Launched in 2010, I Paid a Bribe has become a staple example of a tool that uses the Internet to help regular citizens fight corruption. A platform that allows people in India to report where and when they were asked to bribe a public official, it quickly drew international acclaim. But technology isn't a cure-all. In an interview with David Eaves, Center for Internet & Society founder Sunil Abraham explains how I Paid a Bribe — and other Internet-driven efforts — help, and where they might hurt, anti-corruption initiatives. Read More

The World Bank has announced the three winners of the Sanitation Hackathon and App Challenge, which techPresident covered last December when the Hackathon took place in cities across the globe. The sanitation crisis affects approximately 2.5 billion people who live without access to toilets. That statistic is all the more staggering when compared to the number of people who do not have access to a cell phone – only one billion. That statistic in part inspired the decision to leverage mobile technology towards helping alleviate the global sanitation crisis.

You might know by now the widely publicized fact that Indian’s are more likely to have access to a cell phone than to a toilet, a troubling fact previously explored on techPresident. India has surpassed the US and UK to become the world’s second largest cell phone market, and the fastest growing, boasting more than six million new subscribers every month. A recent study conducted in Hyderabad, India, turned up data specific to young students, which the researchers hope can be focused toward creating effective mobile learning platforms.

The Indian government held its first ever official hackathon on April 6 and 7. The event, which took place at 10 educational institutions across the country, was organized to communicate the 12^th five-year-plan, India's strategic and economic plan, to the public. More than 1,900 participants collaborated on apps and infographics, tackling problems such as healthcare opportunities and the difficulties faced by farmers. Read More

After breaking ground for American corporate executives in North Korea this January (and taking his highly observant daughter along for the ride), Eric Schmidt is continuing his world tour of digitally repressive regimes this week.  Google’s executive chairman will visit Myanmar tomorrow, in the wake of the country’s first hesitant steps to Internet freedom.   Schmidt began his Southeast Asian trip with a pit stop in India yesterday, where the government has been pushing a tech agenda over the past year.

India’s government has been embracing a high-tech strategy over the past year, with new online portals and open data initiatives aiming to democratize civic life.  Last Friday, a Google Hangout with members of the Government Planning Commission was emblematic of these efforts.  But some viewers expressed skepticism that undermined the impact of the conversation, alleging that some of the “spontaneous” citizen questioners in the hangout were government plans. One commission member denounced the event live on camera.

Indian IT Minister Kapil Sibal has made his plans clear to digitalize government, with online portals and e-governance measures meant to streamline bureaucracy and increase accessibility. Now Sibal has put forth an ambitious one-year agenda for the for the country’s Department of Electronics and Information Technology (acronym: DEITY). Read More

As mobile saturation transforms and connects the country, Indian states are making strides with mobile-accessible portals for civic services and information. Read More