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Prayatna
Albert Einstein once said that insanity is defined as trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. He probably said this in context of some scientific experiment, but this principle applies to almost every aspect of life, including primary education for children. When children don’t perform well at school, most of [...]
A Silent Change
Last year I received a random e-mail forward from a friend that for some reason I read (I usually just delete forwards). That’s where I heard about the Yatra and today, more than one year after that mail, I am glad I read it. Being a participant on the Tata Jagriti Yatra 2008 changed me [...]
The Colours of Joy
In an earlier article, we had spoken about the huge potential for person-to-person lending in India and how DhanaX is tapping into this potential. Rang De is another organization working in this field. While DhanaX is a social business entrepreneurship, Rang De is a not-for-profit organization: this translates into a direct reduction in the interest [...]
Conversations with an Auto Rickshaw Driver
There are so many little details that rush to the head and I can’t figure out where to begin. I start to feel like an eighth grader struggling with a character sketch of the protagonist of a Munshi Premchand story. My impression of Basanth is rather like one of those characters, simple with an uncanny [...]
Become a social investor!
India has the second highest unbanked population in the world - approximately six hundred and seventy five million people. More than sixty five percent of the people do not have access to a formal banking system. Only fifteen percent of the demand for credit worth ninety billion dollar is met through formal channels. Microfinance is addressing this problem. The basic idea is simple: give a very [...]
CTC Disha: The State Wide Helpline for Blood
Sankalp India Foundation, in association with Comprehensive Trauma Consortium (CTC), has launched “CTC Disha: The State Wide Helpline for Blood”. In Karnataka, anyone looking for blood in time of an emergency can call 94800 44444 for help. CTC Disha for Bangalore, launched in September 2006, enables people to hunt for blood by calling 1062. This [...]
Tuberculosis detection with a chip…
Ralph Weissleder, from Harvard Medical College, has developed magnetic nano particles that can identify tuberculosis-causing bacteria in sputum. This has made it possible to diagnose tuberculosis in half an hour. The traditional method for diagnosis takes about two weeks, as the bacteria is first spotted in sputum under the microscope, and then the suspect samples [...]