Has BharatNet fulfilled its end task of providing functional internet?
The status of the BharatNet project and the government’s claims need to be taken with a large dose of salt
Snowballing impact of social media
Malini Gupta Programme Director RBS Foundation Years ago, when micro finance witnessed a boom, I was a mere foot soldier in the larger war for equality. Our battles were many and our victories few and far between. At one frustration-fraught review meeting, one of our sagacious and pragmatic community leaders had brought us firmly to…
Twenty-five women join the SoochnaPreneur bandwagon
On April 14, 2018, DEF in collaboration with Qualcomm took its SoochnaPreneur initiative to Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh. The Barabanki leg of the initiative was launched amid much celebrations in Saidanpur village, where 25 newly inducted all-women SoochnaPreneurs had gathered in the presence of DEF Founder-Director Osama Manzar, FLO chairperson of Lucknow Chapter Jyotsana…
Stakholders discuss measure to improve access to information
Soochna Seva, an initiative of DEF and the European Union, is implemented in five backward districts across five Indian states—Barmer (Rajasthan), Guna (Madhya Pradesh), West Champaran (Bihar), Tehri Garhwal (Uttarakhand) and Ranchi (Jharkhand). Initiated in 2014, the project is now in its fifth year of operations. On April 19-20, 2018, an annual review was organised…
Crossing bridges
Rakhi Kumari is an Internet Saathi from Jamui district of Bihar. As a Saathi, she goes from one house to another every day, enabling more and more women to experience technology, particularly the wonders of a smartphone. However, it’s not an easy job for her either. Firstly, she has to fight the social norms that…
Digital financial literacy volunteers are not disheartened
Sanjit Ali Khan hails from Kotulpur district in West Bengal. For the last few months, he’s been working as a volunteer with DEF for its DigiSupport project. DigiSupport, an initiative of DEF and Axis Bank, aims at empowering financially excluded communities to digitally access and consume financial products, services and information through rural digital interventions.…
Building smarter communities
A collaboration between DEF and Nokia, Smartpur is an initiative that aims to create smart villages in rural India. In these smart villages, the focus is not merely on digital infrastructure but on the resourceful utilisation of digital tools and technology in the daily lives of people. This is achieved through activities across six key…
SM4E 2018 is just around the corner
Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) aims to create a knowledge hub and network of leading organisation and innovators in the development sector across South Asia. With this in mind, DEF organises and hosts four annual awards with the overarching goal of creating a common platform for all kinds of digital interventions aimed at socio-economic development and…