Visions India

2006-10-10T11:03:00.000-07:00

Google Earth aid for Maharashtra farmers
Roughly 140 kilometre from Mumbai, farmers are turning to technology to fight for their rights.

Four months ago, the farmers of Pen taluka in Raigad district were told the state government was acquiring their land to help build the 25,000 acre Maha Mumbai Special Economic Zone (SEZ). That's when an activist of the SEZ Hatao Virodh Samiti, Arun Shivkar, logged on to Google Earth. “We used Google technology to prove to the authorities that the land is fertile,” said Shivkar. Shivkar says initially state authorities claimed that only a small portion of the earmarked land is fertile and that some parts of it is submerged by salty creek water, meaning lower compensation for the farmers. But Google Earth has come to the rescue and its satellite pictures clearly indicate crop areas. This has helped farmers back their claims for higher compensation.

The technology has also brought together farmers from 45 villages to put up a common front and protest the acquisition of their land.
The ingenious ways in which farmers in Maharashtra are using Google Earth to fight for their rights is perhaps a testament to how technology is truly flattening the world.
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/google-earth-aid-for-maha-farmers/23627-11.html

Leveraging India As India Stands Up

2006-09-28T23:34:00.000-07:00

Way to Go. Anyway you look at it, it is clear India holds the key to the Future. The tech sector looks like the tip of the iceberg. In the next decade things are going to alter almost impossibly.

The World is indeed Flat.

What an informative, inspiring and cool talk/presentation!

Google TechTalks
May 25, 2006

Ashok Jhunjhunwala
Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala is Professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, India and was department Chair till recently. He received his B.Tech degree from IIT, Kanpur, and his MS and PhD degrees from the University of Maine. From 1979 to 1981, he was with Washington State University as Assistant Professor. Since 1981, he has been teaching at IIT, Madras.

ABSTRACT
Dr Ashok Jhunjhunwala has significant expertise in incubating technology to make a difference for the masses in India.

Dr. Jhunjhunwala leads the Telecommunications and Computer Networks group (TeNeT) at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras. This group is closely working with industry in the development of a number of Telecommunications and Computer Network Systems. TeNeT group has incubated a number of technology companies which work in partnership with TeNeT group to develop world class Telecom Access products.

The group has also incubated a company which aims to install and operate telephone and Internet in every village in India. Come here what he as to share from his vast experiences in this field.

Spirit of India

2006-09-28T21:52:00.000-07:00


This video shows you spirit of India. It shows you the real evolving India, its people, their faith, their passions, the spirit, the high tech boom and much more - courtsey Tarun Banka, a very nice job!!

2006-09-20T08:40:00.000-07:00

http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/sep/18lalu.htm

Lalu at IIM....is it a sign of things to come?

Quoted form the article: Lalu is 'material for case study' because Indian Railways, which defaulted in paying dividends worth Rs 1823 crore in 2001, is today profitable with its treasury boasting of a Rs 12,140 crore turnover. Professor Raghuram, who has studied the functioning of Indian Railways thoroughly, believes, "The railways' turnaround is not hype because the net revenues have increased from Rs 5000 crore to Rs 8000 crore.

This is definitely positive.

2006-04-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

I had definitely heard a lot about Shri Satyendra K Dubey but was truly shaken upon reading the whole account of this great man. But something about the number of responses at the above website was very inspiring too. Wanted to dedicate this post to the man who really stood against corruption in India. Or for that matter, to all such men in India who are carrying on after him.

We have been talking of this corruption menace here at visionsindia, but to actually see a lot of other efforts being directed towards this end was really awesome. Just shows that people are moving, albeit a bit slowly, but, we are just going to get there. Do take a moment to read up on "The Life of a Great Man..." at the above mentioned URL.

This really saddens one's soul, but the above website did make my day then again.

Cannot help but repeat two of Mr. Dubey's quotes here (I dare not translate them verbatim into English; would be totally ineffective).

Na mujhko yaad rakhna
na mera kaam yaad rakhna,
bas itni dua hai
ki paigam yaad rakhna

(Don’t remember me or my work, just one request, remember my message.)

Jab doobo bhi to itne sukoon se doobo
ki aas paas ki leheron ko bhi pata na lage

(If you die, go so quietly that you don’t create a ripple, don’t let the nearby waves get to know.)

Here is the Indian Express report that maybe of interest

2006-04-09T23:02:00.000-07:00

SIMILAR EFFORTS WHICH NEED TO USE EACH OTHER
There are a number of people who want to achieve the same us. We need to pool resources and combine efforts. Let us know how we can help. We will also be getting in touch with you - people, organizations, projects.

http://www.gopio.net/india_development/
http://indiadev.blogspot.com/
http://www.ashoka.org/home/index.cfm
Sai Kiran http://icat-india.blogspot.com/
http://www.nextbillion.net/
INDIA GII http://www.india-gii.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Atanu Dey on India’s Development: Deeshaa http://www.deeshaa.org/
http://www.ivolunteer.org.in/indiafellow/pages/home.htm
http://www.icicicommunities.org/
http://www.indiatogether.org/
http://www.linkageindia.org/
http://www.cmsindia.org

2006-04-09T22:49:00.000-07:00

TECHNOLOGY

Village Kiosk
By some estimates, there are over 150 rural PC kiosk projects in India, reaching approximately 10,000 rural villages across the country
Connecting India Village by Village: Drishtee
http://www.it.iitb.ac.in/~it625/lectureslides/village.pdf
http://www.it.iitb.ac.in/~it625/web04/lectureslides04/Telecom_India.pdf
http://www.360in.com/downloads/Interactive%20Rural%20Advertising.doc
http://itt.nissat.tripod.com/itt02034/kiosk.htm
http://wdi.umich.edu/Resources/StudentProjects/Dakshinamoorthy2005.aspx
Intel: India: Computing and the Bottom of the Pyramid
Grameen Foundation, USA: Village Phone Program
http://www.echoupal.com/
Chiraag: n-logue http://www.n-logue.com/mission.htm
Sociology of ICT: The Myth of the Hibernating Village, Microsoft Research India
A good starting point for various searches related to Kiosk technology: http://www.ictrt.org.in
PURA and ICT: Indian President's address to the nation

Mobile Computing
A Market Analysis for Mobile Computing Services in rural India: http://web.media.mit.edu/~nathan/research/mla/Final_MLA_report.pdf

IT625 : Information and Communication Technologies For Socio-Economic Development
Autumn Semester, KReSIT, IIT Bombay http://www.it.iitb.ac.in/~it625/web04/

http://www.firstmilesolutions.com/index.php
http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/apr/07spec.htm
http://rdvp.org/
NGO-in-a-box http://ngoinabox.org/

Bridging digital divide in disaster prone areas of Orissa United Nations Information Technology Services http://www.undp.org.in/ORISSA/Reports/unites-feb.pdf

E-Government:

The World Bank : E-Gov

Wireless /Mobile Telephony

Tenet: IIT, Madras

A Road to Universal Broadband Connectivity

Wireless Applications for the Digital Divide Presentation

Catching Up - India and Canada To Develop New BWIA System

The Universal Mobile Device http://www.networkmagazineindia.com/200202/200202focus3.shtml

United Villages proposes Rural Wireless Broadband in India

Akhshay- Rural Wireless Network of India

The Jhai PC and Communication System

http://www.smartbridges.com/css/index.asp

Collaborative Design

Pantoto: A participatory model for community information

Health

Intel Research http://www.intel.com/technology/techresearch/research/rs04031.htm

Cognitive Radio
India and Canada team up

Venture Capital
http://ventureintelligence.blogspot.com/

Other Links:
Rajesh Jain's Weblog on Emerging Technologies, Enterprises and Markets
The Indian Techonomist
The Journal of the International Informatics Institute
Brough's writings on the technology, economic and social issues of communications at the intersection of telecom, mobility and the Internet.

2006-04-09T22:29:00.000-07:00

EDUCATION/LEARNING
This post aims to aggregate opinions, thoughts, research, projects, efforts by NGOs and raise issues and concerns regarding the state of education in India.

2006-04-09T22:27:00.000-07:00

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
This post will gather thoughts and concerns, projects and endeavours, and raise questions on areas like infrastructure(roads, waterways, highways, airports etc.), finance, retail, agriculture, industry etc.

Look at these:
The National Highways Authority of India http://www.nhai.org/
http://www.gopio.net/india_development/
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0131467506/102-0704806-8072968?v=glance&n=283155
http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/apr/07spec.htm
http://ia.rediff.com/money/ecosurvey06.htm?q=sp&file=.htm
http://www.planetfinance.org.in/itccasestory.asp?story=26

eGovernment for Development
http://www.egov4dev.org/home.htm
http://www.egov4dev.org/mgovapplic.htm

Micro-Finance
SKS Micro-Finance http://www.sksindia.com/index.htm
http://www.yearofmicrocredit.org/docs/inthenews/InIndia_ThinkingBig.doc

Other Links:
http://www.theotherindia.org/about/
http://www.globalenvision.org/

2006-04-09T22:26:00.000-07:00

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES
This post will deal with issues and concerns, efforts and projects in the area of alternate energy sources in India.

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY BLOG-Solar-Energy-Wind-Power.com http://alt-e.blogspot.com/

2006-04-09T22:22:00.000-07:00

ENVIRONMENT
This post will gather opinions, facts, figures, views, projects, efforts on environmental issues that concern India.

2006-04-09T22:09:00.000-07:00

CORRUPTION/CIVIC PARTICIPATION
We see and experience corruption everyday in India. In fact, we are a part of it even though unwillingly. We rant and rave against it but are unable to do anything. We, however, think that if there are enough people raising their voice, they cannot be ignored. For example, we know that there is rampant corruption at the Sales Tax office in Bangalore. But if enough people can raise a voice, give details and post it in one forum, it will not go unnoticed. The authorities (and there are always well-intentioned people who want to clean the system) will take notice and get their act together. Let us make this a starting point.

Transpareny International India: Corruption in the Police Force in India-Study
http://www.cmsindia.org/cms/events/policedepartment.pdf
Diagnosis of Corruption Scene in India by Central Vigilance Commission
CORRUPTION IN PUBLIC LIFE: STEPS TO IMPROVE INDIA’S IMAGE - N Vittal, Central Vigilance Commissioner
USAID A Handbook on fighting corruption
Fighting for the Right to Know in India

2006-03-17T23:18:00.000-08:00

The Rise of India : ABC video
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=1674437

2006-03-05T22:39:00.001-08:00

Lokparitran

This must be old news to many by now. Have heard quite a bit about these great guys and finally couldn't help but say a good thing or two and wish them the very best.

These guys need to know that there are many who now look upto them to lead and pave the way to the new Bharat.

There are some details at http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=86859

and the URL where all the buzz starts from is http://www.lokparitran.org/

2006-03-05T22:39:00.000-08:00

Came across another good organization which seems to have taken very good strides in this so-called India Development and "reach-out-to-rural-India" initiative.

This is about http://www.indicorps.org/

India needs more of such organizations. Importantly, as Indicorps mentions on its web page, it is not sufficient if such initiatives are born outside of India. There has to be a good support base coming from within India now. More people from the Indian metro cities need to get involved. Which is a different story then again.

2006-02-26T12:56:00.000-08:00

2006-02-25T23:11:00.000-08:00

INDIA UNBOUND

What is India Unbound?

India has lots of talented people, lots of infrastructural support, a good community of NRIs(Non-Resident Indians) a good majority of who feel strongly about a whole lot of things/issues regarding India, a great foundation as goes being the largest democracy on this planet etc. A whole lot of dispersed effort has been taking shape in the form of NGOs (both in and outside India), privately channelled individual efforts, a vibrant blogging community, support by student groups at various schools across the globe. A common input from many such sources seems to be pointing to the fact that often, when it comes to translating any of the india-development thoughts into actions, we arrive at a juncture where the whole momentum seems to lose direction, primarily due to meeting a sort of a dead-end when the people concerned do not know who to contact, who else is working on similar things, lack of co-ordination, lack of information (not everyone is a very efficient googler surely). So many parallel efforts end up being directed at the same goal - which is fine - but what could be worrisome is that these efforts often seem to be on the same path and sometimes all of them fizzle out simultaneously.

Discussions with my friend often stopped at this: that from the point of view of NRIs (or for that matter for any working professional somewhere in India), we need a common platform to voice opinions, not be tied down by any organizational bondages, learn to have a say in matters concerning India that we strongly feel about or have an opinion about - and attempt to do something about issues in mainstream India that way. How does one, as a working professional resident in North America or anywhere do anything about issues in India? Almost every NRI seems to be very eloquent, very discerning, very educated about matters related to Indian politics, sports, education, careers etc. - but when it comes to translating these opinions (which BTW seem to be forever limited to coffee discussions or an after-dinner prove-my-point or ah-I-told-you-so surge of eloquence sprinkled with that classically disguised burp reeking of a good upbringing) into anything remotely concrete, things simply die away. They seem to fade away into nothing, just as the weekends fade away into the oncoming week.

We started India Unbound simply as a platform to collect ideas and opinions from any Indian, anyone who feels connected to India in any manner whatsoever; to translate his/her non-formed and unsure thoughts into a collective something which hopefully would translate into a thought, an approach, an action-item and hence a solution in its final shape - hence into an entity that many people can actively contribue to. So India Unbound simply speaking, should help provide a platform for voicing the thoughts/opinions of the "want to contribute but really do not know how...am kinda lost on this...I have the energy but you know...the process is too tedious - will it ever see the light of the day" types. There is a lot of energy and talent out there folks and we thought, hey, we have to start binding all this together. Somehow.

Intentions
India Unbound by itself should probably turn out to be an umbrella of projects. We can only clarify as we proceed on things. But the initial inspiration seems to be that there are lots of people with specific, channelized thoughts in specific areas. Thus we should be able to group many projects/ideas into areas under India Unbound, tying them up with relevant organizations anywhere in the world.

Specifically......

Q.What do you want to tackle?
A: You tell us. What do you want to do?
Is there anything at all about India that you want to see corrected? We can certainly start with that. Need to discuss that of course.

Things that we can do something about:
The Law and Order situation: well, not directly, when sitting in the US. But you can help build a web page that has a sort of google maps interface where crime incidents can be reported by stamping a little pin. When you click on that you will get the details of the incident that took place. Assuming that people in say, Bangalore have access to the Internet for the majority of the day and that many workers in the city have to face problems(surely innocent IT workers are troubled by a corrupt cop for a bribe even today), all we can expect is that the victim (if he does not want to take it up with the local police station) will use our interface to at least report such an incident. When you see a whole lot of such pins on the city map, you know there have been a spurt of such unwanted incidents. The matter can then be taken up by other organizations present in the locale, or the forum can even take up the matter directly with the state government. The bottomline is: you either think you can't do anything about such things, or you can choose to do something about it.

Think about solutions to the traffic mess in Indian metros - of course implementable ones
Find out about other organizations working on similar goals and see how we can help them as individuals (be it NRIs or resident Indians).

Rural Development: Almost every single Indian I have met over the last six years (you know - the Indian who is educated, very streetsmart, seemingly knowledgeable about Indian politics, history, geography, world issues, and who has an active say on any topic you raise about India) seems to think that rural development in India is a must, that most of the villages in India are in bad shape. If the guy is city-bred and you ask him to name ten villages around his city or in his state, chances are that he won't be able to. Even if he does, ask him about the problem each of these villages is faced with. I have not seen any NRI tell me the answer directly. There are so many villages we don't even know the names of. We tend to react with much surprise when told that this so-and-so village is a few kilometres outside Mumbai or Kolkata. We really should not talk of rural development till we educate ourselves on the basics - at least being aquainted with the problems a few of the villages (we care to learn the names of)are facing. Somehow, I tend to feel it starts there. I know a lot of good work is going on. There are many organizations and people outside India who are contributing to rural development, but I hope you get the drift - I am talking of the general Indian out there. Why can't we have a website listing the names of the villages in India, their locations, their problems to begin with. Many visitors to India come across villages not even listed on the map anywhere. I visited Bodh Gaya and Nalanda in January 2006 to find a multitude of villages en route, which not even natives of Patna seem to be aware of! I could certainly list the names of some of these villages and the problems there. Any information counts.