Notes from the Field

Owing to the increase in mobile penetration and availability of cheaper internet, mobile usership in rural India is growing rapidly. According to the National Family Health Survey 2019-21 (NFHS-5), 91.5% of rural households in India now have a mobile phone – an increase of 4.2% when compared to the findings of the NFHS-4 (2015-16). On the other…

On 24 March 2020, the Government of India announced one of the most stringent lockdowns to combat the spread of Covid-19. Overnight, workers in the unorganized sector — comprising over 90 % of the country’s population —  lost their jobs as projects that employed them came to a halt and supply chains got interrupted. The subsequent lockdowns…

‘Mahiti’ (translates to ‘information’ in Kannada) is a term that reverberates through the villages of Mysuru district, Karnataka. The term resonates most with women who have a quest for knowledge and are keen to access information on health, agriculture, economic opportunities, and public schemes. Different women have different demands and…

In the landmark case from 2018, Justice K. S. Puttaswamy vs Union Of India, the Supreme Court pitched Aadhaar-enabled welfare delivery as a promising move that can eliminate leakages in service delivery and address the “malaise” of ghost and duplicate beneficiaries. The court also cautioned the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)…

Even as the Covid-19 pandemic continues into its second year, we are yet to put in place a system that addresses students’ needs and concerns during the pandemic. While shutting down schools and switching to online learning seemed inevitable when the pandemic began, it soon became clear that the decision neglects students who lack access to…

IT for Change's teams for Education and Prakriye, regularly bring back insights and learnings from their time on the field. Notes from the Field documents these insights.*

Prakriye

The rise in phone penetration and…