), is implemented by a state/ A few states have even union territory officer on the ground. decentralized the data entry to It is his/her job to ensure that basic the block level. Once the data is elementary education is provided received from all the states, it is to all children between the ages thoroughly checked at the national of 6-14. To assist with running the level and each state is provided programme, the District Information detailed district-wise analysis, and System for Education (DISE), has then the same is immediately put developed a software called ‘School on the website in the form of School Report Cards’ which helps collect data Report Cards in a user-friendly and from all schools in India’s 633 districts. hassle free manner. In addition Once collected and computerized, to quantitative information, the the data is verified at the office of School Report Cards website, www. the State Project Director, and then schoolreportcards.in, also provides submitted to the national level qualitative information and a authorities, that is, the Department descriptive report about individual of School Education and Literacy, schools. All that can be accessed MHRD and the National University freely, with the click of a mouse.

Practise Background

India has long suffered from 1.20 lakh schools are single-teacher inadequate data collection and schools and about 70 thousand tracking of its many programs. In schools are being managed by part the recent years, ICT solutions have time-teachers. Only 16 percent of helped create meaningful ways schools have electricity and only 10 for collection and analysis of this percent schools have computers. data. There are around 1.3 million Given these dismal figures, there is a elementary schools in India, and desperate need to have a monitoring about 80% of them are run by the system which can report the progress government. This is a huge amount of schools. Further, when the of human resource which the government implements any new government can directly guide into infrastructure and schemes on the becoming educated and upright ground, monitoring is crucial to avoid citizens. wastage. This is where ICT tools come However, infrastructure often into play. fails us. It is a fact that more than

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 97 Implementation Process

Data by units and schools was simply Other than the valuable not available from any sources in information this scheme generates, India. A few years ago, sitting at for both the government and the Ministry of Education, it would the public, it has some other vital have been tough to ascertain details features. NUEPA has developed about a school in a small district it in-house and it has come at no in Madhya Pradesh in a matter of extra cost. The data is collected by minutes. This is the change that DISE machinery already in place, namely sought to implement, and it is the the district education officer, block reason NUEPA and MHRD backed the resource coordinator, cluster resource project. coordinator, village education The data collected at each school committee and school headmaster, is shared at the school, cluster, block, which are all already under the Sarva district, state and national level. Shiksha Abhiyan Programme. Each school covered under DISE is There is a process adopted to provided with the ‘School Report make the data authentic and correct. Card’ unique ID and the concerned At the district level, 10 percent of officer at the cluster level is supposed the filled-in formats are checked to discuss it with the school thoroughly and at the block level, 25 headmaster/teacher along with the percent are. All the cluster resource other stockholders at the grassroots coordinators (70,000) across the level. Therefore, through www. country are made accountable to schoolreportcards.in the reverse flow ensure that the coverage of schools of information has been ensured and is 100 percent and data is consistent the data of all schools (1.25 million and there are no missing values in schools) is made available under the filled-in formats. Similarly, the the public domain to bring in more district project coordinator of SSA and transparency. MIS/DISE in-charge in each district Finally, ‘School Report Cards’ is issues a certificate to the state project made into a tabulated report that director, certifying that the data is free presents data of an individual school from errors. on a variety of variables concerning In its final step, while submitting different aspects of universalization the data, the state project directors of elementary education (UEE), which have to certify that data is free from is one of the main objectives of the errors and inconsistencies and hence Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme. may be merged into the national Another short report known as database maintained at NUEPA, ‘Descriptive Report’ is also generated New Delhi. Before uploading the for all the 1.25 million schools information on the website, data imparting elementary education. is thoroughly checked by NUEPA It is descriptive in nature and also and TSG of the MHRD. The data has presents strengths and weakness been put into the public domain and of an individual school. Both these nothing is hidden from the citizens/ reports are unique in nature, as no users. The certification in terms other country has put such huge of authenticity of data has shown school-specific information in the significant improvement in the public domain. quality of data.

98 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Provisions have been made in finally by 2005-06, the entire country www.schoolreportcards.in so that was covered under DISE. users can report inconsistency in data, www.schoolreportcards.in was if observed and NUEPA is committed formally launched in November 2006 to take up the issue with the by the Union Minister of human concerned state project director. The resource development, Government project has strengthened MIS across of India. Report Cards in regional the country. Initially, in 1994-5, it was languages were provided in 2008, implemented in 42 districts across 7 and the downloading of raw data states. By 2001, it was implemented facility to users was provided in 2009. in 272 districts across 18 states, and

Project Features

Technology Platform user-id and password details. (The The website can be accessed via any complete portal is accessible free web browser, and does as require of cost) a username/password for access to In addition to Hindi and English, the data. However, to download data, School Report Cards have also been it is needed. The software was built made available in several regional using Oracle for the backend and languages. A ‘Download Raw Data’ PowerBuilder for the front end work. facility has also been provided so that The website was developed by using apart from viewing the School Report both HTML and ASP. Cards, users can also download the Accessibility & Inclusiveness school-wise raw rata in Microsoft The information about individual Excel format for every school in a school on every aspect of elementary district/state so that further empirical education is made available in the studies exclusively based on DISE form of ‘School Report Card’. The data can be undertaken. About a application is freely accessible to thousand users have registered for everyone and from anywhere in the downloading this raw data, which has world. been encouraging. The database has different search Community Participation features and options. Community participation in this ∙∙ Locate schools: A drill down project is encouraged by the fact that approach to reach a school and it is available various Indian languages view/print the data. (Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, ∙∙ Basic search: Search can be made Telugu, Marathi and Gujarati). The on key variables such as school report cards are also made available management, category, area etc. in English. Efforts are being made to ∙∙ Advanced search: This feature is provide report cards in other regional used by the advanced users who languages. would like to see the set of schools meeting particular criteria. Sustainability & Cost Effectiveness The software has not been a great ∙∙ Download Raw Data: Unit-wise expense for NUEPA because it was data can be downloaded through developed in-house. Its indirect the advanced search by providing expenses are about Rs. 2 lakh per

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 99 annum, towards the hosting and building workshops are conducted domain registration charges. The data from time-to-time. DISE software collection is done through officials under implementation in more than already in the field, and as such did 600 districts is time-tested, user- not add any expense to the project. friendly and menu-driven which There has been training on the has no scope for manipulation. ground so that officials understand The software has got very ‘strong how to use software, and to that report module’ which has helped end, DISE is responsible. The National widely in ensuring data usage at all level team at NUEPA, New Delhi disaggregated levels. in collaboration with the technical support group of SSA under MHRD Replication & Scalability Before, www.schoolreportcards.in imparts training to the State level practically nothing was available to officers (System Analysts and public in terms of the specifics about Programmers) who in turn train government school operations. the District level MIS staff, such as Now many factors concerning these Computer Programmer and Data schools have been made available to Entry Operators to feed data by using users and are in the public domain. the DISE software (developed by The project could be scaled up to NUEPA) and then check the internal include primary and secondary consistency of data provision of schools in the future, and finally, which has been made in the software government run colleges. itself. The National level capacity

Conclusions

The DISE database is known to be has been optimized to produce one of the largest school education results quickly using various indexes. databases in the world (1.25 million As the transactions/queries run schools and a comprehensive profile on the database are real-time, the of more than 5.62 million teachers). accuracy of the transaction is ensured. The www.schoolreportcards.in portal If the criterion to fetch the schools is has the data for the past years (since correctly opted, then there is no delay 2006) and that too made available for in getting the requisite information all the 70,000 clusters, 7,000 blocks depending upon the internet speed. that are spread over 633 districts in 35 This project has immediately shown States and UTs of the country. that government can worked very A single transaction through the well, imbibing the spirit of both portal could process approximately technology and transparency to 65,000 school records. The database involve the public in its undertakings.

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

ICT tools have, once again, been this software, there is data on the employed to track government workings of schools that is being programs successfully. Through shared with the public. The officials

100 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints from NUEPA have new ideas on tabulate how the funds are being how to extend this program. One spent. In the same light, many other of them is having schools give data aspects of education can be tracked on the free lunches provided by for maximum value. This experiment government. proves, once again, that ICT and MIS This kind of real time data will can help elevate government, if done also help problem solve, not just correctly.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 101 Bookbox is a social enterprise Bookbox that has innovated the use of ‘Ani-books’ (animated books), which use SLS – same language subtitling – to support emergent literature and literacy skills. These are animated stories for children with the narration appearing on screen as same language subtitling, helping them read and pronounce words correctly.

Achievements Category »» Provides animated audio-visual e-Education & Learning products for children that are ready for mass distribution in Organization any format: TV, DVD/VCD, mobile Bookbox India Pvt Ltd phones, handheld, internet and Platform of product print Offline »» Offers user-friendly Ani-movies Website with a few educational features www.Bookbox.com such as multilingual stories, where instead of SLS, translations in oth- er languages appear on screen »» Allows a recording option that helps practice pronunciation »» Produced over 30 Ani-videos in 30 languages

102 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

Bookbox’s vision is a “book” for might be a better way of reaching every child in his/her language. The India’s untapped masses. company defines a book as a reading Same language subtitling (SLS) experience that can travel in print was innovated and pioneered by and other audio-visual media. This is Planet Read, now a partner NGO because Bookbox feels that although for Bookbox. SLS is a pedagogically print media is highly desirable for sound and proven technique, with children, it cannot reach all children known application in early literacy in India’s 640,000 villages. and second language learning. Taking The country has 22 official children’s love for watching cartoons, languages and numerous dialects, these Ani-books help them retain and due to rampant poverty, the language skills while at play. added problem of illiteracy. The Bookbox produces original stories, solution to this, in that case, is making and also reproduces public domain audio-visual educational content stories and published children’s available for children, in the form of books. Bookbox commissions original Ani-books. With technology rapidly stories as well. All the Ani-books are expanding and DVD players and first produced in English, and then smart phones becoming cheaper, this translations are added.

Practise Background

There are about 127 million children or brush up on their language skills. below the age of 6 in India, likely They can especially help weak- to enter primary school. For many, learners and language learners, pre-school preparation, socialization although adults who need to brush into reading and reading exposure up on their language skills can also will not be very high. Additionally, benefit from the Ani-books. However, of 130 million children in India’s keeping in mind the fast paced primary schools (Grade 1-5), 40% are technological changes at the ground likely to leave schooling before even level, Bookbox has chosen to make completing Grade 5. Further, most the Ani-books available in a number of the 257 million pre-school and of formats, including ipods, ipads, in-school children below 14 in India smart phones, VCD/DVD players, will rarely ever experience reading outside of the traditional printed children’s books, as opposed to books. In fact, Bookbox’s youtube textbooks. channel launched with a response of Given these startling numbers, it over 1800 per day. should be no surprise that half the SLS not only shows children the children who finish grade 5 cannot spelling of the word being narrated even properly read a newspaper. on screen, but also allows them to Keeping these figures in mind, a learn the proper pronunciation of creative way to foster reading skills is words. In fact, because of disparity a welcome addition to the market. between the qualities of teachers Ani-books cater to all those across the board, children from children who need to begin learning different schools often learn terrible

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 103 pronunciation and have weak to be a good opportunity to be an spellings. With quality control over equalizer when it comes to reading Bookbox ’s Ani-books, it has proven and speaking a particular language.

Implementation Process

Bookbox was founded in 2004, after by Studio systems. winning a business plan competition In 2008, the Storytellers series was at Stanford University, called the launched in Mumbai by actor Aamir Social e-challenge. Bookbox has Khan. The same year, in a partnership produced over 30 Ani-books in 30 with Star India Pvt Ltd, Bookbox languages, and eventually, proposes released ‘Storytellers 3 – Gattu Tales’, to mount TV programs. 5 stories based on a popular character Bookbox started animating licensed from Start TV. Print books stories in 2004, and by mid-2005, and CDs were/are being marketed by it had produced a collection of 10 Orient Blackswan. A hybrid CD/VCD stories in a mix of 12 Indian and version is being marketed by Times foreign languages. The company Multimedia, and a version released launched its website and started for phones is being marketed and selling internet downloads. In 2005 distributed by Mauj. it received a special mention at the By 2010, Bookbox had tied up Manthan Award for E-learning. In the with Master’s Communications, a next year, Bookbox produced 5 more children’s content distributor in the CDs/DVDs with various language United States. Over 30 DVDs were combinations like English & Spanish, available in the American market. English & Hindi, English & Mandarin, In 2011, a brand new series called etc, and explored partnerships with ‘Legendary Lives’ was marketed potential distributors and marketing under the Storytellers banner. This is companies. a collection of stories from a famous In late 2006, with a partnership person’s childhood, showing qualities with Shemaroo Entertainment Pvt for children to emulate. The first two Ltd, Bookbox began to retail physical persons on whom the Legendary products in the market. In 2007, the Lives stories were made were India’s company entered a distribution and ex-President Dr. Kalaam and noted marketing agreement with Orient police officer, Dr. Kiran Bedi. Marketed BlackSwan and produced two new and distributed by Orient Blackswan, series called Storytellers 1 & 2. These the series is available all over India. ‘Storyteller’ boxes contained 5 Newer iphone applications, new Ani-books on a CD and VCD, along ‘Legendary Lives’ (commissioned with 5 printed books of the same by Planet Read) and applications for stories. Both box sets had Ani-books Android phones are also on the cards based on public domain stories. as Bookbox continues to expand and The collection won Best DVD ROM grow. Content in 2007, at the DVD Awards

104 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Project Features

Technology Platform Community Participation Bookbox is available for reading Bookbox has successfully managed right from its print version to various to build a community around multimedia formats – DVD, CD, itself. The fact that the company VCDs and as downloadable book welcomes readers and interested files online. Bookbox has sold about parties in suggesting new languages 50,000 books over various platforms, and helping with translations reaching an estimated 200,000 and narrations has created some children. What this technologically enthusiasm for it. At the same time, inclusive strategy does is ensure that many children’s writers and teachers children can consume Bookbox in have also submitted original stories a way that is most familiar to them. for consideration to the company. Also, since Bookbox is looking to However, arguably, its greatest build an international clientele as community participation has come well, it is good that it has adopted an from the children who have met online strategy early on. the product with a very enthusiastic response. By bringing in beloved Accessibility & Inclusiveness TV characters (like Star’s Gattu) or While users need to have access a cartoon version of leaders like Dr Bookbox, in many ways, is the ideal Kalaam, Bookbox has increased its product for an urban child. This is audience. because outside of the printed book, the child will need to have access to Sustainability & Cost effectiveness either a TV & DVD/CD player, or then Bookbox has, over the years, put an ipad/smartphone etc. Also, many in place partnerships that have of its English to foreign language increased its market reach. Once translations are aimed at either an Ani-book is produced, providing children who are learning foreign narration and SLS in multiple languages, or then foreigners learning languages is not a big cost. However, English. for it to remain not just cost effective Essentially, Bookbox products are but grow long term, Bookbox needs first conceived in English, and then to increase sales. They propose to do translated into other languages. this by increasing visibility, as they This makes it an English-language did by tying up with Star TV. In the product at its core. However, another long run, they want to produce a TV factor plays into it being a more program. urban product right now, and that By their estimates, they have is pricing. For example, downloads content for about 8 episodes (2011) price animated stories and mobile and will need to produce additional videos at $3 which is about Rs 170. content to be able to air a show of 52 The same remains for the print books. episodes. They estimate this will cost Therefore, buying a collection of $1 million, and the company would Legendary Lives (5 Ani-books) can break even in 3-4 years. be close to $15 or Rs 840. In Indian terms, this would be an expensive Replication & Scalability Brands such as Disney offer product, out of the reach for many similar products, however, what poor families. makes Bookbox stand apart is the

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 105 educational value that its products than enough space for multiple offer. Following its lead, a company players. Bookbox, in particular, has called ‘Karadi Tales’ now offers demonstrated that it is scalable across children’s stories on VCD/DVD, various multimedia platforms. however, the market has more

Conclusions

For children to watch cartoons regional folk tales, it will become a is hardly a novel concept. Entire wonderful way to teach children the industries have been built around the culture of other people and places. same ideas, and children, the world At this moment, children’s stories over, have enjoyed them thoroughly. from other countries are available to However, keeping in mind the need Indian children as well, and vice-versa, for some children to brush up on their through Bookbox . language skills, be it reading, spelling The biggest challenge for or pronunciation, Bookbox has very Bookbox will be to produce enough effectively filled this gap. By using a content for a television show, as that mixture of public domain stories and will be the best way to reach the original stories, the company has built maximum number of children. Using up a nice collection of Ani-books for some already established cartoon children to choose from. characters, but this time with SLS in By incorporating tribal stories tow, Bookbox will certainly be able to in the future, and hopefully more have the desired impact.

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Bookbox might be looking at player market too is enormous, with an established business space – 175 million DVD players sold in 2010, children’s books – but it is managing and the industry seeing a 10-20% rise to innovate with it to keep up with annually. Given the huge potential modern times. The fact that it has in online and technology markets, it integrated technology into its very makes sense to try and integrate the product, and not just in the way it concept of a children’s bookstore into makes the product, is commendable. the digital marketplace. Using Ani-books with SLS is an Unfortunately, this means that in a interesting concept, and furthering developing country like India, where its reach by multi-platform versions the majority of children would not be of the books is truly embracing the able to access online stores, access to digital world. e-books and mobile content would Presently, children’s books market be limited. However, the good news share is about $4 Billion USD and for Bookbox is that there is a huge increasing by 15% every year. The untapped market that can afford online and mobile downloads market its product, and with its strategy of is about $3 Billion USD, and growing trying to produce a TV show, it will be by 100% annually. Finally, the DVD able to reach the masses.

106 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 107 Drona is a new age tool to Drona cover 360 degrees of the learn- ing feedback cycle - Authoring (mobile and desktop), Delivering, Testing, Scoring and Analytics. Drona is designed to cater to multiple segments of audience and enables organizations to author mobile as well as desktop applications in their own infra- structure.

Achievements Category »» Enables learning and training, cor- m-Education & Learning porate communication, Organization »» Provides senior management Deltecs InfoTech with continuous learning and de- velopment Platform of product Mobile »» Provides rich content delivery channel exclusively for specific Website top management www.deltecs.com »» Reduces third party dependency »» Increases return on investment on learning and training and on en- terprise phones investments

108 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

Drona is an m-Learning platform analyze their employee’s usage and developed by the Mumbai based performance. This information is organization, Deltecs. It empowers then sent back to the web-server for users to send and access personalized further analysis. content on their mobiles phone. The technology is an enterprise Drona’s specific value lies in the mobile software. It consists of a video fact that this content is useful for casting mechanism for leadership employers, employees and students, development training. This helps to help them perform better. broadcast training videos on Drona is an engagement platform blackberry phones of leaders in any that helps to “engage customers and organization using which they can employees on mobile”. Enterprises be training round the year. It also has uses this mobile platform to deliver a technology for taking assessments various types of communication as well as feedback etc. Since the modules (Video, Survey, Assessment, employees are time pressed, Drona Events, Newsletter, PPT) to interact VCast works as one of the best with prospects, employees, partners mediums to train them even when on and customers. Drona allows the the move. company to create campaigns, Drona’s ‘M-Cast’, on the other schedule or instant push on hand, is a platform where individuals smartphones (BlackBerry, iPhone, such as students and entrepreneurs Android) and helps in real-time can choose to have videos delivered tracking and analysis. to them which offer sales skills, Drona comes in two broad educational tests and so on. These formats. The product ‘Drona videos are ideal for when they have V-Cast’ empowers organizations to some idle time, or even for those create their own mobile courses or who set time aside for accessing this curriculum and distribute it to their content. These applications explore employees. Further, they can also the full potential of mobile video use the application to track and content.

Practise Background

According to ITU, two of three people their employees so that they can stay in the developing world have mobile connected even when they are out phones. The encouraging trend of the office. All these trends point to behind these numbers is that mobile the fact that mobiles are constantly in usage is not restricted to adults alone, the hands of people and can be used but teenagers are also quick to use as a medium to impart education. the phone for both communication While most of Drona’s content can and entertainment. be accessed on regular handsets, they In the cities, mobile phones are a are also looking to the future. M-Cast, way of life with many people carrying which is video based content, can more than one with them at all times. only be accessed on smartphones. Many big companies give smart This strategy is quite interesting as phones with email capabilities to it only focuses on a relatively small

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 109 population. However, while the local material. In fact, content can be density of smartphones is not very the driver for technology upgrades high in India, there is consensus that (for example, you need the internet the market potential is very high. today as email has become a part of India has always been a price work life), and mobile phones can conscious country, and as these potentially fill this place. Projects phones become more affordable, like Drona will have the first mover there is no doubt that consumers will advantage if they continue to tap and buy them. Another factor is the cost grow their markets. of data transfer, and finally relevant,

Implementation Process

First time entrepreneurs Divyesh settings for course, mobile Kharade and Jinen Dedhia started interface, themes, & results. Course Drona after they realized that “idle description, organization details, time” spent by students travelling mode of data transfer, number of in buses and trains could be put to allowed views etc. can be set while use if there was a mobile application authoring. The course can then be which catered to them. They previewed on phone emulators to started Deltecs, and with a young re-check the apps created. This is team of 8 employees, started the also a way to form and maintain a Drona application. Drona’s focus mobile content repository, using is on learning and training that is which one can edit or use existing happening across mobile devices. apps. Drona authoring also Their product has two broad supports various functionalities components: the delivery platform including bug reporting and and the content itself, which they tracking. There is also an option for believe will add value to the end user. auto upgrade. ∙∙ Drona Distributor: This comes in The Drona platform consists of three 2 versions; Web Distributor for main components: Drona Authoring, GPRS/EDGE based distribution and Drona Distribution and Drona Bluetooth Distributor for Close Analytics. Proximity Distribution. The Web ∙∙ Drona Authoring: This comes as a Distributor lets one upload Drona desktop-based tool with a highly mobile apps and send out bulk intuitive user interface specially SMSes/emails with the download designed for trainers and teachers links of the same. The Bluetooth alike. It allows one to author Distributor lets one upload Level 2 type of content that is Drona mobile apps and bluecast text, images, audio, and video. (bluetooth broadcast) the files to These tools enable one to create a closed proximity audience. Once different types of courses that downloaded, apps get installed include learning slides, multiple- on the click of a button. To access choice questions, multiple the apps, the user authentication response questions, true/false type is checked. Different courses are assessment, survey, and feedbacks. displayed in the menu. The authoring tool allows various ∙∙ Drona Analytics: This feature involves web logins with different

110 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints permissions for administrators, a period of time. The end-user managers, trainers, and end-users. gets to see his performance and It tracks and reports different usage of particular modules as parameters like average usage well as comparison between his times, average learning bursts, performance and the average learning completion reports, performance for particular models. phone capabilities and so on to With the SaaS model (software as generate required ROI reports. a service/managed service) the It also gives critical scoring and hardware, resource and maintenance analysis with regard to scores, requirements are taken care by percentages and appropriate Drona and a downloadable Drona graphical analysis. Authoring tool resides with the client. Also with different logins there The Distribution, Tracking, Analysis are different reports available. is hosted on Drona’s servers. Further For example, the manager of the in-house hosted model, Drona a company will get to analyze Tracking, Distribution and Analysis, the performances of trainers, as along with Authoring, is hosted at the well as generate reports over client end.

Project Features

Technology Platform can access some of the Drona The hardware required to create the applications (M-Cast), which means applications is a laptop/computer, that the section of the population and servers are needed to host that is using basic mobile phones analysis and distribution. Drona cannot watch videos. However, since works on microsoft.net framework the focus is more on companies and platform, and can be accessed with students studying for the competitive a java-enabled handset. For the exams, it seems the population consumer, Drona works on both targeted has the phones required to simple phones and smartphones, but access the product. the video content is available on the smartphones. Community Participation Drona’s success lies in its specific Accessibility & Inclusiveness designs for two categories of users. The mobile application is created Students and entrepreneurs who to be compact and ubiquitous in get content delivered to them nature. Hence it is easily downloaded using M-Cast, and corporate clients on a large range of phones using who need to deliver tips to their GPRS/EDGE technology. The solution employees in a timely manner. supports more than 500 different For this, they use Drona’s V-cast types of phones. The application platform. Ready-to-use courses are can work on java enabled phones also offered such as competitive with MIDP 2.0 and above, starting exams preparation courses for CAT/ from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, GRE/GMAT/UPSC. Leadership and Motorola, HTC, BlackBerry, etc. management development courses At the same time only smart like sales, negotiation, soft skills phones with video capabilities training courses are also offered.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 111 As companies can create their own that the company will continue to curriculum and track the progress succeed as a market leader. of employees, effectively Drona has created its own user community. At Replication & Scalability From the technological point of the same time, engaging with Drona view, other companies can replicate products requires the user to have Drona. Improvements in the speed access (membership) to its products. of mobile internet and mobile phone Sustainability & Cost effectiveness operating systems will allow people Drona is based on a subscription to use Drona’s features even more model and therefore has a financial effectively. As smartphones become sustainability plan. User reviews have cheaper, more people will be able been favourable. As Drona cuts the to access mobile content. Drona can cost of holding/attending seminars, also expand its content to include and allows users to experience the school curriculum quizzes and even same material at their own time, start pushing entertainment related the response has been positive. The videos for greater mileage. As far as company has not disclosed financial scaling possibilities go, Drona has a details; however, they are confident lot of potential.

Conclusions

Deltec’s products aim at providing learning and tests but also extends not just an m-learning environment to collating scores and results, and but also help the client create their generation of reports to help analyze own mobile applications as and the performances. It also helps when required. Drona is a 360-degree to apply analysis and make more mobile solution provider that informed decisions and thus help will enable institutes, universities, improve overall delivery standards. colleges, training centres, market Also one can add multi-media type of research companies, and any other content, making it more interactive. industry to author, publish and It also offers options to customize distribute their own courses on each application, mode of data mobile phones. transfer and themes etc. This solution As penetration of broadband is works for more than 500+ types of poor in India, mobile phones surface phones. Special plug-ins are available as a better mechanism for learning for BlackBerry Enterprise Server to and collection of information. The have this solution placed within a offering doesn’t stop at delivering the corporate enterprise.

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

The international trend, as can be money etc have very popular, as seen through various applications are entertainment applications. offered to smartphone users, is to Drona enters in a different segment, make life as convenient as possible. one that offers to make education Applications to keep check on health, easily accessible. This trend will

112 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints undoubtedly catch on, due to its watched, after which the company obvious benefits. can offer a questionnaire that the At the same time, the specific employee answers through the benefit of Drona for clients is clear: phone. This ensures that they have through Drona videos, corporates understood the latest message. can skip the hassle of arranging The same can be said for individual workshops for their employees subscribers who can get tips/quizzes but instead make direct use of the through their cellphones, avoiding smartphones the company gives actual classes etc. them. Work related videos can be

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 113 Kisan Sanchar is an interactive Kisan platform for scientists, agricul- tural experts, and institutions Sanchar for sharing their knowledge and technology with registered sub- scribers of the service, who are mainly farmers. It is, essentially, agricultural knowledge dissemi- nation over mobile phones sup- ported by Sristi Gyaan Kendra, a Rohtak based NGO.

Achievements Category »» Kisan Sanchar is a web portal designed m-Education & Learning to collect knowledge and know-how to educate farmers on agricultural is- Organization sues, with the service being available Kisan Sanchar in Delhi, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Platform of product and Rajasthan Mobile »» Provides registered farmers automatic Website text and voice messages, based on www.kisansanchar.com knowledge collected, in their local lan- guage, free of cost »» Ensures automatic SMSes go at a scheduled time to farmers’ mobile phones with voice calls also being made to numbers and delivery re- ports showing if these messages have reached the intended party »» Allows farmers to check their subscrip- tions on the website, which is also a database for all collected knowledge, with the service being available in Hin- di, Punjabi, Gujarati and English »» Ensures technical support is available 24/7 »» Shares information in local language in text and voice format »» Partners with agricultural universities, agriculture departments of colleges, Kisan Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and vari- ous NGOs to provide timely and useful information to farmers

114 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

Kisan Sanchar is a multi-utility delivery of best agricultural outputs platform that connects farmers to farmers. with the very people who spend Kisan Sanchar is completely self- time researching and working on sustained by as KVKs and some NGOs agricultural issues. Agricultural pay an annual membership fee to experts are now able to collate participate. They also pay the bills their information onto the Kisan against the messaging service that Sanchar portal, which then sends its Kisan Sanchar provides to farmers. It subscribers – farmers from multiple has two functional units of operation, states of India – information on topics at Rohtak and Panchkula. that affect them. By making the service free for the The information is derived from farmers, Kisan Sanchar has taken the news sources, professional bodies extra financial burden and barrier to and experts. There are agricultural entry to the beneficiary away from statistics, district wise weather its business model. At the same time, information, market rates and realizing that not all farmers were analysis, online chat, agricultural able to read messages, Kisan Sanchar archives, information on state wise started the voice messaging service call centers for support services, as to become even more inclusive and career counseling available in nature. Overall, while the service through the service. Kisan Sanchar has made small in-roads among also plans to host other features such farmers in the country, it is poised as a video database on agricultural for expansion. It is definitely helping practices, latest market surveys, film- solve the problem of marginal making and poster making facilities, information to small farmers about networking opportunities, and home various agricultural conditions.

Practise Background

The population of India is over 1.1 reports that half of those engaged billion, and increasing every minute. in agriculture are still illiterate and In 2011-12, the Planning Commission only 5% have completed Higher estimated that there are 269.3 Secondary education. Various projects million poor people in India, of which have come about which try and 216.5 million reside in rural areas. provide farmers with the information Overall, about more than half the they need – in the medium they total workforce – 58.4% -- remains can access it in – to help them have employed in agriculture, which a better understand of farming contributes only about one fifth of methods, market conditions and our Gross Domestic Product. productivity. Given these figures, it is obvious Kisan Sanchar too, began because that an overwhelming amount of perceived problems with one of of farmers in rural areas are poor Haryana’s contract farming programs and do not significantly contribute under HAFED (Haryana State to the economy of the country. Cooperative Supply and Marketing The Planning Commission also Federation Limited). An SMS program

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 115 initiated by them to inform farmers connected to markets to create a of Basmati rice prices failed because more efficient delivery chain has many farmers did not know how to taken root in India. Kisan Sanchar read. Additionally, the text was not stands apart from many of the other sent in Unicode and was not easily ones because the burden of cost read on all mobile phones. Kisan is not put on the farmer. Instead Sanchar was then launched as a pilot experts are made part of the process, project in the districts of Kurukshetra, and with membership fees, become Karnal and Kaithal in the 2008 Kharif stakeholders. Using ICT in agriculture, season. Over 2000 farmers signed up and especially making use of the within the fortnight. mobile phone, the Indian farmer is The idea of getting farmers slowly becoming empowered.

Implementation Process

After Kisan Sanchar was piloted in needed help to understand how 3 districts of India in 2008, it was to use the system, many trainings noted that many farmers were having were implemented and awareness difficulty reading the messages workshops held. delivered to their mobile phones. The A major problem to overcome was reasons were either incompatibility of that farmers did not pay attention to the message script with the phone, or SMSes on their phones as they were illiteracy because of which the farmer constantly bombarded with junk could not understand the message messages from service providers. The being delivered to him. Over time, the second problem was to come up with team fixed these problems. a bulk messaging service that kept A computer-based application costs low for Kisan Sanchar. When and online management system they first contacted mobile service was implemented so that the right providers, they were quoted about messages could be delivered to the 10-20 paise per SMS. Therefore a low farmer at the right time. Texts were cost solution needed to be found. sent in unicode, so that they could Overtime ‘Green SIMs’ were be read on any handset, and voice distributed to farmers which enabled messages were introduced. Kisan them to receive voice messages, Sanchar was officially launched which they consented to use after in September 2010, and its voice they were also given additional messaging service launced in Febuary benefits of extra talk time etc. The 2011. messages also had an interactive As the expert agencies bear service whereby the farmer could call the cost in Kisan Sanchar, farmers Kisan Sanchar’s call centers simply get these messages for free. These by pressing the green button after universities, NGO, KVKs etc pay reading/listening to the messages. around Rs 3000 per annum. This This way the farmers were able to way, the extensive research they clarify issues early on. Many stored do and knowledge they collect can Kisan Sanchar’s number and put a actually make it from universities different ringtone/alert for it, so that and papers to the person on the they knew to check this message ground – the farmer – who needs the instead of letting it pile up with other information in real time. At the same unread messages. With help from time, keeping in mind that farmers friends, the team began to use a SMS 116 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints broadcasting application that could helped build the subscriber based for send to many users at the same time. Kisan Sanchar. With active help from Kisan Sanchar received funding various agencies, Kisan Sanchar has from government funded Punjab demonstrated how mobile phones Agricultural University, and from there can disseminate information to approached various KVKs around the farmers. country. These KVKs have, in turn,

Project Features

Technology Platform time. Content is updated on a daily Kisan Sanchar is both a web and basis, and its inherent usefulness mobile-based platform. While the has helped build the Kisan Sanchar content managers have unique community. login IDs to access the site and also send messages to the thousands of Sustainability & Cost Effectiveness Kisan Sanchar does not pass on any subscribers, the farmers who receive of its costs to the end consumer the messages predominantly use – the farmer but instead relies their mobile phones to access the on membership payments from service. They can, however, go online KVKs, NGOs etc for its financial to www.kisansanchar.com to look for sustainability. At present, due to this information as well. arrangement, it is 100% sustainable Accessibility & Inclusiveness and cost effective for the user. Kisan Sanchar has been built with However, some preliminary survey accessibility in mind. In fact, its very has shown that some farmers might existence is because the team behind be ready to pay nominal amounts it wanted to develop new ways for this service, something to keep in of getting information to farmers. mind for the future. Because of this, its content is available as both text and voices messages, Replication & Scalability Kisan Sanchar is not alone in the and it is (at the moment) available in space of using ICTs for agriculture, four different languages. However, especially in terms of providing there is great potential for increasing information to farmers. However, the number of languages the service other projects, most notably Reuters is available in and also content Market Lite, offers the same service partnerships that would make the but with a charge to the farmer. To same information available over that end Kisan Sanchar has a very different mediums, for example, radio different business model. It can be and TV. replicated in the states in which it is Community Participation not present; however, it can be scaled Kisan Sanchar has essentially built a up in those states by forging new partnership with many agricultural partnerships with KVKs and NGOs in institutions such as agricultural untapped states. colleges and KVKs to provide Its 24/7call center is also a nice information to farmers. Each of these touch for farmers who might is given their own IDs to log in and otherwise be unable to use their fill in information, which is later mobile phones for the service. broadcast to farmers at a scheduled The project was also chosen as

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 117 the recipient for the 2011 ‘Mobiles Digital Empowerment Foundation for Good’ an award initiated by and has received a further Rs 4 lakh in Vodafone India Foundation and funding.

Conclusions

The farming community of India ICTs in the agricultural sector, to has been in dire need of timely increase the country’s knowledge interventions from the social sector, base. In fact, this service is rather in helping them get better access to unique, especially because it is free information that not only increases information coming straight from their yields but also helps them agricultural experts, with a premium secure a better rate in the market. It is being put on it. part of a welcome trend of applying

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Interventions, in whichever space Outside of the text/voice messages they may be – education, health, filled with timely information is the agriculture – are modeled according added advantage of a call center, to the purpose they are to serve. where the farmer can call up and Therefore, if a business starts an ask pertinent questions about his agricultural service for a farmer, its crops and how to take care of them. main aim will be to make a profit in Traditionally Indian agriculture has the end. In the case of a social sector suffered because farmers did not enterprise like Kisan Sanchar, linked even have knowledge of the most so closely with government agencies, simple practices like newer methods it has kept in mind that the project of irrigation or multi-cropping. This costs must not be transferred to project aims to change all that. the end user, the farmer. Therefore, It can only be hoped that similar to that end, the project is most interventions can be made in more impressive and should be scaled up parts of the country, in areas over and across India. above agriculture.

118 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 119 Mobile Antakshari is the first ever Mobile multilingual speech recognition technology mobile game that is Antakshari based on the classic Indian music game of Antakshari, where the player or team sing songs that start with last consonant letter of the song sung by the previous player or team.

Achievements Category »» Uses the mobile platform and a m-Entertainment classic Indian music game to pro- vide a unique gaming experience Organization Hexolabs Media and »» Pits the consumers musical wits Technology Pvt. Ltd. against his/her mobile challeng- ing their musical senses with vari- Platform of product ous genres of musical challenges Mobile Based in regional languages Website »» Provides wholesome entertain- www.hexolabs.com ment at a low cost

120 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

In the furthest reaches of India’s of the four languages has in excess of rural heartland, the cellphone is 1,500 songs and required a grammar bringing something that television, code that needed to be written to radio and even newspapers couldn’t give the system points of comparison deliver - instant access to music, with what players were singing. information, entertainment, news and Though Mobile Antakshari employs even worship. Hexolabs is a provider a complex algorithm in the back end, of products, platforms and hosted- it has created a simple and accessible on-demand services for mobile voice interface. VAS services on the mobile phone Mobile Antakshari can be played to Enterprises, Media Companies either against the artificial intelligence and Wireless Carriers. The company or against friends. In the former, a was founded in collaboration with player is presented with four modes the Indian Institute of Technology, of play. All four modes expect players Kanpur, India. Its innovation in Mobile to recognize a song and sing it back, Antakshari is in adding right usability although the clues in each differ. It is and technology elements. now working on a mobile semantic Antakshari is an extremely search product to help non-data widespread music game, where two consumers discover Web contents or more players or teams sing songs over simple voice call. This allows user which start with last consonant letter to search by using a voice input and of the song sung by previous player results would be delivered over the or team. When a team sings a song voice output or SMS. they earn points. Mobile Antakshari Overtime, Mobile Antakshari has actively engages users to participate developed more interactive features and play Antakshari with the system as well. Players can play against the giving them a unique experience system; assorted film trivia has been to compete with an artificial system included as well. The game falls through mobile platform. right into the mobile entertainment Mobile Antakshari uses complex category, one which is very popular algorithms to match users input with with people. At the beginning of over 10,000 songs and evaluates 2011, Mobile Antakshari had about 1 whether it is the right song. The lakh users, per month, with a single complexity increases manifold when operator which included old users one has to create a database of songs returning to play more games. An in four major languages -- Hindi, average game lasts about 10-15mins Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam. Each per user.

Practise Background

VAS stands for Value Added Services, use mobile phones through the day, which are the add-ons a mobile it doubles up as an entertainment subscriber can opt for. This includes device where songs, games, scores (and by far, the most popular), cricket and conversations meet each other. updates, horoscopes and Bollywood There are other kinds of services news. As more and more people as well, many of which focus on

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 121 social causes. With the increasing a clear need to differ from SMS based penetration of mobile services, services and offering real value to the especially in multilingual rural India, users, bringing the mobile edition Hexolabs strongly believes that of popular Indian game were the voice based mobile technology motivational factors behind the solution holds the key to the future development of Mobile Antakshari. of healthcare, governance and In the future, Hexolabs wants to entertainment information services. develop voice based services other Reaching out to the rural masses, than games. offering services in Indian languages,

Implementation Process

Mobile Antakshari was menus took a fair amount of time. conceptualized around 2009. Building Mobile Antakshari has 500 songs the game required both a technical per language and about 2000 songs component, such as building the overall. menu and fine tuning speech The game is designed in a unique recognition, and a media component, and entertaining way so as to which included aggregating, collating alleviate boredom. The automated and labeling film songs. The music voice (called prompts) has different labels needed to be licensed as well. reactions to when the player gets Traditionally the game can be a song correct/incorrect so as not played by two or more people and to make it tedious or predictable. In is popular as a group activity during developing the game, voice testing commutes, bus rides etc. The starting also took a long time as the game singer has to sing two complete lines was available pan-India. This meant and then s/he may stop at the end that different regions and different of those or following lines. The last states and their different accents Hindi letter of the last word sung needed to be recognized. Also, is then used by the next singer to people would be singing answers, sing another song, starting with that so accuracy in speech recognition is letter. Once a song has been used essential. The software used for this in a round of the game, it cannot be is On Mobile’s proprietary software used again by any contestant. The called Talisma. winner or winning team is decided by When it came to selection of a process of elimination. The person songs , trials revealed that while or team that cannot come up with people in South India loved playing a song with the right consonant is antakshari with peppy songs, north eliminated if their opponents can Indians favored slower, sadder songs produce such a song. on the whole. The average playing It took 6 developers to build the time would be 15 minutes, which single player antakshari and another could be the time during a break, 4 months for them for the multiplayer waiting for something or even while antakshari. Since an entire menu in the car. Accordingly, music was needs to be developed to give the licensed from various labels to fit the choice of songs, understand what the mood and duration of the game. player sings/guesses and respond to Mobile Antakshari can be played the voice accordingly, fine tuning the either against the computer or

122 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints against friends. In the former, a player around 100-150 new songs are added is presented with four modes of in each language. A massive back- play. All four modes expect players end system logs every single song a to recognize a song and sing it back, particular player has heard, so that although the clues in each differ. songs aren’t repeated. The system The games offered under antakshari also logs language preferences: A are: Karoke, Antara, Bollygyan and player who plays in Hindi three times Mix Masala round and a multi-player consecutively will then be taken podium for Antakshari Ustads. directly to the Hindi version the The multiplayer mode, for fourth time around. “Antakshari Ustads”, allows players to Mobile Antakshari actively key in the telephone numbers of their encourages the user to participate friends, inviting them to join in. These and compete with the system friends-turned-competitors now providing a unique experience to buzz in every time they recognize the compete with an artificial system song, to get first shot at singing the through the mobile platform. lyrics. Winners redeem their points The interesting way the platform for prizes such as caller tunes or more is designed results in greater apps. participation and user attentiveness The work on Mobile Antakshari as also a large volume of repeat continues apace. Every quarter, consumers.

Project Features

Technology Platform and playing antakshari. It is nostalgic There is no installation required as when I play antakshari on my basic Mobile Antakshari is a network based phone, it is so simple!” Other users VAS application. A number needs to were trying to find out where the be called after which the user can “any” key is because the prompt start playing immediately. says, ‘press any key to continue’. The anecdotes are to serve as a reminder Accessibility & Inclusiveness that a large rural population can Mobile Antakshari’s intuitive interface only use mobile features through provides a fascinating experience voice because they are illiterate and of a voice recognition technology. struggle with messages etc. Since the Voice recognition offers a great user product is available in Hindi, Tamil, experience eliminating language Telugu and Malayalam, it allows a barrier and hence, brings effective diverse stretch of people to play it. user interaction. Mobile Antakshari is the first ever multilingual speech Sustainability & Cost Effectiveness recognition technology mobile game The game cost Hexolabs around Rs that offers great value VAS services for 30-40 lakhs to make. Immediately everyone (both urban and rural India). popular, within the first three months, it had already attracted 110,000 Community Participation customers. Mobile Antakshari is used One user of Mobile Antakshari told through the telecom operator and the team that: “I have a very basic not a directly downloadable game. phone with no quality entertainment Therefore, its profits for the company on it. All I could do was receiving are based on the agreement with the SMSs in English that I couldn’t read. telecom operator. I loved listening to Bollywood songs Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 123 A monthly subscription to the Replication & Scalability game is Rs 49, and normal call The game can yet be scaled up to charges apply while playing the include many other Indian languages. game. At the same time, you could In some of the options, the prompts play the game without a subscription suggest dialogues and hints to let and it would cost Rs 3 per minute the user guess the movie. Hexolabs to play. The telecom operator keeps is planning to expand this to visual on average 60-70% and then labels clues that can be played over and intermediaries are paid, and the the internet via video. The basic remaining amount is the profit for framework of the game offered, Mobile Antakshari. including the variations, can be replicated quite easily.

Conclusions

Falling into the mobile entertainment specifically, if any mobile applications category, games like Mobile include Bollywood, cricket or Antakshari have captured people’s astrology, it is said to be sure to love for film songs and trivia, as be successful! At the same time, well as given them a release from adapting a beloved Indian game to boredom via their cellphones. today’s technology is a simple but Hexolab’s main driver – that there smart idea that works. The same is a lot more potential in voice- could be done for other favorite based applications due to illiteracy Indian games, thereby expanding the – has been proved correct. In India, mobile entertainment industry.

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

India has about 840 million mobile are gaining ground because they can connections of which only about 15% be accessed via basic mobile phones. are smartphone users, which means They are easier to use and often the overwhelming majority of users available in the vernacular language. are still using basic phones. At the These trends certainly indicate that same time, the number of internet voice based applications and services users in India is growing sluggishly, are a good way to access the rural caused by a range of reasons populations of the country, not just including lack of infrastructure, for entertainment purposes but also illiteracy, and lack of information for other projects which involve about the use of the internet. development goals such as health, However, slowly but surely, VAS education and so on.

124 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 125 ToeHold Artisans Collaborative ToeHold (TAC) is an export-oriented group enterprise, owned and governed by the artisans through their eleven women’s Self Help Groups (SHGs) aiming to take the generic but popular Kolhapuri footwear to branded ‘couture’ status in international markets.

Achievements Category »» Produces over 400 designs of Kol- e-Enterprise hapuri slippers, which are shipped to countries as far and wide as Organization America, Europe, Korea and Japan Asian Centre for Entrepreneurial Initiatives »» Brings together a collective of 10- (ASCENT) 11 Self Help Groups with 10-12 women in each, and all business Platform of product decisions are taken in a democrat- Mobile ic manner Website »» Reaches new and varied clients, www.ToeHold india.com who then either choose existing fashions or give new designs to be produced »» Provides financial stability as of the net profit, 40% goes to the com- pany, 40% to artisans and 20% to SHGs to develop the business and fund new income activities

126 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

ToeHold Artisans Collaborative Customized designs are made for (TAC), with their website www. clients and in this process exchange ToeHold india.com, essentially helps of ideas / designs happen through artisans become entrepreneurs digital images by e-mail – this is a using the internet for financial boon to the largely illiterate and gain. The website is designed to vernacular-speaking artisans. This enable the artisans to gain access unique model of Grassroots Group to international and national B2B Enterprise, the front end of TAC footwear markets. The website has is a market-focused, customer- a product catalogue with more than centric and profit-driven business 400 designs on display at a time. It enterprise while the back end is an also has a webpage about the people innovative social enterprise striving who make these exquisite Kolhapuri for improvement in the quality of life fashion footwear. of about 400 artisan families. The philosophy behind the The artisans become profit project is the enterprise approach: sharers, not wage earners by using to empower people to make choices the internet to their advantage. The based on informed decision making exposure and learning opportunities and the process of ownership and awarded to the artisans through consequent reward and risk. In a their website are many, affording manner of speaking, this approach them a certain level of dignity as can breathe new life into the lives entrepreneurs as well. Through of smaller artisans who feel that this internet based strategy, the mass-producing corporations are producers of these Kolhapuri slippers taking their livelihood away, as it has are also empowered, not just the been seen with many commodities retailer/middleman. Also, since new including footwear. TAC, by using the avenues of sales have opened up via internet, has connected the artisans the internet, these artisans are no with a new clientele abroad, and also longer looking at falling incomes or saved the artisans the cost of building giving up their jobs. and maintaining showrooms. The annual turnover of TAC is TAC has an English speaking around Rs 40 lakhs. TAC has won person appointed to communicate excellence awards from Federation of with clients via the internet. The Karnataka Chambers of Commerce, website, aimed at B2B markets, is the Barefoot College of Footwear one of the key drivers of business Craft & Enterprise and the Digital for the artisan enterprise. All the Empowerment Foundation. TAC has market interactions happen through given presentations at the Indian e-mail and a marketing coordinator School of Business and at the Tata takes care of the communications in Institute of Social Sciences. English.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 127 Practise Background

It is no secret that globalization and taken advantage of by local traders trade policies, while on the one and not given a fair price for their hand benefiting countries, do on the products. Traditionally, traders lend other hand, adversely affect certain these women’s husbands money and segments of the population. This is often tie them to exclusive contracts the case with little groups of artisans, and ay them very low wages. They who often unsuccessfully compete remain indebted and impoverished. with mass produced, low cost, These traders do not allow them to generic goods. This was certainly the sell their products to anyone else. case with the women entrepreneurs Kolhapuri footwear is a traditional who made the famous Kolhapuri product from Athani and Nippani slippers, as they were struggling to in Karnataka. Many of the women make ends meet, as the exports of involved in this dying art either Indian handcrafted leather began to switched jobs or bore the burden decline. of lower sales as people assumed There were additional social they were producing ‘inferior’ quality problems. Many artisans in India products. The lack of demand and have struggling with their dying a lack of originality in their designs crafts; however, it can often be even were slowing them down. Worse, tougher for female artisans who are many of the skills training focused on the “lowest stratosphere of society” men, and not women. according to some. These women are

Implementation Process

The Leather Technology Mission, a separate Self-Help Groups. Each SHG program launched in January 1995 has about 10-12 members in it. by the Government of India – mainly Ascent helped the women targeting the small and unorganized artisans to get training in design leather producing units --- aimed and business skills, and through a at improving artisan’s skills and carefully executed strategy, managed providing them artisan skills and to quickly grow their business. While sustainable links with the markets. working mainly from home, the Following this development, in 1998, women found a building to share with the help of the NGO Ascent, for more technical, craft making around 200 Kolhapuri artisans processes and were able to gain decided to pool their resources access to high-grade raw materials. and form their own business to free In the beginning the women wanted themselves from this form of bonded a showroom, but did not realize how labor. expensive that would be. Madhura With funds from the United Chatrapathy, a trustee of Ascent, Nations Development Programme suggested they have a “showroom in and India’s National Leather the sky”. Development Programme, the TAC has majority of its buyers from ToeHold Artisans Collaborative America and Europe, but the base was launched as a collection of 11 was not so simple to build. People

128 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints did not have the confidence that the the form of images or sketches. products would be good, and this These images are then emailed to is where the website helped. There the local manager with the internet were over 400 designs on the site, connection in the village who then and along with TAC’s image, this shows them to the artisans. This is served to build the confidence of the followed by artisans taking decisions buyer as well. collectively and in consultation with The business model plays out the coordinator on the costing and through direct interaction between pricing of the product, thus ensuring the artisans and the buyers, a fair price accrues to them while facilitated by a coordinator or an volumes can divided according to export catalyst who takes care of specific skills. the English communications, which The orders are discussed openly at the vernacular speaking artisans TAC. The women decide if the buyer cannot. The buyer either picks the is offering a fair price and if the order design from the 400 displayed on the should be taken. To that end, the website or sends specific designs to women really do own and govern the coordinator through an email in TAC through their Self Help Groups.

Project Features

Technology Platform run the business and are directly ICT tools were introduced in the responsible for the decisions. production chain and in the selling The SHGs have empowered local of the footwear products. Computers communities, strengthened the were equipped with Computer links among them, and given them Aided Design (CAD) and Computer a new business approach. With the Aided Manufacturing (CAM) software enhanced adoption of technology, capable of creating, transforming, and these women have been able to combining designs to fit the demand. extend the TAC community to an Of course, the entire marketing international one. They have reached design on TAC requires the internet, a high degree of entrepreneurship. right from showcasing products to communicating with clients on Sustainability & Cost Effectiveness Of the net profit, 40% goes to the orders. company, 40% to artisans and 20% Accessibility & Inclusiveness to SHGs to develop the business and TAC is structured in such a way that fund new income activities. Over unfamiliarity with the internet and the years, through technology and even the English language is not a standardization, the artisans have barrier for the women. An appointed gained a competitive edge and person not only coordinates with now produce over 450 varieties of clients but helps the ladies use the Kolhapuri slippers and have reduced design software on the computers, if the tanning and production process they are unable to. from 35 to 15 days. They have also been linked with new markets abroad Community Participation thanks to their digital catalogue. ToeHold is a community-centered At an individual level, the women’s project where the artisans own and livelihood has increased by over 300%

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 129 while the company earns over Rs. 40 organized sector workers. ToeHold lakh per annum. can be replicated across the villages of India where these workers live, Replication & Scalability especially today, with increased There are 2.5 million leather workers internet penetration in rural areas. in India, most of them small and

Conclusions

ToeHold has shown that in light times, but it is also the applications of challenges like globalization, of ethics and a sense of fairness that standardization and the loss of market works. The spirit of entrepreneurship share, even the smallest community has allowed the TAC to help its of leather makers can bounce back women earn better, but also, develop from near extinction if they apply a sense of confidence in themselves. the same principles to themselves. The social implications of Therefore, by wholeheartedly using a dignified income cannot be the internet to attract international understated. Many of the women are clients, and taking cognizance of able to keep their children in school international designs, ToeHold has longer, while 80% of them now managed to stay in the market and have gas connections and improved even increase its productivity as a stoves. Some of them even interacted group. with MBA students at a business Further, through a very democratic school in Hyderabad. They are able process, it has shown that it is not just to shed some of the hierarchy that the blind application of ICTs that help Indian society traps them in. business flourish in these modern

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

The TAC experiment has Also, involving the community demonstrated that ICT tools can be in the implementation process incorporated even into the artisanal also helps ensure that the project sphere to improve quality, design and becomes a long-term venture, with market reach. However, as is the case no party feeling left out or helpless. with many projects, the introduction As the TAC has demonstrated, not of technology needs to be done in only have the women profited a smooth, phased manner, so that personally, but by funneling in money the proposed beneficiaries do not into their businesses and SHGs, they feel intimidated by it. For the TAC have been able to grow it. artisans, trainings were arranged, The access to new markets is and above that, a post has been also a huge benefit of adopting created to interface between them ICTs into the business plan. While and the technology. In time, perhaps, the traditional way of getting new they might be able to handle it clients for TAC is going to trade fairs themselves. and leather fairs, using the internet

130 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints immediately cuts down time and media etc, TAC can potentially cost. With new innovations to the increase its market share even further. website, and making use of social

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 131 DesiCrew Solutions is a rural BPO, DesiCrew providing a complete back of- fice solution for clients through a network of franchised offices in rural India with a competent rural workforce. DesiCrew provides significant scope for maximizing business value through cost man- agement, operational efficiency and innovation. All of this is made possible through a rural service de- livery model, leveraging processes and technology to deliver global service standards across various verticals - Insurance, Market Re- search, Internet & Mobile, E-Gov- ernance, and the Social Sector.

Achievements Category »» Generates, populates and moder- e-Enterprise & Livelihood ates content through digitization, scanning and data entry Organization DesiCrew Solutions Pvt. Ltd »» Provides live chat responses and mailroom activities Platform of product Online »» Helps in new business set-up and project management Website www.DesiCrew.in »» Provides transcription and transla- tion services »» Provides website monitoring

132 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

DesiCrew Solutions takes the BPO Business Incubator at IIT Madras, in model from cities and satellite towns February 2007. DesiCrew’s innovative of cities to rural parts of the country, outsourcing model has two key thus bringing down costs and stakeholders – the community that creating white collar employment runs the DesiCrew delivery centers at the village level. It is a socially and the clients that outsource their motivated business aiding financial jobs. The benefits include a focus and social development. on quality, secure locations, a more Led by Saloni Malhotra, DesiCrew stable workforce, better margins and was incubated by Dr. Ashok corporate social responsibility at no Jhunjhunwala’s Rural Technology and extra cost.

Practise Background

India is known as an outsourcing employ women, and need only a destination because of the cost minimum educational qualification savings the country affords its while others have stricter standards. international clientele. Its salaries Some do not mind working off data are lower than those abroad, as are cards, while others, such as DesiCrew, rentals and incidentals. However, chose their location based on the though the BPO industry saw quality of infrastructure available in impressive growth as a sector, the hinterland. However, the end salaries became higher as did result is the same. infrastructure costs. What seemed like The wage for a person from a a competitive option soon was seen village means much more than as losing its edge. the same amount to a city person At the same time, Indian for obvious reasons: they need not companies also saw the wisdom in migrate to cities in search of jobs, outsourcing basic data entry jobs. and because they continue to live Backend offices, away from the center at home, they need not spend on of town make basic financial sense. travel, rent and so on. As far as the However, even satellite towns such company is concerned, it was found as Gurgaon have become big cities that the quality of human resources is which are rather expensive to operate the same, if not more dependable, at out of. Therefore, a new trend has the small town/village level because arisen, which is to establish these of the base the company is able to backend BPOs in small towns and build. However, establishing itself is a villages. larger challenge, but as the trend has Different BPOs have followed shown, it is a welcome challenge. versions of the model: some only

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 133 Implementation Process

DesiCrew Solutions is a Rural BPO ∙∙ Data Transcription: providing initiative that provides high volume typewritten version of dictation, data related services at an affordable speech, or interview. Services are cost. DesiCrew has its delivery centers available only in Tamil. located in rural areas, which provide a DesiCrew employs unemployed rural cost advantage to the clients with no youth to work on back office jobs. compromise on quality. DesiCrew has The rural graduates require training to 10 functional delivery centers – each increase their productivity and quality equipped with PCs, connectivity and levels. The training given by DesiCrew power back up. Each center is staffed consists of basics of the BPO industry; with a supervisor and 3-10 associates. general skills required to be part of The centers run in one or two shifts of the industry; client specific skills; 8 working hours. importance of productivity, quality The delivery centers specialize in one and deadlines. The training program or more of the following: is between 3-6 weeks depending on ∙∙ Data entry: Digitization of the batch and clients requirements. manuscripts and forms from DesiCrew has also developed 2 insurance companies, telecom web-based applications to organize providers, directories amongst its distributed workforce. These have others. Services are available in been briefly described below: English and Indian languages such ∙∙ Click 2.0: An automated workflow as Tamil, Hindi and Gujarati. application that acts as a virtual ∙∙ Maintaining and updating the office for the rural delivery sales lead database: Creating, centers. Click 2.0 helps manage maintaining and updating and monitor a distributed the client sales lead database, workforce for seamless delivery of language independent. outsourced projects. ∙∙ Data Conversion: Converting data ∙∙ Pegasus: This data entry software from one format to another such is used to enable remote workers as image, word, excel, pdf etc. to convert handwritten data to Services are available in English digital format. The application uses and Indian languages. field validation and double data ∙∙ Proof Reading: A final proofing entry techniques to ensure quality of the manuscript, focused on is built into the process rather cleaning up any typographical than be dependent on individuals errors before the manuscript is working in the system. Based on typeset. Services are available only feedback from the clients in the in Tamil. BPO industry, features have been ∙∙ Type-Setting: Arranging typed added to ensure data security and manuscript into a book as per confidentiality. requirements from publishers. Services are available in English Over the last 2 years, DesiCrew has and Indian languages. delivered over 25 projects with 12 ∙∙ Data translation: Translation of clients in 2 cities. A few significant textual content from English to events are explained below: regional Indian languages i.e. ∙∙ January 2005: Began research on Tamil, Hindi, Gujarati. the Rural BPO model

134 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints ∙∙ August 2005: Delivered the first in Mayiladhurai, Tamil Nadu, India project on English and Tamil ∙∙ January 2007: Felicitated in the Digitization presence of The President of India ∙∙ October 2005: Introduced an ∙∙ February 2007: Registered automated workflow application DesiCrew as a Private Limited - Click 1.0 Company ∙∙ 2006: One of India’s large BPO ∙∙ April 2007: Featured in Business companies expressed interest to Today as ‘Indian’s 20 Most Wired collaboratively work on the model Companies’ ∙∙ August 2006: Released a data entry ∙∙ May 2007: 3 of India’s largest BPO software – Pegasus companies express interest in ∙∙ October 2006: Partnered with the partnering Common Services Program of the ∙∙ June 2007: Pilot test for a back Government of India to pilot the office Finance and Insurance Rural BPO concept in 10 locations company

Project Features

Technology Platform ∙∙ Encourages women & Using basic PCs and a specific entrepreneurship: Individuals set of software, DesiCrew offers who cannot move out of their services from transcription, whip geographic areas because of management, cross browser testing, social commitments especially HR processing, and so on. They feel women are encouraged to work in the company is only limited by client DesiCrew centers. Also the centers opportunities and what they are able are set up with local entrepreneurs to bring to the table. who are responsible for the infrastructure and daily operation Accessibility & Inclusiveness at that center. The idea behind DesiCrew was to ∙∙ Exposure to the global IT enabled counter the attrition in the BPO services and BPO industry industry. Primarily the attrition rate ∙∙ Self Confidence: According to was due to the low level of salaries in the government statistics 70% the industry which mean that people graduates are underemployed or ended up living at lower salaries unemployed for the first 3 working in the cities where expenses were years due to lack of confidence higher. It was felt that if jobs could and poor communication skills. be taken back to where people are In smaller centers youngsters coming from it would become more gain confidence and skills, before meaningful for them and therefore joining the mainstream workforce. more meaningful for the company that was employing them as well. Sustainability & Cost effectiveness For the clients DesiCrew adds value Community Participation by addressing 2 main points: The community benefits in the ∙∙ Attrition: With attrition rates as following ways: high as 80% in the BPO industry, ∙∙ Income: Through outsourced there is a demand for alternate work, DesiCrew adds Rs. 5000+ per locations and pools of trained person that works with them. workforce.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 135 ∙∙ Costs: Lower rentals and rural India, it is clear the concept has salaries help bring down cost of caught on. However, limiting factors operations include availability of electricity (which is a very big problem in Replication & Scalability some states), language (especially The rural BPO has become a popular if the BPO wants to offer voice model across India, with small outfits based services in the future, dialect cropping up everywhere. While becomes very important) and finally, different companies choose where the willingness of a client to let his to start rural BPOs – some close to work be processed in a rural area. the cities while others deeper into

Conclusions

DesiCrew has proven that basic which involve voice based services outsourcing work can be done from such as conversation. Already, those the villages and smaller towns of in cities complain about the lack of India, thereby offering a solution to understanding call center employees the problem of rising costs in the have, and there is all possibility that current metro-bound BPO industry. this problem will increase as the At the same time, as companies grow BPO industry moves geographically within the country, there is now a inwards. However, a solution is to new way for them to save costs, by offer regional language voice services availing of rural BPOs much in the from the heartland, leaving any manner that foreign companies avail English services to urban BPOs. of BPOs in India. In the end, the rural BPO has Moving forward, data entry will proven itself to be a high potential not be a problem as DesiCrew has industry and if infrastructure can keep demonstrated, but there will be pace with growing demands, it is added costs in rural BPOs which need poised to change the landscape of to take on the jobs of call centers small town India.

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

The state of education has improved sector. in India and as a result there are many The trend for urban migration has qualified young people who move long existed all over the world, but to cities in search for a job. Many overcrowding of cities and urban of them end up with small salaries slums have also made it quite obvious that have to pay for their rent, living that even big cities run out of space. expenses and some money back This means, quite simply, we need home. As a result, most of them more cities. The way to start is to take jump from job to job, courting salary these white collar jobs to where the hikes, but at the same time making educated youth are: to smaller towns, it impossible for the industry to hire to villages, and over time, let them people at lower salaries any longer. become centers of progress too. This has been the case in the BPO As has been seen by DesiCrew’s

136 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints experiments, people are ecstatic to savings too. What is good for the be able to find well-paying jobs in community is good for business, and their own towns. At the same time, it makes for a great combination! women, who often are not allowed The success of the rural BPO also out of their houses/small towns, are encourages other sectors to think able to make use of their degree about out of the box solutions to and work in the neighborhood. remain successful and profitable. This allows them to have their own

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 137 The Common Service Centre Common (CSC) program is a public private partnership (PPP) that Service makes e-government services available at the village level, Centre thus dramatically reducing the time and trouble it takes for villagers to pay utility bills, apply for government certificates and carry out other administrative tasks thereby narrowing the digital divide that exists in rural India.

Achievements Category »» Uses ICT tools and internet con- e-Government nectivity to improve efficiency, transparency and accountability. Organization Department of Information »» Established an extensive network Technology, Government of over 85,500 CSCs registered of India »» Provides business opportunities Platform of product for village level entrepreneurs Internet »» Allows augmentation of e-gov- Website ernment services with comple- www.csc.gov.in mentary commercial services for increased financial viability

138 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

The Government of India’s National CSC is expected to serve a cluster of e-Governance Plan has a broad 6-7 villages, thereby covering more vision: to deliver, and make accessible than six lakh villages across India. all Government, Social and Private Under the project, the idea is to Sector services in the areas of facilitate a platform that will enable agriculture, health, education, government, private and social entertainment, FMCG products, sector organizations to integrate banking and financial services, utility their social and commercial goals payments, etc. to the citizens at an and take the benefits of information affordable cost. With this intent, the and communication tools (ICT) to Common Services Centres (CSCs) the remotest corners of the country were conceptualized, as the front for the delivery of government, end service delivery outlets enabling social and business services at the smooth and transparent governance village level. ICTs and internet at the village level. communications were critical for CSCs are envisioned as the front- the proper functioning of the new end delivery points for government, centres and for delivering services to private and social sector services remote locations. to citizens of India. Further, CSCs Other key partners in the scheme will deliver services in the areas include: a village entrepreneur who of telecom, agriculture, health, staffs the office, a technology partner education, entertainment, FMCG that differs from state to state and the products, banking and financial state government. services, utility payments, etc. Each

Practise Background

In India, as in much of the rest of the citizens) at 57. However, of that total, world, the digital divide prevents only 9.5 million came from rural areas, millions of people from participating which puts the rural tele-density in the growth of ICTs and digital substantially lower. Additionally, only innovations or accessing electronic 16.7 million were Internet subscribers media and technologies. It is and only 9.5 million had access to possible, though, for Governments broadband. The urban/rural divide and businesses to use information was also reflected in mobile phone technologies and the knowledge numbers. Of the 635 million wireless economy to help bridge that divide. users in 2010, only 33% came from In India, the digital divide is rural areas. large. According to the Telecom The aim of the Government Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) of India’s National e-Governance Quarterly Report for June 10th, the Plan (NeGP) is to ensure ‘last-mile’ total number of telecom subscribers connectivity, that is, to “make all (both hard-wired and wireless) in public services accessible to the the country was over 671 million, common man in his locality, through which put the overall tele-density common service delivery outlets and (the number of subscribers per 100 (to) ensure efficiency, transparency

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 139 and reliability of such services at Administrative Reforms and Public affordable costs to realize the basic Grievances (DAR&PG), the NeGP was needs of the common man.” Created approved by the Union Government originally by the Departments of in 2006, in order to boost Information Technology (DIT) and e-governance initiatives in India.

Implementation Process

Part of the National Common certificates and payments of utility Minimum Program, the national bills (electricity, phone, water). The government implemented its intention is also to provide high e-governance program, as a 3-tier quality and cost-effective audio-visual public private partnership (PPP) and text content and services on the consisting of the CSC operator, called web platform in order to provide the Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE), information and services in areas the Service Centre Agency (SCA) that of education, health, telemedicine, is responsible for a Division of 500 to entertainment amongst other. 1,000 CSCs and a State-Designated In theory, the CSCs offer a wide Agency (SDA). By including local range of government services as well entrepreneurs and businesses, the as some private services. In reality, program expands the scope of its not all intended services have come benefits by creating employment and on stream. In addition to that, the entrepreneurship opportunities. necessary link between the CSCs and Online CSC e-governance services the state-level government agencies include online application forms, has not been established in all places.

Project Features

Technology Platform Community Participation The CSC system relies on desktop The CSC program was rolled out computers and associated peripherals nationwide, to all states and union at CSC centres, connected to the territories. Operating at the village regional and national network via level makes e-government services the Internet. CSC operations are more readily available to all rural monitored by proprietary software. residents in the country. At the village level, CSCs are operated by Accessibility & Inclusiveness Village Level Entrepreneurs, thus The CSC program was rolled out creating business and employment nationwide, to all states and union opportunities for locals. territories. Operating at the village For the digitally illiterate in rural level makes e-government services areas, the CSCs may be their first more readily available to all rural exposure to the capabilities of digital residents in the country. At the technologies and the Internet. village level, CSCs are operated by Village Level Entrepreneurs, thus Replication & Scalability creating business and employment There is a huge potential to augment opportunities for locals. businesses with complementary

140 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints computer services and to capacity building at the scale of substantially scale up e-literacy in the CSC program would have a rural areas. Not only do the nationwide impact. beneficiaries of CSC services save Initially, the target for the time and expense paying bills, CSC program was to have one recharging phones etc., but they lakh centres located in one lakh are also exposed to computers, the villages with each centre serving Internet and software, many for the approximately six villages. Since first time. This could help scale-up then, however, the Indian President the country’s overall e-literacy rate. has revised the mandate, requiring The National e-Governance Plan 2.5 lakh CSCs with each serving two is large and complex. In 2010, it to three villages. While increasing consisted of 20 central departments, the accessibility of the centres, this 360 departments across 35 states would also reduce the customer base and Union Territories and 500 of each one and could negatively implementation agencies. To impact the financial viability of each effectively operate such a broad centre. network, it will be necessary to In order to expand, CSCs will have employ more experts, develop more to commercialize their offerings so skills and provide more training. that villagers can monetize their Three specific capacity gaps experience and have the means to at the state level that need to be purchase more products and services filled are hiring more personnel from the CSCs. e-choupal gave with appropriate background and farmers a way to sell their produce to aptitude, training existing personnel new markets. Similarly, CSCs could who have inadequate skill sets and provide an avenue for farmers to the organization of appropriate sell their produce and wares to earn institutional frameworks to handle money. In this way, the CSCs could the specific program. This kind of scale up their operations.

Conclusions

The impact of village-level CSCs was in May of 2009 by Bherevishnu, a studied in two villages: Thane District, primary teacher, and his wife, Vishaka. Maharashtra and Karmnagar, Andhra Its operating hours are 6am to 10pm Pradesh. The following results were and it serves their village of 1,200 as found. well as twenty other nearby villages. For rural villagers, access to As a result of this one CSC, services essential commodities and services have become much more accessible has always been difficult. Even for thousands of villages, who where there is electricity and other previously had to travel two hours by infrastructure, simply paying a utility bus to Taluka Shahpur, the nearest bill or lodging a service quality centre. grievance can be very difficult and In Choppandi, Karimnagar, Andhra require travelling to the District Pradesh, Santosh Reddy, a 25 year- headquarters or a larger town or city. old entrepreneur, opened his CSC The CSC in Birwari, Taluka Shahpur in 2009 and also installed additional in the Thane District was started computer equipment. Serving 15,000

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 141 people in his mandal, it stays open all large town to pay bills. Alternatively, day and doubles as the local internet villagers would be forced to pay café. bills on a given day of the month Anecdotal feedback from both when the electricity department Thane and Karimnagar indicate representative came to the village that the CSCs have saved villagers to collect. Otherwise, it would mean significant time and travel expenses the long journey to town. With CSCs related to paying utility bills and other and online services, villagers have errands. For example, previously it a lot more flexibility to pay at their could four to six hours or up to a full convenience and according to their day and Rs. 50 to travel to the nearest cash flow.

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Effective roll-out of nationwide unorganized (despite the promising CSCs requires an understanding of growth in ICT infrastructure and e-governance. In general, however, information system in urban areas). this is not the case equally across The work on ambitious CSC the country. By and large, the project is in progress and currently program has been more successful implementation is going on in 35 in states such as Andhra Pradesh States and UTs. The CSCs are being than the BIMARU states (Bihar, set up by private franchisees called Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar the Service Center Agencies (SCA) Pradesh). – have already been appointed in Though the potential for providing most of the States. The SCAs further much-needed government services appoint Village Level Entrepreneurs to rural areas is huge and the (VLE) to run and manage the prospects are encouraging, the CSCs in pre-defined locations. The effectiveness of the CSC program has Scheme is being implemented not been even across the country. in a Public Private Partnership While some CSCs, such as in Thane (PPP) framework with a focus on District and Karimnagar, do offer rural entrepreneurship & market government services, other areas are mechanisms. not so well served. The CSCs focus on content The strategy has been evolving customization and multi- lingual with time, and taking into its fold delivery of end-to- end services for new approaches such as participatory income enhancement in the rural local governance, community areas. As previously mentioned, there development, technology diffusion is a low awareness level amongst and rural entrepreneurship. While villagers about the services offered the participatory local governance at CSC centres. On the other hand, and community development there is a demand for services that approaches have been well absorbed may not actually be offered, such and adopted by the Government as vehicular service tax in Andhra agencies; the induction of ICT and Pradesh. Therefore, additional ‘rural entrepreneurship’ into the rural advertising and outreach and development domain by NGOs at the coordination with local Panchayats grassroot level, has been more or less may be necessary to improve the

142 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints effectiveness of the scheme. - through a bottom-up approach A CSC is positioned as a Change having a key focus on the rural citizen. Agent as it - promotes rural Awareness-raising at the district entrepreneurship, builds rural level and entrepreneur selection and capacities and livelihoods, enables training at the village level is critical to community participation and effects the success of the CSC. collective action for social change

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 143 NREGAsoft involves the applica- NREGAsoft tion of a number of ICT tech- nologies at the Panchayat, Block, District and State levels of the system and resulted in reduced cost and corruption, increased ef- ficiency and improved transpar- ency, accountability and trust.

Achievements Category »» Uses a centralized Management e-Government Information System, smart cards, biometrics, GPS and broadband Organization Internet service to streamline the Ministry of Rural employment insurance program Development, Government and minimize waste and corrup- of India through the State tion Government of Jharkhand »» Ensures that core banks make Platform of product zero-balance bank accounts avail- Internet able to the rural poor, who previ- Website ously would not have qualified www.nrega.nic.in »» Involves State, District, Block and Panchayat level governments

144 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

A number of ICT initiatives were Smart cards, hand-held mobile introduced at both the State and biometric identification devices national levels in order to ensure and a wireless Internet platform, the effective implementation of in combination with a centralized the Mahatma Gandhi National Management Information System, Rural Employment Guarantee Act helped the scheme function (MGNREGA, or NREGA). This case efficiently, with reduced corruption study examines the impact of the and increased transparency and NREGAsoft initiative in the Ranchi accountability. District of the State of Jharkhand.

Practise Background

The aim of the MGNREGA, passed by and levels; and coordination is the Indian Parliament in August of handled at the and District levels. 2005, was to enhance the livelihood Any adult member of a rural and security of people in rural India household could apply to the Gram by guaranteeing a minimum of Panchayat for a job card by providing 100 days of paid employment per the necessary details. The job card year to any rural household whose would contain the photographs of adult members would voluntarily do all the members of the household unskilled manual work. This work, in who were willing and able to work. turn, would be part of other projects With the card in hand, the candidate directed directly at issues that could then apply in writing to the contribute to rural poverty: drought, Gram Panchayat for work and would deforestation, soil erosion, etc. be given a dated receipt. The person Thus, the act was intended was guaranteed an offer of work to create a win-win situation, within fifteen days of the date of simultaneously addressing application or, failing that, would be both unemployment and rural eligible to receive unemployment development issues. Initially allowance. Wages would be paid on implemented in 200 of the most a weekly basis starting a maximum of backward Districts in 2006, it had two weeks later. been rolled out across the country by Although MGNREGA was hailed April of 2008. as breakthrough legislation, there are Key stakeholders were the genuine concerns that corruption Central and State Governments, the and substandard service delivery Panchayats and local communities. mechanisms nullified any potential Wages and a portion of the material benefits for the poor. Complaints and administrative costs are were received of the widespread covered by the Central Government; existence of ghost workers, Unemployment allowance and discrimination in awarding work, the balance of material and delays in preparation of muster rolls administrative costs come from State and delayed payments. Governments; implementation is There were also widespread managed primarily at the Panchayat allegations that Panchayats were

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 145 floating bogus companies and The scope of the problems with the furnishing fake bills in order to skim implementation of NREGA in general, huge amounts of program funds and with payment of wages in from the higher levels of government. particular was widely acknowledged.

Implementation Process

To address these implementation functions and transactions in a problems, the Ranchi District publicly accessible online database pilot project was launched using (www.nrega.nic.in) that makes Information and Communication near-real time record-keeping and Technologies (ICTs), Internet easy tracking possible. The website connectivity, mobile biometric contains data on 2,50,000 Gram devices, Smart Cards and GPS. Panchayats, 6,465 s, 619 Districts Prior to that, ICT interventions had and 34 States and union territories. been introduced at the central Being in the public domain, the government level in order to improve information can be accessed by transparency, accountability and bureaucrats and citizens alike, thus efficiency, in particular, a web-based improving accountability. NREGAsoft Management Information System also includes a Grievance Redressal (MIS) called NREGAsoft. System for residents to make and NREGAsoft captures all MGNREGA trace complaints.

Project Features

Technology Platform hours) and muster roles, or job-site NREGAsoft is a workflow-based attendance records, have also been management information system digitized. (MIS) with built-in checks to verify Pragya Kendras, or Common data entry and minimize errors and Service Centres, situated in many deliberate misuse of the system. Panchayats help implement the It utilizes the Internet for all data computerised NREGA system, thus entries and at all government providing a system of e-governance levels, from the top right down to through e-nagrik seva kendras where the Panchayat level. Data entry is citizens can access information handled by computer operators about government schemes and and Rozgaar Sevaks. In Jharkhand, official forms such as certificates the State Internet service, JharNet, of birth, death, income and caste. is mainly available at the Block and These CSCs are often situated in District levels. As a result, when there villages, thus eliminating the need are connectivity problems at the to travel to larger centres to conduct Panchayat level, data cards are used government business. temporarily until they can be sent to Smart cards containing workers’ the for computer entry. biometric data (finger/thumb Job cards, worker data (eg. their prints and iris scans) and personal output, location of work and work information (name, address, date of

146 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints birth, gender, spouse) were issued voice frustrations. to all workers registered under Prior to the pilot program, it was MGNREGA. Starting in 2008, they not possible for the poor to open also became mandatory for wage zero-balance bank accounts. As a distribution, which would only be result of NREGA, all participants were done through post offices and banks. able to open zero-balance accounts At the time, the majority of workers, through the Core Banking System. however, did not have access to bank This improved their financial agency accounts, more than 60% of the adult and made it easier and more practical population in rural Jharkhand were to save money. not served by banks and more than 80% had never used formal credit or Community Participation The pilot project is available to all financial services. people in the test area. Community Consequently, in July of 2010, participation was enhanced in a as part of a pilot financial inclusion number of ways: the automatic project launched in three Blocks payment system made it easier for of Jharkhand a number of national citizens to participate, eliminated banks, classified as Core Banking the need to travel long distance Systems and Nodal Banks, permitted to receive payment and assured beneficiaries to open zero-balance that they received all the benefits bank accounts accessed via smart they were entitled to. Also, as the cards. To process payment, bank new system eliminated some of personnel travel to remote areas the frustrations that people had and use mobile hand-held devices experienced with the old one (delays, to verify a workers’ identity using middle-men, opaqueness), it naturally fingerprint information, then transfer fostered trust between beneficiaries payment to the workers’ bank and the government and boosted accounts and issue receipts. This participation. system reduces, if not eliminates, the time and cost of travel for the worker. Replication and Scalability An e-knowledge network was The current initiative is a pilot also created by the Ministry of Rural project in one District in the Development in association with State of Jharkhand. In order to the United Nations Development expand it across the State and Program (UNDP) to support State and the entire country, will take a District level NREGA officials and help substantial investment from the them address common problems central government. Additionally, by sharing questions, experiences, in order to function across the best practices and proven practical country, additional Internet service solutions. infrastructure will be required where it hasn’t been set up yet or where it Accessibility & Inclusiveness isn’t dependable or fast enough yet. Publicly accessible online information There are plans to expand the about applications, transactions and use of biometrics to take worksite payments makes the system easier attendance, sometimes more than to track and monitor for beneficiaries once a day, and transmit it to the and human rights organizations. central MIS via wireless broadband NREGAsoft’s grievance redressal Internet, or offline if the Internet system gives citizens a regulated system happens to be down. This channel to lodge complaints and

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 147 would improve abuses by ghost cards could pose an obstacle to workers and absenteeism. The added expansion of the system. cost of smart cards relative to job

Conclusions

Because all records were publicly level increases the accessibility accessible and easily traceable, the and reduces the travel time for ICT technologies introduced to beneficiaries. the MGNREGA program resulted in NREGAsoft makes all information reduced corruption and financial regarding muster rolls, worksites, leakage associated with ghost job cards, vouchers, bank account workers, ghost firms and fake material numbers etc. available online, orders, increased transparency and thus improving efficiency and cost-savings for the system and transparency and reducing increased financial agency for the corruption and delays. At the same beneficiaries. Furthermore, biometric time, it increases the credibility of the verification and direct payment to government, welfare agencies and beneficiaries prevented wages being beneficiaries. Furthermore, because diverted by payment officials or records are created in real time, middlemen. data is available immediately and In addition to on-time and processing times are reduced. For predictable payment of wages, the example, if a bank delays payment pilot system also made it easier transfer after the transaction is for beneficiaries to keep track approved, the records will clearly of expenses and manage their show it. savings, thus providing improved The use of ICTs improves access financial stability and rainy-day to information, efficiency and funds for emergencies. Previously, information dissemination. The beneficiaries tended to receive lump system is virtually paperless, saving sums in cash. The pilot banking both time and resources. Public program means they can withdraw access to information via the website what they require when they need it. eliminates Right to Information (RTI) The automatic payment system applications. Data compilation and also reduced the cost of participation analytics can be useful for future for the beneficiaries. Previously, the projects or for improving the current typical rural person in Jharkhand one. Inputting information to the had to travel an average of 20km to MIS directly from the Panchayat level access a bank and then queue for eliminates the need to transfer paper up to 3 hours to reach a teller for records to the offices as well as the payment. Effectively, this wasted associated delays. a full day of their time. After the NREGAsoft assists government implementation of the pilot project, agencies implementing the project however, payment officials come to at several levels: at the Panchayat them to process payment, effectively level, by tracking the employment, eliminating the time and expense of households and benefits and travel. Similarly, the ready availability generating documentation; and for of Pragya Kendras at the Panchayat program officers and administrators,

148 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints by making information about funds applied for and positions offered and location-specific information immediately accessible. such as number of workers, work

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Reliable connectivity is problematic slips online using the National Portal. in Jharkhand and, as a result, many Therefore, an extensive Internet tasks are conducted offline with data system is required to fully implement entry taking place at a later time the system, as envisioned. when the Internet is up and running Not all stakeholders have equal again. This results in delays, errors access to information and, therefore, and duplicated work. Connectivity they don’t all have the same ability to is also required at worksites to verify use and monitor the system. attendance and generate payment

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 149 “Students Health Information SWHITS Tracking System (SWHITS) is an ICT and mobile driven applica- tion using a widely accessed form of simple technology, to bridge the gap of information between the administration and the grass root level institutions.

Achievements Category »» Monitors the health information e-Government of the students on a daily basis, especially the outgoing students Organization like S.S.C. students, final inter and Centre for Good Governance final year degree students Platform of product »» Develops MIS reports in various online/mobile formats including tabular, graphi- Website cal charts and Google maps www.swhits.cgg.gov.in

150 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

The Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare the general health of children as Residential Educational Institutions an SMS to the centralized office. A Society (APSWREIS) has 353 simple software (J2ME application) residential educational institutions using templates to furnish these with total student strength of basic details is installed and used 1.54 lakh. It is funded by the state on the mobile phones of the school government and administered by authorities to simplify the process of an IAS officer. The monitoring of sending the SMS. The administrator the health of these students using is alerted with a blinking signal on manual methods proved strenuous, the Google map when an institution expensive and not always yielding reports more than 10 pupils suffering the expected results. SWHITS was from a single category of disease. developed to overcome this problem. A tool in the application shows the Using SWHITS the Principals/ direction on the Google map from Medical Officers of the residential an institution to the nearest Primary schools send the daily status of Health Centre (PHC).

Practise Background

Healthcare, especially at the rural level It is in the backdrop of these has always suffered because lack of revelations that the state needs adequate prevention and treatment to think of other ways to monitor especially in the case of children. children’s health. Tracking their More than half of Indian children health in school is one such option under the age of five do not get the especially when that data can be health care they need, according to a monitored. SWHITS is an innovative report by Save the Children, released scheme initiated by the government, in 2011. The report also suggests aided by technology, so as to that there are not enough primary ensure no delays in the transfer of healthcare workers to tend to the information. needs of young children.

Implementation Process

To monitor the health of students mechanism of the health of the in all 353 residential schools under school children, in increasing APSWREIS, an ICT driven application transparency and reviewing of the came into existence called, “Students hygiene environment maintained at Health Information Tracking System” these residential institutes. – SWHITS. This aimed to fill the This project is an innovative scheme gap witnessed in dissemination of in monitoring the health status of information from the institute to the poor children from disadvantaged head office. Its primary objective sections of the society enrolled in is to provide a better monitoring these residential schools.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 151 ∙∙ The Principals/Medical Officers of of graphic charts and pie charts the residential schools send daily demonstrating the spread of diseases status of the general health of at various administrative levels viz. children (including cases requiring state, zone, district and institution minimum treatment) as an SMS to level. Department officials can initiate the centralized office. action to mitigate the situation and ∙∙ A simple software (J2ME take preventive measures based on application) using templates these reports. The reports both on to furnish these basic details is Google map and in tabular formats installed and used on the mobile depict the status of messages phones of the school authorities (received with errors, without errors) to simplify the process of sending and institutions that reported no the SMS. incidence of sickness. ∙∙ The server side software Google map reports show the application captures the SMS geographical presence of the using a GSM modem and the institution with its health status. database is updated with the Density of the institutions at district appropriate interpretation of the level or zonal level which require text message. medical attention over a period of ∙∙ This application also checks the time indicate that the officer at that format of the text message and level has to pay more attention in alerts the sender with a reply improving the health situation in the message in case the text is not institutions under his/her jurisdiction. sent in the desired format. Another facility integrated in the ∙∙ The concerned authority is application shows the direction on required to resend the SMS in the the Google map from an institution desired format until its receipt is to the nearest Primary Health Centre acknowledged with a confirmation (PHC) or the one selected from the message. available PHCs in the district. ∙∙ Utility of the J2ME application Any third person visiting the home at the client end, rules out page of the project also has access this problem, but it is limited to all this information. This facility by the fact that the clients’ enables any NGO, media, volunteers phones are not always capable or government department to be of accommodating the J2ME aware of the situation and help the application. institute. Administrators are also facilitated with automated SMS alerts MIS reports are developed and made daily at 10:30 AM and 12:00 noon available to the administrators in providing information regarding various formats including tabular, the number of institutions that have graphical charts and Google maps. reported already, the institutions yet The administrator is alerted with a to report and the number of institutes blinking signal on the Google map with a problem. This facility keeps when an institution reports more the administrators attentive to the than 10 pupils suffering from a single problems and principals/medical category of disease (irrespective of its officers to be cautious in sending the strength). SMS updates on time. Time series based reports are For the purpose of setting an SMS developed for the purpose of review format, the students were divided by the administrators in the form into two categories. Students passing

152 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints out from the institute in the present response and administration further year and writing their board exams encouraged the principals/medical (such as S.S.C. or Final Intermediate, officers to keep the project ongoing. Final Degree) make up the first The benefits of this programme category and all the remaining were witnessed when, for the first students make up the second. time, the secretary of the department Health and attendance status are called on the district collector to received in a single statement of SMS conduct medical camps at the separating this information with a schools where the situation was space from the first category to the being alerted continuously over second category for the specified a period of time. A health score code of the sickness. The first calculation is also done based on category, i.e. outgoing students, are the information available, giving observed more keenly to help them weightage to various types of in being healthy while facing the sicknesses and the incidence of competitive exams, thereby helping such sicknesses in institutions. The in a successful career path. institution that maintains good Though there was some initial health through the year is adjudged resistance from the principals/ the best, and those at the bottom medical officers in sending the SMS are paid more attention to in the daily, gradually its importance was following year. accepted. The scheme’s success The innovation here in the project lay in the fact that the programme is the use of a widely accessed form effectively helped in the review of of simple technology, in bridging the attendance and health status the gap of information between the of the schools regularly by the administration and the grass root administrators. This resulted in level institutions. It is a monitoring initiation of appropriate measures of system that builds up an extensive action to improve the situation of the database with commonly used affected institutes. The efficiency in technology.

Project Features

Technology Platform of its technology design which has The technology platform has been led to its accessibility. Since there is kept very simple so as to ensure no manual collection of data and a all principals and medical officers defined time period within which to participate in SWHITS day. Therefore send the message, it has been easy to messages can be easily sent from convince the schools to participate. both simple mobile phones and At the same time, the website which conversely, smartphones. The data houses the data is freely accessible to is crunched together and put on the all who wish to see it. website so that all those visiting the website – officials/media/parents Community Participation Most of the information is made alike – can understand what the available on the web without any numbers mean. user id and password to bring in Accessibility & Inclusiveness transparency in the process of The scheme is successful is because governance. Information like total

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 153 number of institutions, how many departments. However, all open are sending sick details through SMS, source technologies are used. total strength, the day’s attendance, alarming institutions (institute which Replication & Scalability The project is indeed replicable and have more than ten students in scalable. Right now it only looks at one category of sickness), students a very specific number of schools. It suffering with particular disease, could well be expanded to include graphical representation using regular government schools (outside charts can be accessed without of these boarding schools) and finally authentication. even private schools. The health data Sustainability & Cost Effectiveness could be officially shared with the The project is not totally sustainable health department in order to track on its own. Though the recurring health and also outbreaks of any costs are not heavy, they need to diseases, water contaminations and be supported by the concerned so on.

Conclusions

Health is important for any The essence of the entire performance, and to that end, needs programme lies in the simple to be tracked. This is why tracking functionality of the Principal/Medical health and collecting data is both Officer as the medium of input to sensible and imperative. In order provide the health and attendance to bridge the gap between data information of the students collection and decision making, the which results in outputs easily SWHITS application was developed understood by the administrators. and has been launched successfully With its continued use, as problem for the Social Welfare Residential areas are attended to swiftly and Educational Institutions. By using this comprehensively, efficiency of the application, the concerned officers whole system could be brought can monitor the health details and about. This project clearly illustrates attendance of students on regular that a simple gadget like the mobile basis. In addition they can send phone need not be limited in its email and SMS alerts to particular utility, but can prove to be useful for institutions to take appropriate the general good of the society. measures.

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Designing programs, which help the lives of many little girls studying deliver very important needs – such in these residential schools. That the as tracking children’s health – need data is going to a central server also not be very expensive or complicated. forces accountability on the teachers SWHITS uses SMS and open course who need to then explain what software in achieving this. This actions they took to help the girls’ project has helped track and improve condition improve.

154 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Further, it is a tool in the hands basis. Far too many times different of the school staff to get timely government departments function in help from the PHC or larger hospital isolation when they should be talking because the central command can and sharing data, and this program help them by making calls. This is is a very good example of how to possible because now the two facets introduce that dynamic elsewhere. are constantly in touch on a daily

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 155 Old Age Pensioners Payment & Old Age Monitoring System is a web based software program supported by Pensioners’ UNICODE which has been developed and implemented for the payment Payment & monitoring of the national old age pensioner beneficiaries scheme like and Indira Gandhi Pension, State Pen- sion and Widow Pension. It is a pilot Monitoring program to automatically, efficiently and transparently distribute pen- System sions to rural pensioners living below the poverty line and eliminate the corruption experienced with previ- ous manual systems.

Achievements Category »» Develops an efficient, transparent, e-Government accountable system by simplifying pro- cess of pension payment Organization Old Age Pensioners’ »» Developed a mechanism for selec- Payment and Monitoring tion of new beneficiary System (OAPPMS) »» Ensures delivery of services through Platform of product bank/post offices using CBS & Non- CBS mode in optimally shortest pos- Web Based sible time Website »» Eliminate intermediaries www.dhanbad.nic.in http://164.100.150.4/ »» Removes burden of movement of pensioner/index.aspx the Beneficiary to district/block of- fices »» Ensures proper monitoring and su- pervision »» Encourages the poor to manage bank accounts and long-term sav- ings »» Streamlines the bureaucracy as- sociated with processing pension applications and distributing social benefits »» Protects against fraud and corrup- tion

156 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

The Old Age Pensioners’ Payment software namely Old Age Pension and Monitoring System (OAPPMS) Payment Monitoring System with was a pilot project based in the integration with CBS and Nodal town of Dhanbad, Jharkhand that Banks and post offices was set up to improve the flow of ∙∙ Pension amount disbursed in pension benefits to the elderly and beneficiary’s bank or post office those with disabilities and reduce the account in two ways, either inefficient bureaucracy of the existing through treasury banks or through manual system. It was started as a nodal banks through RTGS pilot project in Dhanbad, Jharkhand ∙∙ Digitization of information and disbursing up to Rs. 400 per month uploading of data on centralized for the area’s approximately 50,000 database system senior citizens over 65 years of age The Old Age Pensioner’s Payment living below the poverty line, credited and Monitoring System pilot project to a bank account wherever possible. has brought about much-required The need of an ICT application in reforms in a system marred by graft, National Social Assistance Programme fraud, frustratingly long delays and (NSAP) was felt during inspection of complete lack of transparency. blocks and after meeting a number Now connectivity to beneficiaries of old age pensioners where it was is provided through kiosks, with found that existing pension disbursal biometric recognition and an RFID administration is marred by delay, card for recognition. The pension uncertainty and non-transparency. is now credited directly into a post In order to achieve the defined office or bank account, and payments vision and to meet the stated are dispersed within five days of the objectives a task force was transfer of funds. In the past, getting constituted at the district level in pensions could take up to six months, the chairmanship of the Deputy and obviously large sums as bribes. Commissioner which involved all stake holders. It was thought to Benefits of the web based system establish simple, accountable and Government to Citizen (G2C) include: transparent system for sanction, ∙∙ Timely and regular payment of monthly payment, record keeping, pension flow of funds and information cutting ∙∙ Cost and Time saving for down through the several layers of beneficiary governance. The innovative approach ∙∙ No need to wait for any was adopted taking leverage of ICT announcement of camps for the to develop and implement Old Age payment on a date fixed by the Pensioners Payment & Monitoring block administration. System, based on an end user ∙∙ Elimination of Middlemen. approach. ∙∙ Inculcation of saving tendency amongst beneficiaries The broad steps involved in the ∙∙ Introduction of BC model enabled project were: doorstep delivery of the govt. ∙∙ Opening of accounts of all services. pensioners in banks and post ∙∙ SMS alerts keep the beneficiary offices updated about the status of their ∙∙  Development of web based

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 157 bank account ∙∙ 6 Layers (As many as 5 Layers Benefits of the web based system diminished). Government to Government (G2G) ∙∙ Financial instrument –Zero. include: ∙∙ Paperless transaction – ∙∙ CSC, Bank Branches & Post office Environment Friendly. serving as delivery outlet. ∙∙ Now Detailed Contingent (D.C) Bill ∙∙ Bill preparation at one place in one in place of Advanced Contingent office at District level. (A.C.) bill produced at Treasury (AG ∙∙ Only 8 Bills being generated compliant process). (Comparatively reduced to very ∙∙ Cost of delivery drastically reduced few). (I.e. 1/10th)

Practise Background

The existing pension system suffered or block level from delays, pensioner uncertainty, ∙∙ Resistance to change 15 years old a lack of transparency, bribery and government process fraud. As a result, pensioners often ∙∙ Lack of computer skill among had to wait three to six months to employee receive their benefits, all the while ∙∙ Lack of faith in the ICT at the Block/ dealing with a lack of information at Panchayat level the Block/District level. Delays were ∙∙ Breaking the hegemony of also caused by the system’s inherent intermediary red tape and bureaucracy. For ∙∙ Making payment at the doorstep example, clarifications on submissions for first time in the district could be very time consuming, taking ∙∙ Compilation of mobile numbers up to two years to be settled - and and enabling SMS alerts system at not always to the satisfaction of the the Bank level beneficiary. A survey of the existing The application includes features like manual system indicated further online monthly advice generation, shortcomings: irregular payments, continuous online updating of data corrupt middle-men and a lack of of old age pensioners, online receipt accountability. of fresh application forms of pension Given these conditions, the challenge from kiosks(pragya kendras). for this project was to create a The new pension disbursal system more efficient, timely, convenient, has helped district administrations transparent and tamper-proof in tracking every single rupee of pension benefit payment system over several crore rupees spent that saved time and money and for pensioners every month. The eliminated the role of the middleman. web based ICT application has Other challenges included: developed an efficient, transparent, ∙∙ Opening of accounts of large and accountable system of pension number of pensioners in Bank/ disbursement through bank/post Post Office offices. Meeting its objective, the ∙∙ In-house development of software application facilitates selection of ∙∙ Digitization and authentication eligible beneficiaries, timely pension of data without having complete disbursal, total financial inclusion, record of beneficiary at the district delivering convenience, and finally

158 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints achieving the goal of NSAP. force for other work, while leveraging The project has also resulted in technology to reduce work load of improvement of productivity of the the panchayat sewaks. Its success has block development officer (BDOs), ensured that the application is being and panchayat sewaks; so as to extended to other programs too. facilitate usage of the available work

Implementation Process

The Old Age Pensioners’ Payment collected within three days of its and Monitoring System is a web- due date, payment is delivered to based system that takes care of the beneficiary’s home; accurate monthly pension payments through records are made of beneficiaries Core Banking System (CBS) and nodal and payments and new applications banks, allows continuous online are processed online. As a result, monitoring and updates of pension waiting time has been reduced from data and processes new applications. approximately a year to less than Here’s how it works: monthly thirty days, and sometimes as little payments are distributed within as one week; and duplicate and five days of the transfer of funds; if fraudulent claims are more easily beneficiaries are physically unable recognized and dealt with than to make their way to the Pragya before. Kendra kiosk or if payment is not

Project Features

Technology Platform gets diverted by middlemen. Connectivity to beneficiaries is typically done from Pragya Kendras Community Participation The program involved all eligible kiosks. Enhanced biometric pensioners in Dhanbad. recognition provides security. Personal RFID cards are used for Replication and Scalability identification and a 128 bit SSL secure The project has been replicated in channel using NIC JSU software is other Districts of Jharkhand and used for encryption. applied to new programs. For example, banks have used the model Accessibility & Inclusiveness as a business correspondence model Accessibility and inclusiveness have to transact doorstep payments to been improved under the new beneficiaries. The system could also automated system. Pensioners easily be extended to other branches who can’t make it to a kiosk to of the National Social Assistance collect payment for reasons of age, Program (NSAP) including the Indira frailty or disability will have their Gandhi National Widow Pension payments delivered to the door. New Scheme (IGNWPS), the Indira Gandhi pensioners don’t have to wait as long National Disability Pension Scheme as they used to to start receiving (IGNDPS) and the Swami Vivekanand benefits. More money makes its way handicapped Pension Scheme, to into the pensioners’ hands and less

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 159 government scholarship schemes or along with the doorstep delivery. to other social welfare programs. The database being created can The system could be enhanced with be used for research or other social SMS/text alerts and the introduction programs, either by the government of Swap Cards for Payment, UID Card or NGOs.

Conclusions

The comparative analysis by the re- The Block office has also experienced engineering and streamlining team the following efficiencies and identified the following benefits for cost savings: they no longer have the 50,000 beneficiaries of the new to handle the lengthy process of automated system compared to the distributing money by organizing previous one: camps; monthly reports to the ∙∙ Improved governance and Panchayat are no longer necessary transparency and reduced because the information is available corruption and double-dipping online; the number of enquiries ∙∙ Timely and cost-effective has reduced significantly; tracking disbursement of payment for pension payments has been the aged and for people with streamlined. disabilities (eg. doorstep delivery) Additionally, pensioners report ∙∙ Preservation of data for analysis that the new system has encouraged and tracking them to save their money since it ∙∙ Promoting the cause of financial is no longer necessary to maintain inclusion and encouraging liquidity due to uncertainty of pensioners to have bank accounts, payments. Since the local kiosk is manage their savings wisely and easily accessible, money remaining in earn interest rather than collecting the accounts earns interest, an added their full pension amount all at one benefit for the pensioner. time

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

With such a large project, technical A system should be devised so difficulties and coordination between as to credit the amount of pension departments pose challenges. One payable to each beneficiary directly key to success is having a motivated into his account either in a Post Office team of competent professionals or in a scheduled commercial bank. to ensure that the often complex In compliance of the said directions and daunting tasks of software and also in order to increase the development and large volume transparency and accountability in data digitization and authentication the implementation, it had been are handled capably. The National decided to computerize the data Information Centre found that regular base of the beneficiaries under meetings and progress updates were various schemes of NSAP. NIC very helpful in resolving some of has been accordingly entrusted these challenges. with the project and the software

160 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints development. The software captures Opening pensioners’ bank or post all the essential processes from office accounts with a zero balance identification till termination of also proved difficult. Low-staffed the pension. The legacy date of rural branches required considerable more than 1 crore beneficiaries has training to understand and embrace been placed on the NSAP website. the system and be able to deal with States have been asked to start pensioners on a day-to-day basis. operationalizing the software for Suitable staff with proper computer the districts for which data has been skills is, therefore, a key challenge to uploaded. scaling the system up.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 161 ‘ReALCraft’ is a work flow based Fishnet online application system for Vessel Registration under MS Act ReALCraft and License Certificate under MFR Act to the fishing vessels operating along the Indian coast. It is a national project sanctioned by the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisher- ies, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India for implementing in all coastal States and UTs.

Achievements Category »» To prepare a National database for e-Government fishing vessels. Organization »» To prevent illegal, unregistered NATIONAL INFROMATICS and unreported (IUU) vessels in CENTRE, KERALA STATE the territorial waters. CENTRE, »» To facilitate optimum utilization of Platform of product the fisheries resources. Web/Internet »» To strengthen coastal security. Website »» To strengthen security of fisher- www.Fishnetkerala.gov.in men in the sea

162 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

`Fishnet ReALCraft is an e-Governance levels during the processing of the portal-cum-web based workflow application for different services, based application developed by changed vessel parameters and NIC for the Fisheries Department. details of fee submitted etc. The project components include a ∙∙ Barcode for individual certificates knowledge-based portal with online for checking its validity. administration facility, and application ∙∙ SMS Service which enables system for registration and licensing vessel owners to get status of of fishing vessels. their application just by sending The major advantage of the application reference number system is its role in ensuring coastal through SMS. Security Agencies security. The application helps to can get Vessel information by check and track suspicious vessels sending vessel identification in Indian waters, and by providing number or registration number instant information of a specified or license or permit number vessel. It is implemented successfully or communication equipment in all 5 fisheries stations, 9 marine number.(EPIRB, SART, DAT) districts and 3 zonal offices of Kerala through SMS state. This is the first step towards ∙∙ Provision for flash news to officers bringing multiple registration systems on impounding details and other to a single registration scheme. After important activities. the Mumbai attack GOI decided to ∙∙ Online technical support for rollout the same in all coastal states software users. and UTs with slight modification. ∙∙ Role Based Dynamic Menu mapping for the individual user. The key features include: ∙∙ Security features provided at Menu ∙∙ Work flow-based interface – level, Function level, Application Provide user-friendly workflow Level and Application status level. based interface for the approval ∙∙ System generates automatic of applications at various levels registration number, license (entry of application, verification, number, vessel identification approval). number etc. ∙∙ Facility for comparing original ∙∙ Automated fee calculation, based documents with the scanned on type of service and vessel documents. attributes. ∙∙ Less Paper Concept - Scanned ∙∙ Automatic generation of Engine application forms reduces the Numbers for assembled engines need of physical movement of which have no engine number. the application form to the higher ∙∙ Online Help Facility offices for its approval, making the ∙∙ Defining office wise administrator process much either and faster. for managing users, defining roles ∙∙ Keeping the history of vessel ∙∙ Maintaining master data and applications and vessel attributes Setting alerts. – System maintains the record of ∙∙ Online support for queries. remarks of the officers at various

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 163 Practise Background

When the 2008 Mumbai Terror non fishing vessels and felt the need Attacks took place, the country was to streamline the registration regimes aghast that there could be an attack adopted by various Central and State through the coast. Further, it brought legislations such as MS Act ( Merchant into focus the haphazard nature in Shipping Act), MPEDA (Marine which coastal fishermen took out Products Export Development their boats, often with note made of Authority), State MFRA (State Marine their being gone or having returned. Fisheries Regulation Act) In fact, because of the small and In the future, the plan is to attach dingy nature of most fishing vessels, it GPRS systems to the vessels so as to is a challenge to keep track of them. track them when they are out at sea, The Government of India and most especially if they go missing emphasized the need to register all in those stormy waters. the fishing vessels and other small

Implementation Process

Fishnet ReALCraft is been developed ∙∙ Issuing of duplicate registration by the National Informatics Center certificate/license certificate. (NIC) for the Fisheries Department ∙∙ Change of ownership and crew using LAPP technology. The project details. components include knowledge- ∙∙ Change of vessel attributes (this based portal with online site includes engine, structure, gear, administration facility, application fuel tank, lifesaving equipment, system for registration and licensing insurance details and so on). of fishing vessels. ∙∙ Impounding of fishing vessels. The project has many objectives, ∙∙ Issue of permit to other state the first of which is efficient and vessels for fishing in Kerala water. transparent administration. The ∙∙ Fishing license for the vessels second is an effective monitoring registered with other valid system that can only be developed by agencies. a good work flow based interface. The ∙∙ Flash news about the impounding system is designed to be user friendly of vessels and other important as well, and especially because vessel events. registration requires the approval ∙∙ SMS service to public and marine of the application at various levels. enforcement (coast guard, navy Finally, the key point is to make sure etc). the delivery system has improved and ∙∙ Unique Barcode for individual it is easy for not just the government certificates. official who is registering the vessel, The use of ICT tools for registration but the fisherman, to get his work of certificates and fishing licenses done. has completed replaced the manual The following functions are delivered system. The work flow is also very under Fishnet ReALCraft simple and officials who are not ∙∙ Renewal of license. very familiar with computers can

164 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints learn it quite easily. The system also 2. Initiatives implemented under prevents multiple registrations of the G2B: same vessel, which was the major ∙∙ Providing departmental drawback of the manual system. informatics in local language It also prevents the intrusion of through portal vessels from outside the state. An ∙∙ Providing MIS reports through additional perk of stopping multiple portal registrations of the same vessel is in 3. Initiatives implemented under the reduced discretionary powers of G2G and G2E: a local official, who could previously ∙∙ Generation of reports at any harass a fisherman. level There is also no need for the ∙∙ Information about office, vessel physical movement of files from ∙∙ Upload guidelines, schemes, officer to officer as data is moved G.O. , circulars electronically. This means that if a ∙∙ License, registration status vessel has been impounded, it can be ∙∙ Departmental informatics fed into the system and the security services in local and in English agencies will be alerted. The system language through portal provides for SMS facility as well, ∙∙ Monitoring of system at various whereby both vessel owners and levels security agencies benefit. ∙∙ On line review of officers Many of the features that the project ∙∙ Electronic movement of data has are meant to simplify the process saves government in terms of of vessel registration so that we can money keep our coasts safe. ∙∙ Reduces malpractices in the 1. Initiatives implemented under fishing sector using duplicate G2C: engine registrations which also ∙∙ Status of license and registration saves government in terms of through portal and SMS money. ∙∙ Benefit oriented schemes ∙∙ System provides instant through portal information on vessel structure, ∙∙ Location of offices through fuel capacity, lifesaving portal equipment and other crucial ∙∙ Information about Govt. GOs. information to marine force and orders through portal using centralized database. ∙∙ Down load application forms ∙∙ Online facility to check the through portal validity of the certificate for ∙∙ Providing departmental enforcement agencies. informatics in local language ∙∙ Capacity building at all levels through portal ∙∙ Email account creation to all departmental officers.

Project Features Technology Platform with e-services at the top, Govt. ReALCraft is developed in LAPP intranet in the middle and functional (Linux, Apache, PostgreSQL,PHP) applications at the bottom. architecture. It has three layers ∙∙ E-Services layer is the front-end

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 165 layer, which interacts with citizens applies. The local officers are, in any and offers services to the citizens. case, situated close to fisherman There are several methods, such as covers and therefore it is highly touch screen kiosks, Internet, SMS accessible. Local languages are used, and front end counters by which making the project inclusive. the citizens can interact with system. Community Participation The fisherman community has been ∙∙ Intranet layer is the Intranet able to register their vessels with Services layer, which offers lot of ease through this scheme. In the next collaboration services and tools stages, they will really benefit from such as E-Mail, Messaging, bulletin Fishnet ReALCraft, when fishermen boards etc.. crews get IDs and later, GPS can track ∙∙ Back Office layer is the key them in the ocean. functional area comprising of all the functional modules with Sustainability & Cost effectiveness which the Government staff will This project has been implemented work and carry out the backend in the nine marine districts of Kerala. operations. Over 21,000 fishing vessels have already been registered, and since the The registration is done through fishing license is issued for a period of a computer in a reasonable time one year, the renewal option is also span. At the end, the fisherman is being used regularly. A well-designed presented a laminated registration data base on fishing vessels has been card which he must keep with him developed and maintained. Based and show to officers when asked. on this, the Ministry of Agriculture, The system can be accessed Government of India, decided to roll either by Intranet or Internet. All the out the project to other maritime servers (Web / Appl. Server, DB Server, states and UTs of India, based on Replication Server) are installed at the the Kerala model. Since all of these National Data Centre with maximum will be state-funded, the project is security. Audited version of the sustainable. application has been hosted. SMS queries are directed to the SMS Server Replication & Scalability As mentioned, the project is being Accessibility & Inclusiveness replicated. Its scale and powers will The system has been designed to also be increased over time, but using make life easier for the fishermen of it not just as an identification system Kerala, especially as tighter security but an ICT enabled system which is the need of the hour. A unique helps keep track of the vessels. barcode for individual certificates is generated for each fisherman who

Conclusions

Fishnet ReALCraft is an e-governance security in a big way, by helping avoid portal-cum-web based workflow infiltration by the sea, provided all sea application developed by NIC Kerala going fishing vessels and boats are for the Fisheries Department using registered. LAPP technology. This project has Fishnet ReALCraft has been been started to improve the coastal successfully implemented in all the

166 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints marine districts of Kerala. This project and their movement in all the coastal will be rolled out in all the remaining states and UTs. The coastal security coastal states / UTs. Fishnet ReALCraft has become an important issue after is facilitating online licensing & the 26/11 incident and this project registration system for fishing vessels assumes greater significance because and a database on fishing vessels of this.

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Fishnet ReALCraft’s efforts to boost easy to keep track of them. coastal security has come at a time Infusing ICTs into this when this is the need of the hour management system immediately to keep India safe from any harm at allows these records to be accessed its vast coastlines. There is also an in different states, thereby saving increased threat to fishermen, with the fisherman and authorities the clashes with other countries and headache of double checking. The also the changing weather pattern. project is progressive and a welcome Ultimately, it is imaginable that addition to India’s e-government fishing vessels do not have a standard efforts, but needs to reach its full registration system that can make it potential to be truly path breaking.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 167 Akshaya, an innovative and Akshaya ambitious project initiated by Kerala state IT Mission (KSITM), is aimed at bridging the digital divide, and addressing the issues of ICT access, basic skill sets and availability of relevant content.

Achievements Category »» Creating & expanding economic e-Government opportunities in the knowledge economy Organization Akshaya »» Empowering individuals and communities through enhanced Platform of product access to information Broadband/office »» Modernising and upgrading skill Website sets of ordinary citizens www.akshaya.kerala.gov.in »» Integrating communities through creation of e-networks »» Creating awareness of ICT tools and usage »» Generating e-content useful to the common man in local lan- guage »» Generation of service delivery points even in the remotest areas »» Generating at least 15,000 job op- portunities »» Generating direct investment of over 500 crore rupees

168 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

Akshaya was started as an e-literacy centers. In everyday parlance, project in 2002 in Malappuram Akshaya would be known as a Citizen district of Kerala. It started with Service Center set up through a creating micro entrepreneurs in each public-private partnership. panchayat. Though originated as an Its specific objectives are to bridge initiative to address the backwardness the digital divide (e-literacy to the of Malappuram district, Akshaya was masses), to bring citizen services to conceived as a landmark ICT project the door step of public, to become a by the Kerala State Information one stop shop for all citizen services, Technology Mission to bring the both government (G2C) and business benefits of this technology to the (B2C) and finally, to give a citizen entire population of the State. The friendly face to the government. The modus for this was establishment of target group for Akshaya is essentially grass roots level ICT centres at the all citizens and there has been an Panchayat/Municipal ward level. effort to ensure there is an Akshaya After a successful pilot it was rolled center within 2-3 kilometres of every out in the rest of the state. Since its citizen. inception in 2002 for e-literacy in Since the control is within Malappuram, Akshaya has grown the government Akshaya gets many fold. In 2006, Akshaya moved the credibility of a government into phase two of the program, organization while at the delivery starting new G2C and B2C services. level there is a corporate approach Akshaya has to its credit over 200 of welcoming every citizen with a crore rupees worth transactions friendly face. The overall aim of taking besides providing multitude of the Government to the citizen was services through its 2000 Akshaya thus achieved without any hitch.

Practise Background

Despite having an educated In fact, as technology becomes populace, it was felt that only a more central to the flow of section of educated among the information, and its immense value in Kerala population utilized the bettering and streamlining projects services of information technology has been understood, it was only a for further economic development. matter of time that a strategy had The vast majority did not take to to be devised to ensure that there this technology for consolidating was equal access to technology, and and furthering the achievements on conversely, technology was used to the social front. There was a need reach the common man. for removing the digital divide in Based on this idea, Kerala State IT the society. The population needed Mission launched Akshaya with the to be equipped with the tools of aim of bridging the digital divide, Information and Communication address the issues of ICT access, basic Technology (ICT) to achieve tangible skill sets and availability of relevant progress. content. Akshaya was started with

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 169 creating the micro entrepreneurs in very successful program in Kerala. each panchayat and today runs as a

Implementation Process

Akshaya has offices in all fourteen through a web portal (www.e- districts in Kerala which have been krishi.org). set up under the State Cell, which in ∙∙ Rural e-banking & financial turn reports to a State Level Executive services. Committee which is under the Chief The Akshaya center is manned by the Minister. Therefore, engagement private entrepreneur, and is opened with Akshaya directly reaches the top for the majority of the day. Citizens levels. pour in at all times with the intention However, it is under the district of paying their bills, buying tickets offices, at the local panchayat level, and so on. The government has that Akshaya centers truly reach the provided these services as services people on the wrong end of the which the entrepreneur can offer, digital divide. The investment for and once the transaction is made, setting up the e-centres is made by the entrepreneur is given a fee. As a the local entrepreneurs, as this is a result, it incentivizes the entrepreneur public-private partnership. to keep his center open so that he The list of services provided by can make more transactions. Akshaya includes: Since the center is equipped with ∙∙ E-Filing of tax returns for computers, printers and the like, it commercial taxes by traders. only makes sense to utilize them for ∙∙ E-Payment of selected utility bills, something beyond simply front end KSEB, regional transport authority, delivery of services. Therefore over local self-government institutions, time, not only did business services welfare fund boards, universities, start, but the centers themselves KSFE etc . began to be used for computer ∙∙ Online submission of application classes, typing, English and so on. for ration card. This way, the entrepreneur not only ∙∙ Online registration for supplements his income but helps comprehensive health insurance spread ICT in his area. for APL families on behalf of CHIAK From the government’s point of (Comprehensive Health Insurance view, the Akshaya centers are well Agency for Kerala) . established routes of offering new ∙∙ E-Ticketing for railway, air travel services to more and more citizens. etc. Therefore it has been decided by ∙∙ E-Content on education, career the Registrar General of India (RGI) building, health, agriculture, and to utilize the Akshaya Network for law in Malayalam. digitizing the Schedules of National ∙∙ E-learning: multimedia aided Population Register (NPR) and also training programmes, Intel capture of biometric images (10 Learning, IGNOU, DOEACC, finger prints and both Iris), under the Medical Transcription training. Unique Identification Number. ∙∙ E-krishi platform for transactions Similarly, Akshaya centers allow for between buyers and sellers enrollment and renewal of Rashtriya

170 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), and These numbers also give a great have already of 18 lakh BPL families. indication about the reach of Akshaya It has also enrolled 17 lakh families in Kerala. on behalf of Comprehensive Health Insurance agency of Kerala (CHIAK).

Project Features

Technology Platform Sustainability & Cost effectiveness Akshaya services can be accessed in Akshaya project is extremely person, at an Akshaya center, through innovative in its approach. No other a computer and internet connection. project in India or abroad aims at Some services, such as computer such a mass e-literacy campaign lessons etc, can be offered offline as across the entire length and breadth well. of the state. The very concept of having at least two Akshaya Centre Accessibility & Inclusiveness Entrepreneurs (ACE) in each village Services at Akshaya centers and being within two to three kms – accessible to every citizen of every family has made the project geographically -- are available in extremely ambitious. Creating so the local languages, making them many micro entrepreneurs (over highly inclusive. At the same time, 2000) with control and guidance with its e-literacy and ICT related through a government-operated service delivery project, it has made setup makes Akshaya a unique the region more digitally inclusive. model. Through the e-literacy program Akshaya is also a very sustainable Akshaya could provide computer model where each ACE is totally training for 30.82 lakh people across self-sustainable by the income earned the state. The lack of access to through transactions. Thus there is no government services was solved by cost to the government by increasing Akshaya. the number of ACEs on a required Community Participation basis as the number of services The Akshaya model is very increase, and therefore the profit community oriented. Its physical margin increases too. placement focuses on serving the Replication & Scalability community, as does programs it The CSC model, called Akshaya in runs, including e-literacy programs. Kerala, operates around the country. Often, during the summers, the CSCs go by different names in centers are filled with school children different states. However, the exact taking computer classes during their structure of the CSC design, from holidays. It allows people to easily top to bottom, differs from state to pay bills, get certificates and tickets state as well. As it stands, the Akshaya without having to go very far from design is highly replicable. their communities. And finally, the When it comes to scale, however, entrepreneur is a local person who there is an Akshaya center for ends up becoming important in the every family within a 2-3 km radius. local community. More Akshaya centers in the same

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 171 neighbourhood would only mean continuously growing. Based on fewer profits for each center, unless that factor, Akshaya can certainly be the demand for the services is scaled up.

Conclusions

Under the NeGP (National citizenry and good infrastructure such e-Governance Plan), the government as electricity goes. For those, and the of India has made concrete steps to exact structure of the Akshaya model, bring government services and ICT this version of the CSC has done very closer to citizens, no matter where well. It goes without saying that other they live. Kerala, for its part, has been states would do well to draw from blessed with an already educated Akshaya’s strengths.

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Akshaya is an enormous step towards e-transaction, e- governance etc. making the Government accessible Thus, the project is having a long- to citizens, in ways that can not only standing impact on the social, save huge costs to the Government economic and political scenario of but also make it more transparent the State. and efficient in its day-to-day Akshaya’s success can be gauged interactions with the common man. from how effective it is in helping To that effect, the role of Akshaya the state reach the average citizen. e-centres, envisioned as the front-end The identity cards – UIDAI – scheme delivery network for Government was administered through Akshaya services is remarkable for the strides it centers as a natural solution, because has already made. of its impressive reach in the state. Akshaya envisages to be a bottom- Other states are keen to follow the up model for imparting e-literacy model closely and Akshaya experts training, delivery of content, services, have gone even to the Lakshadweep information and knowledge, that can islands, to help them set up their own allow like-minded public and private version of Akshaya. enterprises - through a collaborative By reaching the remote rural framework - to integrate their goals locations of the State on a sustainable of profit as well as social objectives, basis, and offering a variety of world- into a sustainable business model class services, the Akshaya e-centres for achieving rapid socio-economic encourage social inclusion of hitherto change in rural villages of the State. hereby marginalized communities Today, Akshaya is acting as an and under-privileged sections of the instrument in rural empowerment rural society. The project opens up and economic development. The immense opportunities for women project is a catalyst in creating participation at various levels. The massive economic growth and higher level of response from the creation of direct and indirect women sector is due to the factor employment in the State by focusing that the project creates opportunities on the various facts of e-learning, at their doorsteps.

172 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Outside of e-government and has made it a modern marvel in e-business these centers will become some ways, and it is highly advised centers of learning for ICTs. The that other states also push to ready state infrastructure as a site duplicate these efforts to help good for learning and engaging with governance and the spread of ICT, the government at the same time thereby reducing the digital divide.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 173 IPaidABribe is Janaagraha’s IPaidABribe initiative to tackle corruption by harnessing the collective energy of citizens. Citizens can report on the nature, number, pattern, types, location, frequency and values of actual corrupt acts on this website. The reports, per- haps for the first time, provide a snapshot of bribes being paid (or taken), across Indian cities.

Achievements Category »» Provides a place for citizens to e-Governance report corruption and corrupt of- ficials Organization Janaagraha Centre for »» Analyzes the information and Citizenship and Democracy therefore aims to heighten citizen awareness about the nature and Platform of product spread of bribe-related exchanges Web based »» Helps citizens to recognize, avoid Website and tackle bribe paying situations, www.IPaidABribe.com identify and analyze the work- flows within corruption prone public services »» Results in suggestions on system- ic reform directed at entrenching more transparent processes, and finally, more consistent standards of law enforcement and better vigilance and regulation.

174 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

There have been many ideas on how corrupt practices. to tackle corruption, none of which The portal is a way to bring have really worked in a country like together the citizen and the India, where corruption is a part government by allowing a safe of society. The portal, IPaidABribe place where bribes can be put on tries to collect these experiences of the (digital) table and government corruption, as a window to society authorities can decide on how to by encouraging people to write improve certain services and systems about their experiences with bribes. which are prone to corruption. The website does not encourage Ultimately, the website essentially people to give names/dates – it is serves as a one-stop-shop for not interested in pointing fingers – corruption. While the platform allows however, it does collect the nature, the user to report bribes paid, resisted number, pattern, types, locations and and situations where he encountered frequency of actual corrupt acts and honest officials who streamlined values of bribes. processes for him, it also serves as This information, it is hoped, will a platform for users to learn about add up to a valuable knowledge bank how not to pay bribes through the that will contribute to a reduction in various FAQs on the platform. The bribe payments. www.IPaidABribe. website also looks at educating com believes in systemic change people about government processes. and hence their solution lies more From corruption news, advice column on taking the processes online and a forum to discuss various and terminating human interface corruption-related topics, IPaidABribe and thereby reducing corruption. is a platform for anyone and everyone Simply put, technology can put an who has faced corruption wants to end to the discretionary aspect of know about it and who wants to fight government, which often leads to it.

Practise Background

India has been plagued by corruption In fact, ordinary Indians have been for decades. The ‘license raj’, when so agitated by corrupt government the government had to give an officials that in 2011 a movement impossible number of licenses for called ‘India Against Corruption’ simple businesses led to many became one of the biggest civil arbitrary authorities asking for a society movements in India’s modern bribe. Corruption has not slowed history, and forced Parliament to down even after liberalization. In deliberate on a Bill that would put in 2011, the Political and Economic Risk place an anti-corruption body to look Consultancy Ltd rated India at 8.67 on at the workings of the government. a scale of zero to 10 with the high end However, smaller civil society being the worst case of corruption groups have been campaigning scenario and ahead of the Philippines against corruption from time to time. (8.9 points), Indonesia (9.25 points) This portal is an example of that. The and Cambodia (9.27 points). idea of IPaidABribe has emerged

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 175 and evolved over time. It began due were added. It was decided that the to a discussion between members portal had to be a multifaceted site, of the NGO Janaagraha, as a simple providing a variety of services to means of tracking the market price people. of corruption. Over time, more ideas

Implementation Process

The website, available to the public exhort them to resist corruption since 2010, has very well defined at their level, when transacting sections with specific aims. It is meant with the department concerned to heighten citizen awareness about through the FAQs, citizen-charter the nature and spread of corruption, directory, forum and blogs. and start a public debate about the ∙∙ Fourth, www.IPaidABribe.com issue. works with the government in implementing process www.IPaidABribe.com follows a four- reforms. It also proposes to step cycle: highlight successful examples of ∙∙ First, citizens are encouraged to government having improved report their corruption related processes and spread the experiences; where they paid knowledge of such reforms bribes, successfully resisted bribes amongst citizens. or were not pressurized to bribe because of a responsive process or www.IPaidABribe.com consists of an honest government official. two facets: The online and the offline. ∙∙ Second, citizen reports are The online display consists of various analyzed to ascertain patterns features. Some of the key features are: and trends of corrupt practices. ∙∙ Bribe Reporting: The raw report, as Work processes are dissected provided by the individual logging to pinpoint corruption prone in, can be seen under the headings steps and bottlenecks in ‘I paid a bribe’, ‘I didn’t pay a bribe’ process workflows. Based and ‘I didn’t have to pay a bribe’. on these, IPaidABribe makes ∙∙ Ask Raghu: Citizens can post recommendations on process various queries on this space. With reforms that reduce red tape and 26 years of experience with the opportunities for corruption. These Indian Government, Raghu guides might be a simpler and more citizens through various processes transparent procedure, a better as well as advices on how to designed website, or more long- avoid and resist this menace of term reforms requiring policy and corruption. This section has had legal changes. well over a thousand questions ∙∙ The third stage comprises of answered on Ask Raghu and gets two facets. It engages with the about 20-30 questions per day. government and presents its ∙∙ Bribe Analytics: The bribe analytics findings and recommendations on www.IPaidABribe.com provide to them on how processes can be a city-wise and transaction-wise streamlined to reduce corruption. data on the numbers of bribes It also simultaneously alerts paid, the amounts paid and citizens about these matters and averages. It allows the user to

176 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints manually as well as automatically the offline or the advocacy part of look at bribe numbers and amount the initiative. The idea is to quickly as per cities and departments. bring out compiled, but insightful ∙∙ Blog: The blog is used as a reports for the general public as well platform to put out all corruption- as for the government, showing related articles as well to bring out the patterns of corruption and the advocacy work of IPaidABribe giving suggestions as to the process on to the forefront. changes that must be brought about ∙∙ FAQs/Forum: IPaidABribe believes to reduce the opportunities for that corruption also exists because corruption. the citizens are unaware about These reports, termed the government processes ‘Janamahithi’ (Jana = people, and the procedure to procure Mahithi = information) will also these services. It provides a list contain information on how citizens of questions and answers, and can avoid paying bribes by taking updates them as frequently as some simple precautions, doing possible. The forum also provides their homework and paperwork in a platform to the citizens to start advance and adopting certain styles discussions on various topics and of behavior. IPaidABribe released allows people to contribute to the the first Janamahithi on the Motor same. Vehicles in November 2010 and the second one on Department of The second facet of IPaidABribe is Stamps and Registration.

Project Features

Technology Platform Community Participation www.IPaidABribe.com is easily The website has received around accessible on any computer with 16000 bribe reports and more than an internet connection. The site 7.5 lakh have visited the website, was developed using drupal based as of mid-2011. On the governance technology, and is updated regularly front, IPaidABribe has published an with new posts and other relevant analysis report on the bribes paid in information. the transport department following which its members were invited Accessibility & Inclusiveness to make a presentation before the While IPaidABribe may have made RTO officials as well as to provide its mark online, the team is acutely recommendations on how to render aware that the site is accessible only the services corruption free. In June to 6% of the Indian population. Its 2011, they were invited by the next step is to take the services to Chief Secretary Karnataka to help larger numbers of people through make reforms in three departments: mobiles. It is also only available transport, registration and electricity in English, and to have more supply. participation from Indians across economic strata, will have to start Sustainability & Cost Effectiveness local language editions. Institutional donors and organizations such as Dell, Microsoft, and Adobe have all contributed to the website

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 177 along with other donors. brought about in many languages and on various platforms, such as Replication & Scalability mobile. It can be developed as an Crowd-sourcing as a method to fight app, or a sms newsletter. There are corruption makes IPaidABribe unique. endless possibilities for the website It idea is replicable, as well as highly to evolve. scalable, especially since it can be

Conclusions

Getting upset about corruption is the most topical information of not new, but this website allows the day on corruption, informative people to actually “do” something and entertaining videos explaining about it. IPaidABribe believes that complex issues and analysis of corruption thrives due to a lack of current issues. knowledge of people about how The IPaidABribe blog serves as to access government services as an exchange for diverse opinions; a matter if right. It aims to educate perspectives and events related to people through the FAQ section, and corruption, be it a newsy piece on therefore continuously updates it the march against corruption in new questions and answers. Bangalore or an in-depth analysis of The site needs to remain fresh, the Lokpal bill in a seven part series, engaging and informative to IPaidABribe provides all of it on one ensure that people connect to it platform. With the citizens finding and learn from it. This is why plans a home on the internet, to both such as providing information on share and react to their experiences government services under each with corrupt practices, IPaidABribe department for each state in India hopes to effectively mobilize the are underway. IPaidABribe intends government and citizens in working to be a one stop shop on news on together towards a corruption-free corruption, including presenting society.

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Corruption was something most against Corruption’ tap into popular Indians grumbled about, yet accepted sentiments and lobby for laws to be as a part of their everyday life. The enacted, projects such as IPaidABribe popular belief was that this was the have turned the very nature of way business was done in India and corruption on its head. a kickback, be it to a government official or a private company, and It has brought corruption into the was just part and parcel of the Indian clear view of the internet, and every experience. Over the last few years, harassed citizen can share his/her things have begun to change with story about unfair bribes demanded citizens standing up for their rights. (and paid by) them. Using this While larger movements such as ‘India information, not for persecuting

178 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints individuals, but studying the patterns but this is a tangible, positive way of corruption and then introducing to channelize that energy. A project systemic change is a wonderfully such as this truly highlights the power novel concept in the country and can and untapped potential of ICT tools go a long way, if sustained. Crowd in helping society make positive sourcing has been around some time, transformations.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 179 ●● One stop solution to all the Prison problems related to prison management. Management ●● A replicable model, all over India supporting efficient, time System bound, rights based, cost ef- (PRISMS) ficient and transparent admin- istration of prisons.

Achievements Category »» Introduction of the Touch Screen e-Governance Kiosk Application helped prison- ers access all information related Organization to their PDR, PPC and the status Goa Electronics Limited of their various application, First Platform of product Fully fledged implemented prison Internet management system in India Website »» Staffing and posting of jail guards www.goaelectronics.co.in is now totally automated process with facility to generate posting at one click »» Besides the prison officials PRISMS has brought in impor- tant stake holders like- Prisoners, Victims and Judiciary. »» An implementation in 2005 today comes as an paperless office, less manual work & centralized oper- ated & managed MIS »» Online court hearing facility avail- able in the project features of PRISMS

180 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

PRISMS is a comprehensive Prison integrated system. The sustainable Management e-Governance initiative aspects of the application ensures its in Goa, the first of its kind in the replicability all over India supporting country. It is seen as an effective efficient, time bound, rights based, information communication cost efficient and transparent technology enabled prison administration of prisons. administration and management PRISMS had has its own share system with the objective of of challenges and limitations. providing an easier, effective, and The implementation challenges efficient mechanism benefiting the were in motivating the staff in the prisoners and the concerned prison new system, system design and department. It is considered as a deployment with 23 diverse modules, one stop solution to all the problems network building, and ensuring related to prison management. system foolproof and monitoring. The period prior to The objective of the case study implementation of PRISMS was is to analyze PRISMS, implemented marked by multiple complexities in jails and judicial lock-ups all over and hurdles. These included manual Goa by the Office of the Inspector based time consuming process, General of Prisons. The analysis is human errors, insufficient security divided into 5 major sections and due to time consuming record focuses on a detailed analysis of keeping , difficulty in visitor’s the pre-implementation state of management, insufficient calculation the project, the current status with of correct remission and release respect to the proper functioning dates, delay in application process, and benefits provided by the system, negligence of records and so on. challenges and lessons learnt during The short comings fostered corrupt the implementation phase. In terms and inefficient administration and of methodology secondary as well as compromised constitutional rights of primary data was collected, involving prisoners and the rule of law. interviews with all stakeholders Post PRISMS implementation involved, namely the office of the the system has worked out to Inspector General of Prisons, agency weed out key limitations of prisons who designed and implemented the management in Goa. The new system solution, the prison management has enabled drastic improvements staff, and the officers working with in prison administration and in the the system as well as the prisoners. lives of the prisoners. A synchronous The findings produced in the case relationship has emerged between study point towards the positive the positive changes and the impact of e-governance programs application of the web based, with regard to integrated and holistic user friendly, password protected prison management.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 181 Practise Background

Prison management is a daunting cases where remission needs to be task and especially when the calculated. This was seen as against numbers are too high to handle, the value of “the concept of freedom”. resources are minimal to manage Another problem occurred was and there is lack of trained in connection with wages earned manpower to manage pressures by the prisoners. In many instances and crisis situations. Prior to the they were left in the dark about how implementation of the Prisons much money they had earned and Management System (PRISMS), Goa’s “felt cheated”. Further, prior to the prison management scenario was implementation of PRISMS anyone typified by key challenges on and off. visiting the jails would be shocked These included “time consuming and to find that “everything was in human errors prone” administration shambles, registers were not properly of “records and registers” in regard maintained, torn, filled with mistakes to the maintenance of individual which indicated casual behavior characteristics and history of the and negligence.” Thus the manual prison inmates; “management system left many things to be desired. hurdles in compilation and analysis Manual administration affected the of data”; and challenge in successful probable date of release of a prisoner implementation of “the rule of law”1. representing a violation of the basic For example, the manual visitor’s rights of prisoners. management of the earlier days was Additional problems were related not able to track photographs of to parole. The delay in parole was visitors, fingerprints taken were not a major affair with applications recorded, it was difficult to track the pending for more than a year which previous convictions of the inmates makes clear that parole was not with regard to other trials pending being processed in time. This was and so on. Remission, release and certainly seen as a major flaw in the bail calculations were extremely time system since it represents a right to consuming and prone to human the prisoner who is entitled to parole errors. Sharing of the data available and furlough. The parole surrender within the department or other days were often forgotten within stakeholders was a problem. the manual system and there were The system “was all about fraud instances wherein the administration and malpractices.”2 Many prisoners “only after month realized that the felt they will never be released from guy has run away”.3 In addition jail though prisoners sentenced during the pre implementation for life do have the right to be period the victim compensation fund considered for release after a period was not implemented and “nobody of 14 years of prison terms. These knew about the rules”, but in the aspects were neglected and proved process of designing the system they to be difficult for technical reason in learned about it and therefore it was

1 During the study work conducted in May 2012, Mr. Mihir Vardhan, head of Goa State prison and collector of North Goa and Director General of the Prisons Department Goa, gave his views thus (May 27, 2012) 2 ,3 Discussion with Mr. Vardhan (May, 2012)

182 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints incorporated into the management to wake up, something was radically system. wrong and we needed a cure, whole Thus the issues were no less system was going down, hence serious and urgent remedy was something radical needed to be required. “We realized that we had done.”3

Outcome & Benefits (Implementation Process)

The PRISMS practice has entailed prisoner empowerment” which the following desirable outcome & is safeguarded through the benefits: accurate and fast calculation of 1. The system is designed as an PDR, instant information on wages easy to use and to provide earned and PPC as well as the timely delivery of information accurate Information of status of through real time operation of parole, furlough, bail and transfer the system. This actively supports applications. the transformation of the state 4. The system further supports the prison system towards modern work of the police department administration. This also fosters by “providing access to all the process of more transparency information related to prisoners as within the system through the well as their visitors and relatives. 4 above described services. 5. The new system has provided 2. The system further enables the much relief to the prisoners. Jail Prison department to limit its touch screen kiosks have been expenditure as it is fixed by the installed, and the prisoner can system. It additionally guarantees “operate it himself” in order to timely administration due to the find out about the details, such as option of the Fast track Module on wages. the one hand as well as through 6. The other very important the advantage of making use of advantage is related to the the “tightly integrated system section 436a which is described with auto data posting between as “an under trial detection alarm modules”. This “avoids redundant system, where the maximum data entry and management” period of sentences is taken emphasizing the importance into consideration”.5 Under this of a natural data flow without section a prisoner is entitled to 436 unnecessary repetition. It is which is release on bail whereby securing a severe reduction of the system gives an automatic paper work fostering speedy implication that the person has and efficient work processes and completed half of his sentence. accuracy, and error free release of This becomes known to the officer data calculation. 3 in charge who then informs the 3. Another benefit is the “transparent advocate and the judge leading to and humane approach to the successful release of prisoners

3Discussion with Mr. Vardhan (May, 2012) 4Discussion with Mr. Vardhan (May, 2012) 5Discussion with Mr. Vardhan (May, 2012)

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 183 in relevant cases. system which calculates the 7. The advantage of the system sentences, remission, release dates entitles the prisoner to undertake automatically and without human vocational training. This includes errors” 7.Since the application is acquiring all kind of skills, such web based, there is no need of as tailoring, carpentry, bakery, separate installation at the client and computer courses. These end while the application can reform based activities leads to be accessed using any standard maintenance of a profile of each browser over Goa Broadband prisoner. This helps administration Network using username and to connect correctional prisoners password. with new life and livelihood 10. The high value of the system was opportunities post release. confirmed by feedback collected 8. Another important step forward from jail stuff, prisoners and under PRISMS is the availability of victims during the study. The the medical history of the prisoner prison authorities confirm the through the system. In the central “relief from tedious paperwork” jail there are provisions for a saving a “great deal of work”. It is permanent doctor and visiting further pointed out that “some doctors in the other jails while the prisoners have been released system maintains the history of on bail who has been found medication prescribed and helps eligible for bail under section to monitor the prisoner’s health 436a through our system”. status”. 6 Victims interviewed stated that 9. Overall, PRISMS “it’s not just compensation has been granted computerization but complete to them through the victim automation and an intelligent compensation fund.

Issues & Challenges in Implementation

1. The deployment and service delivery to the Citizens, implementation of PRISMS had lack of enthusiasm from certain its own share of challenges and sections of the Departments to use issues. The following challenges the application. 9 were listed during the period of 3. There had been absence of proper project implementation: 8 finalization of the requirements 2. Among the main challenges faced by the department resulting in include “improper automation project over runs and the need and workflow in the application to invest more time on capacity leading to its none usage, while building of the nodal officers of other issues faced relate to a the departments to understand lack of standardization in the the concept of BPR, Change application, lack of emphasis on Management, and Software

6Discussion with Mr. Vardhan (May, 2012) 7CSI Nihilent e-governance award website 8Discussion with Mr. Vardhan (May, 2012) 9Discussion with Mr. Vardhan (May, 2012)

184 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Development Life Cycle (SDLC). manual system to the ICT induced 4. Design and deployment of 23 system. The manual system was in modules under PRISMS ranging place for 40 years and the officers from prisoner information over time had got used to a certain management module to escort way of working and thinking, so management was no less there was resistance in connection stupendous task. The system took with applying PRISMS. about 6 month, 3 month trial. 6. Another challenge which was Making the system inclusive was revealed during the fieldwork is a holistic challenge along with the fact that the PRISMS system training of the jail staff to use the is not implemented in the ladies system. ward. The reason cited is there 5. Additionally “even with the best are only approximately 30 ladies technology in the world the stationed who are engaged success of it always depends on in different type of vocational people, their mindset, attitude and training. It is shared that because way of thinking which finally make of the few numbers personal the difference” a statement which attention can be given to each and points towards challenges with every woman regard to switching from using the

Project Features

The PRISMS practice offers the responsibilities of the executive following vital services to its and clerical staff with regard to stakeholders: all aspects of prisoner information 1. According to the prison authorities management consisting of the centralized database-3 tier- personal information of the web based system within the inmate such as registration framework of its 18 functional Number, nationality, age and modules and 2 MBPS connectivity height, biometric identification, across all jails and judicial lockups photographs, marks of identity, provides a holistic understanding employment, address or religion and 100% coverage of all prisoner and including a list of visitors related processes “across all jails expected to visit the jail with and levels of prison administration” details of contact and relation to fostering “capacity building with a the prisoner. focus on e-Governance and better 3. PRISMS further computerizes manpower utilization” in all prison inmate prisoners’ “admission, and judicial facilities in the state of release and remission processes Goa. 10 including the calculation 2. The 18 module system intents regarding eligibility, remission to support the duties and based conservancy work as well

10Interview with prison official of the Prisons Department in Goa (May 26, 2012) 11Interview with prison official of the Prisons Department in Goa

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 185 as automatic updating” through or parole release” of the victim the maintenance of digitalized concerned”. 13 registers. 11 6. PRISMS provide administrational 4. PRISMS have provisions of high support to victims. The victim is security standards supported granted administrational support by application of the prisoner by the prisoner work allotment movement module recording in and monitoring module. This and out of jail inmate tracking module controls wages by labor related to parole, furlough, case allocated in accordance with the hearing or medical reasons; Victim’s Compensation Fund to second, the gate management which 50% of the earnings will module that keeps track of the be allocated while the rest of exact “date, hour and even minute the earning gets automatically of the opening or closing of all transferred to joint saving prison gates accounting for all accounts (15%), legal aid (20%) as person’s entering or leaving” and; well as personal expenses14 The third, the computerized escape speedy and smooth judicial and and escort management which administrational functioning is involves the “maintenance of an provided externally by the court escape register, the automated information module which keeps selection of escort in connection track of details such as the court in with keeping account of actual charge, the authority concerned, escort details”. 12 parties involved, court hearings 5. PRISMS provide high end security and crime and charge sheet through the transmission of information in order to generate information via SMS to prison a court diary on the one hand department officials and the as well as fabricating an auto police as well as the media in calculation of the sentence period. case of escape of prisoners. This gets internally supported by Externalities with regard to the the prisoner management module strengthening of the security which administers transfers such framework of prisons in Goa entail as handovers in specific records. visitor information management Also there is the commissary with detailed “lists of visitors” (canteen) management entity containing information such as which supports the maintenance “names, phone numbers, address, of “commissary stock items photo” and status of relation to posting a warning when an the inmate as well as “visiting item reaches an assigned re- date, begin and end times and the order point” as well as tracking approving authority regarding the “purchases by inmates and visit”. It includes victim information automatically adjusts both the management notifying all inmate commissary stock and the inmate activity such as “court appearance, PPC account”. 15 release and execution or furlough 7. PRISMS provide for the personal

12Interview with prison official 13Interview with prison official 14Discussion with Mr. Vardhan (May, 2012) 15Discussion with Mr. Vardhan (May, 2012)

186 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints well being within the framework of all medication to be given to of the rule of law, constitutional all inmates” to the extent that provisions as well as basic human a “complete medical history rights which are all monitored. can be generated which also Under the system, this is supports the process of work monitored and guaranteed, first, allocation”.17 Lastly, the inmate by the application of the parole property and cash management and furlough management system module provides the Goa prison which keeps a “complete history authorities with the ability to look of all approved and rejected after “personal items and clothing” applications and orders as well as of a prisoner administered a list of the prisoners “expected through the provision of “a receipt to surrender after parole and generated at admission” as well furlough”; and second, by the as the maintenance of “inmate bail management module, which cash account’s such as wages safeguards a “prevention of release earned and credited according if other cases are pending to to the work’s module”.18 The be bailed”, lists of “all prisoners touch screen kiosk management released on bail, surety bond bails available to the prisoners as well as the tracking of all return guarantees easy access to the dates in case of interim bail”. 16 inmates to all personal property 8. The well being of the inmate is or account related information further supported by effective and secures access to grievance prisoner’s medical management redress within the administrative which contains all “illnesses, structure. checkup details, report listing

Conclusions

PRISMS is a fully functional system functionality of Inspector General that delivers 100% efficiency in of Prison’s Department. To bring in prisons management in Goa. It transparency and efficiency in an delivers holistic functionalities otherwise secrecy system; the use in covering all aspects of prison of technology is supposed to bring management from the admission about transparency in the system to the release of the prisoner and foster the process of precise and connectivity across jails; implementation of rules and laws, administrative efficiency and make data easily available to the security; prisoner empowerment authorities concerned, to facilitate and victim compensation; increased efficient and accurate decision efficiency of prison management making, improvement in information process and administrational communication flow. stuff; improved administrational

16Discussion with Mr. Vardhan ( May , 2012) 17Discussion with Mr. Vardan (May, 2012) 18Discussion with Mr. Vardhan (May, 2012)

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 187 Lessons Drawn From The Practise

PRISMS has enabled us to draw concerned and support from key lessons that can remain as technical team. appropriate guidelines for any similar 3. An overarching practice like endeavours: PRISMS requires a rigid and 1. Reform in prison governance is a efficient project planning, serious human right matter and its implementation, monitoring, efficient management is possible and evaluation mechanism on with right dose of ICT applications continuous basis. Otherwise the in right spirit. However, the desire whole purpose is defeated along to bring in reform has to come with loss of time, energy and from within the system itself with valuable resources. integration of soul and mind and 4. Timely and continuous support technology support system. from the political leadership in 2. A critical initiative like PRISMS sync with administrative spirit of shall always call for timely and project implementers is the key supportive project leadership towards success of technology and enough motivation in the driven practice. This helps to team. This call for participative put in place a mechanism that environment, collaborative spirit, continuously thinks of reform, effective coordination mechanism, scaling up and further advancing exceptional support from officers the system.

188 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 189 The Public Distribution System, The Public Chhattisgarh has computerized the previously paper-based statewide Distribution Public Distribution System for food staples for households living below System, the poverty line, improved timely access to food for beneficiaries and Chhattisgarh fair and timely payment to farm- ers. It has also reduced widespread corruption and abuses of the system, improved overall efficiency and saved the government substantial amounts of public money, so much so that it recouped its investment after one year.

Achievements Category »» Performs as a state-wide pilot e-Governance project linking six different gov- ernment agencies, 1,532 paddy Organization procurement centres, 50 stor- Public Distribution System, age centres, all District offices, 99 Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh State Civil Supplies Platform of product Corporation (CGSCSC) distribu- Internet via VSAT tion centres and 35 Food Corpo- ration of India (FCI) rice receiving Website centres www.cg.nic.in »» Provides immense benefits for 3,70,00,000 households living be- low the poverty line »» Provides basic sustenance with 34,00,000 computerized ration cards issued »» Uses the VSAT Internet system for system-wide communications »» Offers a successful and sustain- able business model

190 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

The Public Distribution System (PDS) storage and transportation to state for the purchase and distribution warehouses and Fair Priced Shops- of paddy, rice, in the state of have been computerised. Chhattisgarh was computerized in There is continuous monitoring 2007 in an effort to address problems of operations at all levels via reports of inefficiency, corruption and the uploaded onto the web in real diversion of commodities. The time. Web management has led new computerized system required to enhanced accountability of the coordination of six different operations. The online platform organizations to provide goods to provides an account of commodity consumers at stipulated prices and, at stocks which helps decision the same time, guarantee a fair return makers in utilising the inventory of to the paddy producer. commodities with greater efficiency. The Government of Chhattisgarh A unique feature of PDS in has initiated a set of reforms to Chhattisgarh is the innovative citizen improve its Public Distribution System interface portal through which (PDS) by adopting a unique ICT based citizens can track the movement of module to create a transparent and PDS commodities and also register accountable delivery mechanism. their grievances. The ICT solution To address the leakages in PDS, the being used in Chhattisgarh is State of Chhattisgarh implemented showing very encouraging results an end-to-end information and states like Orissa, Uttar Pradesh technology solution. Operations and Madhya Pradesh have showed at every level of the scheme - interest in rolling out a similar from procurement of produce, to procedure.

Practise Background

In the state of Chhattisgarh, an from leakage and diversion of estimated 37 million households funds, dubious contracts, delays in live below the poverty line (BPL) payments to farmers and incomplete and qualify for Public Distribution allotment of commodities to FPSs. System (PDS) and Minimum Support To add to the inefficiency, by 2007 Price (MSP) benefits, along with an the system was still, for the most additional 7, 50,000 farm households. part, paper-based and had not been The state government spends computerized, resulting in delays, approximately 40 billion rupees per inefficiencies and a lack of proper year on rice procurement and 12 monitoring. billion rupees annually on subsidies The problems affected many for the poor. Additionally, in 2010, aspects of the distribution stream there were more than 10,400 Fair including fake ration cards and Price Stores (FPS). delays in attaining ration cards, However, due to the large under-weighing of grains, smuggling amounts of money involved and and diversion of commodities. inadequate staffing levels and For example, a Tata Economic resources, the system suffered Consultancy Services study reported

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 191 that, in 1999, 36% of wheat, 31% of Regarding kerosene subsidies, the rice and 23% of sugar was diverted government admitted that “there at the national level. Similarly, a 2005 (was) overwhelming evidence that report indicated that 39% of rice and this policy (was) resulting in waste, 53% of wheat were diverted. leakage, adulteration and inefficiency” More recent estimates suggested and, as a result, set up a task force to that 35% of kerosene meant for revamp the PDS so that cash benefits the PDS was diverted, of which could be transferred directly into the 18% is understood to have been hands of the intended beneficiaries. used to adulterate diesel fuel.

Implementation Process

Launched in Chhattisgarh to 99 Chhattisgarh State Civil Supplies modernize the PDS and address Corporation (CGSCSC) distribution some of the problems with the centres and 35 Food Corporation of existing system, particularly India (FCI) rice receiving centres. regarding the distribution of food Without the Internet to enable commodities, the project involved connectivity across the various six different organizations involved centres and organizations involved, with grain management, 1,532 the new system would not be able to paddy procurement centres, 50 function. storage centres, all District offices,

Project Features

Technology Platform Corporation of India (FCI) and Market A Very Small Aperture Terminal Federation (MARKFED) storage (VSAT) network, with 200 VSATs centres is managed by the computer connecting all paddy storage centres system. and CGSCSC distribution centres, Because Internet service was implemented to provide is generally not available in dedicated Internet connectivity for remote villages where the paddy the new system. Where possible, procurement centres tend to be other broadband systems were also located, an innovative method of added as a backup system. All data data transmission, known as the transmission between the centres Runner’s Module, was invented. and the server are handled by FTP. VSAT-based connectivity is available Paddy receipts, cheques and at Block headquarters in the offices delivery memos can be printed in of the Janpad Panchayats via the real time at the over 1,500 paddy National Informatics Centre Network procurement centres, thus improving (NICNET). Then, motorcycle-runners turnaround time for the farmers are used to courier encrypted data and putting payment in their hands from the procurement centres to as quickly as possible. From there, the Block headquarters where it the logistics of moving paddy to can be entered and uploaded via the procurement centres to Food the Internet. Similarly, software

192 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints upgrades etc. can be ‘run’ back to the and time of dispatch. If commodities procurement centres for near real- do not arrive at the FPS in full within time functioning without complete a reasonable time period, citizens Internet connectivity across the can register their complaint on the system. website. Replication and Scalability Accessibility & Inclusiveness Proven successful and sustainable, This pilot project was rolled out the project should be replicable in across the state of Chhattisgarh and other states in India. In Chhattisgarh, involved many levels of government. the new systems have been fully integrated into the PDS of the state. Community Participation Clear cost-savings, not to mention a Feedback from beneficiaries and range of other indirect benefits, mean participants is sought in order to that government support should be improve the system in Chhattisgarh automatic anywhere. The National or future systems in other locations. Informatics Centre, the project’s ICT A citizen interface website has partner, furthermore, has committed been created for citizen awareness life time support to the project and, and participation in the smooth lastly, the system software is modular functioning of PDS. The portal and scalable. Many of the long-term contains all information related to the benefits of the system (real-time scheme including a list of ration card computer-generated payments holders, FPSs, and details of transport to farmers, database information, and sales of PDS commodities. treatment of millers etc.) are not Information on paddy procurement reversible, further reinforcing the is also made available on the website, sustainability of the system. which includes farmer-wise data The Fair Price Stores are currently detailing the amount of paddy the only link in the distribution procured from each farmer and chain that are not computerized money paid to him. or connected to the Internet in The citizen interface is a platform Chhattisgarh. Bringing them fully for citizens to participate in the on-stream that way would require monitoring of PDS. Citizens can a significant investment from the register as active monitors by government and, therefore, an SMS/ submitting their e-mail ids and/ text mobile phone based system will or mobile numbers online. As PDS more likely be used to complete the commodities are dispatched to a FPS supply chain and improve efficiency from a warehouse, an e-mail message even further. and an SMS is sent to all the e-mail Additional improvements could Ids and mobile numbers registered also be made to PDS system, for for the corresponding FPS. Each example, to expedite processing of message contains the truck number, temporary ration cards for migrant the quantity of PDS commodities workers. being sent by the truck, and the date

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 193 Conclusions

The government benefited from the Public Distribution System and, the restructuring of the PDS in thereby, helped cut down on abuses many ways. It saved Rs. 180 million of the system in a cost-effective way. per annum as a result of reduced The PDS beneficiaries also corruption. Based on annual benefited from the new scheme operating costs of Rs. 90 million and as they would be able to get the capital expenditures (CAPEX) of Rs. 50 foodstuffs they were entitled to, in million depreciated over three years, the right amount and on time. They the direct economic benefit is in the also played a social auditing role order of 1.69 times investment. In by being the eyes on the ground. other words, it received a return on its Additionally, the farmers, millers and investment in the first year. others involved at different stages of Besides costs savings, the the process benefit from standardized government also benefited from forms and procedures that streamline improved monitoring, greater responsibilities and ensure fair transparency and accountability and treatment. the elimination of irregularities. For Combined, the system helped example, 1,00,000 duplicate ration built trust between the various levels cards were tracked and deleted. The of the government and the residents SMS alert system and public-access of Chhattisgarh. website also encouraged citizen participation in the monitoring of

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Internet service at distribution the skilled manpower needed to centres, which are primarily located accurately and efficiently do this at the sub-District level, is unreliable work is not readily available. In fact, and posed a significant challenge case studies show that the shortage to the project. Narrow bandwidth of digitally-literate people for both and poor service quality also posed the supply and demand sides of the problems. VSAT was used but, market, especially in rural India, is looking forward, 3G and USB-based commonly as much of an obstacle to Internet connectivity may be a better success as is access to the Internet. solution. Thus, providing Internet infrastructure Given illiteracy rates amongst is not enough. The government the rural poor, millers etc., online must invest on several levels at registration forms became an once (education, literacy, computer obstacle to access as well as an added skills, equal access for all castes and expense since many millers had to genders etc.) for this type of rural pay Internet café operators to assist development project to be a success. with registration forms. Overcoming challenges faced in Processing over 34,00,000 terms of establishing connectivity, computerized ration cards required uploading reports in Hindi, data entry and verification of extremely transmission to and from remote large volumes of data. However, villages and building a uniform ration

194 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints card database, PDS in Chhattisgarh coded food coupons, food stamps, has come a long way. Future plans and biometrically coded ration cards, include the computerisation of FPSs none of them have been entirely and introduction of smart ration successful. The ICT solution being cards. used in Chhattisgarh is showing very PDS has often been scrutinised encouraging results that indicate for its high association with corrupt strengthening of the delivery practices and although various state mechanism. States like Orissa, Uttar governments have tried to address Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are the issue in several ways like bar- keen to undertake similar reforms.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 195 Empowering India is an initia- Empowering tive to empower citizens with information about political candi- India dates, constituencies, MLAs and MPs, and political parties, in a simple and comparative man- ner, so that the voter can make a more informed choice during election.

Achievements Category »»  Empowers citizens and grassroots e-Governance organizations with information about their candidates and con- Organization stituencies Liberty Institute »» Enforces the freedom to choose Platform of product by presenting different kinds of Broadband/online analyses concerning candidates, Website elected representative and po- www.EmpoweringIndia.org litical parties, which citizens and www.EmpoweringIndia.net people’s groups will find useful in making their electoral choices at the time of elections »» Fosters a culture of transparency and accountability in the govern- ance of constituencies »» Enhances participation on the part of both, the electorate and the elected, in the everyday politi- cal processes

196 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

Empowering India delivers content, level developmental indicators are in the form of easily accessible, also available, which are good proxies summaries and comparison of for the local Lok Sabha constituency. candidate information, and election These sets of information organized results. The initiative has been able to for every constituency, allows citizens compile over 90% of the information to better inform themselves as they about the candidates, constituencies prepare to cast their ballot on polling and elections for Lok Sabha and day. Vidhan Sabha held over the past five The goal is to make democracy years. One set of information consists more meaningful by encouraging of summaries and details provided participation, introducing greater by candidates about their assets, transparency, assessing performance, liabilities, educational qualification, and facilitating accountability in the and details of criminal charges if any. political process. The target is to have The other set comprises of information in a manner that would information from the election be relevant to every voter in the commission regarding the total country in every constituency. electors, votes polled, etc. With the help of a partner organization, district

Practise Background

The Liberty Institute is an open and competitive marketplace; independent think tank, dedicated the consumer is empowered by the to building awareness of the range of products and services to institutional pillars of a free society. choose from. Liberty Institute and It began its journey by advocating Empowering India, together nurtures economic policy reforms that would the most fundamental of human harness the power of the market, and aspirations, the freedom to choose. empower the consumer with greater While the voters are the first range of choices. But in a vibrant target audience for this initiative, democracy, public policy proposals it needs to be acknowledged that need to be politically acceptable too. most voters in India do not have Empowering India was born access to computers or internet. out of this attempt to explore ways Therefore the last mile problem is of making sound policy proposals sought to be overcome by making politically viable, by improving local information accessible to the our understanding of the political local and regional media, who then democratic processes. Political transmit the information to the democracy and economic markets citizens in the area. The popularity are two sides of the same coin. In of the web site during the recent a democracy, the range of political elections testifies to the utility value choices empowers the voter, in the of this site.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 197 Implementation Process

The concept of the project was borne that run helped in launching a out of the need for information second version in late 2005, at www. required for a thriving democracy. IndianDemocracy.net. This second India is the world’s largest democracy. version had a VB module for easier The 1977 elections that were held upload of data to the site. It also following the conclusion of the had more data content, which was Emergency period, was an important contributed by others working in the time for Indian democracy because similar areas. it became clear that the people The third version was launched cherished their liberty and would not in Dec 2007, with a much improved allow despotism to take root in this user interface, and enhanced content, country. Since then, the participation at www.EmpoweringIndia.org. The of the voters, the role played by the different domains were a reflection Election Commission of India (ECI), of the evolution of Liberty Institute’s and the activism and mobilization of understanding of the initiative, the civil society have all facilitated the and the shifts in the focus as the democratic process to thrive in India. project crystallized. It was also partly In recent times, political necessitated by the technological competition has increased with the requirements. Today, all the domains entry of more and more political point to the same site – Empowering parties. Political parties have also India. started to realize the importance of This third version was further building alliances across different enhanced in May 2008, with the constituencies and presenting viable addition of capacity to acquire data election manifestoes in order to through a network of partners in an win elections and gain legitimacy offline system. By December 2008, in the eyes of the voters. www. an online data entry module was empoweringIndia.org is located operational, which was used by nearly in this context. Democracy can be 100 data entry volunteers spread made more meaningful for people, in over a dozen places across north by involving different stakeholders India, during the six state assembly including political parties, elections. This was the test run for the candidates, civil society groups, upcoming general election in 2009. the election commission and the During the six weeks of the voters, in fostering accountability, general election for the 15th transparency and good governance. Lok Sabha, over 200 volunteers, This involvement will come with in over dozen teams, spread transparent information about across half a dozen states helped politics and politicians. compile information of over 12,000 The first version of the website candidates. On 17th April 2009, the was launched in Sept 2004, during site recorded its first 100,000 hits in the Maharashtra assembly election, a day. This was a threefold increase with very basic information about from the average daily hits of over candidates and constituencies. 30,000 in Nov-Dec 2008. This was on www.IndianElections. Apart from many media reports, org. The conceptual clarity and the two most significant outcomes technical experience gained during were, a cover story in India Today, 17

198 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Feb 2009, on the richest politicians also led to a partnership with Google in the country, based on data from India, which used part of the data this initiative and the use of the from this initiative, along with other data by Indian Express, in their daily partners, in their election 2009 newspaper, and publication of a initiative. book assessing the MPs and their Since then the site has been open constituency released just before and free to use for anyone looking the election in April 2009. The real for information on their political time data gathering during election, representatives.

Project Features

Technology Platform disseminated locally will significantly The site is free to use online, and can increase, making democracy more be accessed on either a computer meaningful and effective. or a web enabled phone. The search functions and other features will work Sustainability & Cost effectiveness The Liberty Institute is a nonprofit well depending on the speed of the organization and to that end the connection. website does not have a revenue Accessibility & Inclusiveness model. The information on Empowering India web site is freely available to Replication & Scalability There are many initiatives to help all visitors. There are two levels of voters access information. But most content, firstly constituency level such efforts have a limited focus. For basic information about candidates instance the Election Commission and elections and secondly a set of India’s primary objective is to of analytical tools by which more organize free and fair elections, and scholarly visitors could do some the website reflects their need to analysis. There is also a more manage elections. It is working to advanced Build Query feature, which provide a service to the voter by allows a range of analytical queries to providing access to the voter list, but be created as per one’s own needs. this is not yet a functional and user Community Participation friendly effort. The Empowering India platform There are other websites by provides two levels of interactivity. At mainstream media, who provide one level, visitors to the site could opt election results. Then there are to just look at their own constituency, other civil society initiatives that or could seek more analytical data are narrowly focused either to their at the district, state or national level, geographic area, or on their issue for parties, winners and losers, males of interest. There is no initiative that and females. So there is tremendous seeks to empower the citizens with flexibility in tailoring the information such a comprehensive range of one wants. At another level, the information as being attempted by online data entry form encourages Empowering India. participation by citizens. As more The modular nature of the information is compiled locally, the architecture of the Empowering India prospect of getting the information initiative makes it very eminently

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 199 scalable. Currently, this initiative and Indonesia, to try and adapt a covers the Lok Sabha and Vidhan version of Empowering India for Sabha elections. Efforts are on to their purpose. Without devoting any encompass local level elections for significant resources to promote this municipalities and panchayats, as initiative so far, this has been among well as Rajya Sabha elections and the most visited web sites during then to expand the range of coverage the election period this year. Now by including additional types of it is exploring possible strategies to information about political parties, promote the initiative, and develop legislative business and performance a way to capitalize on the traffic of legislators. This will further help volume. Within a couple of years, with make democracy more meaningful at all its features functional, it should be the grassroots. possible to have a revenue stream Interests have been expressed and take the necessary steps towards by election monitor groups in financial sustainability. some other countries in the region, including Bangladesh, Malaysia,

Conclusions

Empowering India is unique in analytical tools, this initiative has the its conceptualization, scope and potential to significantly improve our coverage. Conventionally, elected understanding of the democratic leaders and policy makers are lobbied process at the popular level. to influence policymaking. Often The coverage of this initiative is such efforts are captured by vested also unique, the mainstream media interests who seek to profit at the and political analysts, either take cost of the public. Empowering India the wider macro perspective, or believes that the true sovereignty they focus on the VIP candidates lies with the citizens, and if citizens and leaders. For most voters this actively engage and participate in the information may be interesting, democratic process, much of the ills but not necessarily helpful when plaguing our system would come to they have to choose among the an end. non-VIP candidates in their own This initiative is unique in its constituencies. The attempt to cover scope, because it has brought almost all the candidates, in every on one platform three types of constituency by Empowering India information, candidates, electors is uniquely relevant for virtually each and constituency development data of the 700+ million voters in the (for the Lok Sabha). It is working to country today. But the uniqueness enhance the scope by including is not restrictive to the website. The performance of elected leaders uniqueness lies in its attempt to use in the legislature, political party ICT in a locally relevant manner to information, and political biographies build active citizenship across the of candidates. Together with the country.

200 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Lessons Drawn From The Practise

This project simply uses ICT to impart advocacy towards good electoral information to the general public. practices in India. The project is a It is a great example in the manner lesson in correct information collation by which a website can be used to and dissemination to make the educate and empower people. ciitizens aware of electoral rights and It is a lesson in e-democracy more duties. in the pattern of communication and

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 201 Aarogyasri covers 80% of the Rajiv population of Andhra Pradesh offering 942 procedures with Aarogyasri end to end cashless delivery of service. e-Office provides a Community completely paperless, online Health and transparent electronic office system to handle around 41 Insurance departments of this scheme. Scheme

Achievements Category »» e-Office provides seamless inte- e-Health gration among all departments and provides high performance, Organization transparency and effective office Aarogyasri Health Care management. Trust, Government of Andhra Pradesh »» It provides the interdivisional in- terface through knowledge shar- Platform of product ing, efficient interaction, creation, Web/Internet movement, tracking and disposal Website of files. www.aarogyasri.org »» It helps decision making become more transparent by use of check- lists, access to precedent cases, acts, rules. »» It contributes significantly to knowledge management among officers by use of knowledge re- pository consisting of several of circulars, reports, documents.

202 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

The Indian government faces a of free insurance through a unique constant challenge in providing PPP model that allows the patient affordable and efficient healthcare to avail medical care at both public to its population especially the rural and private institutions. To streamline poor. Even though government administrative and logistic issues, hospitals cater to the needs of an intelligent tracking system – Below the Poverty Line families Aarogyasri e-Office was developed (BPL), a large proportion of them to track a patient right from the point need further specialized care that the patient approaches the primary is far too expensive and therefore health center to when he is released beyond their reach. In order to find from the hospital. a holistic solution to this problem, e-Office, is the back office system the government of Andhra Pradesh for the Rajiv Aarogyasri health care has designed and initiated a unique system. The ICT solution provides scheme called the ‘Rajiv Aarogyasri a complete paperless, online and Community Health Insurance transparent electronic office system Scheme’ in April, 2007. to handle around 39 departments Aarogyasri allows BPL families of the Scheme with 10000 subjects to get treatment, if needed, from and 4000 users. In order to provide a either government or private seamless integration between these hospitals. Under the scheme, BPL departments, the e-Office application families can avail health benefits provides workflow management, through affordable insurance, the document management, knowledge premium for which is financed by management along with the the government. The scheme aims various scheme specific and general to achieve ‘Health for all’ by assisting organizational, personnel and general poor families through the provision applications.

Practise Background

From 2004 to 2008, the AP indebtedness. government spent around Rs. 425 The Aarogyasri Health Care crores from the Chief Minister’s Relief Trust was especially set up for the Fund in response to request from purpose of delivering quality tertiary families living below the poverty line healthcare to the underprivileged (BPL) to cover their health expenses. population. In order to meet There was a need felt in the state to the challenge of meeting the provide medical assistance to families requirements of a massive scheme living below poverty line for the covering more than 7 crore people treatment of serious ailments such the system has to work for 24 hours as cancer, kidney failure, heart and and for this a unique and real-time neurosurgical diseases etc., requiring workflow namely e-Office was hospitalization and surgery. It was designed. found that health care expenditure e-Office was based on the was one of the prime reasons which implementation of Information lead people to the vicious cycle of & Communication Technology

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 203 (ICT) tools that would bring formulation and decision making by enhanced access, transparency, effectively using ICT tools to play a accountability and efficiency in significant role towards achievement delivery of government processes. of high performance, transparency The Aarogyasri Trust initiated the and effective management. automation of this process of policy

Implementation Process

The e-Office system, while handling ∙∙ The overall structure of the 10000 workflows, also handles Aarogyasri Trust and Insurance complex administrative activities Company. exclusive for the scheme such as ∙∙ The administrative setup of the Aarogyamithra (health officer) departments. shuffling, attendance capture on ∙∙ Organizational hierarchy and real item, payrolls based on the associated workflows. performance of the various roles. ∙∙ Co-ordination with insurer. The system is a workflow-oriented ∙∙ Other departments of integrated system which addresses Government. all the needs of the target groups. ∙∙ Current IT infrastructure in place. Each phase of a patient’s journey ∙∙ Applicability of e-Governance. through the system, from in/out e-Office therefore, provides workflow patient registration, surgery updates, management, document and discharge updates, claim settlements knowledge management along etc., are routed through the ICT. with the various scheme specific & Decision-making has therefore general organizational, personnel & become simple and the data analysis general applications. While handling helps the administration in driving 10,000 workflows, the system also the scheme to become more handles complex activities exclusive effective and economical. to the scheme such as biometric The key components that have authentication of employees been taken into consideration for that ensures only authenticated implementing e-Office application users have the right to access the in Aarogyasri Trust and Insurance application. Company are:

Project Features

Technology Platform of diagnosis reports including Using a high bandwidth and ultrasound, echo, angiograms etc., high performance servers, www. entry of preauthorization data for aarogyasri.org enables patients to surgery, entry of pre and post-surgery get referred from primary health clinical data, operation notes, post- centers and health camps organized operative clinical notes, treatment at villages. Through a 24 hour call billing details, claim request, claim center integration, entry of patient processing and online payment registration in hospitals, upload to the hospital with messaging

204 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints and e-mail intimation is achieved. Aarogyasri Medical Coordinator Having enabled all the workflow and who is essentially a doctor and an approvals through www.aarogyasri. Aarogyasri medical camp coordinator. org the system ensures transparency, It is for all these employees that efficiency, robustness and a the e-Office system needs to work corruption free environment. seamlessly. The website is developed using The ease with which all graphical Java/J2EE technology. The usage user interfaces cleared user of Java enables portability. The acceptance testing and the number ability to run the same program on of users availing e-Office services many different systems is crucial to speak volumes about the interactivity World Wide Web software, and Java that has been incorporated in it. The succeeds at this by being platform- e-Office website has a user friendly independent at both the source and login page. Users are welcomed binary levels. The necessary hardware with the e-Office logo and a and software along with high Internet pictorial representation of all the bandwidth is used in the deployment departments and can log in with his/ of the application. The sizing of the her credentials. system has been done based on the At the same time, all this number of users, concurrent users, information, including tracking of and volume of attachments being the patients file can be done on uploaded and downloaded. the internet, making the process transparent. Further, when a Accessibility & Inclusiveness hospital performs a surgery etc., the In order to facilitate the Aarogyamitra is required to take beneficiaries, facilitators known pictures and update the site so as as “Aarogyamithras” (Friends of to prove that the medical treatment Health) are placed in each PHC/CHC/ did take place, ensuring against false Area Hospital/District Hospital and claims. Network Hospital. An Aarogyasri Kiosk and uniform provides them Community Participation with easy identification. They form The essence of the Aarogyasri is to tie the face of this insurance scheme. in the BPL community into the larger Over 3000 Aarogyamithras work in healthcare sector of Andhra Pradesh, the field, while others are placed in and to that end, the project has been the hospitals. successful. Villagers are able to go The Aarogyamithras placed and be treated at private hospitals in Network Hospitals facilitate for the first time in their lives. At the registration of patients, admission, same time, the software has made evaluation, pre-authorization, it easy for the other side of the treatment, discharge and post Aarogyasri dynamics – the staff – to discharge follow-up of patient. All run this system smoothly. the Aarogyamithras are connected by Closed User Group mobile phones Sustainability & Cost effectiveness The cost of running a health with a centralized toll free call insurance scheme has been reduced centre (1800-425-7788) for better dramatically by the right use of coordination and communication. technology in installing and tracking Any patient/relative can also call the system. The Government is able this number for referrals and advise. to provide insurance coverage of Further each hospital has a dedicated

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 205 up to Rs. 2 lakhs per year on a family reducing fund leakages has improved floater basis for 2.03 crore families at the scheme immensely. a cost of only Rs. 440/- per family per year. The scheme stabilized in two Replication & Scalability Both the Aarogyasri scheme and the years and was able to screen 4000 e-Office system can be replicated in patients in registered hospitals. On other states. In fact, the governments average 13000 beds are occupied of Maharashtra, Delhi, and others by Aarogyasri beneficiaries across have sent teams to learn from the state. This is possible due to the Aarogyasri and plan to replicate the public private partnership which by effort.

Conclusions

The Aarogyasri health care scheme considering new employees, would most definitely not be able to resigned employees, their locations, work effectively were it not supported preferences every time. e-Office by an ICT based workflow which is meets the challenges posed by these its administrative backbone. e-Office administrative requirements very ensures that the huge challenges in effectively. implementing this complex scheme To manage the employees of across 23 districts are met effectively. all the departments, e-Office has To ensure the smooth and effective many applications developed like execution of this scheme, there are recruitments, allocations, attendance around 39 departments functioning module, performance measurement, including, field operations, vigilance, performance based payrolls and claims, pre-authorization, accounts, applications related to personnel, human resources, grievances etc. departmental and organizational etc. The departments have around 1200 All these functions are automated different subjects with 250 various leading to much faster processing. roles involving in 250 hierarchical Around 750 requests and 400 files workflows within and across the get created everyday across all the departments spanning across 39 39 departments for various needs different departments. to function the scheme effectively. In order to make these e-Office effectively maintains departments work effectively, transparency of the data and the there needs to be a seamless process eliminating any delays in the integration of all these government administration of requests. departments. While each department The huge challenge in has its own functionality and works implementing this automation is independently, the department to provide user-friendly screens has to be integrated closely to and easy navigation to enable all establish the smooth coordination the departmental employees to between departments. As part work with ease. Another important of the Aarogyasri scheme, the requirement is to provide real time Aarogyamithras are shuffled between information on the status of the network hospitals on periodic basis request and files etc. e-Office provides and automation of this activity is a completely paperless, online and a huge challenge as it includes transparent electronic office system

206 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints to meet all requirements. In addition department has been established to the above, training employees in order to oversee all the training of the departments has been a needs. herculean task. A separate training

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Government schemes need to adopt volume of people getting treated ICT practises in order to keep track through public health insurance but of how allocated budgets are being tracks all details about their health, spent. All ICT tools available need procedures and so on. This will help to be implemented on the ground not only run the operation smoothly and Aarogyasri has, like many other but inspire confidence in the general e-government initiatives, crafted public due to its transparent nature. a system that not only tracks the

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 207 104 Advice, the flagship initiative 104 HMRI of Health Management and Research Institute (HMRI), is a state-of-the-art health helpline that provides the 80 million people of Andhra Pradesh with round-the-clock, qualified and standardized medical information, advice and counseling in three languages — Telugu, Hindi and English.

Achievements Category »» 104 Advice delivers a wide range m-Health of critical services: medical advice/ counseling, detection/diagnosis, Organization monitoring, health and hygiene Health Management and education, and drug prescription/ Research Institute dispersal Platform of product »» Promotes and propagates ICT-en- Telephone/Mobile abled health care services primar- Website ily to meet the unrealized needs of www.hmri.in the rural population »» Offers medical advice based on a state of the art, validated and standardized portfolio of proto- cols embedded in Clinical Assess- ment Decision System (CADSys) Software – an automated Deci- sion Support System

208 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

India has a sizeable rural population, problem. The primary objective was most of which is severely to set up a medical advice hotline - a underserviced by traditional phone number that anyone could healthcare resources. The existing call to get basic medical advice (on rural health coverage is less than symptoms and ailments) or basic one-third of the World Health medical information (on location of Organization guidelines, resulting in specialists etc.). Assisted by pre- approximately three billion annual formatted algorithms and disease incidents of patients receiving summaries, callers are matched with unqualified or no treatment. appropriately qualified health workers In Andhra Pradesh alone, more (including medical specialty experts) than 86% of the villages lie beyond who provide advice/counseling or three kilometres from the nearest make preliminary diagnoses and hospital and roughly 600,000 patients referrals for further treatment. go untreated each day. Besides Soon after, the initiative drew the obstacle of distance from a the attention of the Government centralized healthcare system, these of Andhra Pradesh, which signed rural populations also have several a public-private partnership (PPP) unique health concerns, including risk agreement with HMRI. The aim was to from mosquito-borne diseases, poor scale up the service across the entire access to potable water, and a variety state of Andhra Pradesh. The service of sanitation/hygiene issues has witnessed a strong growth, 104 Advice began as Health starting from 4 seats attending to Information Help Line in February 200 calls a day in February 2007 to a 2007 with a toll-free health current 400 seats working round the contact centre to assist the people, clock, attending to over 50,000 calls particularly in rural and interior areas, a day. It is among the world’s largest who are facing difficulties in getting health contact centres, attending to access to a qualified doctor and also an average 1,500,000 calls per month. getting information on any health

Practise Background

There is a huge digital divide that a critical role in socio-economic manifests itself at both international growth of developing countries and and domestic levels. In India, rampant the realization of U.N.’s Millennium poverty and illiteracy substantially Development Goals. Technology- limit the disadvantaged sections’ enabled social initiatives can improve access to and use of technology. and augment the delivery of public This digital divide can and must services, promote more efficient be narrowed, particularly in the functioning of markets, create new health sector, through effective and income-generating opportunities, focused utilisation of information and and facilitate transparent and communication technologies (ICTs). efficient functioning. This kind The deployment of ICTs can play of transformation is even more

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 209 necessary for rural and isolated to all citizens of Andhra Pradesh areas, where widespread access to a full range of healthcare services and effective use of ICTs can make a — on-demand, on-time and on- huge difference to developmental par, customized to the individuals’ outcomes. needs. The world-class technology It is in this direction that HMRI infrastructure set up by HMRI undertakes its mission to provide, connects healthcare providers and promote and propagate ICT- end-users, seamlessly catalyzing their enabled healthcare services for all interactions by providing the right Indian citizens. The service offers information at the right time.

Implementation Process

HMRI launched the health helpline matrimonial discord, depression — 104 Advice — in partnership with and chronic diseases the Government of Andhra Pradesh, Specifically, the key offerings of 104 under the celebrated Rajiv Aarogyasri Advice can be summarized as below: scheme and in association with the ∙∙ Triage (classifying the caller’s Piramal Group. The 104 Advice service condition into ‘Critical’, ‘Serious’ focuses on augmenting public health or ‘Stable’ states) and providing delivery systems by leveraging ICTs appropriate advice and modern management practices. ∙∙ Directory Information (information It is currently accessible to the 80 about providers, diagnostic million population of Andhra Pradesh. services, hospitals etc.) The service covers all areas of ∙∙ Counseling Services (HIV/AIDS, Andhra Pradesh that have access to suicide prevention, psychological telecommunication. It operates as a distress) virtual medical advice hotline, which ∙∙ Complaint Registry (citizens can people can freely access. The service register complaints against any offers health information and advice public health system/provider for in three languages — Telugu, Hindi service improvement) and English, 24 hours a day. The service employs specially trained The main objectives of the 104 Advice counselors and proven state-of-the service are: art telecommunications equipment ∙∙ To offer health advice and and technology. 104 Advice has information on healthcare and qualified doctors and paramedics counseling to callers; on board, with a present seating ∙∙ To provide primary screening to capacity of about 400 and total rural pregnant women, growing employee strength of about 1,500. children and patients with chronic More than 500 software engineers, diseases in order to reduce 50 management personnel and maternal mortality rate (MMR) and several PhDs are working to support infant mortality rate (IMR) the system. Its services are based ∙∙ To impart a range of health on 140 directories, 400 algorithms information and advice, including and 165 disease summaries that are information about all health used for providing information and delivery services across the state identifying certain epidemics in real and counseling for HIV/AIDS,

210 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints time and then escalating them to the 600,000 calls per month, and 13 concerned authorities. Health Australia, attending 20,000 104 Advice is the world’s largest calls per month, have been left far health contact centre today, behind in total calls. 104 Advice also attending to an average 1,500,000 has the lowest average call handling calls per month and about 40,000 time compared to the above- calls per day. Other similar service mentioned institutions. providers like NHS (UK), attending

Project Features

Technology Platform major factors to its acceptance with There are two ends of 104 Advice’s community participation being technology platform. On one end pegged at about 40,000 interactive are the users who can either use calls per day! Since its inception in their landlines or mobile phones to May 2007, 104 Advice has received 3, dial a number. On the other end is 50,50,997 calls, of which 96% are calls the 104 Advice system which mans made for medical advice. 2, 75,856 the volume of calls coming in. This calls came for counseling services, system is equipped with an internal and 2,03,982 calls were made for software design which ensures that information enquiry. HMRI’s efforts the caller is placed with the correct to address the last mile problem in call taker, based on the nature of the healthcare delivery are being widely call. The service customizes health recognised. advice and information delivery through over 400 algorithms and Sustainability & Cost effectiveness The initial success of the project hundreds of disease summaries, convinced the Government of Andhra providing real-time validated Pradesh about the viability and the information. It has also codified 140 need for a solution, resulting in a directories. Each directory, algorithm public-private partnership between and disease summary is updated and the Government of Andhra Pradesh expanded every 24 hours. and HMRI to increase the scale Accessibility & Inclusiveness and scope of its services. Political 104 Advice is a free service for all will, corporate social responsibility the citizens of Andhra Pradesh. Its and individual commitment have employees can handle calls in English emerged as the key driving forces and the local language, ensuing that behind 104 Advice. The reach and it is easily accessible and inclusive. It cost-effectiveness of the service make has approximately 1300 employees it a viable complement to the existing ready to answer the phone and solve primary healthcare systems. a number of health related queries. The system employs paramedics in the forefront and doctors in the Community Participation back-end. This strategy substantially The project has been a great brings down costs and addresses success in Andhra Pradesh. While its the supply-side constraints that the popularity in part could be because it scarcity of doctors imposes. However, is a free service, the level and quality since the service is free with the of service provided have also been major funding being provided by the

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 211 government it is not a viable financial nurtured this platform’s speed, scale, model as yet. scope and flexibility to accommodate emerging needs, innovations Replication & Scalability and best practices. The system’s 104 Advice is based on a proven operational strength emanates platform, which connects the citizens’ from its state-of-the-art technology, unmet and unarticulated healthcare managerial competencies and needs with a robust ICT-enabled committed grassroots participants. infrastructure, ensuring steady access, This could be replicated in other availability and assurance. HMRI has states across India..

Conclusions

Government spending on health create an easily accessible, digital facilities in India is amongst the health platform. Their target is to lowest of all emerging economies reach the 80 million population of (1.25% of GDP, compared to the 2.7% Andhra Pradesh through the world’s average for low and middle income largest integrated digital health countries). Inadequate government network, including 24/7 dial-a- spending has resulted in fewer public doctor service, 40,000 onsite workers health facilities and inadequate and 475 mobile health units. HMRI equipment, with the impact most envisions increased use of ICTs in the acutely felt in rural areas. Use of healthcare sector, primarily to meet information and communication the unrealized needs of the rural tools can help in addressing both populace these issues by providing access HMRI seeks primarily to address the to low-cost physical and virtual following needs: healthcare services to the public, ∙∙ Increasing penetration and specifically the rural population. enhancing the reach of health ICT-based health interventions offer services in rural and remote areas easy replication and scalability across ∙∙ Reducing the cost of access to geographies. health services HMRI’s vision is to transform ∙∙ Providing access to regular health services delivery by leveraging preventive health checks and state-of-the-art technology to health education

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Only a fraction of the global ∙∙ Inadequate coverage of primary allocation of funds for public health health centers to provide services addresses the health issues relevant to the sparsely distributed villages to emerging economies, where 90% in rural areas of the global healthcare burden of ∙∙ 70% of health spending coming preventable diseases and mortality ‘out of pocket’, increasing the lies. Two major factors contributing to burden on poor and resulting in this supply-demand gap are: further impoverishment.

212 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Increasing the healthcare coverage home/work place to make a call. has for long been a key priority for It has also been noted that many India, plagued as it is by abysmally people call 104 Advice as a second low health standards especially in opinion, to verify what their doctors rural areas. HMRI’s helpline has shown have told them. that if given the right guidance in an By offering medical advice and easy to access manner, more citizens creating awareness especially in will not only take medical advice but rural areas, 104 Advice provides also be able to improve their health a platform to access primary and in a timely manner. The service is not preventive healthcare irrespective of only free, but also very convenient location, cost and gender – a truly as one does not need to leave the commendable effort and service.

IMPACT In December 2007, 40 students of Nehru Residential School, in Kurnool, were suffering from conjunctivitis. Their teacher, Mr. N Subbaraidu, called up 104 for help. 104 Advice associates got in touch with the State Epidemic Cell and reported the incident. The Cell reacted immediately and administered medication for the ailing students. They also gave lessons in prevention and eye drops to the whole school. The Epidemic Cell later expressed their gratitude for 104 Advice’s help in identifying and reporting an epidemic.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 213 Wireless for Communities (W4C) Wireless for offers low-cost wireless con- nectivity at rural regions of the Communities country. (W4C)

Achievements Category »» Enhanced internet connectivity at e-Infrastructure unconnected regions of the coun- try Organization Digital Empowerment »» Ease accessibility of information Foundation »» Connecting institutions and plat- Platform of product forms Wireless »» Enhancing knowledge capability Website of users www.wforc.in »» Livelihood and economic impact »» Local skill development

214 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

In developing countries, wireless “Wireless for Communities” (W4C) connectivity has been emerged as which utilises low-cost Wi-Fi based one of the inexpensive technologies equipment to connect and empower to bridge the connectivity gap rural and underserved communities. in remote areas. These wireless The motivation for the W4C project technologies have created by ISOC and DEF is twofold. Firstly, much interest on the part of to totally democratize the availability the international-development of connectivity and enable Internet community. accessibility to information in rural For example, in India, even with parts of the country, secondly to mobile penetration, the tele-density address the issue of lack of content in rural areas is still less than 40 product and services originating from percent, and internet connectivity rural areas which affects the economy is a far cry. The reason has mostly from percolating to the bottom of the been the issues around last mile pyramid. connectivity. On the other hand, W4C is a complete solution last mile wireless connectivity has that provides wireless internet the potential to resolve the issue connectivity at remote regions of the of prohibitive cost of deploying country. This project has two major conventional wired infrastructure in objectives – deploying wireless mesh remotest areas of the country. network in cluster environment to In order to address these issues, target a community and observe the and connect remote and underserved benefits and impact over a period of regions of the country, in 2011, the time and provide Training of Trainers Digital Empowerment Foundation (ToT) on wireless technology and (DEF) and the Internet Society wireless mesh technology. (ISOC) initiated a joint project called

Practise Background

Poor network and connectivity communities is an established together with lack of internet and fact including its low cost solution services access has aggravated advantages. The W4C programme development as well digital divides. was initiated to address key It has, thus, become imperative to connectivity and accessibility connect unreached and unconnected criticalities. DEF launched the first communities with alternative pilot W4C project in 2011 at Chanderi technology deployment. Although, cluster located in Madhya Pradesh, users and technology implementers experimenting key connectivity are aware of known advantages factors: of wireless network technology, ∙∙ Addressing the issue of last mile however, this approach is yet second connectivity; possibility among users. ∙∙ Democratizing the availability of connectivity and enable internet The suitability of wireless deployment accessibility and information in remote and sparsely located decentralization;

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 215 ∙∙ Addressing the issue of content community empowerment and and services gap that obstructs meeting needs of underserved local economy and pulls back regions; social indicators; to address ∙∙ Initiating advocacy with the wireless technology skill gaps; relevant public and private ∙∙ Initiating a dialogue and partners to propagate and deliberation between stakeholders adopt wireless technology as including public and private an unconventional solution to parties on the impact, need, connect rural remote areas and scope, viability and sustainability communities with broadband of wireless deployment for connectivity and services on it.

Implementation Process

In 2011, DEF implemented the first station, covering more than 25 wireless mesh network at its Chanderi point-to-point nodes. The Chanderi Weavers Information Resource Centre project, to bridge network and (CWIRC) in Ashok Nagar District of information divide, has key elements Madhya Pradesh. The CWIRC centre in – network deployment, Internet which was started about almost 2 access, developing capacity of local years back with the help and support human resource in wireless skills and from Ministry of Communication & IT, empower community with content Govt. of India, envisioned to provide and service. holistic ICT-Enabled environment To replicate this model in other and infrastructure for the weavers regions of the country, in the community to enhance their skills, second phase of the project, DEF add value in their supply chain implemented 3 states in India – of designing and market reach, Tura (Meghalaya); Baran & Tilonia provide ICT Skills to the youth and (Rajasthan) - with deployment kin of the weavers family, providing of wireless mesh network. e-commerce enabled market reach, Expanding its reach in South Asian Keeping CWIRC centre as a countries, 2 ‘Training of Trainer’ base, the wireless mesh network (ToT) programmes organized and has been set up covering a range conducted in Bangladesh and of 15 km by establishing one relay Bhutan.

Project Features

Technology Platform Madarsas, 1 PHC (Public health Using a wireless technology, the centre), 1 Hotel, 1 Digital Panchayat, wireless mesh network has been 1 cyber café and 1 community radio set up covering a range of 15 km station. by establishing one relay station, The ToT programme enabled covering more than 20 point-to-point trainees to be trained on wireless nodes. These 20 point-to-point nodes essentials – cabling; link analysis are providing internet connectivity between two nodes; configuring at 1 CWIRC centre, 12 schools, 2 the radio (Mikrotik and Engenus)

216 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints as access point, client and as mesh; and they are easily able to market configure the Mikrotik Router as their products. Overall, there are DHCP server, router, and hotspot about 50 weavers who are directly server; creating user profile of or indirectly associated with different varieties; connecting the Chanderiyaan’s various components client with security (WPA/WEP) and of projects. Moreover, there is about Mac authentication. 20-40% growth in their income and On experimental basis, 3 point- revenue because of not only wireless to-point nodes, covering 5 nodes per se but being associated with within 3 km radius with a base station Chanderiyaan. established in Tura during October 2011. The network provided internet Education At Chanderi, W4C has resolved the connectivity to NGOs and educational issue of connectivity in 12 schools, institutes. including one (1) girls’ school and At Baran, 35 point-to-point two (2) Madarsas (Islamic Education nodes for a relay station have been Centre) that have now been established to cover maximum connected through internet; students 35 kilometers and minimum 10 and teachers are having Internet and kilometers of the region. The network content access for course curriculum is providing wireless connectivity at needs. DEF has set up IT labs in all 7 night schools-cum-libraries and 8 schools by providing netbooks for the region. same purpose. Accessibility & Inclusiveness The CWIRC centre (the base node Governance Moreover, 40 panchayats (local village of wireless connectivity) is serving councils) are utilizing the facility of the weaving community and its internet for their official purpose younger generation as information at the Digital Panchayat Centre, an and training centre. The issue of initiative of DEF and NIXI. Before the poor connectivity in the centre is deployment, the centre was facing now resolved after the wireless set the issue of internet connectivity, up. Trainees, youths and others now the centre has internet are using the Centre’s access connection that has been utilized by services for various needs largely panchayat members for their day-to- design sourcing, exam results and day work of office (such as creating admittance process and media online content for their panchayats, access. The wireless network has also maintaining database of National impacted the weaving community in Rural Employment Guarantee Act sourcing design patterns for creating scheme, etc.) new designs. A design repository generated with more than 250 new Health design patterns; Enhancing the functioning of The wireless facility has a government public health in provided enhanced facility for the its tele-health programme with ‘Chanderiyaan’ e-commerce platform better connectivity and access, that DEF launched to promote a public health centre located local produce and handicrafts of in Chanderi now has a facility of Chanderi. Through this e-Commerce tele-health services. The Chanderi platform, weavers are connected Wireless project ensured seamless

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 217 connectivity that helped doctors to community radio station in Chanderi, connect with senior doctors working is now utilizing internet services for in the district headquarter hospitals. creating local content to broadcast local programmes up to 10-15 Community Engagement kilometer within the region. At Chanderi ki Awaaz, a local

Conclusions

The W4C programme ensured the In terms of service utility, wireless connectivity in those regions the project has larger impact in where internet connectivity is a promoting art, culture, toursim major issue. Thus, the impact of the and heritage in Chanderi. The project has been progressive and impact of the project motivated encouraging. Key indicators of the partner stakeholders to replicate project – network deployment, its the same in other locations. The reach, usage, access and benefits project has attracted the attention – have shown positive trends. of stakeholders, including policy Key institutions networked and advocators, government and connected including schools and private players to adopt the wireless local councils. Education, health technology as an alternative solution and livelihood have received towards connectivity and access. In encouragement from the project. the Phase II of the W4C programme, For instance, the ‘Chanderiyaan’ the project is being replicated in e-commerce platform received a three rural locations in two States in boost with wireless connectivity. Skill India. It is also extended to the two development has a positive impact. South Asian countries.

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

It has been noted there is need utilizes free spectrum space. There to adopt alternative means of are multiple socio-economic benefits technology to access internet in associated with the projects, some remote regions of the country. The of which are access to e-governance wireless technology is one of them. services, e-learning, and e-commerce. The usage charges are free, as it

218 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 219 AirJaldi is a wireless broadband AirJaldi mesh network bringing affordable and reliable high- speed Internet service to rural and low socio-economic areas where it was previously not commercially viable for major Internet service providers.

Achievements Category »» Provides four networks in three e-Inclusion states: Himachal Pradesh, Uttara- khand and Jharkhand Organization Rural Broadband Service »» Evolved into a for-profit commer- Pvt. Ltd. cial business and plans to expand using the franchise model Platform of product Broadband Internet »» Brings Internet access to over 10,000 people in the most rural Website and challenging parts of India www.main.AirJaldi.com »» Empowers local citizens and youth by training them in net- work management and mainte- nance so that they can manage and maintain their own wireless networks

220 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

Beginning in 2005, AirJaldi launched than simply an Internet service, its first community-based wireless AirJaldi provides important training Internet network in Dharamsala, for community residents in order to Himachal Pradesh, called The enable them to implement, manage Dharamsala Community Wireless- and maintain their own networks Mesh Network. Since then it has and to broaden their employment expanded in Himachal Pradesh, options. Uttaranchal and Jharkhand. More

Practise Background

Today, Internet connectivity is part markets. Therefore to make new rural of a region’s basic infrastructure and markets a priority is not on their list. essential to economic and social This situation is unlikely to change development. At the same time, soon. bringing the Internet to rural areas It is difficult to provide good has proved costly and unattractive quality Internet service while to service providers, especially in depending on a single upstream ISP a deregulated market. As a result, for the entire network. Many rural many isolated rural areas have been networks, therefore, often evolve to left with no Internet service. In rely on common Internet connectivity general, Internet service in India is less much more than initially planned, dependable than in more developed thereby turning them into local rural countries and customer service also ISPs. lacks behind. Given these conditions, the challenge As a result, the Internet service was to: providers (ISPs) tend to be ∙∙ implement affordable Internet overextended simply dealing with service where it was previously the demand and traffic in cities and unavailable less willing to invest the same effort ∙∙ narrow the gap between the and capital in the less profitable Internet-haves and have-nots rural areas. For the same reasons, ∙∙ enable rural communities to the country’s fibre-optic backbone flourish and take charge of their reaches all tier 1, 2 and 3 cities, but own development not rural areas. To make matters ∙∙ make the Internet as much a part worse, existing ISPs typically have of the infrastructure as the roads their hands full satisfying an ever and the railways expanding demand in their existing

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 221 Implementation Process

Following the deregulation of venture. It has since grown to four Internet service providers in India in networks, including Terhi Garhwal the early 2000s, AirJaldi implemented District and Kumaon District, in its first network in Dharamsala, Uttarakhand and Ranchi District in Himachal Pradesh as a not-for-profit Jharkhand.

Project Features

Technology Platform most of the competition. AirJaldi uses free and open source AirJaldi favours robust and (F/OSS) technologies, small-sized, affordable equipment that comes low-power nodes mounted on low with power supplies and electrical masts and low-carbon footprint charge controllers capable of solutions to provide robust high- meeting the demands of the quality broadband service in the rural electricity service over more most demanding environmental expensive equipment that requires conditions. more maintenance. The AirJaldi platform had Their network extends existing to overcome the following broadband services, typically technological challenges in only available in large towns and order to provide reliable Internet cities, to more isolated areas via a service in rural parts of the Indian network of wireless nodes. Nodes Himalayas: a customer base that is consist of low antennas mounted too dispersed and few in number to on rooftops or high points in the economically support most readily landscape - complete with routers, available broadband technologies, power supplies, a battery-backup an unreliable rural power supply that and, in some places, photovoltaic experiences frequent outages and solar panels - and are capable of wild fluctuations that can damage withstanding the extreme weather equipment, and the need for a and the irregular power supply found stable workforce of skilled people to in rural areas. Requiring only 4 watts manage and maintain the system. of power, they have a small carbon Therefore, to be a success, footprint and are ideal for use with AirJaldi’s solution had to be solar panels. economically viable in low-density Mesh networking also contributes rural conditions and had to be able to the efficiency and reliability of the to provide uninterrupted Internet service. A ‘multi-hop’ mesh network service. Their unique solution, makes packet routing more flexible known as “Bandwidth Maximizer” and efficient, especially in adverse (BwM) takes advantage of available rural conditions subject to power bandwidth from multiple upstream and service outages. It is also easily ISPs in order to minimize downtime extended to thousands of devices. and, at the same time, reduces costs In the case of the Dharamsala, by taking advantage of the different the network consists of 30 nodes ISPs pricing packages. As a result, organized into a mesh topology their service is more reliable than such that when one node goes

222 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints out of operation, the others can that its networks can be maintained still communicate with each other. and managed by skilled and Broadband service is available to all knowledgeable local citizens who nodes in the mesh. are best placed to respond to the AirJaldi delivers wireless needs of their own communities and broadband Internet service – typically generally makes the economic and RJ45 connection to a customer’s employment possibilities of India’s home or business. Additionally, ICT revolution accessible to those AirJaldi offers a number of who were previously excluded from secondary ICT services supported it. on their system, including intranet conferencing, off-sight file storage, Community Participation AirJaldi employs local citizens file sharing, local and network for network management and website hosting and security features. maintenance. Their customer base Initially a modest project primarily consists of rural Indians and to connect a small number Tibetans and includes the Dharamsala of institutions in the area, the Community Wireless Mesh Network. Dharamsala Wireless Mesh Network This is used by more than 5,000 (DWMN) grew to be the largest students in five schools within a 50km operation of its kind in Asia. By 2010, radius, staff of the Tibetan Children’s it connected 2,000 computers across Villages organization, overseeing a 70km radius area in the valley of 15 TCV schools attended by 15,000 Kangra. students and two teacher training AirJaldi offers superior customer institutions. The Norbulingka institute care, compared to its competition. for the preservation of Tibetan As AirJaldi CEO Michael Ginguld says, culture, the Men-Tse-Khang Tibetan “When the line is down, we are up.” Medical and Astrological Institute, He believes that service is what sets various Tibetan monasteries and AirJaldi apart from the competition Buddhist institutions and about 20 and is a value added service that community organizations also access customers are willing to pay extra for. this network. Accessibility & Inclusiveness In Dharamsala, AirJaldi is affiliated In the interests of accessibility and with the Tibetan Technology Centre inclusiveness, the AirJaldi Network and is part of its efforts to bridge Academy (part of AirJaldi Training the digital divide with wireless ICT and Capacity Building Division) technologies. It plays a particularly offers training to people from the important role in Tibetan community, communities being served who supporting the Tibetan Children’s might only have a rudimentary Village and the Tibetan Medical understanding of mechanics or and Astrological Institute as well as digital technologies to start with. providing Internet service to a large AirJaldi has developed simple and number of Tibetan refugees. well-tested network management The Internet allows refugees tools and teaches them through to stay in touch with their families straightforward and practical hands- and preserve their culture by on courses given by them as well as providing access to e-books, articles, other service providers. movies and blogs. AirJaldi was also In this way, AirJaldi disseminates developed in cooperation with technological know-how, ensures other local institutions such as the

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 223 Dharamsala Information Technology of Himachal Pradesh and Mussoorie Group and the Tibetan Computer in Uttarakhand. The network’s mesh Resource Centre as well as a range of structure allows it to be scaled up to community stakeholders and schools. thousands of nodes without reducing The Tibetan Children’s Village School transmission speeds. hosts a cyber café run for and by AirJaldi intends to expand its children. operations in areas with proven Also in the Dharamsala area, a demand using the franchise model. non-registered NGO, Students for Franchisees will be expected to be a Free Tibet (SFT), uses the AirJaldi business-minded local entrepreneurs system in its efforts to reach out to who are familiar with their own the Chinese population, advocate on market and can contribute a behalf of Tibetans in China, transmit customer base but will not be messages from the Dalai Lama and expected to be technologically counter what they see as China’s skilled. biased coverage of the Tibetan Potential future franchises will cause. Using AirJaldi, SFT members be considered according to the use Yahoo messenger to reach 90 following steps: people at once in China, tweet on ∙∙ Review whether there are Twitter and transmit the latest news. adequate customers in the area It is estimated that their efforts have with the ability to pay for the reached 90,000 Chinese citizens. service In Dehradun, Uttarakhand, the ∙∙ Review potential future customers AirJaldi network is now used by the such as schools, local institutions Institute for Financial Management and private individuals and Research (IFMR), a micro- ∙∙ Understand the local topography finance organization. Previously, using Google Earth etc. to IFMR experienced service instability, determine network feasibility which interfered with its day-to-day ∙∙ Prepare a preliminary plan for the operations, delayed transactions, network based on the previous increased customer wait times at its information branches and took a long time to ∙∙ Approach local entrepreneurs with correct. Because the existing service details of the venture, including providers had few solutions to offer, the initial investment required IFMR formed a partnership with ∙∙ Implement the project and AirJaldi to network its 100 village provide the necessary training. branches with head offices across an In 2010, the franchise fee was in area 30km by 40km. the area of Rs. 2 to 3 lakhs for an Replication & Scalability area of approximately 15km and AirJaldi, originally a not-for- would increase as the area increases. profit enterprise operating in the Additional money will typically also Dharamsala and Dehradun area, has be required for things such as office already scaled up into a for-profit space, vehicles, computers and commercial business called Rural salaries. Broadband Private Limited and expanded into the Kangra Valley area

224 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Conclusions

Broadband Internet access in rural training, connectedness, social areas is critical for the effective participation, cultural preservation and efficient functioning of local and banking. AirJaldi has proven government, business, schools and that it is possible to provide reliable other organizations. Affordable wireless broadband Internet service in service, furthermore, plays a beneficial rural areas. AirJaldi pioneered high- role in empowering communities, quality Internet service for previously providing economic development unserviced rural areas and has been opportunities and improving the expanding operations to other areas standard of living of rural citizens in the country. through improved education and

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Poor local governance in some the field are critical for the operation rural areas can be an obstacle to but can be difficult to find. implementation and has prevented Further copper telecommunication or delayed expansion into some lines are often stolen or damaged markets. Furthermore, entry costs from landslides, floods, digging etc. are high due to long drawn out and This adds to system time-outs as well expensive licensing processes and as maintenance expenses and should bureaucratic bidding procedures. be taken into consideration. Well-trained technical employees in

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 225 The Employment Generation and EGMM Marketing Mission –EGMM – is one of the largest jobs mission for tribal and rural poor in the world working in a public-private partnership mode with Govern- ment, companies and the rural communities as stakeholders.

Achievements Category »» Provides the rural community e-Inclusion with fixed income, new skills, and self confidence Organization Employment Generation »» Ensures remittances for the ru- and Marketing Mission ral families and lowering of caste (EGMM), Department of stigma Rural Development, Govt. »» Helps eradication of poverty with- of A.P. in a generation’s time in a sus- Platform of product tained manner Online »» Creates employment for the rural Website youth www.egmm.ap.gov.in »» Provides a competent, loyal, cost-effective workforce with an opportunity to fulfill its social re- sponsibilities

226 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

One job per poor rural family is the captures the proceeding of the goal of the Employment Generation activity as and when it occurs in the & Marketing Mission (EGMM), field. The data reports generated which was established in 2005 by through the software and analysis the Andhra Pradesh Rural Poverty have been designed keeping in mind Reduction Program (APRPRP). Andhra the MIS needs of the government, Pradesh’s unemployment rate (6.7 funders and program. This software percent) is slightly higher than that brings transparency into the program. of India (6.0 percent). Rural areas The reports generated help in are plagued with low incomes and monitoring the large program and under-employment with many fund flow. The analysis is fed back to people working in the informal improve program quality. sector, manual labor or seasonal The district performances are small scale farming. EGMM’s mission monitored at all levels – district is to respond to this problem by collectors at the district level facilitating employment in the formal and senior government officials/ sector—which offers more stable and chief minister’s review at the state higher incomes—for economically level using only software data. All underprivileged rural youth so that processes involved in job creation for poor households can leave poverty the rural youth in enrolment, training within one generation. and placement, can be viewed online. This government funded scheme The information can be drilled down is tracked through a special EGMM from the state, district to mandal software, and it is through this level. The analysis is available on software that the youth are matched excel sheets. For easy and aesthetic with potential employers based on presentation purposes, the excel their interests, abilities and market sheet can be converted with a press opportunities. of a button to bar diagrams; pie The transaction-based software charts etc.

Practise Background

There is a serious gap between cities – because they lack language, demand of jobs and supply of skilled grooming and social skills. labour. At the end of 2010, India’s As cities do well, more and more unemployment rate stood at 9.4% level entry jobs are created which or 40 million people. The picture city educated youth are often too is bleaker when one considers qualified for. At the same time, the that 74% of them do not have same opportunities have not yet job opportunities as they live in reached the village level. The obvious villages, and even if they did, cannot step, therefore, is to help the village qualify for those jobs due to lack of level youth find a city job.EGMM technical and language skills. Youth steps in here and helps these rural at the rural/village level obtain local men and women get the necessary university degrees but often they skills to man the front desk of a fast are not good enough to get jobs in food chain, or learn how to be a

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 227 cashier. It also helps them find places important area of skilling of youth to stay, jobs, while at the same time, have learnt about the processes and inducting more and more people into best practices through the website. these trainings. The motivation was to build an Information and technology IT architecture which could monitor initiatives play a vital role to fulfill the the program and bring a degree of gap in execution of projects. EGMM professionalism to it. Today, the data has got volunteers, national and is communicated to all stakeholders, international, for its program through rural communities, companies and this citizen-interface. NGOs, MNCs, government to bring them on the and entrepreneurs, interested in this same platform.

Implementation Process

Employment Generation and the program leading to delay in Marketing Mission (EGMM) is a process of trainings, placement, mission set up by the Department post placement of Rural Development of the Andhra ∙∙ Telephonically receiving data Pradesh (AP) Government to from districts leading to delay in provide employment/ employability preparation of MIS reports for the rural youth. These are ∙∙ Physical statistical figures varied the economically and socially because of inaccuracies; hence underprivileged rural and tribal poor there was no faith in ‘government from remote areas. data’ Set up four years back, EGMM ∙∙ There was no transparency in has emerged as one of the largest implementation of a program jobs mission globally for the due to the lack of a sophisticated underprivileged youth. It has trained tracking method over 3 lakh young people and placed ∙∙ Analysis of field data could not 75% of them in entry-level corporate be fed into the program for jobs. 45% are girls and 37% are SCs/ improvements STs. EGMM works in a public-private ∙∙ Forecasting was difficult to figure partnership mode with Government, out market and field trends companies and the rural communities EGMM is essentially a brand as stakeholders. which compromises of ‘pro-poor EGMM officials approach the products’ such as the country’s first youth in their villages, and encourage grassroots level English program, them to join their training schemes. soft skills and computer academy, A part of it is carried out at the taluk rural retail academy, and security level, through 450 centers across the academy. It also offers customized state, but the final bout of training trainings for work in rural BPOs, SEZ is at the EGMM “finishing school” in manufacturing units, and so on. Hyderabad. After that, they are placed in jobs in the cities. It has partnerships with big companies such as; However, without comprehensive ∙∙ Retail: More (Aditya Birla Group); software, these are the problems Big Bazaar (Future’s Group), EGMM experienced: Reliance Fresh; Heritage Fresh; ITC ∙∙ The inability to physically monitor

228 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Choupal and Futures group. training centres are established, and ∙∙ Security Services: Roxa/G4 youth screened to enroll in them. Securitas. At the end of training, companies ∙∙ Sales: Hindustan Unilever; Reliance come for campus recruitment. The telecom; Tata Indicom; Vodafone; placed youth are offered sensitive Airtel; Eenadu. support like counseling and hostel ∙∙ Rural BPO: HDFC Bank. identification in cities (to prevent ∙∙ Hospitality: Mc Donald, KFC, Pizza dropouts). Corner, Café Coffee Day. The software also keeps track of the following for analysis: name, age, The processes involved to make gender, caste, village, mandal, district, the program work are complex. It job placement, salary, progress report, begins with collecting the data of financial performance, placement unemployed youth that goes into a analysis, performance reports, and database. A market scan identifies unemployed youth analysis among opportunities. Simultaneously, various many other factors.

Project Features

Technology Platform reports that can also be seen in the The username and passwords are package. The web site contains issued to JDMs, district/state partners ongoing trainings, completed to login for selecting trainees, trainings and placement, trainee entering details for placement and details that can easily be understood post placements by accessing the by any laymen. Apart from the web through any browser. Citizens statistical reports, a citizen can get can also access the web directly information on content of MoUs with through any browser for statistical training partners, district wise press reports. clippings, photo gallery and articles in national and international magazines. Accessibility & Inclusiveness The information on corporate The scheme itself is to foster partners with EGMM can also be seen. inclusiveness, and its website aims The photo gallery contains meetings to be as accessible as it can. The with parents of trainees, visit of VIPs data in the reports (www.egmm. to the training centers, ongoing ap.gov.in) has been created through trainings, onsite work of aspirants, etc. a transaction-based software to EGMM has got volunteers, national capture the proceeding of the activity and international, for its program as and when it occurs in the field. through this citizen-interface. NGOs, The software is user friendly and any MNCs, and entrepreneurs, interested citizen can access the site and view in this important area of skilling the statistical reports. At a glance, on of youth have learnt about the the home page, the physical report processes and best practices through on dashboard can be seen. The the website. details of each aspirant can also be viewed. Community Participation The reports consists of district wise The EGMM community consists of targets and achievements, training, not only the youth who are trained placement details, salary, caste wise but also the companies and other

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 229 stakeholders who participate in the per annum. The youth, then, can program. HR officials from firms email send home on average Rs 24,000 / visit the office for recruiting trained per annum. This money is used to manpower from EGMM. MNCs and buy assets like TV, land, educating a entrepreneurs offer their training younger sibling and to pay back debt. services and placement by entering Thus impact studies showed EGMM into MoU with EGMM. Others offer to work takes families out of poverty in give guest lectures and mentor youth a sustained manner. IT architecture on weekends. provided allows for scaling in a sustained manner. This ensures funds Sustainability & Cost effectiveness really reach poor with fewer leakages. For a young country, India has a very low rate of skilled labor. Therefore, Replication & Scalability the funds allocated for this scheme The project is highly replicable and are large; Rs 30,000 crores have been many other states have come to earmarked for this purpose. In Andhra study it. The need for training is felt Pradesh, Rs 80-100 crore state funds around most rural areas of India and have been allocated for this scheme. there is a demand of these processes, The rural and tribal poor youth both from prospective employees are from agricultural wage laborer and employers. families which earn barely Rs 12,000

Conclusions

EGMM is a focused project that small town young people end up knows exactly what it needs to with the necessary training to make deliver to be successful. Through it in the big city. It has allowed young the work management software it is men and women with high aims and able to keep track of everyone who ambitions to match those desires wants to join EGMM and matches with real job prospects, and to that selected people to the kinds of jobs end, is really helping the youth of they want. The training is also very India realise its potential. focused, to ensure that these village/

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

The impact of using a software to operations, both for the program and track the EGMM scheme has been budget flow. It has helped monitor- carefully documented. First of all, it training partners for ensuring quality has helped in capturing the physical placements. and financial progress of the program The four main processes of at each transaction in a uniform enrolment, training, placement manner throughout the state. Any and post placement are be done Right To Information queries are automatically, according to the time guided to the website, which is a line fixed, after which data cannot detailed one. Using software has be entered. This prevents delays brought transparency into the in operation; allows for tracking of

230 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints delays and helps processes being improve program implementation. followed for quality. The software Finally, company placement also generates detailed MIS reports analysis and salary analysis helps in for the government and funders, understanding where to place the and through them analysis reports youth, helping them earn higher for different trends, performances of incomes. districts which feed the learnings to

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 231 The Online Hearing Screening Online Project is a simple online test de- veloped as a questionnaire which Hearing helps to identify hearing loss. Screening Project

Achievements Category »» Helps to adopt and design infor- e-Inclusion mation technology to reach out to all, in terms of screening, pro- Organization fessional guidance and referral AYJNIHH services for hearing loss in India Platform of product »» Generates reports designed Online/Broadband through computerized calcula- Website tions and logic after screening www.checkhearing.nic.in aims to provide the user with the knowledge of his/her hearing sen- sitivity »» Provides further solution through referral service facility with a pro- vision to upgrade the referral sys- tem

232 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

Hearing impairment is the inability developed and validated a simple of an individual to hear sounds online test – a questionnaire – adequately. This may be due to which can determine if the user improper development, damage or has a hearing problem and then disease to any part of the hearing directs him/her to the nearest clinic mechanism. Hearing is a prerequisite equipped to deal with the problem. for the development of normal The questionnaire has separate speech & language. A child learns to sections for different age groups: 0-2 speak by hearing the speech of others years, 2-6 years, 6-18 years & 18 years. in the family and surroundings. This test can be taken by individuals Deafness is an invisible in the privacy and comfort of their impairment. Keen observation is own home. The test is designed to necessary in order to identify a help people better understand just deaf child/individual. Deafness how serious their hearing loss is, and at birth or in early childhood has to determine whether or not they disastrous effects on the child’s need further help. overall development. These effects The questionnaire was adopted vary depending upon the age of as the best substitute for an online onset, nature and degree of hearing Internet hearing test. The questions impairment. were tested on children and adults Untreated hearing loss interferes both, and in the case of infants, with virtually every aspect of a were administered to the parents person’s life - both personally and before the audiological evaluation. professionally. When ignored and To avoid the elements of bias and left unaddressed, hearing loss can subjective variations creeping in as lead to impaired memory; difficulty well as to check the validity of the in learning new tasks; reduced questionnaire, different clinicians alertness; increased risk to personal carried out both procedures. safety; irritability; negativism; anger; Strong positive correlations fatigue; tension; stress; depression; were found between audiological isolation; withdrawal; and diminished findings and questionnaire findings psychological and overall health. used for hearing test online project. Simply, when a person chooses to This showed that the questionnaire ignore his/her hearing loss, he/she can be used as a valid tool for early will be choosing a dramatic loss diagnosis and detection of hearing in the quality of their life. For the impaired in the highly sensitive vast majority of people, it is not a group. Information technology thus conscious choice. can be adapted to reach out to the To help people understand the 3.1 million persons with hearing serious impact that hearing loss impairment in India, enabling a better can have on their lives, the “Online quality life from cradle to grave. Hearing Screening Project” has

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 233 Practise Background

Also though hearing impairment is fourths of the people over 75 years) not a life-threatening handicap it is and the only way to be sure to serious enough to certainly affect have it tested by an audiologist. the quality of one’s life. There is However due to the non-availability hardly any information available in of such services, the Online Hearing audiology books and journals and Screening Project was developed very few such tests are available which would at least help the on an internet. The Online Hearing individual to get an idea about his/ Screening Project is an attempt her hearing sensitivity. made to provide information about Further, this would help the such tests. It is really not practical to individual to seek advice from take an on-line hearing test over the qualified clinician, thereby enabling Internet. early detection. The project also About 10% of the general would assist him/her in intervention population has serious hearing of possible hearing impairment from problems (including a third of the qualified audiological services, in the people over 65 years and three near vicinity of his/her home.

Implementation Process

The online hearing-screening test sound only when it is presented was designed in steps, keeping in on one particular side of the ear i.e. mind that accuracy was key to any either left or right? diagnosis. ∙∙ Did your child stop babbling after ∙∙ Development and Design of tool 6 to 8 months of age? (Questionnaire) ∙∙ Does your child show poor or no interest in playing with noise As part of this project four sets of making toys like rattle, bell etc? questionnaire have been designed ∙∙ Has your 1-1/2 year old child failed in English for four groups, which are to start using meaningful words linked to the real online test. The four like mummy, daddy, bye-bye etc? target groups are 0-2 years, 2-6 years, ∙∙ Do you feel that your child does 6-18 years and 18 years & above. not understand simple commands The hearing screening tests provide like wave bye- bye until & unless a quick and cost effective way to your speech is accompanied by separate people into two groups, a gestures? pass group and a fail group. Those ∙∙ Does he/she insist on watching who pass hearing screenings are your face while you speak? presumed to have no hearing loss. Is your child unable to respond to Questions include the following: your call from a distance of 5 ft to 10 ∙∙ Does your child fail to respond to ft? loud sounds? Those who fail are in need of an ∙∙ Does your child fail to respond to in-depth evaluation by an audiologist soft sounds? and may also need to follow-up ∙∙ Does your child turn his head to care from other professionals. They localize (locate the direction) the

234 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints are given access to referral service progress in technology, no field test solutions on the website. Auditing were carried out for these. of the website was done as per the The calibration of sounds used procedure of the Government of was done initially using the physical India and it was decided to remove calibration methods. However it the proposed chat facility and the was found that due to variations of flash in the website. The referral speakers used, the volume controls list was upgraded to include the and the sound card interface, the ISHA members with hearing testing results during field test could not be facilities, DDRCs, ENTs, and Medical validated. These variables of the type Colleges with hearing testing of speakers and the sound card of facilities. the system did not permit biological ∙∙ Field Testing of the Tool calibration as well. As the sound tests were field This involved the following: tested, it was found to have various ∙∙ Field testing of questions used for interferences and runtime errors screening according to age group, causing logical link failure in sound ∙∙ Field testing of speech sounds tests and questionnaire tests. Hence used for screening irrespective of it was decided to omit the aspect age group and of screening using sounds and was ∙∙ Field testing of audio frequencies decided to construct and validate the for screening irrespective of age questionnaire and test its sensitivity group. and specificity. The field tests resulted in a ∙∙ Validation of Questionnaire comprehensive knowledge about The validation of questionnaire the various aspects of the utility and was done and the results showed cost effectiveness of the test and a strong correlation between the adaptation of technology. Since the audiological test findings and the referral services and chat facility were questionnaire designed for the online to be constantly upgraded in terms hearing screening, that is, 88.4%. of infrastructure development and

Project Features

Technology Platform website devised, designed and its In reality it is not practical to impact on quality of life of the speech take an online hearing test over and hearing impaired beneficiaries. Its the internet as there are various aim was also to collect the feedback interfaces that would need to be for further enhancement of the calibrated periodically. Hence the website using the developments in best substitute for such a test is Information Technology. a systematically designed and scientifically field tested series Accessibility & Inclusiveness The main objective of this project of questions that will serve the is to adopt, design, and device the purpose of screening of hearing information technology to reach sensitivity, with a logical application out to all, in terms of screening, of corroborative checks. The project professional guidance and referral also aims to check the utility of the services for professional help in

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 235 India. The report generation facility beyond that there is no community designed through computerized participation. calculations and logic and after screening aims to provide the Sustainability & Cost Effectiveness The project is funded by the Ali user with the knowledge of his/ Yavar Jung National Institute for the her hearing sensitivity. The users Hearing Handicapped which is an of the website are also given autonomous organization under further solution provision through the Ministry of Social Justice and referral service facility and upgrade Empowerment, Government of India, the referral system. However, its New Delhi. The Institute is located at limitations are that it is in English and Bandra (West), Mumbai. This project can only be accessed through the has no financial sustainability model. internet. Replication & Scalability Community Participation Since the questionnaire is a simple The referrals given are based on the online one it can be easily replicated. users geographical location, however,

Conclusions

The concept of “online hearing test” This is essential because hearing is a recent one and has come into impairment is an invisible, silent, dual action only after the invention of and sudden handicap. internet. This concept was introduced Also though hearing impairment because of the non-availability is not a life-threatening handicap but of specialized professionals like it certainly affect one’s quality of life. audiologists and their services near It is an easy, convenient and effective to home. Hence to get one’s hearing way to bring the patient closer to a assessed so as to achieve early diagnosis and a first step before an identification and intervention was actual checkup. one of the basic goals of such tests.

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Basically about 10% of the general in pointing out the necessary population has serious hearing professionals who would take help in problems and the best method of getting the corrective interventions verifying this is to have it tested by required. a qualified audiologist using “up to These would include professionals date” and “calibrated” equipment. like the audiologist and speech Intervention is especially important language pathologist who are trained in the case of children for whom in the diagnosis and rehabilitation an early diagnosis and remedial of hearing and speech problems. measures could prove extremely In case of hearing impairment important. This project by helping this professional can carry out the in diagnosis also lends the crucial hearing assessment, diagnose the and necessary support required type of hearing problem, do hearing

236 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints aid testing and fitting, help with a educational programs for children program geared at helping the child with hearing impairment. They can learn to make use of his hearing and assess the child’s language abilities develop speech and language and and guide you about the type of provide speech therapy interventions. school placement best suited for your Equally important is the special child. educator who has specialized in The Online Hearing Screening educational methods for children Project is a vital step in ensuring that with hearing impairment. These hearing loss can be corrected by teachers use special methods to timely diagnosis and intervention. develop language and conduct

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 237 HarVa is a rural start up that HarVa primarily focuses on skill devel- opment, BPO, community based farming and microfinance. HarVa aspires for sustainable inclusive growth by creating value in the heart of rural India.

Achievements Category »» Focuses on skill development es- e-Inclusion pecially in women Organization »» Deploys intellectual capital to cre- Ajay Chaturvedi ate BPO jobs in rural India Platform of product »» Establishes agri-services and chain Broadband/online markets (to buy local and sell to markets) Website www.HarVa.co.in »» Establishes microfinance for em- ployees and creates tele-health centers

238 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

HarVa – “Harnessing value of rural the pyramid’. India” – is a company that aims to HarVa is a holistic approach to take urban opportunities to rural job and value creation in rural India. India. The philosophy behind the The company has a four-armed venture is that while many companies approach: rural BPO (Business in urban India are losing their Process Outsourcing), microfinance, competitive edge because of rising tele-health centres and agriculture. costs, rural India has been left largely HarVa’s approach seeks to involve untapped. There is great potential and engage entire farming in developing the skills of people in communities as opposed to simply villages, who reside at the ‘bottom of establishing an office in the area.

Practise Background

India’s cities are experiencing growth of employment in the development at a very rapid pace. organized sector vis-à-vis the Businesses are growing, as is unorganized sector. Public debate on infrastructure and income levels. this issue is conducted on the basis However, by and large the rural that unorganized sector employment population of the country has been is generally of low quality while left out of the process. The number organized sector employment is of poor people in the country has of high quality, and the focus of not decreased much in the past few attention is on whether employment decades; in the 1970s the number has increased in the organized sector. was at 321.3 million, and by 2005 Therefore, rural India has the it was only down to 301.7 million. tendency to become a land of The figures also indicate that many missed opportunities. Those who people migrated from rural areas to go to school find themselves with urban areas, thereby contributing to no significant job prospects except urban poverty as well. farming. Many farmers have small Official figures from the planning pieces of land and no real knowledge commission also reveal that the of new farming techniques to composition of ‘poor’ itself has been improve their yield. There is hardly changing and rural poverty is getting any infrastructure in villages. Women concentrated in agricultural labor are married off young, and spend and artisanal households and urban their lives taking care of the family. poverty in casual labor households. There is always a desire to migrate to The Planning Commission reports urban areas to earn more money but that agricultural labor households often the only jobs available in the accounted for 41% of rural poor in cities for them revolve around driving, 1993–94 as well as in 2004–05. This cleaning, cooking and so on. indicates that the ratio has not have The opportunity, therefore, lies not changed significantly over time. in the fact that due to the high cost However, at the same time, a of service in urban areas because of critical issue in assessing employment the lack of space and high salaries, it behavior of the economy is the makes economic sense to invest in

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 239 rural India. linkages. Internet helps to end Internet connectivity is crucial to isolation by allowing people who linking pockets of rural India with are geographically distant to partake the rest of the country. Technology in the information revolution. has widened the digital divide Information and communication between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have- technology (ICT) has become, within nots’. People derive both social a very short time, one of the basic and economic benefits from these building blocks of modern society.

Implementation Process

HarVa is the brainchild of founder went in building these four centers. Ajay Chaturvedi. The project was born Of them, the Teekli center is the in 2008, with the plain philosophy main hub that houses 30 employees that the opportunities of urban and 4 trainers. The Teekli center India can be brought to rural India required Rs 25 lakh to set up. It for solutions. The XPO was officially has a running cost of Rs 4.5 lakh launched in March 2010. a month, as is earning about Rs 5 HarVa take a complex four- lakh in revenue per month. The pronged approach to working with internet costs (using data cards) rural communities, called the “HarVa come between Rs 10,000- Rs 20,000 Parivaar”. In the long run, each HarVa depending on usage. community will have a tele-health Establishing a new office in a rural centre, an agricultural supply chain, area is very challenging because microfinance and a BPO/XPO (XPO village communities are tight-knit. is another version of a BPO). HarVa Team HarVa faced a lot of skepticism has been testing out pilot projects when it entered Teekli village, across the country. Community especially since HarVa was looking farming has been piloted in Dehra to only employ women at the XPO. Dun, Uttaranchal and Haryana. Tele- Many family members felt that these health has been piloted Haryana and jobs might take the women away Rajasthan. Micro credit has yet to be to bigger cities such as Gurgaon, tested. Haryana. However, with the support HarVa was started with a of the local panchayat, and a woman consortium of investors who gave sarpanch (leader of the village seed capital of Rs 50 lakh each to council), slowly, the village came HarVa Partnerships, the parent around. company. Under it, HarVa XPO Private HarVa advertised for job positions Limited was established, and it is and arranged trainings for those expected to go public by 2012. Today, interested. An impressive 500 women Chaturvedi owns 90% stake in HarVa applied for positions, later the list XPO, but in the future wants to give was narrowed down to 200. External equity to his employees as well. trainers were brought from Gurgaon For HarVa, the rural XPO is the to explain computer systems and flagship scheme. There are 4 centers software to the women. At first they in Haryana, at Badshahpur, Aklimpur, were made to familiarize themselves Baas and Teekli. Of HarVa’s Rs 3.5 with laptops, CPUs, sockets, and crore seed capital, about Rs 80 lakh later with using the internet. HARVA

240 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints uses proprietary software along such as data processing, software with Microsoft Word, Excel, and testing, and call center support. PowerPoint, which were all part of The model has worked very well for the training. Finally, 50 women were the company, and it has won much chosen to work at the office. recognition for its efforts. It plans to HarVa XPO offers supports all back expand to other states across India and front office outsourcing jobs as well.

Project Features

Technology Platform As a result of this employment HarVa needs computers, special directive there is a socio-economic software and internet connections churning in the village as women to work. Telecom companies told become earning members, often the company that they would come earning the same or more than their into rural areas only if they were husbands. Depending on how many assured 60-80 subscribers. As a result, hours they work, the women earn the Teekli centers 20 computers are anything between Rs 2500 to Rs 7800 connected to the internet through a month. This extra income, coupled 20 data cards which use Reliance with the fact that it is a women-only to connect to the World Wide Web. office has made HarVa a ‘safe’ site. On However, over time this will change. the weekends, some children come to the office and the mothers are able Accessibility & Inclusiveness to teach them some computer skills. HarVa employs trainers from the This way, the community gets to city to come and hold workshops to engage with the company. teach rural employees how to use computers, software and navigate the Sustainability & Cost Effectiveness internet. As a result, skills are being Establishing a running office in transferred in areas where none were. a small town/village requires Trainers teach the employees investment in terms of infrastructure, online ad posting, sorting data, equipment, training, salary, generator digitizing feedback forms and so on. and upkeep. At HarVa’s Teekli Center It has been HarVa’s experience that the running cost is Rs 4.5 lakh per most of the rural women are very fast month. However, the center also learners. brings in business that, in HarVa’s case, is enough to allow the center Community Participation to sustain itself without any further HarVa XPO employs only women investments. In its first year itself, the as the company feels that women Teekli centre brought in Rs 5 lakh per are less likely to leave their post in month. With more clients and more search of a new job. It has also been revenue, this is a highly sustainable observed that because many families business. And if the fixed costs rise, live in a ‘joint-family’ system, women HarVa has the option of creating are able to come to the office for a centres in more affordable rural parts few hours in the day without much of the country. objection, as there is someone at home to cover for them. The shifts are Replication & Scalability 5am-1pm and 1pm-8pm. The HarVa experiment has proved

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 241 once again that there is virtually a other rural BPOs (most notably, limitless talent pool across rural India. Desi Crew in South India), which The main challenge lies in training also operate, in the same sphere. people in technical skills and creating However, this market is nowhere infrastructure. However, there are close to being saturated.

Conclusions

Technology has allowed work to be is to say, deeper and deeper into rural outsourced from more expensive, India. This is because as current HarVa urban areas to economical, rural villages start to experience the benefit areas. Through ICTs, a line of of corporate jobs and eventually, communication can be established consumerism, the company will face through the country, helping many of the problems experienced disseminate work to those who in the city offices today – rising costs need it. Unlike offline initiatives, ICT and a high pace of attrition. enabled initiatives are able to draw However, HarVa plans to give its linkages between people who do not, employees a stake in the company and will not, even know each other, to keep that from happening. but yet, will work together and draw The company will be listed in economic benefit from each other. the future, and at that point, CEO But, to keep this business model Ajay Chaturvedi wants to give the competitive, HarVa will have to employees 20% equity so that they continually expand inwards – which are also part owners of HarVa.

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Projects that seek to create company expand its scope of work employment in rural India often experimenting with computer related concentrate heavily on promoting programs and workshops to increase arts, crafts and other local traditions. farmers interest in technology and This project can be classified as a development. step in the right direction of bridging Another challenge would be when the digital divide. Already, HarVa has the XPO has to start taking on voice trained 200 women who are bringing calls. In that scenario, the training income to their families, which is costs will increase substantially for comparable (and in certain cases, both accent correction and language. more) than what their husbands At present employees do not even earn. Replication across rural India have a working knowledge of English, will not only introduce technology and even if they were to operate to the countryside but also increase within Hindi and other regional purchasing power. languages, accents would have to be Increased internet penetration worked upon. and computer literacy will help the

242 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 243 FINO’s Technology Solution for FINO Financial Inclusion is a complete end-to-end suite of products that enable institutions such as banks, microfinance institutions, government entities, and insur- ance companies etc. to take their financial products and services to the doorstep of millions of unbanked and under-banked households at bottom of the pyramid.

Achievements Category »» Offers complete suite of financial m-Inclusion products and services (Savings, In- surance, Credit, G2P transfers and Organization remittances) FINO (Financial Inclusion Network & Operations Ltd. »» Provides low cost of service to end customer by leveraging the FINO Platform of product architecture Offline »» Offers turnkey technology solu- Website tions and business correspondent www.fino.co.in services »» Utilizes the FINO technology ar- chitecture, which is proven, scal- able and robust

244 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

FINO founded in year 2006, customers. headquartered in Mumbai, India, FINO caters to the industry has emerged as a leading inventor, needs across market segments by innovator and implementer of undertaking complete electronic integrated technology solutions payment platform projects. FINO for institutions such as banks, solutions are anchored around using microfinance institutions, biometric smart cart, hand-held government entities, and insurance devices and micro deposit machines companies to enable a financial to perform field operations and inclusion environment for the micro biometric authentication.

Practise Background

Despite their best intentions, it had perception by the banks that this been a challenge for banks, insurance customer segment is not financially companies, micro-finance institutions viable for banks to service. But this and government entities to reach out exclusion has made it difficult for to people in the vast rural landscape them to have any formal savings, of India. With approximately 450 transfer money across states easily, million individuals outside the ambit and even borrow money from of the formal financial system, it is someone who can offer them an enormous task to take banking, acceptable interest rates. insurance and other financial services Banking institutions like FINO have to the masses. FINO’s technology changed this thinking. The idea was platform currently reaches out to to push the envelope in a highly more than 19 million of these BPL regulated environment and come people, which is close to 25 per cent up with a technological solution to of total BPL population. enable banking transactions in a The hurdles have been amplified distributed manner using low-scale by a general lack of awareness, resources instead of only at licensed high costs of delivery, accessibility locations by well-trained banking problems, strict KYC norms, lack staff. of infrastructure, and the overall

Implementation Process

FINO functions via a simple but ∙∙ Information System (MIS and robust amalgamation of its 3 credit bureau) integrated pillars. The Core System: Core banking ∙∙ Core System (channels interface, system component is built as a products engine and data shared, back-end banking engine that repository) provides accounting, MIS, reporting ∙∙ Distribution System (enrollment and monitoring facility for all asset stations, smart cards and hand- and liability products that the micro held, field transaction devices)

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 245 sector requires. The core component by FINO are provided with a smart- comprises of three sub units viz. card, which carries their fingerprint, Channel interfaces, Product Engines demographic information and and Data Repository, enabling financial relationship information centralized data processing and data on the chip; while the fascia holds management of remotely captured the demographic information and transactions in the field. cardholder’s photograph along with Card Issuer’s details. The Core System transaction The use of fingerprints allows the applications help manage various users to authenticate their accounts aspects of the card lifecycle, handheld without having to remember any device lifecycle, principal’s field passwords or signatures. The card representative lifecycle, principal can maintain up to 8 relationships account lifecycle and transaction with financial (Banks, MFIs, etc) or processing - field originated and non-financial (PDS, etc) institutions principal originated - i.e. they ensure along with their individual transaction that history of up to last 10 transactions. a. The field originated card present Further, FINO’s fingerprint transactions are sent securely and validation engine ensures that a timely to the principals’ system customer exists in the system once and and once only. The service agents b. The principal originated card not- under the FINO umbrella are also present transactions are sent to given a smart-card with similar details, the card in an effective fashion. which forces them to authenticate Some of the Core Banking Solution themselves with their fingerprints (CBS) Features include: as well. This ensures a secure ∙∙ Integrated CBS with branch-level offline transaction authenticated multi-product support by the customer and principal’s ∙∙ Mainstream Retail Banking CBS representative. While, the smart-card having all features built in is an important tool to maintain the ∙∙ Specially customised to suit the sanctity of the offline transaction, it micro segment does not mean that all transactions ∙∙ Highly secure, scalable and robust must be offline on FINO platform i.e. ∙∙ Trusted by hundreds of Banks in based on the nature of transaction, it India and abroad can be designed to go online. ∙∙ Prompt & defined service delivery Information System: The MIS culture System manages all logics for data ∙∙ Low Error Rate: Tracking at each messaging to generate information production stage for day-to-day planning and ∙∙ Consistent Processes: ISO management of operations. The 9001:2000 certification principals may utilize some of the ∙∙ Robust contingency management pre-designed reports by FINO or ask procedure CBS Sub-units: for customized reports. The credit bureau component employs a mix Distribution System: Made up of of complex algorithms to assess the enrolment stations which capture credit worthiness of a customer on the customer demographic and the FINO platform. All the above authentication information and components are customizable for the biometric enabled multi- application specific needs of the principals. smart cards. All customers touched Customers are enrolled into the

246 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints system by agents of the client bank, After the customer swipes his/ or agents from FINO’s own ‘bandhu’ her finger on a biometric slot on network, by recording all their details the PoT, a receipt is generated and along with a photograph and a handed over to customer as a proof record of his/her fingerprints. This of the transaction. The transaction data is fed into the system and each data is transmitted to FINO servers new customer is assigned a unique immediately. ID. Post-enrollment, once a smart In case GPRS connectivity is not card is issued to the customer, he/she available, the PoT is settled with a dial can start transacting immediately to up connection/PSTN phone line at avail of any financial service. end of the day. All transaction details The agent, who has a biometric can be viewed by the client (bank, hand held GPRS enabled Point of insurance company, MFI, government Transaction (PoT) visits the customer entity etc.). The benefits include: at his/her door-step for the relevant ∙∙ Capacity enhancement through transaction (cash collection for a utility approach promises easy deposit/loan repayment, insurance scalability. payment, disbursement of ∙∙ Enriched MIS from aggregate to government scheme etc.). The agent granular levels with customised then inserts the card into the PoT. The reports. application loaded on the PoT asks ∙∙ Reduced IT infrastructure /Admin/ for a randomly selected fingerprint of Maintenance costs. customer to validate the transaction.

Project Features Technology Platform protocol FINO’s technological solution is a ∙∙ CBS: the Core Banking System, combination of Offline and Mobile which has been built as a shared devices: a PoT device works offline back end banking engine that and then syncs with the backend provides accounting, MIS, system twice a day. A mobile device is reporting and monitoring facility used for customer registration. for all asset and liability products that the micro sector requires. The FINO technology platform The core component comprises includes: of three sub units viz. channel ∙∙ SMART CARDS as the medium interfaces, product engines for authentication & storing and data repository, enabling information. The cards are centralized data processing and responsible for managing data management of remotely the customer demographic, captured transactions in the field. fingerprint authentication, product relationships _ their status and Accessibility & Inclusiveness transaction history. The strength of FINO’s network ∙∙ PoT (Point of Transaction) a secure, lies in the fact that is has a team biometric handheld device used to of ‘bandhu’s who go door to door, carry out transactions. helping those families which would ∙∙ SWITCH: the PoT talks to the not ordinarily have the time/means to switch to transmit data captured reach its offices during office hours, to on the field, using ISO 8583 bank with them. This is immediately

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 247 made the program inclusive in organizations. FINO works on national nature. This strategy has resulted in priority projects (NREGA, RSBY, over 19 million previously unbanked SSP, etc.) for the central and state people joining the banking sector (via governments, and to that end has a FINO) in just four years. financial sustainability model. FINO has the distinction of covering over 266 district Replication & Scalability FINO’s model is highly replicable, panchayats, 5884 gram panchayats but will only be successful if the and 50000 villages in the country. implementing agency is committed The technology platform enables to making regular visits to local disbursement of the entire gamut of communities and assuring them of financial and allied services including the long term sustainability of the savings account, loans, recurring project. FINO’s rapid growth; first deposits, NREGA/SSP payouts, million customer enrolments in 365 insurance, remittance etc. days, the second million in 180 days, Community Participation third million in 69 days, fourth million By roping in local officers – bandhus in just 50 days, and fifteenth million – to visit clients door-to-door, FINO in a remarkable 37 days, speaks of the has built up a community network great need of this facility from the of clients. To that end, FINO is very customer end. community oriented in its modus FINO is currently acquiring operandi. customers incrementally at the rate of over 50,000 customers per day with Sustainability & Cost effectiveness an average three million transactions FINO has an in-house Technology per month and delivering to their R&D team to develop and enhance doorsteps the entire gamut of offerings and a Centralized financial products and services on Processing Centre, which is ISO behalf of banks, insurance companies, 9001:2000 certified and has a MFIs, NGOs and government robust contingency management entities. This is encouraging for both procedure. It has received awards replication and scale. and recognition from reputed

Conclusions

FINO’s mission is to serve the challenges and ensure scalability and underserved through the FINO sustainability. business model that relies heavily FINO’s success also has great social on its technology platform. This is implications. Many people who live transforming the age-old approach and work at the periphery of society, that has been adopted to serve the be it in slums and as organized under-served, and will bring about workers, have long been kept out of greater penetration in the customer the banking sector. Often women base and operational efficiencies of cannot leave the house unattended the institutions focused on inclusive during the day and as a result were banking. FINO’s experience has been not able to explore banking options. that technology can be harnessed By taking banking to them, and also to overcome minor to major allowing transactions of very small

248 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints amounts, a certain saving culture is later point. It also allows for previously being inculcated. Instead of storing unaccounted money to enter the notes at odd places in the house, system and help the economy as a this demographic can actually save whole. money in an account to be used at a

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Technology has helped us open up reach out to the masses, because ICT vast new and untapped markets facilitates two very critical factors for in the micro-lending and micro- the growth of any industry or sector: insurance sectors as well. Information scalability and sustainability. The true and Communication Technology (ICT) test of any technology is when it is is the way of the future. It is especially accessible and usable by millions. indispensable when you want to

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 249 Panini is a new multilingual Key- Panini pad System for India supporting languages of India on the mobile Keypad phone. The Panini keypad system when installed on a cell phone allows the user to type conveni- ently in Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Gurmukhi (Punjabi) and Assamese.

Achievements Category »» Offers CleverTexting for the Indian m-Inclusion languages such as Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Organization Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Pun- Luna Ergonomics Pvt. Ltd. jabi and Assamese Platform of product »» Provides integrated support for all Mobile App Based the Indian languages and inter- Website conversion via transliteration www.Paninikeypad.com

250 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

The Panini keypad is the brand name On its website, Panini keypad has of the family of products for Indian written: ‘600 million phone users languages, named in the honour in India. Only 1/10th know English. of the famous Sanskrit grammarian The others can’t write.’ The non- who lived 2500 years ago. It can English majority now has some be downloaded from the web and good news – the Panini Keypad. A installed on any java phone, making patented multilingual keypad for it easy to install. It is very helpful mobile phones, it is available in to allow people to start using their different Indian languages. It uses the mobile phone features, such as same principle of predictive text for texting, phone book contacts, and regional languages, so when typing, certain Value Added Features. the software will try and guess what word you are typing to make it easier.

Practise Background

There are 90 million people in India typing of Indian languages on who understand some English. But the phone. The technology has to there are already 530 million mobile support all Indian languages, it should phone users, and 15 million new be easy to use and it should offer the users are being added every month. means to type fast. Most of the mobile users of India are There was a breakthrough in this unable to type on their phones and field from an Indian company called hence they cannot store their address Luna Ergonomics in 2008-2009 who books, cannot send an SMS, shall be while exploring solutions for Indian out of the scope of all the VAS and languages, developed a brilliant new information enabling services of the prediction technology that is based government and shall stay out of on the statistical nature of languages the 3G, 4G opportunity. Unless we instead of dictionaries. The entirely build the suitable regional language new usability that was developed ecosystem for the phone, the whole around this offered a means to write data opportunity of Indian telecom in all Indian languages on the same will have to be restricted to the 15% phone, needed no printed characters of the phone users who know some on keypad, was ergonomic to the English. thumb, and was dictionary- less in The regional language ecosystem implementation apart from a host of shall consist of availability of Indian other advantages. fonts on the phone with accurate It was one elegant solution rendering of complex character that addressed all the industry clusters, a technology for convenient acknowledged blind spots in one typing of all Indian languages on simple usability shift. The new the phone and finally an uniform technology developed in India standard based encoding of Indian was not only applicable for Indian language data between phones and languages, but also for all other network. Of the three, the challenging languages of the world. was the means to support convenient

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 251 Implementation Process

The mobile has, over the last in terms of probabilities of letter few years, been recognized as a combinations that actually occurred tool which can bring grassroots in large texts called corpora. In empowerment because it is highly 90% of cases, the predictions of personal, accessible, affordable (more CleverTexting turn out to be accurate so than laptops/tablets/computers) irrespective of the language which is and by its very nature, immediately the key demonstrated power of the connected to a network. The Panini technology. keypad mobile phone software has The advantages of Panini keypad been created by an Indian firm called include the following: Luna Ergonomics founded by Abhijit ∙∙ Allows for much faster typing in Bhattacharjee, previously an engineer terms of speed. with the Indian Army. ∙∙ Involves the smallest number of The Panini keypad uses statistical key taps or keypad interactions. predictive texting (CleverTexting) Almost the same number as – a patent pending path breaking number of characters one writes. invention by Luna Ergonomics Very little overhead. - which allows one to type in all ∙∙ Allows single key press typing, no languages of the world on the multitap. Seniors can use. existing phone without the need of ∙∙ Provides a seamless experience printed characters on the keypad. across dictionary and non- Also, it is touted as the world’s dictionary words. No mode first ergonomic keypad because changes required. characters are automatically and ∙∙ Ergonomic to thumb. Pleasure accurately predicted and placed to write long sentences, no at positions most comfortable to blackberry thumb. the texting finger and the user only ∙∙ Is very easy to learn, operate for types through single key presses all age groups and educational (no multitap). This technology is profiles because only two simple dictionary-less and hence one can rules. write non dictionary words with the ∙∙ Characters on phone keypads are same ease as a dictionary word. normally tiny, many need glasses CleverTexting is a new texting to read them, CleverTexting technology that offers a solution with characters are on the screen and an entirely new usability. In this the large to read. phone estimates the limited possible ∙∙ Can operate in darkness (no back characters that the user could be lit keypad required) writing next and shows them on the screen. This allows the user to Statistical prediction relies on mining choose from amongst the predicted large quantities of language text to characters using a single key press or develop combinatorial probabilities directly from the screen in case of a to form basis of predictions made touchscreen device. by the system. This works extremely The predictions of CleverTexting well for both dictionary and non- are very accurate because they dictionary words. And we have seen have been derived from statistical that languages from all linguistic mining of the particular languages families of the world display high

252 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints correlation and that is what has been The features of Panini Keyboard: exploited here. ∙∙ Statistical Predictive texting : Having “crunched” exhaustive Dictionary-less content for particular languages, ∙∙ Single key press typing always. and using an indigenous algorithm, ∙∙ No multi tap, no chording, No the team designed an interface mode change, no disambiguation. that places characters in a 3x4 grid ∙∙ Easy to learn and operate, even for (mimicking the phone’s keypad) the aged. and displays them ergonomically ∙∙ Is the fastest input system from the top left (most used) to the ascertained through trials. bottom right (least used). Depending ∙∙ Ergonomic to the thumb with on what a user types, the algorithm several options. predicts the next list of characters in ∙∙ Support for multiple language on another 3x4 grid and so on. Because the same keypad. the interface displays one character ∙∙ Equal ease for non-dictionary per button, it facilitates “texting” for words. the visually impaired, and—owing to ∙∙ Improves spelling habits. its ease-of-use—for technophobes ∙∙ Smooth seamless typing as well. experience. It offers a terrific advantage of ∙∙ Touchscreen ready. single keystroke typing on limited This product also supports foreign keypad devices like the mobile languages which include English, phone. It offers a smoother typing Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, French, experience to the user. Being without Swahili, Hebrew and Russian. a dictionary it is also very lightweight Currently work is under progress for and can be implemented with low CJK languages (Chinese, Japanese complexity and very little demands. and Korean). Transliteration is also Only Java-enabled phones can supported on Panini keypad between run this software at the moment. The all Indian languages. It also supports a team has come up with four different pan-India vector script called ‘Shiva’. packages for different types of users, Transliteration is also offered after ranging from “Basic” for callers using receiving messages. low-end mobile phones to “Touch” Another interesting feature for those using touch-screen mobile offered by Panini keypad is SMS phones. The virtual keypad can either compression. This helps people send be downloaded to the phone from longer messages, but without having the company website or taken as a to pay for more than one text! The service through a value card. Once application can be easily downloaded it is installed, they can begin the in the desired language from the typing by using the phone keyboard website by providing the mobile to follow the character prompts number. appearing on the screen.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 253 Project Features

Technology Platform A pan shop owner who is far from The technologies offer the means his home and knows only Hindi uses for a user to type in all regional the product to chat with his family languages of India on the phone, and friends via SMS. This has eased PC, web, IPTV, STB and other digital his problem of otherwise high STD interfaces. It works on Java enabled call rates. The same can be said for phones. There are two versions, one countless other local language users for basic phones and the other for who were previously unable to text touchscreens. their family and friends, and had to bear expensive STD bills if they Accessibility & Inclusiveness wanted to communicate with any The entire product is designed to be who were outstation. inclusive. The innovation provides high interactivity with users. It Sustainability & Cost Effectiveness provides various typing modes Luna Ergonomics Private Limited, a along with right and left hand spinout from the startup myMobile combination. Also the message can Phone is a technology incubator be transliterated into any language sponsored by the Department and can be sent to other users. Panini of Science and Technology of keypad also offers compression of the Government of India. As the your SMS for the first time. download is free, Panini is not You can compose a message yet making any revenue from its and then choose to compress the consumers. message before transmission. This allows you to pack in more text Replication & Scalability The idea and product is unique. into your standard SMS length for It is first of its kind multi- lingual the same cost. The decompressed dictionary-less texting service which message is displayed automatically does not require printed keypads at the other end. The compressed for various languages support. format also offers confidentiality People other than English knowing during transmission of your generation can also avail the messages. benefits of the mobile revolutionary Community Participation technologies. To that end, it is Anecdotes are the best way to replicable in countless of other understand how a Panini keypad languages, as Luna Ergonomics has enabled community is coming up. been doing.

Conclusions

The full potential of the mobile these developments have favored phone has not yet been realized. First the English speaking populations, there was voice, then text, but today leaving behind those who only speak with GPS enabled services, a world of their local and regional languages. To untold possibilities has opened up. that end, Panini keypad has found a However, as has been the problem way to bring in these people into the with the internet as well, most of mobile technology fold.

254 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Lessons Drawn From The Practise

A big question when talking about create content, Panini has begun to the ‘digital divide’ is the need to bridge this gap on a day-to-day level. produce content in local languages While it is not attempting to create so as to ensure that everyone is websites in regional languages it has able to take advantage of modern arguably, given a more important tool technologies. By simply giving the to users: the ability to generate their tools which help people themselves own content.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 255 Raftaar is the first ever integrated Raftaar and universal search engine for Hindi language in Devnagari script.

Achievements Category »» Organizes aggregated local con- e-Localization tent in Hindi Organization »» Provides search technology and Indicus Netlabs Pvt. Ltd. expertise in making all local valu- able content accessible with ut- Platform of product most ease to the users of this con- Online tent in Hindi Website »» Provide typing and font manage- www.Raftaar.com ment solutions for handling local content published in Hindi

256 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

Raftaar is the world’s first integrated relevant results. The results are search engine in Hindi. It allows users categorized to enable easier search to function online in Hindi and search experience for the user. The spell across all Hindi language sites. A check and related word option help simple user interface, it is designed you refine your search with ease. The to enable typing in Hindi by a large cache results ensure that you can see spectrum of people. On one end are any site in a standard unicode font. people who recognize the English The Raftaar index presently has the alphabets on the keyboard and can largest set of searchable Hindi pages. relate to the sounds associated with In short Raftaar has enabled Hindi them, and on the other are people users to search in Hindi and search who have no idea about English and the entire web for Hindi content can use the on screen keyboard to without worrying about technology type in Hindi. requirements thereby making the net The search results are from all usable, user-friendly and useful for Hindi sites. Raftaar’s search algorithm the average Indian. ensures that you get the most

Practise Background

India has about 60 million internet Not only does increased number users compared to China’s 300 of Hindi users add more internet million users. One of the key reasons connections, but it will help close the why this populated country is so digital divide, information gap, spur far behind is that it does not have more e-commerce, sprout online enough vernacular content to education projects (in Hindi) and so encourage those speakers to come on. The possibilities are endless. The online. Vernacular languages aside, next step would also be to convert there is not enough provision for the existing English content in Hindi Hindi content – the country’s official so that users can access the same language – on the internet. sites, articles, games which English One solution, developed by the users do. The final step would be Raftaar team, is to make it easier for a to encourage content creation in user to access Hindi content on the languages other than English. To that internet. Considering the numbers, end, Raftaar encourages users to even that there are about 300 million Hindi create content in Hindi as they have speakers in India – the same as there provided a platform where it can be are internet users – the numbers discovered and read/watched by make it clear that there could be a others. significant addition to the number of internet users should Hindi content be encouraged.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 257 Implementation Process

Poor search engines have restricted manager for typing in Devanagari the growth of Hindi on the internet. that is meant for those who also Over and above, there have been know English (Roman Script). There other constraints: typing, parsing, is a back end that searches over the converting, standardizing. Raftaar was net indexes all the Hindi websites developed to solve all these problems (whatever be the font) and then by introducing a Hindi language presents the search result. search engine. Its alpha version was Raftaar gives its search results a released in January 2006, and the ranking that gives the user the most beta version in August, 2006. Finally, relevant sites in the top 10 results the site went live by January, 2007. At itself. It has, arguably, the largest set that time, Raftaar was able to access of indexed Hindi web pages, and also over two million Hindi pages. standardizes them from all the sites However, the challenge did not so that the user need not download lie in connecting all these varied any new fonts. It is the first integrated pages to the search engine but also online spell-checker in Hindi. It is in building its various features, such also the first integrated online Hindi as spell check, related term searches, thesaurus. The site also features a a search bar which can be integrated tracker that updates the latest news and so on. every hour. The guiding principle behind To help the user further, the spell building Raftaar was usability. Once check and related word option help the user types in www.Raftaar.com, to refine the search with ease. The the browser takes them to a website cache results ensure that one can see with a very simple user interface. any site in a standard Unicode font. This is designed to enable typing in The Raftaar index presently has the Hindi by a large spectrum of people. largest set of searchable Hindi pages. The users range from people who Since it has the largest set of indexed recognize the English alphabets Hindi web pages-standardized from on the keyboard and can relate to all the sites, one does not need to the sounds associated with them download new fonts. Besides, it has to people who have no idea about the capability to convert all the fonts English and can use the on screen available. keyboard to type in Hindi. The other features include the first On having typed in the word that integrated online spell checker in the user is looking for, he/she presses Hindi, on the hour crawling of latest the search button from the keyboard, news, tracking of Hindi blogs and first which brings them to the link in the Hindi search bar that can easily be web pages that have the word. integrated with any site. It can also be The difference between Raftaar scaled to work for all Brahmi based and any other site is the value scripts. brought to the Internet user looking Additionally, the team at Raftaar to surf the Internet in Hindi. A user has been very carefully to keep the interface with a visual keyboard for computer literacy of the average typing in Devanagari is meant for Hindi user in mind when designing those who do not know English. this site. He/she will not be computer There is an inbuilt phonetic typing literate or for that matter even

258 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints comfortable with English usage. feature (Microsoft), and the use of Thus their needs are very different java script even though it would from the tech-savvy English literate make the code public, and many urban user. This is why Raftaar was other such nuances were based on the first to commercially deploy a taking into account various factors Hindi user interface that can enable such as outcome of technical skill, even primary dropouts to access willingness to understand, and the Internet, a crucial aspect for an objective of user friendliness. interactive site. Raftaar promises its users the Understanding of Indian language use of latest technology to deliver complexities includes a process a better experience. The team which involves understanding keeps it a point to abreast of latest Devanagari script, the issue of fonts, technologies, and is involved in morphology, glyphs and other developing better solutions for complexities. For this, a research its users. This has kept the search study was undertaken to identify the query returns result at the speed set of constraints that hinder the use comparable to most of the leading of Hindi and other Indian languages search engines. As the team says, over the net. Raftaar is an outcome of passion The team at Raftaar had a grasp of for the Indian language and an the prevalent technologies and what inbuilt faith that this team can act would be the best set of frameworks as a catalyst that ushers in a true to deploy for the Hindi search engine. information technology revolution in For instance, their choice of Mangal India. font, an inbuilt unicode-based font

Project Features

Technology Platform 300,000 hits per month. According Raftaar can be accessed from any to current statistics available online, computer, and works with an open Raftaar now has a steady stream of source unicode so as to enable any over 5000 hits per month, according user to view Hindi pages from any to some online studies. As of mid- system. 2011, Raftaar’s three-month global Alexa traffic rank is 14,107. Visitors to Accessibility & Inclusiveness it spend approximately two minutes Though Raftaar works with all per visit to the site and 37 seconds systems, sometimes rendering of per page view. Search engines refer the Hindi font is a problem, as not roughly 30% of visits to it. Raftaar has all systems support Indic fonts. This been online for more than five years. problem has been tackled to some Roughly 90% of this site’s visitors are extent by using a unicode font. in India, where it has attained a traffic However, the team is still exploring rank of 906. new ways to make the program universally accessible. Sustainability & Cost Effectiveness Raftaar’s revenue model is based Community Participation on traffic and advertisements. The In 2006, Raftaar had 200,000 traffic model is built through a focus registered users and was clocking in on Hindi, making it easy for user

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 259 to search by simply clicking. The web pages when it comes to search differentiator is that it is the only results. While simple Hindi to English “Hindi Search Portal” rather than a words might be tagged because it is search engine or a content portal. an easy translation, however, proper However, its financial statements are nouns have a tougher time. The not available for public use. ‘Sachin’ of Sachin Tendulkar might get translated as ‘essence’ (the actual) Replication & Scalability meaning and thereby derail that In theory, Raftaar can be replicated as particular search. Therefore, the team it is a Hindi search engine. However, has to physically translate English Raftaar’s own challenge will be the words and meanings which could be challenge of any competitor. It will very time consuming. need to be able to connect more

Conclusions

The challenge of developing who would add to the number of effective vernacular search engines is, Internet users if there are search- entrepreneurs say, directly linked to engines in Hindi. the low Internet penetration in India. Raftaar is an important initiative However studies show that there is a in this direction towards providing growing number of online users that a starting point for Hindi language want to find Hindi content on the speakers to access the net. It will Net. It is also important that if people help them find relevant vernacular in villages are to be beneficiaries of content which they can understand the IT revolution, then information and access easily. It will also therefore must reach them in their own allow them to derive immense language. The emergence of local benefit from the huge database content on Internet will lift usage as available on the World Wide Web. there is a large population of people

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

There is and always will be a demand Making this information, or news for relevant information whether it articles, entertainment stories, is land records or agriculture prices and other content easily available or movie songs. ICT tools have the in the vernacular language is the power to provide this at a much most effective way of bridging the cheaper and efficient manner. Right knowledge divide using ICT tools. and relevant information leads to Raftaar has taken the lead providing empowerment. Internet is the most Hindi speaking computer users democratic of all communication crucial information, and it is only a mediums and it needs to be matter of time before it company or developed so to get the maximum others like them, start providing this benefit. services in all other Indian languages.

260 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 261 The Hindi WordNet is a system HindiWordNet for bringing together different lexical and semantic relations between the Hindi words. It organizes the lexical information in terms of word meanings and can be termed as a lexicon based on psycholinguistic principles. The design of the Hindi WordNet is inspired by the famous English WordNet.

Achievements Category »» Provides concept definitions and e-Localization records the semantic relations be- tween these synonym sets. Organization Center for Indian Language »» Produces a combination of dic- Technology, Computer tionary and thesaurus being more Science and Engineering intuitively usable Department, IIT Bombay »» Supports automatic text analysis, Platform of product natural language processing and Broadband/online artificial intelligence applications Website www.cfilt.itb.ac.in

262 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

Hindi WordNet and Associated meaning similarity. Software Programs is a system of The Center for Indian Language language data and tools consisting Technology at IIT Bombay has of sets of synonyms; lexical relations developed the Hindi WordNet, which like antonyms; semantic relations; currently has about 35000 synsets Application Programming Interface and approximately 80000 unique (API) to access all this information. words, making it a rich repository of More languages are being added to word knowledge. The system was this experiment including Sanskrit made publicly downloadable in 2006. making it a unique experiment in Since then the HWN site has got linguistic development through more than 200,000 hits. The data and the World Wide Web which is a the programs have been downloaded permanent medium. It is also linked more than 5000 times. with similar WordNet initiatives in In the Hindi WordNet the words the USA & EU which is all the more are grouped together according to creditable in language development. their similarity of meanings. Two A WordNet is a large lexical words that can be interchanged in database of language, in this case, a context are synonymous in that Hindi. Nouns, verbs, adjectives context. For each word there is a and adverbs are grouped into sets synonym set, or synset, in the Hindi of cognitive synonyms (synsets), WordNet, representing one lexical each expressing a distinct concept. concept. This is done to remove Synsets are interlinked by means ambiguity in cases where a single of conceptual-semantic and lexical word has multiple meanings. Synsets relations. The resulting network of are the basic building blocks of meaningfully related words and WordNet. The Hindi WordNet deals concepts can be navigated with the with the content words, or open class internet browser. Hindi WordNet category of words. Thus, the Hindi is also freely and publicly available. WordNet contains the following WordNet’s structure makes it a useful category of words- Noun, Verb, tool for computational linguistics and Adjective and Adverb. natural language processing. In a WordNet, which is basically a WordNet superficially resembles semantic network, the different lexical a thesaurus, in that it groups words categories of words (nouns, verbs) together based on their meanings. are organised into ‘synsets’ (sets of However, there are some important synonyms). Each synset represents distinctions. First, WordNet interlinks a lexical concept and they can be not just word forms—strings of linked by different types of relation letters—but specific senses of words. (hyperonymy, antonymy, etc.). As a result, words that are found For obvious reasons, all WordNets in close proximity to one another resort to the same system of synset in the network are semantically identification. disambiguated. Second, WordNet The Hindi WordNet contained labels the semantic relations among 34,357 synsets and 84,190 unique words, whereas the grouping of words in 2010. It is still under words in a thesaurus does not follow construction. WordNet is a basic any explicit pattern other than resource for computational linguistics

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 263 purposes and language engineering Devangari fonts for which Unicode application (machine translation, IE, support needs to be installed on the WSD, knowledge representation, etc.). computer. The Hindi WordNet uses Unicode for

Practise Background

The work has been inspired by with associated tools. Word meanings English WordNet (http://www. are represented through word WordNet.princeton.edu) at Princeton associations, technically known as and EuroWordNet (http://http:// relational semantics. The fundamental www.illc.uva.nl/EuroWordNet) at idea exploited is that words when various countries of Europe. HWN put together disambiguate each forms a prominent member of the other. Linguists have used this Global WordNet grid (http://www. notion for meaning determination. globalWordNet.org). Many unique properties of Indian The WordNet helps protect and languages have been used in creating encourage correct use of a language. the system. Hindi WordNet has been widely One of the important uses of used all over the world in machine the Hindi WordNet is Word Sense translation and search involving Disambiguation (WSD) which is Indian languages, and in language fundamental to all Natural Language teaching and learning. Processing. Prof. Bhattacharyya’s Hindi WordNet is the first effort in lab has pioneered Indian Language the country to build a rich, complex Word Sense Disambiguation research and large electronic resource along through Hindi WordNet.

Implementation Process

The main technological challenge in Hindi WordNet was started by Prof. developing Hindi WordNet has been Pushpak Bhattacharyya in 2000. the task of representing knowledge Support for the activity was obtained of words and their meanings to a in the same year from the Ministry computer. The methodology relies of Communication and Information on intricate analysis of meanings Technology, Government of India. In of words and their associations. A 2002, 10000 synsets (corresponding WordNet defines a complex graph to about 30000 unique words) were of words and their relationships with completed, as also the Application other words in the form of synonyms, Programming Interface. By 2006 hypernyms (subsuming concepts), Hindi WordNet was ‘opened up’ meronyms (parts), antonyms and the system was made freely (opposites) and such relations. The downloadable. Since then the associated softwares are for accessing resource has been downloaded at efficiently the nodes and edges of least 5000 times. the graph, mainly for Word Sense Hindi WordNet (HWN) and the Disambiguation. associated software is a system of The activity of building the

264 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints language data and tools consisting of Technology, Government of India ∙∙ Sets of synonyms, e.g., {ghar, started large-scale national projects makaan, bhavan} (meaning house). on Machine Translation (MT) and They represent various senses for Cross Lingual Search (CLIR). This a word. For example, a different involved the languages Bengali, synset {ghar, parivaar} would mean English, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, a different sense, viz., family. Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu ∙∙ Lexical relations like antonym (e.g., and Urdu. IIT Bombay introduced a acchaa-buraa; good-bad) and novel concept based dictionary that derived-from (e.g., sahan-Siila- required the mentioned languages sahan; tolerant-tolerate) to link their words to Hindi WordNet. ∙∙ Semantic relations like hypernymy This has given rise to a massive (is-a, e.g., sher- jantu; lion-animal) multilingual dictionary framework and meronymy (part-of, e.g., rasoi- called MultiDict. The labour involved makaan; kitchen-house) in dictionary making came down ∙∙ Application Programming drastically. The MultiDict framework Interface (API) to access all this has become the de facto dictionary information. For example, given standard in India for language sher, the system can return all the technology development. senses of sher and its associated In 2007, the Hindi WordNet words through synonyms, started getting linked with the antonyms, hypernyms, meronyms English WordNet and was included etc. in the Global WordNet Grid (http:// www.globalWordNet.org). Prof. As a structure, Hindi WordNet is much Bhattacharyya was made office bearer more complex than a dictionary or in top natural language processing a thesaurus. A dictionary gives word conferences, because of his meanings and example sentences, contribution to language technology and a thesaurus gives synonyms of through the Hindi WordNet. In 2008, words and their categories. Hindi major search engine companies WordNet goes many steps further, acquired the commercial license doing all this and moreover capturing of Hindi WordNet. The agreements complex word relationships. The got renewed in 2009. Proof of futher resource has found immense use success, in 2008, Linguistic Data in language technology (natural Consortium of USA (LDC, USA) has language processing, text mining, procured Hindi WordNet and made information retrieval and extraction), it available through their catalogue. in language teaching and learning LDC is a highly reliable, authentic and and as a language reference system. prestigious international forum for In 2006, Ministry of linguistics (http://www.ldc.upenn. Communication and Information edu).

Project Features

Technology Platform computer. The methodology relies The main technological challenge in on intricate analysis of meanings developing Hindi WordNet has been of words and their associations. A the task of representing knowledge WordNet defines a complex graph of words and their meanings to a of words and their relationships with

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 265 other words in the form of synonyms, in multiuser environments. A very hypernyms (subsuming concepts), marginal increase in the response meronyms (parts), antonyms time has been observed compared to (opposites) and such relations. a single user environment. The Associated Softwares are for accessing efficiently the nodes and Sustainability & Cost Effectiveness The technology of WordNet has been edges of the graph, mainly for Word transferred to a number of important Sense Disambiguation. and prestigious organizations. Accessibility & Inclusiveness Prominent search engine companies Access to Hindi WordNet is easy. The have made an agreement with IIT resource, along with the application Bombay for the commercial license programming interfaces (APIs), is of the Hindi WordNet since 2008. freely downloadable for research The Linguistic data consortium of purposes from the website hosted USA (LDC, USA) has procured Hindi at IIT Bombay: http://www.cfilt.iitb. WordNet and made it available ac.in/WordNet/webhwn. through their catalogue. European The site is visited daily and the Language Resource Repository (ELRA) total number of visits in last 3 years is interested in Hindi WordNet for the has been over 24,000. It is very rare European language researchers to that a query is not found due to acquire it for translation purposes. unavailability in the HWN. One can view the queries by clicking on the Replication & Scalability Twelve official languages of India ‘view log’ provided on the online have emulated IIT Bombay’s interface of the HWN. efforts on HWN to create their Community Participation language WordNets leading to the Hindi WordNet site is open to the IndoWordNet. These languages are public all year round. There is an Hindi, Marathi, Konkani, Sanskrit, online feedback form that users fill for Nepali, Kashmiri, Assamese, Tamil, any feedback and comment. These Malayalam, Telugu, Kannad, Manipuri feedbacks are attended on a daily and Bodo. basis. This continuous usage of the There is no problem as far as the Hindi WordNet and its inspection by scalability of browsing or extending external online users helps extend the database of Hindi WordNet is and correct any errors in the WordNet concerned as it can be done in-house in an ongoing manner. The browsing at IIT Bombay. interface has been tested thoroughly

Conclusions

There is no doubt about the criticality are cornerstones of ICT. At the same of digital content for development time, there is a school of thought in our life today. Language forms that believes that all written/printed the most important digital content, content should be converted to along with images and pictures. digital format in order to preserve Representing, accessing, storing, them for the next hundreds of years. processing and providing spoken and In a multilingual country like written information in digital form India, language processing is an

266 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints activity of utmost importance. To other Indian languages have adopted ensure that our languages stay alive the WordNet whole heartedly, and and well, and that their meanings it would make sense to extend the remain intact and easily accessible same to the remaining languages to scholars and users the world not yet included under the WordNet over, the idea of a WordNet makes umbrella. absolute sense. It is encouraging that

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

The goal of WordNet was to develop can be implemented on the ground, a system that would be consistent it is equally important to make use of with the knowledge acquired over these technologies on an academic the years about how human beings level, and that is exactly what Hindi process language. While there are WordNet has done. many practical examples of how ICT

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 267 Infochange is a free-access Infochange resource base, with special sec- tions on poverty & livelihoods, India social exclusion, environment and climate change, women and child rights, the impact of globalization, governance, public health, urbanization, migration and displacement, gender and sexual rights, cultural diversity peace-building and more.

Achievements Category »» Empowers civil society with infor- e-News mation, analysis, diverse perspec- tives and alternative messages Organization Centre for Communication & »» Enables citizens to assert, exercise Development Studies and claim their rights Platform of product »» Helps citizens participate in mean- Online/Broadband ingful discussion and citizens’ ac- tion Website www.Infochange india.org »» Advocates change in public policy and social attitudes

268 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

Infochange is one of the earliest Infochangeindia.org is a regular knowledge-building and knowledge- reference point for students, sharing portals in India. Its content researchers, media persons, has been contributed by a wide, academics, policymakers and credible and informed network of concerned citizens. It is also a over 400 of India’s leading writers, regular source of information and researchers, civil society activists, updates on development policy and policymakers, development debates for people working within journalists and subject specialists. The the development sector in India portal provides a mix of perspective, and abroad. The content is used analysis and independent reportage as training material by CSOs, and from the corners of India, including as discussion papers at seminars/ marginalised areas. conferences. Dozens of websites, All content is designed to be including BBC and oneworld, link accessible and readable, taking to, cite and reproduce the content, information for social change out of multiplying the reach of Infochange . seminar rooms and to the people, The content is also regularly reprinted enabling them to participate in in print publications. This helps reach drawing up an agenda for a more thousands of readers beyond the equitable and sustainable world. Internet. The site is updated daily, with Infochange is an initiative of the news, views and analysis on issues Centre for Communication and such as women and child rights, Development Studies (CCDS), a non- poverty and livelihoods, governance, profit institution that uses innovative environment, public health, communication processes to build education, agriculture, food security an informed, open and inclusive and much more. society. CCDS fosters new platforms Professional journalists and for research, advocacy, dialogue and development analysts with a strong citizens’ action on pluralism, social commitment to social justice issues justice and sustainable development and the dissemination of information in India. for social change manage the The core competence of CCDS is website. Infochange registers over the use of innovative communication 70,000 visitors and 1.5 million hits strategies and media advocacy to every month. Its content is linked, influence public policies and societal cited and reproduced by hundreds attitudes. Its civil society discussion of organizations worldwide. Scores forums, the Open Space civil society of documents are downloaded and youth outreach programme, every month, and used as discussion the online resource base on social papers, research material etc. As a justice and development issues www. result of these citations and links Infochange india.org, the quarterly globally, and the high quality of journal Infochange Agenda, and content, www.Infochange india.org other action-research works and ranks on top in Google and other publications play a crucial role in searches on issues related to social advocating issues related to balanced justice in India. development, good governance, human rights and social justice.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 269 Practise Background

The news media in India, as is a global the social sciences, ecology, trend, has become increasingly development studies, human commercialized. As a result, while rights law looking for analysis, facts there is coverage of social issues, a and figures, news updates lot time and effort goes into covering ∙∙ Academics and teachers, looking city-based stories, politics, sports for material they can incorporate and entertainment than social in their course work issues. There is less and less space ∙∙ Activists and members of civil for in-depth coverage with only a society organisations in India and handful of journals retaining space abroad, seeking to keep abreast for any long form articles which can of news in the development adequately go into the root causes sector and governance, or seeking of social ills. Fast changing headlines to represent their own work on means the narrative in the news the site, or get in touch with media changes quickly and often and network with like-minded views are left confused and with a organisations and campaigns very cursory understand of events. ∙∙ Policymakers and commentators At the same time, because of low ∙∙ Journalists and media persons, penetration of the Internet across looking for background material India and slow broadband speeds, and context for their stories/ many news organizations have not reports, or for stories about invested in an online presence. The sustainable development and trend has changed today; however, social justice to follow-up even then it is mostly the same ∙∙ Individuals and organisations content as is found on TV or in the working in social communications, printed newspapers and magazines. including a vibrant network of The online web presence is not documentary filmmakers in India considered a whole new platform ∙∙ Volunteers and donors, looking with original material. for opportunities to collaborate In the wake of this, fresh new with individuals and organisations content from sources such as making a difference Infochange appeal to the reader. ∙∙ Citizens concerned about Infochange also focuses on matters governance/rights/sustainable of extreme importance and serves an development issues important need for examining issues ∙∙ Marginalized groups such as the at the heart of India’s development. disabled and the HIV-positive, looking for information on their The readership of this online resource rights, and for organisations and base consists of: networks that can assist them. ∙∙ Students and researchers in

270 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Implementation Process

Started in 2001, www. Dreze , Lawrence Liang, Mohan Rao, P infochangeindia.org aims to Sainath, Dunu Roy, Devinder Sharma, strengthen civil society by enabling Richard Mahapatra, Meena Menon, readers to marshal facts, opinions Harsh Mander, Ammu Joseph, Neha and perspectives on rights and Madhiwalla, Flavia Agnes, Meena development issues, so that they Seshu, Vijay Paranjpye, Dilip Chitre, can participate in drawing up an Manisha Gupte and P.V. Satheesh. agenda for a more equitable and Within Infochange, there are sustainable world. It aims to bolster microsites covering HIV/AIDS, and improve civil society and citizens’ ‘development dictionary’, toxic tours, action for social justice, human India’s agricultural crisis, the girl- rights, sustainable development and child, pollution, tribal rights and so accountable governance, which is the on. There are also detailed dossiers foundation on which a prosperous, on industrial pollution, access to peaceful and successful society is public healthcare, sexual rights in built. India, child rights in India, the political This 6-year-old website allows economy of water, the political completely free access. All the economy of hunger, the cost of trade content is ‘copyleft’, which liberalization, climate change and means that readers are free to energy use. use and disseminate all of www. www.infochangeindia.org infochangeindia.org material content is linked, referenced for public education purposes. and recommended by dozens of It empowers activists, students, articles, papers and portals like researchers, development analysts, BBC, Wikipedia, UNDP, oneworld. policymakers and concerned citizens net, Barefoot College, Universities by giving them pertinent, timely and of Texas, Stanford, Columbia, The useful information on development Communication Initiative, The World and rights issues, all in one place. Bank’s Development Gateway, The The site provides apart from other Global Health Council & TERI. sections: dozens of stories of change The profile of readers, coupled with from the grassroots, a vibrant film the ever-increasing traffic on the forum that features some of the best site and the increasing number of documentaries on social justice issues publications/websites reprinting or in India and South Asia and a section linking to the content, suggests that: for kids called ‘Kids for change’ – to ∙∙ there is a clear need for the kind raise awareness of social justice issues of information provided on www. amongst the 11–14 age group. infochangeindia.org www.infochangeindia.org has ∙∙ there are very few independent, been built by a strong network of free-access, informed and development journalists and analysts. accessible cross-sectoral Over 300 journalists and analysts resource bases for civil society on make it possible to professionally development/rights/justice issues present balanced, independent and in India/South Asia jargon-free information and analysis. ∙∙ The site has become a regular and Contributors include Ramaswamy well-established resource base and Iyer, Suman Sahai, Jayati Ghosh, Jean reference point for information

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 271 and analysis on development and liberalisation, privatisation and social justice issues in India globalisation in India. A sub-section ∙∙ It is not only a source of credible on Intellectual Property Rights forms information, but a growing civil part of this package of content. society network. Importantly, www.infochangeindia. org also provides stories from the Major new editorial additions on grassroots that illustrate the impact www.infochangeindia.org have of liberalisation on the lives of people. included the construction of a Several other contemporary debates comprehensive section on Trade related to trade and development, & Development and Globalisation. including the SEZs debate, have been These provide background and extensively covered on Infochange perspective on the impact of india.

Project Features

Technology Platform Sustainability & Cost Effectiveness The website is free to access online. www.infochangeindia.org does not It can be viewed by anyone with an have a viable financial sustainability internet connection. The website model. It operates from funding offers print, video and audio content. money, and has an annual budget of Rs 30 lakh. As it pays each and every Accessibility & Inclusiveness contributor, and does not charge for The website is in English, and reprinting of its material, it is entirely therefore its level of inclusiveness is dependent on sources of funding not high within the country. However, for maintaining its operations. In the for the English speaking population past, funding has come from various and also a global population, it is a sources, including Tata Trust, ICICI great repository of information about bank, and Ford Foundation. This is a India’s development and provides key area where it needs to craft a long a wealth of information to those term strategy. accessing it. Replication & Scalability Community Participation Many other online journals have Infochange has an active community cropped up in the recent years of readers and contributors who and have been more successful, frequently access the site. To keep commercially, than Infochange. the readers satisfied, Infochange has Unless it is able to advertise and be hundreds of news updates which creative about its web presence, are written in-house from secondary it will find itself dwarfed by other sources on a daily basis and 300 mainstream ventures. original, bylined stories uploaded per year from their various contributors.

272 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Conclusions

From the start www.infochangeindia. become a credible voice for ‘bottom org was conceptualized as a broad up’ journalism. based project that would reach Over time, people from smaller out beyond the seminar rooms, towns have also started to engage policy makers, NGOs and activists with the website, as the content to the common man interested in covers issues in their parts of the these issues. It was started in 2001, country too. This is a testament to the much before the internet became growing nature of both the website, popular within urban sections of the and also internet usage in India. population and has slowly grown to

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

By the very nature of the content and and perhaps even financial model the platform, www.infochangeindia. could be improved. In this age of org is targeting the urban Indian experimentation, online portals reader who has the ability, capacity like Infochange should definitely and interest to engage with this try out new strategies. Already, its information. To that level, the content is translated and appears audience is a small segment of Indian in regional papers; however the society, but that should not be a website as a whole is not available in limiting factor for such enterprises. other languages. However, this only If www.infochangeindia.org means that with proper funding and could be translated into regional resources, www.infochangeindia.org languages, its reach and growth, could leapfrog in popularity.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 273 The India Water Portal (www. India Water indiawaterportal.org) is a rich online resource base and a virtual Portal community on water. It is a com- pletely free and open platform, for the dissemination of informa- tion, knowledge and discussion and debate on water issues.

Achievements Category »» Draws on the rich experience of e-Science & Environment water-sector experts, packaging their knowledge and adding value Organization to it through technology Arghyam »» Disseminates this knowledge to Platform of product a larger audience through the In- Cross media ternet Website »» Provides a comprehensive data- www.indiawaterportal.org base of knowledge and resources related to water, sanitation, agri- culture, the environment, climate change and other related themes and issues in India

274 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

The India Water Portal (www. knowledgecommission.gov.in). The indiawaterportal.org) is an open, India Water Portal consists of case inclusive, web-based platform studies, movies, slideshows and that shares water management courses based on the work done knowledge amongst practitioners by partner organizations on various and the general public. – an idea domains of water e.g. groundwater, that was mooted by the National rainwater harvesting, water quality, Knowledge Commission, (http:// urban water.

Practise Background

With all the recent advances the idea of utilizing ‘Information in information technology and Technology’ was in threat of being networking on the Internet, it over-discussed. Yet, how many is of interest to see how these genuinely open, Wikipedia-like work in the important human communities do we have to show, development space. Information where knowledge is shared and built and Communication Technologies up from the community? Not many. For Development, ICT4D is the India Water Portal aims to change acronym used to describe this area that. of work. ICT4D is an active and IWP sees the knowledge vibrant area, but the results are still asymmetry amongst stakeholders disappointing. However, India Water of the water sector as a critical Portal has attempted to make use factor hampering the sustainable of these technologies to provide a management of water resources. space where this knowledge can be The portal seeks to address this collected and disseminated. asymmetry by sharing best practices, Understanding the magnitude of advocating sustainable approaches, the problem helps in appreciating bringing transparency in public the uniqueness of the idea. Before data and information and spreading the India Water Portal, knowledge awareness. The objective is to address about water in India existed in silos equity and sustainability issues in the of universities, governmental and water sector by catalyzing change non-governmental organizations. on a large-scale by this sharing of Traditional knowledge and knowledge, leading to improved understanding of water were in practices and informed debates. serious threat. Since the past decade,

Implementation Process

The India Water Portal was launched for Arghyam, a public charitable officially in January 2007 at a function foundation setup with a personal at the Prime Minister’s residence in endowment from Rohini Nilekani New Delhi. The India Water Portal and working in the water sector since (IWP) is one of the five thrust areas 2005. IWP is an open-source, open-

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 275 to-all, rich online resource base and Kannada Water Portal and the Hindi virtual community on water. Water Portal. The portal has also The portal contains more than brought out multimedia courses 1200 knowledge levers in the on CD to enable citizens with low forms of case studies, slide shows, bandwidth to access rich content movies, courses, interviews, talks, about watersheds, groundwater, policy documents, etc. covering a fluoride mitigation and traditional wide range of water related topics water harvesting structures over a - rainwater harvesting, , drinking normal PC. water, water body restoration, Language is paid attention to. urban water, ground water, For example, the multimedia course watershed development, sanitation, on Earthen Dams is available both wastewater, and water quality. The in English and Hindi, and the one idea for IWP was encouraged by the on Fluoride mitigation is available National Knowledge Commission in English, Kannada and Telugu. of the Government of India, which Dr. Anupam Mishra’s talk in Hindi recognized the need to create a on traditional rainwater harvesting collaborative platform for water systems has also been captured. The community creation, and knowledge India Water Portal is also investing dissemination. The role of Information significant resources in the creation of Technology (IT) to create such a innovative resources or applications platform was envisaged; and the that apply recent advances in “Water Portal” was conceived. technology to specific water Apart from being a knowledge problems. portal, IWP is slowly becoming the An example is the Meteorological discussion hub for all - NGOs, water Data application that provides 11 experts, scientists, academicians climate parameters (including rainfall, and common citizens. This can be temperature, and evapotranspiration) seen from the success of its “Ask for all parts of the country for the past The Experts” and the “Discussion 100 years. This has been mapped Forum” services. It has the potential onto a GIS platform that makes it very to become a major source of easy to use for all. Earlier, this data information to the common man on was difficult to obtain for the average tackling everyday water problems of citizen; now, it has proved invaluable availability and quality. for water resource planning and India Water Portal’s commitment research. The portal also offers to reduce both the digital and the information about most water-related content asymmetry prevalent in India organizations in India, and has started can be validated from its emphasis a feature called Schools Water Portal on “language portals”, “multimedia to discuss the issue of clean water in courses” and the “Kannada Radio schools. shows”. IWP also launched the

Project Features

Technology Platform media that includes, print, videos, IWP is a repository of all kinds of audio, and presentations. For anyone information available regarding water accessing the site, they would have to issues. For this, it uses all kinds of have a working knowledge of these

276 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints applications and also a broadband This initiative aims to provide connection that enables easy appropriate solutions to the issues connectivity. around water and environment that the general public and practitioners Accessibility & Inclusiveness are looking for. IWP has not kept the site the Features like “Ask-The-Experts” and exclusive domain of the English “Discussion Groups” are the primary speaking population. The site is interactive platforms on the site. At available in Hindi and Kannada. ‘Ask-The-Experts’, anyone can ask a Community Participation question for free on this service and As of late 2011, IWP has about 5500 all the queries are posted on the English subscribers, around 2000 portal. The queries are passed on to Hindi subscribers and Kannada IWP’s partner - WES Net India (http:// Water Portal has about 400. Hindi www.wesnetindia.org/), which is a Water Portal also has about 10,000 network of more than 2000 water and people who are interested in the sanitation professionals. The answers portal but do not want to get into the suggested by these professionals are technicalities of subscribing online, then placed back on the website. i.e. they are not registered users on Besides, anyone can directly answer the Hindi Portal but are engaged with any question. IWP also has radio it through other channels like the programmes which are strong newsletter, for instance. Others such platforms for community interaction. as the School Water Portal have about Sustainability & Cost Effectiveness 800 subscribers. Currently, the portal is funded by In terms of visits per day, there Arghyam (www.arghyam.org) a are 1800 for English, 800 Hindi public trust focusing on water sector from different regions including issues since 2005. A web portal is international visitors, and about 300 inherently scalable, and requires very visitors for Schools Water Portal. IWP’s little maintenance. The strength of database has about 5326 registered the portal is that the knowledge is users on the English portal, and built up as a compilation of resources approximately 3,5000 on the Hindi from the community and the open- portal, who are active in the water source, open-software nature of the and sanitation sector. technology, ensures scale remains India Water Portal helps largely a measure of content, which people learn about water issues, can be easily added over existing thereby creating an interested knowledge base by the community. community around it. It offers the This community “ownership” of best management practices crucial creation, compilation, maintenance, for both the short term and long updating of content is the heart of term sustainable use of water, by the sustainability and scalability for compiling comprehensive case the portal. studies, slideshows, courses, movies, research and policy documents Replication & Scalability around several key areas – rainwater IWP is a sector focused resource harvesting, agriculture, drinking center which is a great value addition water, water body restoration, urban to the internet. In fact, there should water, ground water, watershed be more sites like this across varying development, sanitation, wastewater, sectors, especially in the sphere of water quality, and water for industry. social development. Other groups

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 277 have experimented with such portals in other Indian languages, and sites, focusing on subjects such as through that, keep growing. agriculture. IWP can also launch more

Conclusions

Lack of proper telecommunication were done in at least one Indian infrastructure, poor PC penetration, language right at the beginning with low education levels, all contribute to the intention of more translations the digital gap, and have been well based on demand. documented in the past. However Over the course of the past lesser mention is given to the fact couple of years, the Water Portal that lack of content in Indian regional has transformed itself from a static languages results in significant one way website to a dynamic increase in the content gap in India. participatory website where the Many times, even when such content energy comes from the interaction is available, it is scattered all over, with users. When someone sends and notoriously difficult to trace. a note about a water body in their India Water Portal’s commitment is area that is being encroached and to reduce both the digital and the asks for help in opposing it, the Portal content asymmetry prevalent in India. team sees what it can do to help that A first step in this direction was person. taken by launching the Water Portal When the Bihar floods of 2008 in Kannada and later in Hindi. The occurred on an unprecedented scale, portal also brought out multimedia again the team added its effort in courses on CD to enable citizens with disseminating information about low bandwidth to access rich content the situation on the ground and about watersheds, groundwater facilitating donations to disaster and fluoride mitigation, etc. These relief work. Overall, IWP has strived courses bring to bear rich multimedia to not just bring together crucial experiences in combination with information about this sphere but photography and videography of also to make it accessible to those practical work on the ground and who do not speak English. However, domain expertise through a water it remains to be seen if the traffic will sector institution. Most of the courses grow over the next few years.

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

The vision and promise of ICT for several areas including freeing up development has been articulated by information, especially government many people but the challenge is to data and knowledge, making build more successful applications to government functioning more realize the promise and scale them transparent widely. Success will lie in pursuing applications with dedication and A related potentiality with the web commitment and getting the small is to tap into volunteers. India is details right. The promise lies in at a stage where there is a large

278 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints youth population who is quite could tap into these volunteers in enthusiastic about issues related to an effective way, a huge amount of the environment, public service and useful work could get done. With IT development. They are keen to take tools it should be possible to manage part in volunteer activities but do not these resources across geographical find meaningful real-world projects locations in ways that were not to work on. If the India Water Portal possible earlier.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 279 The Peer Water Exchange (PWX) Peer Water is a scalable network and process that can transparently and effi- Exchange ciently select, manage, and moni- tor the tens of thousands of small village projects needed to solve the water and sanitation crisis.

Achievements Category »» Allows for large funds to be di- e-Science & Environment vided into small projects through peer review and without bureau- Organization cracy, while enforcing collabora- Peer Water Exchange tion and cooperation. Platform of product »» Empowers implementers in the Web/Internet field, who historically have been Website at the end of the funding process, www.peerwater.org to use their experience to decide how funds get allocated. »» Increases the resources available to tackle the water crisis facing Asia and the world. »» Encourages increased water pro- ject funding and commits funders to encourage others to support this cause.

280 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

The Peer Water Exchange (PWX) work of all partners, even historical was created by Blue Planet Run projects. Funders can search for (BPR), a seamless amalgamation of high quality water projects that have process, technology, and people that been pre-approved by experts. Users solves the management problem of can receive updates on progress soliciting, selecting, overseeing, and and long-term impact. By allowing long-term monitoring of small-scale independent visitors to monitor rural water and sanitation projects. projects, it allows global participation PWX is the first truly participatory and increases the resources available decision-making system in the for monitoring and evaluation at very development sector. PWX uses low costs to show impact years after mapping and other social internet project completion. technologies to showcase the

Practise Background

Lack of safe drinking water is the to occur, and changes in behavior are largest hazard to children around the mandatory. world. One in every six children lacks Integrating these various access to safe drinking water. This dimensions involves effort, situation causes diarrhea, stunted coordination, and time, creating a physical and mental development. vast overhead. This overhead makes Every year, for two million kids under it difficult to scale up our efforts five, it causes death. For millions of and manage the tens of thousands girls, it means trekking to fetch water of small-scale projects needed instead of going to school. The waste to reverse the water crisis. PWX in human potential is criminal. addresses the challenge of scale The solutions are relatively by providing an online platform simple – from dug wells to hand where peers (funders, implementers, pumps, from rainwater harvesting and third-party observers) in the to johads, from bio-sand filters to water sector come together to solar pasteurization. But, a complete share, collaborate, and learn. PWX water solution does not end there. It empowers grassroots implementers encompasses many more dimensions to leverage their experience into such as education, hygiene, the decision-making process. They sanitation, maintenance, and long- not only weigh in on and rate each term monitoring. Most importantly, other’s applications; they can shape for sustainable impact, the project and evolve each other’s approaches has to be customized to the local and plans. culture, a transfer of ownership has

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 281 Implementation Process

PWX went live at the World Water the water sector with increased Forum in Mexico in March 2006. funding. In addition, the map-based By 2007, it had won awards from approach invites the public – the ComputerWorld and the Information general consumer – to view and Integrity Coalition. Over the next participate: the platform is completely two years, its network grew through transparent! peer review to 59 plus members. For the past few years, PWX has The network in India includes been the management platform for large famous organizations such BPR’s water and sanitation program as Barefoot College, Gram Vikas, and now manages funding for other and Watershed Organization Trust funders too. It has grown to become (WOTR) to small startups such as a network of over 50 partners that Ekoventure. By 2009, Gram Vikas and span the globe with many partners WOTR adopted PWX to manage and and funds in India. The results – in all showcase all their water projects dimensions of projects, community, over the past 15 years. Value is both connections, and learning – of over in improved project management $1.6MM in funding are visible on the and in benefits to all water groups PWX website. The recommended through increased learning. way to learn and experience PWX is through the website. From being competitors, the groups PWX is extremely cost-efficient become collaborators; from touting (~5% overhead), effective in choosing their own approach, they help the highest potential projects to improve each other’s approaches. fund, and uses a transparent way The process is as follows: to strengthen the knowledge and ∙∙ Implementers submit applications abilities of organizations in the for projects water sector. The growth of the PWX ∙∙ These are distributed for review to network in both size and activity other members, including other is a testament to the value the implementers water community sees in it. PWX ∙∙ Questions and comments are divides up the problem of soliciting made on the application (fully thousands of applications, selecting visible to the public) interactively and refining them, managing them, ∙∙ Reviewers rate the applications and measuring their impact into and the highest rated applications small manageable tasks. These are are funded assigned to a network of experts, ∙∙ Funders from around the world implementers, funders, and interested can search for high-quality members of the public. water projects that have been The work can thus get done in pre-approved by the network of a decentralized, bureaucracy-free experts manner with little overhead and ∙∙ Updates by staff and visitors are maximum transparency. Not only easily posted as projects get are a larger number of resources implemented, on progress and brought to bear, they are connected long-term impact in a collaborative way that maximizes The new approach of PWX learning and sharing. Traditional encourages funders to return to funding processes involve program-

282 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints management personnel at a funding that are not typically taken advantage agency overseeing the project of. By tapping into field expertise, management cycle. It is hard for them small grassroots projects and their to cost-effectively deliver small- implementers can be brought to scale projects and it is bad for their the forefront, similar to eBay and career to report failures. Scaling up of Craigslist bringing small transactions projects entails giving larger grants to the surface. to a lesser number of agencies. This PWX goes beyond a single could result in transferring the same transaction and uses its peers for problem of translating large funds project preparation and long-term into smaller projects to them. monitoring. It enforces collaboration Directly working with small local and cooperation. PWX has the NGOs is a hard task since grassroots potential to manage thousands of implementers in the field are not projects and millions of dollars of usually savvy about technology and funding transparently, efficiently, and communications. Historically they do effectively, both directly and through whatever the funding agencies ask peer review - and show impact long for and do not trust their experience after project completion. Widespread and judgment. While they usually adoption of the PWX platform is need mentoring in project and critical to enable long-term solutions organizational management, they to the global water crisis. also bring some skills and experiences

Project Features

Technology Platform Community Participation There is complete transparency to By putting application decisions view applications and discussions, and project reports online, there is learn, report on projects, or view nothing hidden – PWX eliminates maps. There is a username/password the content gap. PWX also solves required for applying for funding, additional major gaps in the digital peer review, and help. All this can be divide. It empowers grassroots accessed through any browser with a implementers by giving value to their flash plugin. experiences and also by giving them a vote in the funding process. Accessibility & Inclusiveness Small implementers who cannot PWX is designed for interaction! From make it to national and international the map to Q&A to visitor reports, conferences get on the same ‘stage’ every user has a role to share and with large implementers and can learn. From submissions to forum comment on everyone’s applications postings, connections are constantly and projects. They are also eligible being made. This interaction is for the same funding opportunities serious – it is about work and about – another divide bridged. PWX constant improvement and learning adds transparency to a very opaque and sharing. It is social too, where domain. All projects, successful or not, former competitors for funding work and all contributions (even the lack of together, but its aims are lofty: to get them) are visible to the public. people to align to solve the world’s water and sanitation crises.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 283 Sustainability & Cost Effectiveness and sanitation world. Peers submit PWX is designed to be scalable. PWX applications and review and monitor divides the work and parcels it out. As each other. Funding agencies the network grows, more applicants become peers too and participate mean more hands to manage and in sharing and learning. This way, absorb the funds and solve the people working on water and problem. This keeps costs low and sanitation projects around the world ensures that all water groups are can read, critique, and collaborate on committed to PWX success. PWX will each other’s work. No other network be financially sustainable as more gives a vote on funding to the funders use the platform. A small grassroots implementers. management fee to funders will be This kind of system can be sufficient to continue to operate and replicated for any other funding enhance the platform. projects, be whatever sector. Many international organizations such Replication & Scalability as Knight Foundation or Ashoka PWX is a unique idea with great Changemakers use similar systems to potential going forward. It brings the help decide what projects to fund. peer review process into the water

Conclusions

When ICT empowers the groups at An ICT tool should provide a larger the bottom of the funding chain and role and empower the people at the in turn the beneficiaries, it plays its bottom of the digital divide, thus highest role. Providing information uplifting them on their terms, and and content is one thing, but reducing the power gap. Not only recognizing their worth and their should a tool empower people to value is a greater goal. A person solve their own problem, it should sitting in a remote internet café with make them a part of the large global real-world experience should get an team effort to solve humanity’s crises. equal vote as should someone in a PWX and BPR are using ICT tools to large office in a city; their experience invite all of humanity to join in this is as much of value as that of an global mobilizing effort. academic.

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Creating a project such as PWX and time spent on grant-writing and might sound complicated at first, but completing applications is reduced. once you set up certain guidelines Field expertise reduces the funding it becomes easier. Especially in the agencies’ burden of screening area of judging projects for funding, applications and managing remote some might not see the benefits of projects. Also due to peer review, an open system. However, there are reporting of failed projects does not many. For example, by using standard result in harsh judgment. online forms, bureaucracy is reduced Finally, due to reduced costs of

284 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints having field people monitor each approach to project management other’s projects, costs come down. and knowledge sharing – also a first More monitoring and sharing occurs – allows system-wide progress to be also. Complete transparency in seen with new insights. It is a great decision-making and project data is move forward to not just use ICT achieved – which is very rare in the for information delivery but actively non-profit sector. The knowledge “work” on it from multiple locations base created is live and therefore, is around the country and more always up to date. The map-based significantly around the world.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 285 The electronic BIOTIK identikit is BIOTIK a free knowledge base of about Biodiversity 650 tree species in the Western Ghats using a computer-aided Informatics and identification software system. Co-Operation in Playing a vital role in identifying Taxonomy for the tree species, BIOTIK consists of information on the Interactive botanical, ecological importance, Shared distribution range and status of Knowledge Base the tree species.

Achievements Category »» BIOTIK adopts a graphical inter- e-Science & Environment face system called “IDentification Assistée par Ordinateur” (IDAO), Organization which integrates the most recent French Institute of progress of graphical capabilities Pondicherry of the computers. Platform of product »» Provides easy and instant identifi- Offline cation of tree species implement- Website ing 2 interfaces and relying on a www.biotik.org wide database of different types of barks, branches, leaves etc. »» Functions as a capacity building and research tool in taxonomy, biodiversity and species conserva- tion.

286 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

Funded by the European Union, the dominating the western coast of the project - Biodiversity Informatics Indian peninsula for almost 1600 and Cooperation in Taxonomy for km, extending from the mouth of Interactive Shared Knowledge Base the river Tapti to the tip of south (BIOTIK) - has four main partners India - the only gap in the chain – French Institute of Pondicherry, being the Palghat Gap. In all, 33,009 CIRAD-France, National University photographs were taken from 528 of Laos, Lao PDR and National specimens. These were methodically Herbarium Nederland. studied for characters, processed and A complete database was lodged in the herbarium, and were developed by conducting field integrated into the database with work in 127 locations between IDAO. Finally, BIOTIK was launched on 2005 and 2007 in the Western 20th December, 2007. Ghats, a practically unbroken relief

Practise Background

There is growing scientific consensus is needed by a large group of that habitats are being altered and users for various purposes such as species are disappearing at rates research, industrial purposes, nature never before witnessed on the planet. conservation, policymaking, etc. The biodiversity crisis is not just The available floras/field keys are about the perilous state of plants and difficult to use for such professionals, animals but also lack of specialists specifically for non-specialists. who know them. Unfortunately to Biodiversity informatics revolution date we lack complete information is finally enabling biodiversity on the exact number of species researchers to overcome such existing on Earth. Experience impediments. BIOTIK aims to develop suggests that about 1 in 100 of all the knowledge base on tree species plant specimens collected from identification system for the Western previously unexplored, or poorly Ghats. The knowledge base would be explored, parts of the tropics are new instrumental in understanding and to science. The demand for biological assessing the biodiversity of these expertise is growing, and in particular highly significant areas, as it would the demand has increased over the provide and facilitate dissemination last 20 years. of scientific and traditional Presently, biological information knowledge.

Implementation Process

Biological research and species when identifying species using conservation programs depend standard flora is centred around three upon the correct identification of major constraints, namely: organisms. The difficulty encountered ∙∙ The ability to identify the species

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 287 without reproductive structures entry points that allow the user to such as flowers or fruits choose any characters based on ∙∙ Use of dichotomous key in resolution-independent vector conventional flora, which cannot graphics in the querying interface. tolerate any error and imposes In the identification process the user the choice as well as the order of describing a plant through the vector questions graphics. ∙∙ The use of technical terms not It uses only pictorial understood by non-specialists representations instead of botanical jargon and provides users the This project is an initiative in the freedom to choose the character emerging area of biodiversity (multiple entry points) that needs to informatics with the following be described. Missing information objectives: or data are permitted, thus allowing ∙∙ To enhance the biodiversity for the identification of incomplete assessment capabilities in the samples. region through building a A certain level of observational knowledge base on the tree error is also tolerated and, at each species of the Western Ghats of step of the identification process, India a similarity coefficient is calculated ∙∙ To preserve and disseminate for each species. It also permits traditional knowledge in local backtracking of the identification languages and improve taxonomy procedures if an error in data entry knowledge-sharing through IT&C is suspected. The identikit builds initiatives a conceptual plant as and when ∙∙ To establish open data standards the user chosen a character state and protocols for the common in the querying interface and use of species descriptions, simultaneously the identikit provide terminology etc., which adhere the number of species that matches to the standards defined by the user supplied character states the Global Taxonomy Initiative with a matching percentage. (GTI) from the Secretariat of the In this system the characters are Convention on Biological Diversity displayed in order of merit, but the The BIOTIK identikit application was user is free to choose any character constructed by adopting a graphical generating rules as required. The interface system called “IDentification choice will be influenced by the Assistée par Ordinateur” (IDAO). The accessibility of the character in IDAO identikit uses a comprehensive particular circumstances; by the graphical interface based on a system user’s own assessment of the that reconstitutes the species using separating power of the character drawings. It has been designed for a particular specimen; and by to remove the main difficulties the user’s confidence in his ability to encountered by non-botanists when understand and use the characters. identifying species using standard Eventually, the IDAO system flora. presents the results as a list, sorted The user friendly electronic by decreasing order of similarity. The BIOTIK identikit was developed process does not eliminate other to identify 528 trees species of possible matches based on the user- Western Ghats. This application has supplied discriminate characters. been designed to provide multiple Each species is described in detail in

288 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints a file documented with photographs tool in taxonomy, biodiversity and and drawings where every botanical species conservation. The developed word is defined with hypertext. program can be run in a Windows An IDAO application is divided version and an online version. The in two main interfaces; viz. the MS-Windows version of IDAO is identification interface and the developed in Visual Basic V.6.0 and result interface and the user can the data related to the identikit are shift from one interface to the other. stored in an Access database. The IDAO builds a conceptual plant by vector drawings of the identikit are allowing the user to select any of designed with Corel draw V.13 and the characters and their respective are used in Windows Metafile format character states. The system is then (WMF) and, as such, are independent supplied with the selected character of the user’s screen resolution. states to calculate the best possible With the use of vector images, match. The number of the identifiable it becomes easily possible to adopt species depends of the number of the IDAO software to various layers that have been introduced in computing hardware with limited the application. screen sizes like PDA’s and UMPC On the result and species list (Ultra Mobile Personal Computer). interface, a HTML file is provided This has been developed using C, for each species that contains GTK for front-end manipulation and images, descriptions, ecology and MySQL for database handling. The distributional details of species online version of the BIOTIK has in English and three other local been implemented using PHP (PHP: languages viz., Kannada, Tamil and Hypertext Preprocessor) for server Malayalam, in which technical terms side scripting, MySQL for database, are defined in a hypertext style. Scalable Vector Graphics for the Unicode standard has been used representation of characters, AJAX for this implementation. As a work (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) in progress, all the descriptions are for the interactivity and the client-side being made available in the local language JavaScript. Open source languages in a phased manner. technologies and w3c standards have BIOTIK was designed as a been adopted. capacity building and research

Project Features

Technology Platform source web-based application, with For online version browsers with the knowledge base available on-line, native support for SVG like Mozilla and on DVD for personal computer Firefox V.1.5 and higher, Opera, platforms as well as on Ultra Mobile Google Chrome, Safari and Internet Personal Computer, to identify Explorer with Adobe SVG plugin species easily. The identification is can all access BIOTIK. It has unicode confirmed by comparison of the standard fonts for the local language, specimen with on-screen images and and SVG compliant browser for the descriptions. The users can access online version. the results interface without going BIOTIK was developed as an open through the identification process

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 289 every time. They can choose to making it visual, BIOTIK is simplified directly browse the list of species, or and can be used by taxonomists and by families or by common names. students alike. Thus it also serves as a database of a particular collection of species for Community Participation ready reference. The identikit allows the identification The result would primarily of incomplete samples and for a address the needs of stakeholders certain level of observational errors. that are involved in maintaining Such errors can be traced back and and preserving these diverse corrected by the user by an error rain forests, including the large backtracking system. With this scientific community working in feature, BIOTIK has opened itself up to these geographical areas and also its users, allowing them to participate the government agencies. The in making the product better. partnership builds on the foundations of the pre-existing scientific Sustainability & Cost effectiveness The project was made via a grant and collaboration between the various is available for free downloads. To partners who have specialized in that end, it is not sustainable without developing ICT applications for funding. taxonomy (IDAO) on one hand, and taxonomy itself on the other hand. Replication & Scalability The same algorithms can, and are, Accessibility & Inclusiveness being used to create similar products The identikit builds a conceptual for other agricultural purposes, plant as and when the user chooses and those can be marketed, if a character state in the querying desired. However, the market for interface. Simultaneously the identikit such inventions remains small, provides the number of species that limited on the whole to researchers, matches the user supplied character taxonomists, forest officials and states with a matching percentage. By students.

Conclusions

The idea of building a tree knowledge The knowledge base is scalable base using ICT’s is unique and also both horizontally by adding more the first of its kind in India. The botanical data and vertically by application caters to both specialists aiding capacity building, biodiversity and non-specialists by providing assessment and conservation efforts. information ranging from species The domain of botanical identification to distribution in knowledge has largely been restricted relevant local languages. On top of to specialized circles which the this to ensure maximum outreach, BIOTIK initiative tries to overcome by the applications are made available as designing appropriate content for free software. both specialized and non-specialized The initiative covers most of the audience. The focus is rather on the tree species of the Western Ghats quality of the content and availability region which demonstrates a viable rather than on technology itself. model to build such applications.

290 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Digital content, particularly in to assimilate and present diverse environment and ecology, can help knowledge and on the other serve to to reduce information gaps and help the needs of a range of stakeholders. efficient flow of information between This approach could effectively help multiple stake holders, whose role are a development strategy in a specific crucial to biodiversity conservation domain like environment and its in the current scenario. Such efforts conservation. could contribute on one hand

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 291 Awatar’ (Any Where Any Time AWATAR Advanced Reservation) — is the online passenger reservation system for the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and the first-of-its-kind road transport online passenger- booking project in the country.

Achievements Category AWATAR is an advanced system that e-Travel & Tourism »» Allows passengers to plan their journey well in advance and re- Organization serve tickets online with their Karnataka State Road credit or debit card Transport Corporation »» Integrates mobile booking, ser- Platform of product vice information, route map, fran- Web chisee details, bus schedule tim- Website ings, pick up points , under one www.ksrtc.in unified umbrella »» Includes 509 reservation counters to enable even those without in- ternet access to benefit from it. »» Bringing about rapid changes through multiple levels, this sys- tem has even made way for bet- ter employment opportunities for differently-abled individuals »» Enables easy access, optimum revenue collection with never-be- fore-seen growth in accessibility, accountability, transparency and added responsiveness

292 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

The Karnataka State Road Transport KSRTC Corporation (KSRTC) operates ∙∙ Creates a real-time centralized intercity bus services and inter- database state bus services to Kerala, Andhra ∙∙ Provides a scalable system Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Goa and incorporating service oriented Maharashtra. It has a fleet of over architecture and web services 5500 buses and covers over 20 lakh ∙∙ Enhances branding of KSRTC, kms a day. It carries an average of 2.2 being the first reservation portal in million passengers a day, through public road transport corporations over 5000 schedules, and has over in India 25,000 employees! .For the commuters the benefits KSRTC’s guiding principle has are immense as it provides them always been to ensure the maximum with booking through the Internet travel comfort, convenience and and a convenient, speedy, reliable, familiarity for the commuters. timely, anywhere to anywhere Keeping in mind this motto, in ticket reservation experience. It also 2006, the corporation replaced the provides an electronic channel for traditional passenger reservation information and services, instilling system with revolutionary and confidence in the commuters. It highly scalable web-based on-line eliminates wastage of time, money reservation system named AWATAR and resources for the citizens to (Any Where Any Time Advanced access information and services and Reservation) –the first-of-its-kind- provides a lot of convenience to the and-scale road transport passenger citizens in terms of buying tickets and booking system in the country. travel information AWATAR is extremely beneficial for AWATAR has now emerged as the KSRTC as it: sustained change in road transport ∙∙ Improves efficiency, accountability, sector in India, which commuters transparency and responsiveness were looking forward to and were not ∙∙ Enables more cost-effective able to access before AWATAR came collection of revenues, enhances in. The main objective of this project revenue collection is to assist the public in gaining an ∙∙ Provides more accurate and real- easier and faster way of reservation. time information of the work in

Practise Background

Technology has touched every world in terms of its wide reach, aspect of our lives. It has become the it is increasingly being seen as a ideal platform for communication particularly strong tool that can cut and collaboration. Technology down operational costs and increase is applicable to every domain of efficiency and ease of ticket booking. transport, playing a crucial role in And, of course, it helps streamline every aspect of its service delivery. administrative operations to deliver While it has definitely shrunk the good service to commuters and

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 293 optimise resources. productivity. Transportation, like all industries The AWATAR has aimed at is largely influenced and driven by achieving global reach with local information and communication market expertise to meet programme technologies with the focus being on and traveler requirements and has meeting customer needs and value become an innovative tool that added services. In today’s economic makes daily travel management environment, travel programmes efficient, cost-effective and secure. are under the microscope like never Total traveler support, including before at corporations across the the ability to balance our corporate globe. This system has specialized strategy with corporate social solutions, resources and services responsibility initiatives. It delivers an that are proven in reducing travel unrivalled, global, end-to-end travel management, costs and increasing and expense management platform.

Implementation Process

Before the implementation of in to a nearby KSRTC/franchisee/ AWATAR, KSRTC had an Oracle based BangaloreOne counter and obtain a passenger seat reservation system, ticket by giving the details and paying a client server based one, restricted there. Those passengers who have an to book only for services departing internet connection can book their from a particular bus stand. The tickets online, by visiting the www. reservation system was used through ksrtc.in website. They need to create Point-to-Point connectivity at the an account, log in, select their journey various KSRTC ticketing counters and and seats, make a payment and print Franchise Ticketing Counters. The out their tickets. The ticket is also sent system was based on stand-alone through email and the details sent to architecture. the registered mobile number. Today, the web-based reservation To cater to the needs to the next system has changed the status and generation of patrons, KSRTC has led to a major shift in paradigm launched booking of passenger particularly in transport industry. tickets through mobile phone The general public has a host of enabled with GPRS/data connection new facilities that is making their using AWATAR. Booking tickets lives easier, such as booking tickets through mobile brings immense through credit cards and direct debit convenience to the commuter to bank account. That AWATAR is availing its services. Through this available at all KSRTC counters and mobile booking facility, the passenger franchisees set up across the state can literally make a booking from has resulted in a mini IT revolution. his palm. The passenger will have AWATAR has improved efficiency, to give his/her mobile number on added convenience, and also added the KSRTC website, and a mobile accountability, transparency and booking application will be sent. Else, responsiveness of the passenger passengers can simply SMS “KSRTC” reservation system. to 56767 to download the secure In order to book a seat under service provider application on to this system, the passenger can walk their GPRS enabled phones.

294 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints After completing a one-time well. registration, users can book tickets, AWATAR offers more than 3,000 select the class of service, select services, and over 200 forms with seats and also specify a convenient more than 1500 functionalities. pick-up point. The payment can Passengers can book a ticket 30 be made using a variety of options days in advance through this such as credit cards, debit cards, system. KSRTC AWATAR application bank accounts and cash cards. On has fourteen lakh registered users completion of a booking, e-ticket is including those residing in other generated and sent via e-mail. Those countries. Around 6 lakh site visits users do not have an e-mail can show are recorded per month and 94 lakh the ticket details at designated KSRTC page views are recorded per month. counters and get their tickets. The On an average 16.08 pages per visit is ticket details will be sent via SMS as viewed.

Project Features

Technology Platform www.ksrtc.in is the most popular The KSRTC enjoys the distinction surface transport website in India. of being the very first organisation As more people are able to access in the entire country to implement the internet/use mobile phones, its ‘Web Based Passenger Advance usefulness will increase. Reservation System’ i.e., AWATAR (Any Time Any Where Advance Community Participation The passenger seat reservation Reservation System). It has made itself system was restricted only to a accessible to the general public over small number of services and to the two main ICT platforms, that is, the passengers from that specific place. internet and mobile. These are meant With AWATAR the passengers can to compliment the already existing plan their journey program well physical counters. in advance and have their seats AWATAR can handle upto 5000 reserved. This system also has scope concurrent users on its site. The for incorporating facilities like mobile e-booking, or payment options, are bookings and with advance booking, available round the clock. For internal there are considerable hits per day. purposes, it has a ‘disaster recovery’ Duplicate ticket, ticket facility and advanced MIS options. cancellation, different discount Accessibility & Inclusiveness schemes, onward and return journey While users need to have access booking, e-ticket through payment to the net or a mobile phone to gateway using credit card and use AWATAR, it is still a welcome direct debit are amongst prominent step forward when it comes to features that form the nuclei of the government services aimed at the application. Reserved seats and public. Additionally, the site provides blocking of seats for special category information to commuters such such as peoples’ representatives as view seat availability, service (MLAs), blind people, senior citizen, availability, franchisee locations and freedom fighters are also through service tables and contact available. details. As per Google Analytics,

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 295 Sustainability & Cost effectiveness and earn a good margin. In fact Volvo KSRTC has about an annual state buses run at about 40% advance budget of Rs 100 crores from the reservation, which in turn adds to the Kerala state government, which is overall performance of KSRTC. used for running buses, upkeep, paying employees and other such Replication & Scalability In terms of replication, countless expenditure. It also earns money private organizations already offer through ticket sales. AWATAR also booking tickets online, be it for falls within this budget. trains, planes and even buses. In With over 600 AWATAR counters India, the Indian Railways has been a across the state (and outside), the pioneering service, allowing people average number of tickets booked to book from online counters and daily is in the 200,000 range which internet cafes, instead of having brings in a revenue of about Rs 80 to physically visit the nearest train lakh. On peak days, bookings have station to book tickets. AWATAR is crossed 250,000 which means over Rs only taking forward, logically, what 1 crore in revenue. others have been doing around While AWATAR is a government the world: which is allowing the sanctioned site, it does earn some passenger to book tickets at his revenue through advertisements for convenience. At the same time, it hotel bookings and local transport collects some revenue through an options. There is regular patronage assured advance booking. AWATAR from passengers travelling in high- is as scalable as KSRTC, and as long as end buses, and has helped KSRTC the latter expands, so will AWATAR. augment the number of Volvo buses

Conclusions

The age of the internet is also the online booking has shown that more age of the consumer. Companies well off customers will be happy have realized that to sell their to book luxury buses online. At the products more effectively and rake in same time, in this digital age, it is only higher profits, they need to market logical that services have an online these products in the right places. presence, and to that end KSRTC is For KSRTC, bus tickets would sell moving with the times. regardless, but the experience of

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

The first step most e-government also encourage people to opt for a projects usually take is to tackle the bus ticket. However, that is only part front end delivery systems. At KSRTC, of what the AWATAR system can be AWATAR was made to encourage used for. people to buy tickets at their ease While it has been successful at and convenience. Allowing many being a sales point, at the same time, counters across cities was a good AWATAR can be expanded into a way to help people save time and larger MIS system. There have been

296 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints official indications that this will, in Management System and other fact, be the next step. ERP, Vehicle such features will only enhance the Tracking System, Intelligent Transport success of AWATAR and help further System with PIS features, Material usher KSRTC into the digital age.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 297 Barefoot College successfully Barefoot provides practical training for thousands of poor, young, College illiterate, semi-literate and unemployed residents of Tilonia, a rural village in Rajasthan, focusing on solar engineering, water harvesting and conservation, wasteland development, education, health care, rural handicrafts, people’s action and advocacy, communication and women’s empowerment.

Achievements Category »» Offers a financially sustainable e-Women & Empowerment business model Organization »» Provides online sales of traditional Social Work and Research handicrafts (www.tilonia.com) Centre (SWRC), »» Uses a multi-facetted communi- Barefoot College cations strategy that includes tra- Platform of product ditional puppetry, music, songs, Internet street theatre, photography, film- making, screen-printing and a Website community radio station www.barefootcollege.org »» Provides equal opportunities for people of all genders and castes

298 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

Founded originally by Sanjit ‘Bunker’ and communications. A cost- Roy in 1972 and in operation for 40 effective, wireless internet service years, Barefoot College has been supports BC’s teaching and outreach training youth and women in rural programs and provides a reliable Rajasthan in solar engineering and platform for communications both at water conservation, healthcare, the campus and in field. women’s empowerment, handicrafts

Practise Background

According to 2001 census data, 72% Historically, many development of India’s population lives in rural projects in India have been top-down areas. In general, the rural population in nature and, as a result, can be experiences higher unemployment, criticized for being overly-hierarchical, lower levels of education, fewer top-heavy, and insensitive to productive assets, less access to local knowledge and skills and for financial resources and substandard not providing opportunities for healthcare compared to people in community ownership. Barefoot cities and large towns. Furthermore, College, by contrast, is founded nearly one third of India’s population on a bottom-up, people-centered lives below the poverty line and half approach based on local know-how the country’s women are classified as and traditional skills. poor.

Implementation Process

Founded originally in Tilonia, engineering, architecture and Rajasthan, in 1972, on the principal carpentry. that solutions to rural problems Internet service was introduced in lie within, and for, local rural 2003 and has become indispensable communities, Barefoot College’s for the campus as well as its satellite programs focus on practical skills operations. BC added community and solutions, sustainable rural radio to its communications unit in development and advocacy issues. 2009. Having an internet presence BC consists of a main campus and and a global identity has meant field centres where illiterate and that BC could expand its operations, barely literate men and women are attracting students from around the trained in a variety of occupations world, and establish a global network such as teaching, dentistry, solar of affiliated organizations and donors.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 299 Project Features

Technology Platform wells and water tanks as well as water Tilonia is a village in a remote area levels and drinking water quality, of Rajasthan, 20 kilometers from thereby mapping water quality in Kishangarh. Given its isolated 150 villages across two Blocks in location, Internet service is essential Rajasthan, and organizes the data for connecting Barefoot College to into an open database. The results are the outside world. The Internet was made public and available to villagers introduced by BSNL in 2003. Today, and Panchayats on the Internet at the college has 10 computers with www.neerjaal.org and sent directly to cable internet access and three Wi-Fi stakeholders such as the Department routers. Original capital cost of the of Science and Technology in Delhi. Internet was Rs. 50,000. Annual They use Google Earth and Google operating costs are Rs. 25,000. Maps to organize information The college’s Internet café is used graphically, keep things up to date by students as well as villagers. Usage and make the interface more user- figures suggest that 1,000 villagers friendly. per month make use of the Internet café for a variety of communications Accessibility & Inclusiveness Since 1991, illiterate and semi-literate needs. The Internet is also used women from the area surrounding for outreach to potential new Tilonia have been given computer volunteers and trainees, for follow- training at Barefoot College. Since up with past students and contacts, then, they have gone on to train at including people as far away as least fifty other local women, some Africa, for liaising with its associate of whom now work for the college. organizations and for keeping in BC’s women’s empowerment unit touch with Bunker Roy, the program routinely uses the internet to stay Director. Internet access at six of the up-to-date on relevant news and BC field centres is used by the local regulations (eg. minimum wage or community, Panchayats and youth current laws) as well as the work of groups. other advocacy organizations so that The Barefoot College website they can get the most out of their (www.barefootcollege.org) includes own communications and advocacy information about the organization, work. its work and its mission, examples of The Tilonia Community Radio has student work (eg. films created in the been in operation since 2009 and audio-visual program), a photo gallery currently broadcasts six hours a day and a place to make donations to to a 15km radius broadcast area. TCR the organization. A second website, broadcasts educational and current www.tilonia.com, was set up by a events programmes, interviews and USA based group, Friends of Tilonia, discussions with local specialists (eg. to market and sell online handicrafts health workers, engineers, railway made at the college. Prior to that, officials, police officers, bank officials products could only be sold in Tilonia. etc.), has collected over 1,000 hours The internet is also critical to the of folk songs and stories and archived Neerjaal water-quality pilot project. numerous discussions on rural The Neerjaal team surveys the development. number and location of hand pumps, Internet connectivity and

300 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints electronic communications have divides. Women have come from made a positive impact on both various countries to live and learn Barefoot College students and at the BC campus for periods of community members at large: online six months at a time as part of the sales bring in revenue; ICTs support solar technology program. For many of the college’s learning example, representatives from 21 programs; and Tilonia Community African countries and places as far Radio improves communications and afield as Guatemala, Columbia and the dissemination of information. Less Afghanistan have come to BC to live directly, they help break down social together and learn practical skills that barriers and promote intercultural they can take back to their home exchange. countries. For many of these women, this Community Participation was the first time they had been In the interests of sustainability, all to school or travelled outside their activities are based in villages and country and even though they managed and owned by those they spoke different languages, they had serve. Nearly everyone who works much to learn, not only about solar at Barefoot College is local, familiar technology but also about Barefoot with the community and well placed values, conditions in India and the to develop effective solutions to lives of their counterparts from its challenges. In the interests of different countries empowering rural women, BC has trained over 6,525 women since Replication and Scalability inception. For Barefoot College, the use of The ‘barefoot approach’ – with the internet is easily implemented, its emphasis on community relatively inexpensive and has many management, control and ownership, benefits. Moreover, there are various decentralization and simple solutions options for enhanced use of the - has won numerous awards for the Internet in the college itself: first, the College, including the Skoll Award creation of an online catalogue and for Social Entrepreneurship, the e-commerce platform for the sale Stockholm Challenge Award for of handicrafts on the main Barefoot Information Technology and the Tyler website and, second, the installation Prize for Environmental Achievement. of wireless WiMAX infrastructure to Those who have been trained by connect villages, improve reliability Barefoot College receive skills and and increase bandwidth and experience which can translate into connection speeds. better jobs and direct economic Barefoot College is also financially benefit. For example, Malian women sustainable. At present, the Internet who trained in BC’s solar technology café’s daily operational costs are program were able to earn $2.50 met by charging outside users Rs. 20 per month from each of 92 village per hour to use the internet and 75 families for each solar lantern that paise per page to print. Additionally, they supplied. This amounted to the college’s network of national $230 per month in additional income, and global donors and supporters which is a significant amount for rural contribute sufficiently (over Rs. women in that country. 11.6 crore in 2009) to sustain the Barefoot College can also organization financially for many bridge cultural and geographical years.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 301 Conclusions

The Internet is fundamental to many and changed attitudes in the local of the successes of the Barefoot community. In general, the college College’s programs. First, it supports does not recognise caste and all many of its learning programs. members eat and live together as Second, it brings in significant equals and earn roughly the same revenues from online sales: about income. 20% of the total handicrafts revenue, To return to the principal aim of amounting to approximately Rs. 3 Barefoot College - addressing the lakh annually is raised in this way. problems of the people of Tilonia – it Additionally, two to three additional is important to appreciate the full orders come in by email daily. range of BC activities and associated Third, the public and potential results, from water-quality projects, new donors get exposure to BC via the reduction of water-borne its website and YouTube channel. diseases, increased employment and For example, the YouTube video improved health. The First Women Barefoot Solar For example, the college runs Engineers of the World has been 150 night schools powered by solar viewed over 29,000 times. Fourth, electrification; the health centres local inhabitants have used the see approximately 2,000 patients Internet to gain employment, thus annually; the dentistry department increasing their income as well as (staffed by 2 female illiterate BC- boosting the local economy. Fifth, it trained dentists) sees 1,300 patients makes worldwide news and up-to- a year; more than 6,000 people have date information available to isolated been trained in various skills and villagers who, previously, did not have occupations; the water sources in the benefit of being connected to 150 villages have been mapped and the Global Village. And lastly, Skype, tested; more than 300 villages across email, Gtalk etc. make country- and India have been equipped with solar world-wide communications fast and lighting; and more than 7,000 women inexpensive, resulting in significant have participated in the women’s savings to BC’s operating costs. empowerment program. Barefoot College has also had Barefoot values, as disseminated important social impacts. Its use through its various communication of technology and communication mediums, have resulted in changed has challenged social norms, for attitudes and practices amongst example, by breaking down caste local people, which cannot easily be and gender barriers. Puppeteers reversed. Similarly, progress made on and musicians in this area of women’s and caste empowerment Rajasthan are traditionally from a should be sustainable. The training lower caste and treated accordingly. that thousands of people from all Reportedly, repositioning their corners of the world have received skills and transmitting them on has resulted in life-long skills and electronic media such as the radio learning that will be passed on to has elevated their standing and status others.

302 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Rural Internet service in the field Most of the content on the centres is intermittent and can be Internet is in English. Many of interrupted for days at a time before Barefoot College’s constituency, it is up and running again. Thus, it however, are illiterate or semi-literate can be difficult to guarantee Internet and find English to a barrier to access service, as well as photocopying and and, consequently, do not make as printing, for those who it is supposed much use of the Internet as they to serve. could.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 303 The Chanderiyaan project is a Chanderiyaan multi-dimensional project aimed at improving the livelihood of the weaving community in Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh. It includes a broadband Internet-enabled Resource Centre, training in computer applications, English, fashion design and marketing, on- and off-line sales.

Achievements Category »» Offers a digital archive of over e-Women & Empowerment 50 traditional and over 500 new weaving patterns Organization Digital Empowerment »» Provides an in-house, offline retail Foundation in partnership store that enables the weavers to with Media Lab Asia sell directly to the public Platform of product »» Allows increased weaver partici- Internet and broadband pation in Self Help Groups (SHGs) that allow them to organize col- Website lectively and get around the mas- www.Chanderiyaan ter weavers’ and traders’ monopo- .chanderi.org lies on raw materials »» Empowers the disadvantaged lo- cal weaving community through increased income, education and the ability to control their own supply chain and sales »» Promotes traditional weaving crafts to help secure its preserva- tion

304 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

Launched in 2009, Chanderiyaan was design, productivity and efficiency created to improve the economic and raise the overall standard of conditions and living standards living. Qualitative evidence from the of the weaving community in project highlights the importance – Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh. ICT and the challenges - of combining tools, broadband connectivity and broadband access with ICT tools in training are used to improve product rural development projects.

Practise Background

Chanderi, a town located near On average, a typical weaver the River Betwa in the Guna supports four people, however, Constituency of Madhya Pradesh, is some support up to seven on that part of the Ashok Nagar District. In income. To make matters even 2001, according to census figures, more difficult, income is based on a approximately 10,000 of its 30,000 piece-rate and hours can be limited overall population were members of and unpredictable, especially during the weaving community. the monsoon season. According Chanderi has the potential to be a to a poverty survey, 90% of weaver tourist destination due to its over 375 households live below the poverty historical monuments, a centuries-old line and most suffer bad health and hand-weaving community, plentiful experience unsafe and unhealthy medicinal and therapeutic plants work conditions. and a history dating back to the 11th These conditions make weaving century. Unfortunately, it is relatively an unattractive option to youth and, isolated from urban centres and as a result, there is a risk that the difficult to reach. As a result, only traditional weaving culture and skills about 1,000 tourists visit each year. will be lost. A number of structural According to current estimates, issues contribute to the poverty of the town has approximately 8,000 the Chanderi weavers. weavers working on 4,000 looms. ∙∙ The majority of Chanderi silk Overall, 60% of the community is is bought relatively cheaply linked in one way or another to by companies like Fabindia the weaving trade with about 60% and exported to other places coming from the Muslim community for sewing, embroidery and and 40% from the Hindu. The annual final production. As a result, turnover in Chanderi’s weaving Chanderi weavers miss out on the business is substantial. However, 80% employment and income benefits or more of the weaving community of this value-added work. tends to be low-income contract ∙∙ The weavers do not have direct workers who earn only between access to the retail market and Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 3,000 per month have to sell to middle-men who working for the traders and master typically mark-up their product by weavers who control the raw 100%. The weavers’ profit could materials and production and who increase significantly if they could keep the remainder of the profits. sell directly to the public.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 305 ∙∙ Third, the weavers do not have computer use is available for a small control over the design process charge. The only broadband Internet and cannot design for market service is provided by BSNL, while demand. Being reliant on limited mobile phone service is available available patterns, they often from AirTel, Vodafone, Reliance, Tata resort to simply repeating old and BSNL. patterns rather than creating new. Given these conditions, the project’s ∙∙ The weavers typically do not have challenge was to: enough working capital to source ∙∙ leverage ICT and broadband raw materials and, as a result, are Internet connectivity to improve dependent on the master weavers. the weavers’ livelihood This condition often creates delays ∙∙ provide textile design software and unemployment. and training as well as training in ∙∙ Most weavers cannot afford to product design, manufacturing build up a reserve of finished and marketing so that the weavers product and are forced to sell their could expand the scope of their product at uncompetitive prices as activities soon as it is made. ∙∙ use ICT-based technologies to ICT infrastructure is limited in improve the weavers’ economic Chanderi. With no Internet café in opportunities, abilities, skill-sets, the town, the only option is the local self-esteem and mobility computer training centre where

Implementation Process

Launched in 2009, the project was chanderi.org). Phase two consisted implemented in two phases over of training in a range of tertiary the course of two years. Phase one textile trades (eg. block printing and included infrastructural organization, embroidery) as well as additional ICT basic training for weavers and their infrastructure development (eg. a families, setting up a showroom and tourist web portal) and the creation of development of the Chanderiyaan computer training labs in educational website (www.Chanderiyaan. facilities.

Project Features

Technology Platform sustainability and broadening skills The Internet is key to this project and career opportunities for the and serves several functions: town’s youth. marketing and online sales using CWIRC’s Internet café charges Rs. an e-commerce model, connecting 10 per hour and averages 8 users per the citizens of Chanderi to the larger day with over 200 users overall. The community (including local schools, majority of them are youth (80%) and government bodies, NGOs and social male (70%). Like the rest of us, they agencies), reducing isolation, creating use the Internet for entertainment, timely awareness of consumer and email, chat and social networking. fashion trends, improving project However, the weavers also use it to

306 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints research design trends and market formed new SHGs and some have scenarios and tradespeople use it to found employment at the resource transact sales. centre. The Chanderi weavers are www.chanderi.org is a broadband also beginning to take charge of their website that promotes the Chanderi own marketing and networking: they area as a tourist destination. have established a direct supply chain with Mother Earth; they had a sales Accessibility & Inclusiveness stall at the 2010 Commonwealth All of the employees of the CWIRC Games; they are in discussions resource centre are from the with the Delhi State Industrial immediate community. The project and Infrastructure Development has fostered increased gender Corporation to market their products equality. through the Delhi Khadi and Village Community Participation Industries Board and the weavers The ICT facility has 18 desktop have participated in exhibitions and computers and 10 laptops equipped fairs in India and abroad. with broadband and textile design Replication & Scalability computer aided design (CAD) Project sustainability is related to its software. New patterns have been various revenue streams (Internet created and the old ones archived café, retail sales, online sales). At in a digital library for preservation. present, the Internet café needs to Looms have been set up for the most increase its customer base in order disadvantaged of the weavers and a to break even and the online sales showroom has been opened. platform is yet to come on stream. Additionally, children, youth and As a result, the program is not yet adults, both men and women, have self-supporting. It is believed that been trained in computer skills, it is just a matter of time before Skype and English; and weavers and these conditions are reversed and, their families have been trained in therefore, there is much scope for embroidery, hand block-printing and project duplication. kalamkari as well as in computer- DEF’s SWOT analysis has identified assisted textile design and clothing eight potential locations across design. A tourism website has been India where family-based handloom launched, a telemedicine service is clusters face similar problems now available for Chanderi residents of economic exploitation and and a Jacquard Punching machine is technological backwardness and operational. the Chanderiyaan model could be Many Chanderi weavers have implemented in future.

Conclusions The Chanderiyaan project has and (c) the reduced isolation of the had many positive impacts in community that comes with Internet the community, both social and connectivity. economic, including (a) improved Economically, the financial livelihood, education and job benefits for the weavers have been satisfaction for the weavers’ families, significant. First, the 80 weavers who (b) enhanced design diversity and sell their product directly through preservation of traditional patterns Chanderiyaan have seen their wages

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 307 double and have received 75% of an offline retail store location, let the net profits from sales. Second, alone a chain of them. Online sales, the resource centre has provided furthermore, can reach customers good quality jobs for 23 community across the country and around the members, whose wages have world and offset Chanderi’s isolated increased 50% as a result. Third, the location. ability to participate in exhibitions Chanderiyaan has improved and trade fairs has meant direct the wellbeing of women in the experience of the market and community in particular. Women increased sales profits. have received training in computers, Less directly, ICT tools have tailoring and embroidery and been reduced the cost of education and encouraged to join SHGs. To date, training. For example, tools such over 300 women have done so as Skype and NetMeeting make it and, as a result, are participating in possible to connect the weavers regular savings plans and building to experts in distant cities while a capital reserve and rainy-day fund eliminating the cost of travel and for emergencies. Additionally, the accommodation. program has encouraged women Broadband Internet access has to seek training and work outside improved design and productivity. the home, something that was not Having access to up to the minute previously done in their caste and information about market trends has context. resulted in over 500 new designs The program has had a positive better suited to the market demand impact on the youth in the than some of the traditional ones community. Training children in they had been relying on. Computer computer literacy and English created aided design software, furthermore, good will across the community has meant that patterns can be used increased their career options and and transmitted more accurately and is expected to have a long range efficiently than before and, therefore, positive impact on the overall expenses can be reduced. community. Lastly, the Internet Online sales also have many café, though it is yet to become a potential benefits: increased profitable venture, brings indirect revenues, reduced costs and a larger benefits by connecting Chanderi to market. It is much less expensive to the outside world. set up an e-commerce website than

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Despite its success, there are customer base. challenges that the project still However, e-commerce – especially needs to overcome. It needs to when it comes to fashion sales – become economically profitable comes with its own challenges. and self-sustaining but, presently, Customers often like to see, its costs exceed its revenues. It is touch and try on products before expected that this will change when purchasing them. Therefore, it will the e-commerce website begins likely be necessary to complement operation and establishes a growing the online sales service with in-person

308 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints marketing at fairs and exhibitions as important that it increases its reach. It well as social media in order to build will be necessary to invest extra effort a viable customer base. Further, the and energy into marketing and social resource centre only benefits 80 of networking in order to overcome this the 8,000 weavers in Chanderi. It is obstacle.

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 309 SMSOne establishes Short Mes- SMSOne sage Service [SMS]-based local media by reaching out to com- munities through their mobiles, allowing them to receive useful information about their daily lives on issues such as health, government services and po- litical information like elections, community events or education.

Achievements Category »» Empowers the under-served rural e-Youth communities through application of ICT-based solutions Organization SMSOne »» Helps set up SMS as a Local-Micro Media Platform of product »» Provide self-employment to 2,00,000 + school-college dropout Website youths www.SMSOne .in »» Sets an example of Social Entre- preneurship in India

310 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints Summary

SMSOne is a concept proposed by has also new features: subscription YouthNet, a Pune-based group of based newsletters called Eduvarta, youth and was first implemented in Bizvarta and VIPvarta whereby users July 2007. The pilot project covered can pay for specific services. 70 communities in the state of This service enables deprived Maharashtra. young people and dropouts from SMSOne is a community school to self-employ themselves by newsletter organization which becoming the community mediators, bunches about 1000 mobile users sending targeted SMS to different into one geographical community, groups within their community. An and then sends them free SMSes undereducated youth is employed to on local issues. It also sends them run the community SMS newsletters, relevant information ranging from in order to promote employment, health camps, government notices and he can expect to earn around Rs and business promotions. Further, it 5-6,000 per month.

Practise Background

Studies have shown that India has any day. 840 million active mobile users, However, of the 840 million making it one of the highest mobile mobile subscribers in India, only 15% penetrations in the world. Mobile have smartphones, which leaves a phones have fast become a boon lot more people outside the ambit for millions who were previously of ‘apps’ and firmly in the sms- unconnected outside their small generation. While in the cities, there is communities. Many did not have the a lot of excitement and engagement opportunity to call relatives (except over pushing new features via ‘apps’, for an occasional STD call) and since the reality is that most of India needs their lives didn’t take them very far their information via voice or text geographically, had no idea about the still. It is with this limitation (and yet, world outside their bubbles. Mobile progression) in mind, that SMSOne phones, through their basic features has developed a sms-based project to of voice and text capability, have deliver community based information ushered in an information revolution to those who need it the most. where people can get news anytime,

Implementation Process

The local SMS community model want to encourage unemployable is a streamlined process. SMSOne young people to take up jobs instead employs a young man, who has good of becoming nuisances in society contacts in society. Ghate’s team for the lack of one. This person gets selects those people who have not affiliated with the coordinator (TC). passed high school because they In an earlier avatar, the young

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 311 man would have to start building water and power shutdown dates, a list for the SMS Community telephone bill due dates, road/ Newsletter by making mobile users traffic congestion, important local sign a permission slip for messages. government announcements, local However, as the program expanded, activities like eye testing, health it is now possible to subscribe to checkups, climate changing alerts, SMSOne by buying coupons and local police instructions, emergency entering an ID code. services like blood demands, and A database of all members is even cricket scores! prepared by taking their information, At the same time, commercial which includes name, age, gender, messages can be charged (up to profession, pin code etc. Bulk SMSes Rs 2), such as: local shopkeepers are sent to community members, ads, bank scheme announcements, of which 75% of the content are discounts from shops and restaurants, promotional messages by residents messages from local insurance and 25% by businesses. Each agents, car/bike deals, real estate ads, community newsletter has a specific marriage invitations. A premium rate name, for example, Aundh News for political ads is charged – Rs 5 per or Baner News. Thus, the message message -- such as gram panchayat appears from that group ID. announcements, candidate messages The cost for the SMS newsletter during election time and so on. is recovered by roping in advertisers, The incentive for the young man to the tune of 50 paisa to Re 1 per who handles the SMS community message. The SMSes carry alerts, newsletter is that he can keep about news, reminders and other custom Rs 2-5 per SMS as a profit. This means, made messages such as local news, he can earn upto Rs 1 lakh per year as birthday greetings. There is also long as he is active in the community. crucial local information such as

Project Features

Technology Platform enough. The SMSOne newsletter can SMSOne does not need advanced work on any phone. As regards to equipment to be implemented, as signing up, the process has become it transforms mobile telephones even easier by the introduction of a into micro-media using their SMS unique ID to subscribe. capability. Therefore, end-users only need an entry-level mobile device Accessibility & Inclusiveness While a text message presupposes without advanced features to receive the ability to read, SMSOne is easily the local SMS newsletter. To send used by community members the SMS bulk-messages, a computer because of its relevant and simple with Internet access and the SMSOne nature. The messages can be easily Express software are needed. A read out, or passed on, and help simple desktop and web-interface deliver information in a timely software was designed to centralize manner. The entire service is inclusive all the SMSOne activity throughout because it helps deliver local Maharashtra. information, as opposed to national/ For users, the ability to receive text state news to a local community messages on their mobile phones is

312 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints that cannot benefit or act upon that collects different kinds of messages information directly. to broadcast to his community. These range from emergency Community Participation services, to local business ads to The crux of the entire idea and local government information. For its execution lies in community every SMS he sends, the youth keeps participation. As the newsletter a percentage. SMSOne only sends groups are community specific, and out 4-5 message blasts a week. the messages are hyper-local, there This way, depending on frequency is almost no element of this project and audience, the youth can make that lies outside the community. The anywhere from Rs 3000-6000 per young men chosen to manage the month. newsletter are from the community The system cannot generate any as is the audience and the content loss to the young entrepreneur as no creators. By choosing to target fixed costs are involved. From an end communities with what they need, user point of view, information about SMSOne has created a highly potent government services (especially water product. and electricity cuts, which one needs Sustainability & Cost Effectiveness to plan the day around), discounts, SMSOne has proven to be a health checkups, can improve the sustainable and cost effective quality and effectiveness of life quite business. In fact, the company has dramatically. User feedback has expanded its local SMS newsletter almost unequivocally positive. into specific categories of From a marketing perspective, newsletters, some focusing entirely businesses and politicians have both on educational news while another found an effective way to reach a on social causes. Since the entire relevant audience. business was started on the basis on Replication & Scalability a financial model: both in terms of a In both replication and scalability, salary for the young man handling SMSOne has managed expansion the newsletter and a way to finance internally and successfully. The and profit from the messages it project started in Pune, where Ghate carries. The price levied on those and his team are based, but has subscribing for special newsletter and expanded to employ over 550 youths on those wishing to send out notices and 7 lakh subscriber base. At the can be revised from time to time, if same time, they have added on tailor need be. made services such as Eduvarta, etc, SMSOne’s working design is which will not just increase the base simple. A local youth pays Rs 1000 but have the same subscriber now to become the “franchisee”. Once he pay for multiple services, thereby is the representative of the area, he increasing their income.

Conclusions

SMSOne is one of the ways to Communicating with him/her means bridge the digital divide. In an Indian you are accessing all other family household, typically an earning members of the house. A health member has a mobile phone. camp related SMS to an individual

Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints 313 would be discussed amongst all the connected in a local community, this members. This way, any members means the network is about 5000 who need a doctor could then people strong. arrange to attend the health camp. There are also economic Another case is that of social advantages, the biggest being messages. Even if the SMS for a employment and marketing channels. lecture by a spiritual guru reaches To begin with, if there are 15 crore the mobile phone of the youngest mobile users and each community member, the grandparents will also is defined as 1000 users, it means still get to hear about it. This clearly about 1,50,000 youths can be given shows that irrespective of whether jobs as SMSOne mobile community the elderly members or kids have newsletter leaders. Even if only 10% the mobile, and regardless of which of the newsletters are successful, it family members are literate, they can means that 1 lakh youths, deemed be reached by SMS and encouraged unemployable because of the lack of to take part in social activities. educational qualifications, can have a In a sense this is bridging the regular income. digital divide, by allowing those The second advantage, already ordinarily out of reach to be discussed, is the opening up of an contacted, through technology. advertising channel and relevant Serving through SMS has tremendous audience for business owners and impact on local communities as one social groups. This has a direct impact SMS impacts least 5 members of on society as well. the house. If 1000 mobile users are

Lessons Drawn From The Practise

Sometimes the simplest ideas can implementation process and its be the most effective. It has been simplicity make it easily replicable seen that many entrepreneurs are in other regions. It is a cost-effective using mobile phones to reach the solution that provides free services masses, dispense information and to the community, targeting its connect them to each other. SMSOne special needs. Being managed also aims to do the same; however, by a young person from the instead of dispensing information as locality, the information conveyed a resource portal, it actually serves as through the system is relevant for a medium for people to talk to each the subscribers and deals directly other about any important events, with their environment. SMSOne business promotions and the like. creates a virtuous circle as when As a result, it has become a highly it adds members to the service, it localized platform for news and becomes more attractive for potential information. advertisers, providing more revenues SMSOne tackles two to the young entrepreneur. major problems of the Indian However, taking this a step countryside: isolation and lack of further, SMSOne has added further relevant information and youth purpose to their offerings. By offering unemployment inducing fewer specialized newsletters, such as opportunities. Its standardized Eduvarta, to students, they have

314 Digital Bh@rat | Learning from 50 digital footprints made possible what internet searches Foundation. do for those with easy access to SMSOne shows how ICT solutions the net. This idea has been widely can provide self-employment in rural recognized and has been given a areas and can be essential to reduce grant by the Vodafone Mobile for rural-urban migration by providing Good Foundation in association opportunities at the rural community with the Digital Empowerment level.

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