According to the World Bank, as much as 80 per cent of India is yet to be connected to the Internet. This large population of unconnected Indians largely lives in rural and remote locations of India, where mainstream Internet Service Providers see little benefit in making available their services. It is in these areas that…
Mandi Trades is a multi-lingual mobile application and Web portal aggregator, targeting farmers and bulk buyers — such as retailers, traders, exporters, hotels and caterers directly — through a business-to-business model. On the portal, farmers can list agricultural commodities and post details of the crop by using a smartphone. The auto geo-tagging feature helps connect…
Smita Aggarwal Director – Investments Omidyar Network There is no question that the advent of mobile phones has been a game changer for financial service providers around the world. Through the delivery of innovative formal financial services such as mobile money, remittances apps, and others to low income populations worldwide, we have made great progress…
No one can escape from the absolute need of technology in our daily life today. With the development of low-cost hardware for wireless networking-based on IEEE 802.11b, wireless networks are an emerging technology. This technology opens the possibility of building a network without having the problems associated with, and the cost of putting some sort…
Last month, Soochna Seva inaugurated the ‘Nagrik Samwad & Sahayata Kendra’ (NSSK) in Tehri Gharwal, Uttarakhand, in collaboration with the district administration. The Chief Development Officer (CDO), Ashish Bhatgain, was very keen to have a system where grievance from ground can be heard by the concerned department and be redressed in minimum time. The main idea…
Mehatab and Sanaulla are two SoochnaPreneurs (information-serving entrepreneurs) of Bero block in Ranchi district, Jharkhand. The two have been working tireless and passionately to transform the communities they are serving by enabling access to government schemes and entitlements. The duo has been promoting social schemes in the areas they are serving through regular Yojna Camps.…
Baank-e-Loom, an initiative of DEF and Ericsson, has opened another weavers’ digital resource centre in Badagaon, Barabanki district, besides its primary centre in Saidanpur village to reach out to even more weaver households with digital tools, technology and interventions. Meanwhile, efforts are underway in Barabanki district to connect 40 public institutions such as schools, colleges,…
Even as India has taken the lead to become the fastest growing Internet users’ market in the world, India’s Internet is still dominated by male users. The digital gender divide is even wider in rural India where digital literacy. This, combined with socio economic challenges are the major barriers that prevent women from using the…
We’re proud to announce that our trainee-turned-trainer from Barpali in Odisha, Bidyabati Meher, has won the Internet Society’s 25 Under 25 Award! The Internet Society (ISOC) celebrated its 25th anniversary last month by recognising, honouring and celebrating young people who are shaping tomorrow by using the Internet as a force for good. The ceremony took place…
The Bhutan government is persistently working towards increasing the penetration of social media in the country for communication and governance. To achieve this, the Department of Information and Media (DOIM), under Ministry of Information and Communication of the Bhutan government, has formed a partnership with DEF to conduct regular short training programmes in Bhutan and…
