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

Part I

About Me

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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 .

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My Journey with Asha

Leader

Change Maker

Asha Fellow

Asha Mumbai Coordinator

Asha Project Contact Person

Asha Volunteer

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For me , Asha has been

Social Virtual University

Natural Brainstorming Space

Socio-Political Movement

Brand and Power

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Part II

About Struggle

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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“

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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

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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

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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!

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Part 3

Aadhaar and Action

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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

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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”

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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Our Grassroots Aadhaar Campaign

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

continued ..

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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

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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

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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 completeproposal to mumbaikar100@gmail.com / navimumbaikar100@gmail.com

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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.

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Part 4

Asha and Aadhaar

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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

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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.

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Part 5

Beyond

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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

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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]

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END

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