Airavat: An Automated System to Increase Transparency and Accountability in Social Welfare Schemes in India

Vivek Srinivasan1, Vibhore Vardhan1, Snigdha Kar2, Siddhartha Asthana3, Rajendran Narayanan1, Pushpendra Singh3, Dipanjan Chakraborty2, Amarjeet Singh3, Aaditeshwar Seth2

1Stanford University 2IIT Delhi 3IIIT Delhi

Ground Partners Government

Beneficiaries

Address Book(Phone Numbers)

Data(Website/MIS)

Phone Calls

InformationDissemination

ServiceRegistration

(Work Demand)

ComplaintRegistration

...

Problem● Gathering and disseminatinglarge scale information isproving to be difficult for rightsbased organisations.

● Beneficiaries not aware of theirrights or how to obtain information.Sources of information ofteninaccessible.

● Noisy data in the official recordsregarding benefits entitled to thepoor.

Leverage ● Governments opening up data relatedto social welfare programmes throughwebsites and MIS.

● Mobile phone penetration is increasing at a very high rate.

Wall writings in Andhra Pradesh detailing the works done under NREGA

Field-staff visit the beneficiaries to collect phone numbers and

feedback

Airavat1. Sift through data on the MIS,

generate personalised summaries for beneficiaries, including cues for filing grievances.

2. Convey this information to the beneficiaries using voice calls(phone numbers collected in doorto door drive), breaking the access barrier.

3. In case any discrepancies are detected, we will help beneficiaries register grievances through our voice-based system.

Current Status● Piloting in a mandal in Andhra Pradesh with NREGA.

● Information dissemination calls to beneficiaries updating them on wages and works.

● Grievance registration calls. ~70% of the people who had a case for filing a grievance agreed to file a grievance. ~20% of them reported discrepancies in the official data.

Challenges● People are reluctant to file complaints● The beneficiaries are not experienced withtechnology. They are not trained on howto use IVR.

● People in rural India tend to change mobilecarriers frequently, often shifting to betteroffers from different carriers. Building theaddress book is an expensive exercise.

Supported by: Dept. of Electronics and IT, GoI; French-American Trust; Google Foundation; Microsoft Research

India Travel Grant; Nokia University Grants;http://act4d.iitd.ernet.in http://liberationtechnology.stanford.edu

dipanjan@cse.iitd.ernet.inICTD 2013, Cape Town, South Africa