Description of the product/project
aAQUA is a multilingual online question and answer forum. Almost All Questions Answered (aAQUA) provides online answers to questions asked over the internet.

aAQUA caters to the needs of the farmer in many ways such as

a) Providing a forum for a farmer (typically posted by a computer operator) to pose his question

b) Having a panel of experts to view the problem and work out a feasible solution

c) Providing back the solution to the affected farmer over the internet

d) Thus creating a cumulative archived database of questions and answers on various issues

e) Allowing users to search the archive

f) Allowing common Indian languages and simultaneous keyword searches in Hindi-English-Marathi.

Experts use aAQUA to assist farmers in seed selection, new techniques, animal husbandry, and pest and disease management. Kiosk operators photograph crop and animal diseases, and are sometimes assisted by our full-time local person in administering the solutions. Information on where to buy medicines, techniques, taking soil samples etc. are also answered by experts. The search engine too is ahead in serving the agriculture community in terms of understanding the query, not just key words.
PRODUCER
Krithi Ramamritham Anil Bahuman, T. Kadarbhai, Yogesh Kulkarni
STATEMaharashtra
CONTACTabahuman@it.iitb.ac.in
www.aaqua.org
Platform of ProductBroadband/online
Title in EnglishaAQUA (Almost All Questions Answered)
Language of ProductMultilingual – Marathi, Hindi, English

Description of the product/project
Vaachak is Text-to-Speech (TTS) software for Indian Languages and English developed by Prologix based in Lucknow.

Vaachak enables computers to read out text in Indian languages and English in clear, easily understandable and Natural (Indian) accented voice (particularly for English – as opposed to British or American accents for other Text-to-Speech software).

Vaachak is the first product of its kind developed and breaks new ground by being the first and only high quality, natural sounding software for reading out text in Indian languages and in English, in an Indian accent.

The software finds use in making Human-Computer interfaces more natural for the end users – by giving them the option of being able to hear information required by them – either on the computer itself, or through a telephone based service.

It can be a wonderful tool to produce content / applications for the visually impaired and illiterate people. It can help convert the written information to voice in native language.
PRODUCERPrologix Software Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
STATEUttar Pradesh
CONTACTcontact@prologixsoft.com
www.prologixsoft.com
Platform of ProductBroadband/Online
Title in EnglishText to Speech software for Indian languages
Language of ProductMajor Indian Languages and English

Description of the product/project
The touch screen kiosk with need based information on cattle health, derived through participatory meetings with the stakeholders aimed at the direct use of largely illiterate and poor livestock owners.

As one of the important strategies for reducing information poverty, information kiosk was designed as a tool to enhance the farmers’ information system through appropriately designed content and methods of extension programmes that meet the expressed needs and objective circumstances of the resource poor.
This was used as one of the extension delivery methods to reach these marginalized groups, under a research project supported by the DFID Animal Health Programme, UK and in collaboration with the University of Reading, United Kingdom.

PRODUCERRajiv Gandhi College of Veterinary and Animal Services, Dr. S. Ramkumar, Dr. S.V.N. Rao, Prof. C.J.Garforth, Dr. Claire Heffernen
STATEPondicherry
Platform of ProductBroadband/Online
Title in EnglishDissemination of animal health knowledge for development of landless dairy cattle owners in the peri-urban regions of Pondicherry
Language of ProductEnglish and Tamil

Description of the product/project
Under Save the Girl Child campaign, website www.indiafemalefoeticide.org is solely dedicated to the cause of female foeticide in the country.
Datamation Foundation Charitable Trust has been involved in active championing, and advocating complete ban and penal action against selective sex tests, working at the convergence of ICTs, and social as well as human development.
This is both an online and off-line initiative that successfully makes use of the e-mail, Internet, and other information-sharing strategies to actively promote legal measures banning (and penal action taken against those who conduct) selective sex tests, which can result in the decision to abort female foetuses.
Some of the offline initiatives towards the campaign include, using radio and video tools to reach rural people. For the urban community and interested stakeholders, the India Female Foeticide portal has played a major role in capacity building and awareness creation, facilitated by the use of Internet and net-telephony.

The portal contains a number of distinctive features which enable advocacy, capacity building and sensitization towards femicide. The complaint lodging process in the best tradition of e-governance is a very critical feature of our portal, (http://www.indiafemalefoeticide.org/COMPLAINTS.ASP) which allows the visitor to lodge a complaint against erring medical agencies, doctors, radiologists etc. The feature is unique as it protects the identity of the complainant, and yet provides an effective vehicle for booking those indulging in this heinous crime.

PRODUCERDatamation Foundation Charitable TrustChetan Sharma
STATEDelhi
CONTACTcsharma@giasdl01.vsnl.net.in
www.datamationfoundation.org
www.indiafemalefoeticide.org
Platform of Product
Broadband/Online
Title in EnglishSave the Girl Child
Title in Original LanguageSave the Girl Child
Language of ProductEnglish

Description of the product/project
Disability India Network is an IT initiative to empower the citizens with disabilities. The website www.disabilityindia.org provides information, knowledge and assistance to the disabled to claim their rightful place in society.

The Network through its website empowers disabled citizens with information, and also serve those who are the service providers to the disabled fraternity.

This initiative for the dissemination of information related to disability issues specific to India was started in 1999. It has grown to become one of the largest and most well known websites on disability. 400 artisan families.

The site contains information on benefits offered by the government, information on all laws pertaining to disability, information on landmark legal cases, online library, discussion board, dynamic and ever-growing database of organizations in India and Disability India Journal.

PRODUCERSociety for Child Development Madhumita Puri, Vijay Agarwal
STATEDelhi
CONTACTmadhumita@disabilityindia.org
www.disabilityindia.org
Platform of ProductBroadband/Online
Title in EnglishDisability India Network
Title in Original LanguageDisability India Network
Language of ProductEnglish