Technology Based Cash Transfers in Pakistan

Pakistan is - surprisingly - one step ahead of us in cash transfers. Their Benazir Import Support Program (BISP) for women (especially mothers) uses direct debit for monthly transfers now instead of usual postal money orders. The new system has completely eliminated the "baksheesh" that postmen used to claim before. More interestingly, the system didn't need an "Aadhar" to work successfully - raising the question of whether Aadhar is really required for such schemes in India also. Read more here. 

Planning Commission Report: Aadhar will reduce leakages considerably

A recent report by Planning Commission says that if Aadhar is integrated with pds, mnregs, fertiliser and lpg subsidies, housing, education and health programmes, it can reduce leakages substantially. It is expected to give a return of 52% in real terms. Read more here.

Prerana : Integration of ICT education into rural supply chains

The paper below presents the case of Prerana, a community-driven content platform created by SEWA in collaboration with RUDI in Western India, with learning material designed to address the educational and business challenges of self-employed women. Through Prerana platform on Moodle, the women have access to e-learning modules that can be of immediate use to them, and then can create their own module on all topics they think can be of use to the other women of SEWA. There are many opportunities for social innovation with ICT education contributing to improve rural supply chains and local . The paper proves that many opportunities exist for social business creating a double bottom line in developing rural businesses and ICT skills at the same time.

"Opportunities for Social Innovation at the Intersection of ICT Education and Rural Supply Chains", 2012 - Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship (HESE) Program

Is Cash transfer the right way to provide subsidies?
Aadhaar based cash transfers has been criticized on many fronts. Primal criticisms are fungibility of cash and self selection. Cash can be used for any purpose and might not necessarily translate into availing government subsidies. People will also have lesser incentive to opt themselves out of the subsidy system. Will it work effectively for a country like India is a matter of debate. Cash transfers have been highly successful in places like Mexico (Oportunidades) and Brazil. Can India replicate their successes?   Meanwhile, without proper debate, the cash transfer through Aadhaar are about to kick start as soon as the coming New year. Something to reflect upon.
Cash transfers from January 1
Cash transfers in Brazil
Oportunidades- Conditional cash transfers in Mexico 

Mobilizing the agricultural value chain

A nice report on how services on mobile phones and other similar devices have started affecting important decisions regarding inputs, production, marketing, processing and distribution for stakeholders across the agricultural value chain. It also sheds light on some key challenges faced by mobile service providers in scaling up the operations and ensuring sustainability for the whole ecosystem development.

http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTINFORMATIONANDCOMMUNICATIONANDTECHNOLOGIES/Resources/IC4D-2012-Chapter-2.pdf


A whole lot of other uses of mobile as a tool for ICT4D can be found on the below link.

http://www.infodev.org/en/Publication.1179.html

Closing the Gap: Bridging the Digital Divide

An interesting NGO involved in refurbishing laptops and distributing them to BOP

http://www.close-the-gap.org/donors/

New Aakash Tablet

Reading this,
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-11-12/news/35049622_1_datawind-ceo-aakash-2-aakash-2

I realize:


Well I think the argument about usability and applications keep coming up across the course and it is a lesson well learnt, but if we look from the technology side. Investments and efforts being made to develop cost effective devices is very futuristic and should be encouraged. It might have been so foolish to expect a price point of Rs. 2000 on a Akash Tablet 10 years ago but today it is possible.

I believe the excitement and happiness of small children as I saw in my field visit and visits last year on given opportunity to use laptops and computers can't be measured in cost-benefit sheets in conventional manner.

It shows them our attempt to accept them as one from us and treating in a similar fashion.

I totally agree that food and health remain crucial needs among people on the other end of divide I believe we should encourage development of such tools and technology.

And I am happy to be a part of society which has not thrown its arms up in air on cost issues but is making an attempt to tackle issues from lab in MIT to entreprenuer in India.

Kudos to humanity and kudos to creative and innovative minds among us and kudos to their never accept defeat attitude.

I believe one-day these gadgets will sell themselves like mobiles have done, and sell themselves easily once it hits the right usability and service among the target group just like mobile did.
 :)

Mobile Connectivity or Food?

Researchers in Kenya have provided a partial answer to the debate of whether the priority of the government is to provide mobile connectivity or basic needs like food. In a survey that covered poor people in Africa (with income below $2.50 per day), the researchers found that the target segment was willing to sacrifice basic needs like food to save money for making a call or sending a SMS. The weekly savings put aside for mobile phones usage was as sometimes as big as one day wage. We can infer that mobile phone is perceived to be increasing their future ability to earn more. The report is available here. (Also see: World Bank's blog on the report). 

Effectiveness of Digital Teaching Aids

Another angle to the OLPC debate: An interesting study made by Computers for Youth, a NGO tells why and under what conditions, digital teaching aids are effective for school kids. CFY provided home computers to sixth grade kids along with broadband connection with discounted tariffs. It also provided a web portal (Power My Learning) which gives interactive teaching sessions for the students. CFY found that there was an improvement in performance in kids education across competence levels: kids performing below average performed better and kids who were average improved to above average. One obvious observation was that both parents and teachers had to be given training in the new technology to help them guide the kids. The other interesting observation is that key thing that changed is the mindset of kids towards learning. Earlier the kids used to restrain themselves from pro-active participation in class to avoid the embarrassment of failure. But with interactive digital aids, failure become a motivation for retrying: just like kids who get hooked to video games, keep trying till they finish a level.

Dimagi for mhealth

To continue on the lines of the last post ... here is an interesting mHealth  (mobile Health) project :

www.dimagi.com

The project has international roots which explains the seemingly strange choice in name.

They work in India as well and here is an interesting blog of their's :

Mobile Phones as an Essential Tool in Supply Chain

Continuing on today's debate of DakNet:
The increasing penetration of mobile phones in rural parts was one reason why DakNet's market will always be shrinking. Amir Hasson's United Villages realized this and started E-Shop, a mobile based supply chain solution in rural areas. Many institutions/NGOs have started exploring this potential in other developing nations also. Living Goods is a NGO in Uganda which provides cheap supply chain solutions to rural people. And not surprisingly, they are finding mobile phones a major ally in their work. Quoting NY Times blog: 

As mobile phones become ubiquitous even in rural villages, they have transformed the work.   Sales reps now use texting to log their sales and track inventory.  Most customers have a phone, too — or their neighbor does — so Living Goods can target them with direct messages — promotions and sales, but also health messages. Someone who buys malaria medicine, for example, will get a text a day later that says “you may be feeling better, but please take ALL your medicine.” Pregnant women get health advice.