Internet
search titan Google has launched its Google Impact Challenge in India,
asking the country's non-profit organizations how they would use
technology to tackle social problems in India and around the world. The
four submissions judged as the best will each receive Rs 3 crore and technical assistance from Google to help make their project a reality.
Applications
to the competition open today and Indian non-profits are invited to
apply online by 5th September at g.co/indiachallenge. A team from Google
will review applications and announce 10 finalists on October 21. The
top 10 finalists will then be announced and the public will be able to
cast a vote for their favourite projects.
The final event,
scheduled to take place on October 31, will be judged by a panel
comprising Google board member Ram Shriram; Google's chief business
officer, Nikesh Arora; Jacquelline Fuller, director of Google Giving;
Anu Aga, social worker and former chairperson, Thermax; and Jayant
Sinha, managing director, Omidyar Network India Advisors, who will
select three awardees. The fourth winner will be selected on the basis
of online votes from the public.
This is Google's first
Challenge in India and only its second overall. The company annually
gives away approximately $100 million in grants, $1 billion in free as
well as discounted apps and ads, and 50,000 employee volunteer hours
globally. In 2012, it launched the Global Impact Awards to support
entrepreneurial non-profits with a tech idea for how to change the
world.
Previous awardees have developed projects ranging from
technology that allowed under-privileged students to access maths and
science education to real-time sensors that help ensure people have
better access to clean water.
Ram Shriram, judge and Google
board member, said, "I've had the privilege of working with budding
inventors for many years, and I know India's entrepreneurs are some of
the biggest and boldest thinkers in the world. Today I'm thrilled to be
part of a new tech-oriented, venture model that will support our
country's amazing engine of social entrepreneurs, identifying and backing the best technology ideas to improve the lives of millions."
Rajan
Anandan, vice president and managing director, Google India, added, "We
are thrilled that the Google Impact Challenge is launching in India. It
is a great opportunity for Indian non-profits to scale their efforts to
help solve some of our toughest problems. India already has a rich
tradition of corporate giving and hopefully the Challenge will galvanize
social entrepreneurship in India."
