inspire india

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Inspire IndiaINTRODUCTION

"...poverty is an artificial creation. It doesn't belong to human civilization, and we can change that,

we can make people come out of poverty (sic). The only thing we have to do is to redesign our

institutions and policies."

Dr. Mohammad Yunus

The first edition of Inspire India, launched in Techfest 2011-2012 received some of the most

innovative ideas right from making self-sustainable eco-friendly green bags for the public to

making electricity from the mere sole of a shoe.

Techfest 2013 launches Inspire India 2.0 with a vision to inspire people to acknowledge the social

challenges plaguing India and respond to them effectively, and thereby disembarrass India of

social inequities. Inspire India 2.0 aims to provide a platform for the visionaries to lead movements

for social upliftment and progress.

India is beset with impediments like policy paralysis, poverty, diseases, unemployment, corruption

and most prominently lack of awareness. There is a general sense of discontent among the people.

Though a majority of the populace are in some way conversant with these facts, most tend to

tread the easier path of blaming the government for every problem possible or lend a deaf ear tothese in accordance to the typical chalta hai attitude.

Inspire India invites ideas for changes which can have a strong and lasting impact on the society to

tackle the problems head on, pertaining to the society in general. Inspire India beckons the

visionaries and innovators to chalk out plans and models that can benefit the society. Observe,

envision, innovate and be the change!

THEMES

Note: The following themes are just guidelines to help you. You are free to think like an

unconventional thinker and come up with great solutions on social issues . So do not limit

yourselves to these problem statements.


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1. INDIAN GOVERNANCE

India is a Union of States. It is a Sovereign Socialist Democratic Republic with a parliamentary

system of government. The Republic is governed in terms of the Constitution of India which was

adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26th November 1949 and came into force on 26th

January 1950.

The cardinal functions of the Legislature include overseeing of administration, passing of budget,

ventilation of public grievances, and discussing various subjects like development plans,

international relations, and national policies.

E-Governance

E-Governance is the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for delivering

government services, exchange of information communication transactions, integrating various

stand-one systems and services between Government-to-Citizens (G2C), Government-to-

Business(G2B),Government-to-Government( G2G) as well as back office processes and interactions

within the entire government frame work. An online framework will also make it easier and better

to approach the government.

Give ideas to promote E-Governance so as to make common-man life simpler. With a focus on

technical solutions, models and ideas are expected that would modernise the present

governance framework and speed up the entire process on many fronts. Participants are

expected to focus on a single, or multiple if required, aspect of the governance, say for example

lodging a FIR, etc. and can build upon this a. effective model worthy enough of replacing the

current system.

Tourism Industry

1. Foreign tourism industry: The Ministry of Tourism is the nodal agency for the formulation of

national policies and program and for the co-ordination of activities of various Central

Government Agencies, State Governments/UTs and the Private Sector for the development andpromotion of tourism in the country. Though ministry of tourism contains several regulating

authorities, The current foreign tourism scene in India is way below its potential.

Suggest technical/ non-technical to increase/improve the foreign tourism scenario in India.

2. Indian Heritage: India colourful and vibrant, a land as diverse as its people. A mosaic of faiths,

cultures, customs and languages that blend harmoniously to form a composite whole. One of the

worlds oldest living civilizations - which gave to the world - the concept of zero, the primordial

soundAumYoga, and Buddhism. India is a treasury of art, architecture; philosophy, classical


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dances and music; the mesmerising Taj, the eternal Ganges, the Thar desert, the mighty

Himalayas, tropical rainforests, the Cape where the waters of three seas minglethe rich fauna-

snakes, peacocks, Royal Bengal Tiger, lionsIndia is all of these and more.

Give ideas and technical/non-technical solutions to promote Indian Heritage in the world with

the main aim of increasing foreign tourism in India.

Youth Participation

To quote Khuswant Singh, A bad government is a government elected by good people who do not

vote and, as far as all the elections fought in independent India, statistics reveal that youths

constitute the major part (more than 57%) of the people who do not vote. In 2004, 50% of the

Indian population was aged 30 years or younger; however, only 35 out of 543 Lok Sabha members

(6%) were aged under 35. Nevertheless, a World Values Survey conducted by theWorld Bank

showed that the proportion of people aged 1824 who identified themselves as "very" or "rather"

interested in politics was around 50%, an increase of 15% since 1990. Youth leaders should not be

imposed on people. Rather, they should be figured out from the grass root level and groomed up.

India is a land of million hidden talents. All they need is a proper platform. But still we are far from

the case of a satisfactory participation from the youth in the form of voting and taking up politics

as a career.

Suggest technical/non-technical solutions to increase the involvement of the Indian educated

youth and professionals in politics.

2. HEALTH AND SANITATION

Mahatma Gandhi said in 1923, Sanitation is more important than Independence. Adequate

sanitation, together with good hygiene and safe water, are fundamental to good health and to

social and economic development. Improvements in one or more of these three components of

good health can substantially reduce the rates of morbidity and the severity of various diseases

and improve the quality of life of huge numbers of people, particularly children, in developing

countries.

Present Situation:

Health is not possible without sanitation. Indians especially in rural areas and urban slums have to

be taught about basic sanitation. The severity of the problem in India can be judged from the fact

that hardly 33% population has sanitation facility available. Around 400,000 children under five

years of age die each year in India due to sanitation related ailments alone. About 226 million

people lack access to safe water and about 70 per cent of population (about 800 million) lack basic

sanitation facilities. The water related diseases are claiming the lives of about 1.5 million children
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Bankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Bank


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(500,000 children due to diarrhoea alone) under 5 years and person-days lost in India are

estimated to be about 180-200 million a year

The problem of sanitation has to be resolved urgently.

Problems:

1. In developing countries, of the 37 diseases identified as major causes of death, 21 are related to

water and sanitation.

2. Water-borne diseases are causing more than 4 million infants and child deaths every year in

developing countries.

3. Indias rivers also have high fluoride content, beyond the permissible limit of 1.5ppm, which

affects 66 million people.

4. In India, an estimated that 57,000 deaths were attributed to Asthma in 2004 (WHO 2004). As

per World Health Organisation (WHO) projections, an estimated 100 million more Asthma patients

would be added to the list of existing patients by 2025, mainly due to environmental pollution.

5. Lack of awareness, education and facilities for maintaining basic level of sanitation

6. Around 1,000 children below the age of five die every day in India from diarrhea, hepatitis-

causing pathogens and other sanitation-related diseases, according to the report of United

Nations Children's Fund.

7. Sewerage networks are not affordable due to financial constraints and exorbitant maintenance

and operational costs

8. Even where sewerage network is available, it lacks maintenance and overflow of raw sewage in

open drains is common, due to blockage, settlements and inadequate pumping capacities making

the situation even worse

Problem Statement: Teams may focus on making available facilities for better sanitation. Any

technical solution that can focus on resolving problems such as purifying water containing

pollutants for a large supply as well as on a local level is expected.

The problem of asthma and other respiratory diseases can be brought under check largely by

controlling air pollution. Teams can focus on technical innovations that can help reduce vehicular

and industrial pollution. On a similar note, innovations, technical or otherwise, that would help

improve the sewerage system are invited.

3. LIVELIHOOD

Wikipedia defines a persons livelihood as the means of securing the necessities of life. India is the

second most populous country in the world with around 30% of its population below the poverty

line and around 10% unemployed.

The issue of sustainable livelihoods for the poor is a major cause of concern; this, despite decades

of effort and investment.


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The Microfinance sector in India has grown tremendously over the last 15 years to reach out to

millions. Still, the impediments prevail as corroborated by the statistics. Responding to the needs

of the microfinance sector in India, suggest ways and means to improve the livelihoods in India.

Problem Statement: In an effort to identify and address the impediments faced by the poor in

scaling up their livelihoods from subsistence to substantial levels, Inspire India invites technical

and non-technical solutions to increase livelihood opportunities in India that can be achieved via

small and medium scale enterprises or otherwise.

4. COMMUNITY WORK

Disaster Management

Present Situation:

Signed by the President of India on January 9, 2006, the National Disaster Management Act of

2005 comprising of 79 sections and 11 chapters is capable of effectively managing the disaster and

matters related to it. It led to the setting up of National Disaster Management Authority which

today is the Apex Body for Disaster Management in India under the Prime Minister of India. But

still today, there exists tremendous scope of improvement and catching up to do when we

compare ourselves to the developed countries, specifically when talking about emergency

responses and urgent medical attention to the affected. We have a long way to go before we can

have a strong network in place to respond swiftly to a calamity taking place in any corner of our

country.

Problems:

Disaster Prediction: The tools to predict the impending disaster well in advance, as well asmechanism for proper intimation to the inhabitants of the affected zone is not in place

properly

Disaster Response: Lack of proper infrastructure in place to carry out emergencyevacuations as well as search and rescue in a country as populous as India really hits hard

when it comes to the relief operations that need to be carried out in areas of challengingtopography, or mammoth disasters

Rehabilitation: It is a sad fact that the families are on their own once their property andbelongings are destroyed in a disaster. Government relief funds are firstly inadequate, and

secondly improperly distributed. No proper scheme of things exist wherein the houses are

rebuilt by the government, and a lot of norms are also flouted during the construction of

the buildings, rendering them susceptible to high damage during disasters

Information about what exactly needs to be done in case of a disaster is not at all known tothe common people, and it leads to immense chaos during such an event.


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and solutions to help rehabilitate the victims. Ways to empower women to study and employ

themselves outside their households can also be suggested.

STRUCTURE

Abstract Stage 7th

September 2012 To be considered for mentorship,

participants have to register and

submit their abstract before 7th

September in the specified format

Mentorship Stage 18th

September, 2012

23rd November,2012

Mentors will be allocated to the

shortlisted participants on 18th

September. Participants will have

to submit a progress report of

their project before 20th

October

Registration Deadline for

open Entries

5th

November, 2012 Last date for registration of open

entries as well as international

participants. However, the final

project report and video of the

prototype /working model can be

submitted till 23rd

November

Project Report and video of

prototype/working model

23rd November, 2012 Final project report explaining all

the details of the project have to

submitted along with a video (if

relevant) before 23rd

November.

Finalists will be selected on the

basis of final project report

Result 5th

December, 2012 Declaration of shortlisted teams

for final presentation during

Techfest2013 on the report basis

of the final project report

Final Presentation and

video of Prototype/Working

model submission

20th December, 2012 Shortlisted participants have to

submit the final video and

presentation to be displayed

during the festival before 20th

December

Presentation Stage 3rd

-5th

January, 2013 Final presentation along with a

demonstration of the working

model/prototype


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ABSTRACT REPORT FORMAT

The following points must be included and clearly highlighted in the abstract:

1. Introduction: Team Registration Number Names of the Team Members Theme (Categorize your ideas into particular themes like health and Sanitation,

Indian Governance etc. Mention those ideas for the social welfare as Others

which are not covered under the afore-mentioned themes. Also one idea may cater

to multiple themes, you may mention all in such cases

Title of the project Type of project: Technical or Non-technical

2. Problem: The problem being addressed3. Solution:

Idea as a solution to the problem Ways in which the problem is being tackled presently and/or the anticipated

alternative methods that could be used as solutions in the future

Description of Concepts, theories approach involved in the proposed solution Novelty of approach: How is your solution better than the existing ones

4. Groundwork: Target Area Target Crowd Proof of the problem existence in the target area and relevance of the idea as a potential

solution among the target crowd (Teams may prove these through establishment of

factual statistics or by conducting a survey, etc.)

5. Resources required for further development of the idea (In terms of mentors of specificfields)

6. Any other idea specific details.


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ABSTRACT SUBMISSION

The abstract should be mailed to inspireindia[at]techfest[dot]org with the

subjectIdeate:InspireIndia: Abstract Submission: Team Id (For ex. Ideate: Inspire India: Abstract

Submission: ||1243) before 23:59 hrs on 7th

September, 2012. Do not forget to mention your

Team Id in the subject while sending it. Teams must follow the following details for the

submission:

1. The abstract must be submitted in pdf format only2. The abstract must not exceed 15 page sin length3. Font: Verdana4. Size: 115. Spacing between two lines:0.6 inches6. Spacing between two paragraphs: 1 inch7. Bottom margin: 1 inch

MENTORSHIP STAGE

Mentorship is a unique feature of Ideate which makes it different from our other

competitions. Mentors are the intellectuals from elite educational institutes and industries, who

are there to guide the teams to develop their idea. Their experience shall support the participantto build their solution on the lines feasibility, legibility and applications. Teams can avail

themselves of this opportunity by submitting an abstract of their idea latest by 7th

September,

2012. Participants unable to submit their abstracts by 7th

September, 2012 or those who havent

been shortlisted for mentor allocation can still participate by registering before 5th

November

2012 and sending us a detailed project report along with a video of their working

model/prototype by 23rd

November 2012.

PROGRESS REPORT

Teams will be required to submit one report on or before 20

th

October, 2012 to their respectivementor (if applicable) as well as to inspireindia[at]techfest[dot]org. This report should contain

updates of their solution, the extent up to which they have designed the solutions and the

difficulties being faced. Mentorship may be discontinued in case the teams (with mentors) fail to

submit this report. Though, submission is to be done by ALL the participants (irrespective of, if

they are allocated mentors and they are working on the idea).


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PROJECT REPORT FORMAT

Project Report format will be unloaded soon.

PROJECT REPORT SUBMISSION

The project report should be mailed to inspireindia[at]techfest[dot]org with the subject

Ideate:Inspire India: Project Report: Team Id (For ex.Ideate: Inspire India: Project Report:

||1243) before 23:59 hrs on 23rd

November, 2012. Do not forget to mention your Team ID in the

subject while sending it. Teams must follow the following details for the submission:

1. The abstract must be submitted in pdf format only2. The abstract must not exceed 15 page sin length3. Font: Verdana4. Size: 115. Spacing between two lines:0.6 inches6. Spacing between two paragraphs: 1 inch7. Bottom margin: 1 inch

The panel of judges will analyse the report and will give them a detailed feedback on

modifications to the proposed solutions to achieve better results. The details of the shortlisted

participants along with feedback from the judges would be communicated to them by 5th

December, 2012. Please note that the open entries can also submit their report for finalevaluation.

Final Presentation

After declaration of the finalists, participants are required to refine and improve upon there

solution. At the time of final presentation:

1. The final report submitted by the teams will be given to judges for reference.2. Teams will give a presentation covering technical and financial aspects of the solution; for

which they must make a PowerPoint presentation.

3. A video that summarizes there idea.

GENERAL RULES

The competition is open to all the (students, research scholars and professional belongingsto any age group). All projects being displayed will have a fair chance of receiving further

development opportunities offered by funding organisations and venture capitalists.

The team may comprise of foreigners. However, the team must cater to a problem existingin India and the social enterprise must be functional in India.


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Every team to register online on our website for the competition. A registration numberwill be allocated to the team on registration which shall be used for future reference.

A team can participate at any point of time before 5th November, 2012. However, to getthe advantage of a mentor, the team must register and send an abstract before 7

th

September, 2012.

Decision of the judges shall be treated as final and binding on all. Note that at any point of time the latest information will be that which is on the website.

However, registered participants will be informed through about any changes on the

website.

FOR INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPANTS

All international participants will have to register before 5th

November 2012, and will have to

submit the videos of their prototypes/working model along with a complete report before 23rd

November 2012. The shortlisted international team details will be put on the website by 5th

December, 2011.

CERTIFICATE POLICY

Those teams who give a final presentation during Techfest2012 will be awarded a Certificate of

Participation. The top entries from the event will be provided with a certificate of Excellence.

TEAM SPECIFICATION

The participating entries must be in a team ofmaximum of 4[four] people. If the participating

team feels that their idea requires more participants in theri team, they can forward their

request, with suitable reasons, to inspireindia[at]techfest[dot]org with the subjectIdeate:

InspireIndia team number increase.

JUDGING CRITERIA

Significance of the social issue being addressed( The issues should not be the ones thatare already being addressed on a large scale successfully)

Uniqueness of the solution (The solution must not be trivial or a mere reproduction ofalready existing solutions. A team may, however, choose to modify that has been

successful in solving the problem else-where so as to cater to that needs of its target

crowd. However, in that case, this must be clearly mentioned in the abstract)

Acceptability of the solution in the target crowd/ target area (This will judged from theproof of relevance of the solution)


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Social Impact (Widespread and tangible social impact. Scale should be large in terms ofthe number of people affected or in terms of the quantity of effect)

Clarity on the approach to be followed by the team

inspire india

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