Entrants's Name: Kris Dev

Country: India

Field: Rural Development

Innovation - idea: Biometric tracking of benefits received by the rural disadvantaged poor, empowers them, to ensure all benefits due to them, are actually received by them, to alleviate poverty in the community.

Innovation - why it is pioneering: Oficials in connivance with local politicians and middlemen make false muster rolls (thumb impression on paper for wages /benefits received) and fraudulently syphon out what is due to the rural poor. Biometric tracking of benefits received by the rural poor has not so far been done, due to vested interests. This can avoid suicidal deaths by farmers, families, widows, etc.

Strategy - how it achieves impact: Every rural poor of each village /community is uniquely identitifed, by registering the 10 fingers prints through a simple biometric thermal device (mouse) in a local computer. Their photograph and other details are also registered.

Whenever any payment is due to them, particularly under National Rural Employment Guarantee the same shall be made to them against thier biometric tracking into their bank / post office savings account. This would avoid false thumb impressions on paper and paying less to the poor.

When the details of payments made are integrated into a e- Communication Tracking Tool, the actual payments made cannot be fudged and can be seen transparently by the entire vertical hierarchy of administration and the civil society, media and public. Any wrong action can be immediately spotted and corrective action / preventive action taken inline with ISO 9000 principles.

The Tool would deter anyone from harbouring wrong plans to cheat the rural illiterate poor.

Strategy - growth plans: We make it a point to present this Unique Concept and the Tools in every public forum on Change Management. We conduct campaigns on National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and Right to Information Act in various urban and rural centers.

We have already developed "e-Administration", a web enabled, platform neutral, paper less communication solution, developed using open standards tools. We have deployed them in a few Government organizations. We showcase these examples and encourage more organizations, particularly Government and Civil Society organizations to implement them in their own sphere of activity.

We network with many grassroot NGOs to educate the community on the advantages of implementing such a system of tracking and would encourage women run Self Help Groups, similar to the Grameen bank of bangladesh to adopt this empowerment tool.

Impact to date: The Government of India recognised our "e-Administration" Less Paper Office Initiative, by giving an award at the National e-Governance Conference.

The Digital Empowerment Foundation and America India Foundation, under the framework of World Summit Award and United Nations' World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) recognised our initiative for the prestigious Manthan Award 2006 for creating 'India's Best e-Content' in the category 'e-Inclusion & Livlihood'(www.manthanaward.com).

It is a big recognition for our small and pioneering grassroot level work with the poorest of poor tribals in remote parts of rural india, to truly empower them - recognising the unrecognised.

This has inspired many health workers to track patients with TB, Cholera, HIV/AIDS, and track the treatment / benefits extended to them.

We have recived expression of interest from Fantsuam, Nigeria and many other NGOs to implement the biometric tracking.

Future impact: Ten years from now, biometric tracking, would be the order of the day, to create a healthy society and avoid all loopholes in the system.

Every citizen can be uniquely identified from birth to death and track all their activities / benfits, to ultimately benefit the individual, family, community and society.

We can track the health from birth, the education, skills development, training, employment, family status, savings, social security, old age care, etc.

Biometric tracking can ensure that all resources are optimally used and there is total transparency and accountability, so that there is all round peace and prosperity. Terrorism would be a thing of the past.

The poverty hitherto plaguing the developing world, would be a thing of the past and unknown to future generations.

Sustainability - resource base: Many international and domestic Civil Society organizations organizations have shown interest to collaborate with us to spread the message and implement the biometric tracking as a change management tool for the developing world.

The technology is very simple. The cost of implementation is low. The local community can themselves operate the tool to empower their own community. Hence its penetration level can be high.

The benfits that would accrue are large to the individual, family and community. The return on investment would be very high. Banks have come forward to extend loans to the community, through Self Help Groups, particularly women run, who can be encouraged to implement this to empower them, to bridge the urban-rural divide, the economic divide and didgital divide.

The Village Knowledge centers proposed to be set up by Governments can be used as the hub for the change management at very low cost to the community.

Major challenge for the field: If there is a will, there can be a way. Implementing technological changes is only a minor part of the change management. Mindset is the major roadbock and resistance to change is what has to be overcome. But once the benefits of a streamlined system of working is realised, the community would never revert to the previous chaotic system of living. If we fail to plan, we shall plan to fail.

Contact Information:

Name: Mr. Kris Dev - Social Entrepreneur
Mailing address: B4, Ashok Suparna, 27/12, III Main Road, Kasturiba Nagar, Adyar, Chennai-600020, Tamil Nadu.
Country: India
Email: krisdev@gmail.com
Tel: 91-44-4211 5995
Fax: 91-44- 4211 5698
Website: http://TrAcNet.blogspot.com

Bio: I am a Social Entrepreneur solely working for the upliftment of the rural poor, for the last 6 years.

Prior to that I was a Management Consultant with 22 years hands on Information and Communication technology (ICT) and e-Governance experience and exposure around the world.

I am a ISO 9000 Lead Auditor and SEI-CMM certified. I am trained in ICT4D.

My aim is to "Transform the World, to create a better today and tomorrow, for ourselves and our future generations".