The majority of India’s rural population (some 770 million people or about 70 percent) constitute the vast majority of the poor in the country whose...
Agriculture advisory for smallholder farmers
Most farmers struggle with getting accurate and localised information on their farming practices, on crop diversification or opportunities for new cash crops.
Idea #3 — Using ICTs to improve the design and monitoring of development programmes
Thousands of NGOs and development organisations across India interact with the grassroots everyday - with people, their influencers, their local leaders and government bodies -...
Voices from Mobile Vaani: Are PACS the farmers’ panacea that was promised?
In the weeks since the Kisan Long March, we at Mobile Vaani reached out to farmers in Bihar to ask what were the biggest issues...
Voices from Mobile Vaani: Discussing the gender pay gap in Indian informal economies
Not only are wages in the country low in general, women get even lower wages than men.
Idea # 4: Using Community Media to Build Community Institutions for Development
What is common among these three stories from different parts of Bihar, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh, is that community volunteers associated with Mobile Vaani helped...
Enable Vaani: a social network for people with disabilities
In collaboration with Enable India, we developed an IVRS service specifically for persons with disabilities – Namma Vaani in Karnataka, and Hamaari Vaani in Hindi-speaking states.
Punji ki Kunji: Engaging with MFI Clients to Change their Lives
Gaurang wants to know what is the process for getting a loan from a Microfinance Institution. Radha wonders why nearly one month since her application...
Voices from Mobile Vaani: What’s at stake due to the closure of Dhanbad-Chandrapura railway line
A fire that has been brewing underground for a century has eventually led to drastic changes to the lives and livelihoods of tens of thousands...