We’re big fans of mobile technology for development, so it’s great to read about some good apps. It is well known that India now has nearly 600m mobile phones. But is this technological revolution reaching the poorest parts of the country? We’ve gone through the data on mobile phone subscriptions and found that the poorest states are experiencing the fastest growth in connections. There were 150m mobile phone subscribers in India’s four poorest states (Bihar, [...] Read more »
India charges through the global crisis?
Martin Wolf of the Financial Times points out that ‘in the 2008-09 financial year, India’s gross domestic product expanded by 6.7 per cent. This year it is forecast to grow by 7.2 per cent.’ (Martin was also in Delhi in February and made similar comments on why India is leading post-crisis growth.) This is correct, but the quarterly and monthly economic data tells a more nuanced story and reveals more about the remarkable recovery. The economy [...] Read more »
India: resilient economy, persistent poverty
India has weathered the global economic crisis better than most countries, but has also felt the strain. Export and manufacturing sectors, though recovering now, were battered hard. The impact on poverty of even a two or three percentage point slowdown in economic growth is still possibly about six to nine million more people remaining in poverty. (A reflection of India’s high levels of poverty – with 456m people living on less than $1.25 a day, [...] Read more »
Vote report India
Imagine being able to gather data on service delivery, direct from the client. eMoksha’s ‘crowdsourcing’ tool is an exciting way to do just that, as shown in their election monitoring work in India. Read more »
Not just an eyesite miracle
Aravind eye hospital is one of many innovative ideas from India. Their work is truly inspiring. Read more »
