Google has launched the India Elections Center, for voters in the upcoming general elections. Google launched similar election tools for the Australia and US in the past, but has added a number of new features to this iteration and added a stronger focus on localized information. The election center enables citizens to get information about their local polling center, confirm their registration status, access election news and view key statistics for their local constituency. Voters can also get information on the background and parliamentary performance of the candidates for this year’s elections as well as their current representative in the Parliament. A post on the official Google blog explains the motivation behind launching this web page,

At Google, we believe information is fundamentally empowering. While all of our technologies demonstrate a commitment to this guiding principle, information is especially important when a society comes together to participate in democratic elections.

We’re hopeful not only that the elections centre will further a culture that seeks access to information, but that it will also yield positive changes in voting patterns during the upcoming polls.

Google has partnered with a number of organizations on this iniative including, the Association for Democratic Reforms, HT Media Limited, Indicus Analytics, the Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy, the Liberty Institute, and PRS Legislative Services.

Yahoo! India also recently launched a webpage for the Indian general elections. While Yahoo provides fewer localized tools, their site includes many interactive features. For example, voters can build their own election manifesto and vote on the issues that are most important for them. The site also provides information on election dates and locations on a state-by-state basis.

The Centre for Development Finance (CDF) announces some very exciting internship opportunities for this summer.  If you’re looking for something more long term, word has it that CDF will likely be releasing postings for BoP related full time positions in the coming weeks… check back for more information!

Total Immersion Programme in Finance and Development (TIP/FD) - Summer 2009

CDF invites internship applications for the Summer 2009 IFMR “Total Immersion Program in Finance and Development (TIP/FD).”

Description of the program follows and application requirements follow below and in this CDF TIP document, and to apply please use the following link.

The TIP F/D provides undergraduate and graduate students interested in microfinance, development finance, and economic development an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in working on issues relating to access to financial services for urban and rural poor in a developing country. Interns will participate in a structured, two-week course directed by leading researchers, IFMR Centre Research Associates, and practitioners from the Indian government, microfinance institutions (MFIs), and NGOs. The course will be followed by eight weeks of work on a CDF projects which will consist of either field-based research, policy/sector wide studies or data analysis.  Past interns have completed stand-alone projects or worked to initiate, implement, and scale-up existing projects or pilots at the Centre.

The list of summer internship projects can be found online here and in this CDF Project Descriptions document. Interns may also be placed on another of CDF’s ongoing projects.

Internships are unpaid, although CDF will assist with housing and food or provide a small stipend of up to Rs 10,000/month toward living expenses. All interns are encouraged to obtain funding to cover international travel and personal expenses during the internship period.

This year, the TIP/FD will take place between June 8 and August 14, 2009. Applications will be accepted until April 15, 2009, although we encourage interested applicants to apply as soon as possible to ensure the best matching of interests and skills.

Positions of Particular Interest to the TCI Readership: RIG: Understanding BoP Consumer behavior in Rural India: (two interns)

The interns will play a leading role in the development and testing of market research tools for rural BoP consumer segments in India.  Priority sectors will include energy (decentralized renewable energy, cooking and lighting solutions), water, and sanitation.  Interns should be prepared to spend a significant amount of time in rural areas and should have experience in marketing, market research, and/or ethnographic research.  Competitive applicants will have or currently be pursuing a relevant masters degree and possess a strong interest in market-based solutions to poverty reduction. Applicants with working knowledge of one Indian language preferred.

RIG: BoP Business Development & Technology Deployment: (one intern)

Building upon a current collaboration with the World Resources Institute and CDF, the intern will play a leading role in distilling key insight into business development and technology deployment in the BoP energy sector in India. As part of this broader effort, the intern will focus on critical challenges to demand aggregation in rural markets. Competitive applicants will currently be pursuing or have recently completed an MBA, MPA, or MPP and possess a strong interest in market based solutions to poverty reduction.

ESF: India’s Renewable Energy Landscape (one intern)

Working closely with CDF’s Rural Infrastructure and Governance (RIG) and Environmentally Sustainable Finance (ESF) groups, the intern will map policy landscape for renewable energy in India.  As part of this broader effort, the intern will develop a comparative assessment of state level renewable energy policy in India.  Additionally, in conjunction with RIG and ESF staff members, the intern will develop a specific research question that adds value to CDF’s work in the renewable energy space. Competitive applicants will currently be pursuing or have recently completed a relevant graduate degree and have a strong interest in environmental policy.

Candidates interested in these positions are requested to copy david.fuente@ifmr.ac.in when they submit their applications.

The comments from a previous post questioning the value of urbanization discussed the need of developing rural industries and services. According to iGovernment, the government has made a real step toward this with the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and the Khadi and Village Industry Commission (KVIC), a non-profit, working together to promote the Rural Business Hubs (RBH) initiative.

Under this initiative, Panchayats and KVIC will jointly identify potential projects that can be supported under KVIC schemes and also extend marketing support through the corporate members of industry working on the RBH initiative.

Wherever required, skill development and skill upgradation training will be provided to the potential beneficiaries by KVIC through accredited training agencies.

Considering the fact that RBH has been in place for three years, I wonder how successful programs under the initiative really are. In addition, there is a barrage of other questions that come to mind: Do the MoUs actually become operational? Are the rural areas in which they enact MoUs seeing an increase in economic development? And more importantly, does the development of rural industries allow for self-sustaining local economies, or does it make them more dependent (in an arguably negative way) on global markets?

A recent post on Avashya commended the Pune Municipal corporation for fully embracing the benefits of technology to reach out to its constituents. The city has recently overhauled its website and has provided the community with much needed services and features. One feature in particular, aims to facilitate the “better roads” initiative.

Any web user can go and register complaints using Google maps. If you have a road dug up, potholes or any other road related complaints just find your area on the map and register the complaint.

This is a very cool way to use a Google map mashup to help one’s constituents.

The American Cancer Society is looking for a US student to act as a Consultant and spend 10 weeks in Ahmedabad, India conducting an assessment of resources available to assist cancer patients with varied needs during their cancer journey, map available resource against the cancer patient needs and highlight gaps. The job is paid and the Consultant will also be compensated for airfare. Please apply immediately, preferably by the end of the week.

The full description and necessary qualifications can be found in this document: ACS Consultant

[Source: Nupur Chaudhury, Indicorps Fellow '05 and Navami Naik, ACS]

The Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University has developed The Global Poverty Mapping Project whose goal is to

enhance current understanding of the global distribution of poverty and the geographic and biophysical conditions of where the poor live. Additionally, the project aims to assist policy makers, development agencies, and the poor themselves in designing interventions to reduce poverty.

We have highlighted the value of visualization such global problems before here and here and so this project is another great resource for both researchers and practitioners in the development space. Currently, it does not seem that the India maps have been published yet, however, they should be up soon.

Source: India Development Blog

The World Health Organization has produced a world map that estimates the number of deaths that can be attributed to climate change. The map estimates anywhere from 40 to 80 million deaths in India can be attributed to climate change.

[Source: Google.org]

• State weakness report: Brookings Institute ranks India 67th out of 141 states in their new report that measures state weakness based on the criteria of economic, political, security and social welfare.
• Technology: Google released today Voice Search in Hyderbad which enables users to find business, restaurants, etc. by speaking the query into their mobile. In a similar act of tailoring products to the Indian subcontinent, Yahoo! released local language maps with directions.
• Telecom revisited: Building off of the momentum of the story in the Midday Newsfeed about the telecom spectrum, we are reporting here that the big three mobile GSM providers have been hit with a notice of enquiry for acting as a cartel and distorting prices.
• Travel: Pakistan is considering dropping the visa requirement for Indian travelers.

Editors Note: Guest Blogger Keyzom Ngodup works with Intellecap, a pioneering social venture capital firm focused on making double bottom-line investments in India. In addition to capital and investment support, Intellecap is unique in that they also provide a range of support services that enable social ventures to move from start-up stage into growth mode. You can read Keyzom’s other posts here.

Full Disclosure: In this post, Keyzom writes about Aavishkaar Goodwell — a sister organization to Intellecap.

Karnataka-based microfinance firm Grameen Koota closed its first round of private equity investment when it received INR 92 million (USD 2.3 million) from Aavishkaar Goodwell, an India-focused microfinance development company. Aavishkaar Goodwell will work closely with Grameen Koota`s management to help transform it into a national player that plans to reach out to over 2 million microfinance customers over the next 5 years.

Grameen Koota was started in 1999 by T. Muniswamappa Trust a not-for-profit trust with a clear mission of delivering need-based financing and capacity building services to the poor in a cost-effective and sustainable manner. Guided by its vision to bring mainstream financial services to the poor, Grameen Koota has built a customer base over 140,000 microfinance clients and is one of the leading microfinance players in the region. In October 2007, Grameen Koota successfully completed a transformation into a RBI regulated non-banking financial company (NBFC). Then in December 2007, Grameen Koota was ranked 19th in Forbes Magazine’s Top 50 Microfinance Institutions globally.

Suresh Krishna, MD, Grameen Koota said, “We are delighted to have Aavishkaar Goodwell as an investor in Grameen Koota. With their active support and guidance, we are well poised for the next stage in our growth trajectory. We hope that the financial expertise, business experience and on the ground presence of Aavishkaar Goodwell`s team will help us in fulfilling our objective of scaling up our operations and serving [an] increasing number of poor women in a sustainable manner.”

For Aavishkaar Goodwell, this investment represents a significant step towards building a USD 25 million balanced portfolio of smart capital investments in financial services for the poor in India.

Last year alone, India spent Rs. 1,300 crore on the Polio Eradication Programme, with Rs. 1,042 crore more allocated for this year. Despite these efforts, however, the success of the past few years appears to have been reversed, as the Global Polio Eradication Initiative has placed India on top of the world polio map, with 106 cases diagnosed for this year. Compare that to other “endemic countries” such as Nigeria, Pakistan, and Afghanistan – all of which, together, have reported only 23 cases in the same time period.

With states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh leading the way in terms of polio infections, India’s projected year of eradication – 2000 – is well off track. Here are the statistics:

The number of polio cases jumped from 268 in 2001 to 1,600 in 2002. In February 2003, India launched the largest ever mass immunisation campaign against polio, targeting 165 million children.

But even in that year there were 225 cases, though in 2004 there was a significant drop to 136 cases. India recorded 864 polio cases in 2007, compared to 676 cases the previous year.

Of course, we must keep in mind that compared to 1995, when around 50,000 polio cases were diagnosed, the 106 cases diagnosed to date are a significant improvement. But the question remains – despite a concerted effort to eradicate the disease, why the repeated failure? WHO and UNICEF officials point to the fact that of the 106 polio cases diagnosed, only 1 was P1 (the most contagious and virulent strain), whereas the remainder were P3 (the least contagious and virulent strain). UNICEF has also found that community members still lack confidence in the vaccine, citing it as a ‘birth control’ device, or distrusting its effects altogether. In response, UNICEF has started recruiting community and religious leaders in addition to widespread “confidence building” campaigns.

The next step for India is to focus on the Type 3 strain, specifically in the regions of Bihar and UP. Currently, the government plans to “advance the pulse polio rounds in UP, Bihar, and parts of Haryana.”

Source: OneWorld South Asia