My presentation given at Asha 22, Biannual Princeton Conference organized by Asha for Education. It talks about my learning curve with Asha , growth of my activism ,Concept of Aadhaar and the need for creating a tech movement as virtual force for socioeconomic change.

1. Harshavardhan Purandare
@ Asha 22 , Princeton 2013
mumbaikar100@gmail.com

2. Part I
About Me
2

3. Who Am I?
 I am a social activist working against digital
and knowledge divide in the society
 I am a learner, creative thinker and doer as
Asha volunteer
 I believe in ideals of rise of networking
information society where human creativity
and knowledge are drivers of the economy
and society
 I make my living by strategizing .
3

4. My Journey with Asha
Leader
Change Maker
Asha Fellow
Asha Mumbai Coordinator
Asha Project Contact Person
Asha Volunteer
4

5. For me , Asha has been
 Social Virtual University
 Natural Brainstorming Space
 Socio-Political Movement
 Brand and Power
5

6. Part II
About Struggle
6

7. My Grassroots Activism
 Knowledge and Social Networking , IT as medium and method
 Mass IT literacy among youth , Creation of Knowledge Centers
 Collective Youth Action to solve the social problems
 Our Ashoka Fellowship for the idea
http://india.ashoka.org/fellow/anil-shaligram
Anil Shaligram
“Power becomes Anti People
Technology Mitigates That Problem“
7

8. My Asha Fellowship
 Information base of each village
 Web Interface for villagers
 Organization against Networks , tapping resources for transformation
 New Social Leadership of Young People rising through this movement
Fellowship Link : http://www.ashanet.org/projects/project-view.php?p=792
8

9. RTI -NREGA
NREGA Meeting in Jawhar Village
 Right to Information brings in Information from stakeholders in social
development
 National Rural Employment Guarantee brings in money and work directly
linked to that information
 NREGA campaign in backward areas districts of Maharashtra : Hingoli,
Parbhani and Nagar
 NREGA Work in Admin Reforms Commission as part of Tech Policy Group
9

10. The need of Force for Change
 Still there is no Change in Governance yet , people and admin don’t meet at
common point
 How can the governance culture change to offer services to the people as
per their demands
 How do young people, communities connect and learn to use government in
their social development? And may be, take it over in future?
Activism of Aadhaar era provides some answers!
10

11. Part 3
Aadhaar and Action
11

12. What is Aadhaar ?
 Aadhaar is a 12 digit unique identification number (UID) every Indian will
have in next five years .
 Aadhaar number allocated to each individual store his/ her biometrics data
electronically and identifies the person through scanning them, every time it
is needed.
 Aadhaar will serve as infrastructure tool to target the exact beneficiary for
the delivery of social financial benefits in all government programs and
facilitate programs like direct benefit transfers
12

13.  Although Aadhhar is government program, its role is for creating soft
Infrastructure. Anyone can develop these mobile applications , creativity is
the only limit
 Aadhaar Ecosystem will be key for underprivileged sections to get included
in social and governance processes
Nandan Nilekani
“IT is a not a tool, its a strategy for reforms”
13

14. How will Aadhaar Work ?
 Aadhaar's environment will work through various Apps
http://apps.mgov.gov.in/category.do?id=13
You don’t see much there yet.
 These Applications will create the services for the poor and excluded
masses, they will avail the new systems who form will form Aadhar’s
ecosystem.
14

15.  The benefits of various schemes will be directly transferred to people
through Direct Benefit Transfer , for which Aadhaar infrastructure is basis
 Aadhaar Applications will effect the Banking Inclusion of masses where last
mile Banking Services will be available through Micro-ATMs and Banking
Correspondents
15

16. Change: Aadhaar and Schooling
Head Count in Jawhar School
 Student scholarships programs for various financial needs can be given
through Aadhaar Apps
 Aadhaar based head count is being undertaken
 Aadhaar for social auditing for mid day meal schemes
16

17. Change : Aadhaar and mNREGA
 mNrega promises to give 100 days of minimum wages to every rural
household
 Direct benefit transfer of wages of NREGA upon Aadhaar based
authentication
 The last mile banking services through micro ATMS and Banking
correspondents
 Aadhar driven systems can be used for social auditing of mNREGA
 Aadhaar for tapping the demand and creating social networking struggle
with admin where services are not delivered.
17

18. Our Grassroots Aadhaar Campaign
Asha has undertaken Aadhaar Campaign Initiative in Maharashtra :
Blocks Mokhada and Jawhar in Thane District Where we have been working
for few years now.
http://www.ashanet.org/projects/project-view.php?p=764
http://workanhour.ashanet.org/project.php?s=parivartan
continued ..
18

19. What we are doing :
 Campaign for every student and every villager getting registered for
Aadhaar
 Our local Social movement is demanding the Direct Benefit Transfer
Services from Block Level Administration
 Creating Ideas Debate with Administration to change the way they
govern and adopt to Aadhaar reforms
19

20. Our Grassroots Aadhaar Campaign
 Creating Aadhaar information base of villagers as a community resource ,
training young men and women from communities
We are still working to :
 Create information base and social apps which are easily usable for
community as well as government officers - basis of agitation/negotiation to
overcome lack of Aadhaar based services
 Create Social Advocacy Group to negotiate with Block offices for faster
adoption of Aadhaar Reforms and change the design of way they work
20

21.  Campaign extensively by means of networking with many social
organization and make them aware of Aadhaar
 Creating Aadhaar based schooling programs and mNrega in partnership
with the administration
 Study and get replicated Successful Aadhaar Pilot Projects elsewhere ,
move Maharashtra government to create the model of social inclusion
using Aadhaar
Requesting Asha Chapters / Other Funding Avenues to email for the complete
proposal to mumbaikar100@gmail.com / navimumbaikar100@gmail.com
21

22. Aadhhar Social Community Leaders
 We are creating Aadhaar Social Leaders who can do same old things in
new ways , He/ She is the networking point person of the unidentified and
excluded people in the communities
 His tasks are to create awareness , serve as community’s networking route
for the services till Aadhaar Brand is established and everyone starts
availing them on their own
 Learn along the way and find his ideas to find the opportunity for social
entrepreneurship in Aadhaar Ecosystem
 Aadhaar ecosystem has to be developed by youth – techies who sense the
opportunities , young social leaders and political leaders trying to grow by
inclusion of more people in their programs.
22

23. Part 4
Asha and Aadhaar
23

24. Asha can …
 Asha volunteers can introduce and promote Aadhaar in all the projects
they are associated with .
 Asha can conciously create space for services for underprivileged to be
implemented and start leveraging government resources for funding / other
resource requirements by creating new Aadhar branded social networks
 Team of Asha volunteers can develop / support development of Aadhaar
Social Apps for individual and collective action by people.
Say , mNREGA Social App which allows you to request and get work on
text message or catches the database of unemployed laborers that
becomes basis of initiating new project
24

25. Or We can create our own support a child software where multiple agencies
, including government can network to implement the program
 Asha can be catalyzing agent in getting Aadhaar based reforms
implemented by the government in one block to the level of people’s
satisfaction. Asha created Aadhaar Social Model can be the great Game
Changer.
 Asha volunteers can participate in collaborative effort to create Aadhaar
Wiki for Social Movements and break the knowledge sharing barriers .
My teams are developing complete proposals for all above mentioned
initiatives , Please write to mumbaikar100@gmail.com for more information.
25

26. Part 5
Beyond
26

27. So Aadhaar is all about Governance ?
 It brings Transparency , Accountability and Efficiency to Gov systems.
 Its about Governance , but its more about Inclusion and mobility.
 It enriches the soft Infrastructure , catalyzing Social Development
 It triggers Digitization , Electronification of many things as it grows
 It creates the basis for new system to bridge the digital divide.
 It reaches across many sectors of economy and society beyond Govt
27

28. iPolitics for Inclusion
 Aadhaar is beginning of iPolitics in India in the era of new Media , virtual
world becomes means of inclusion
 Youth who is connected to multiple real and virtual communities , uses his
knowledge -creativity for wealth creation is coming to the forefront of
leadership
 It matters more in Developing Country like India where other means of
social development have limited Impact
 Its more needed when the market experiment of two decades is failing and
we are searching for new ideals and not go back to old and defeated ones
 Our political slogan in 70s was Roti-Kapda-Makan , In 90s it was Bijlee-
Sadak-Panee and now it “Aadhaar-Bank Account-Mobile Phone” [Quote
from Nandan Nilekani]
28

29. END
29