[Story Source: Livemint] While browsing through a blog, The Better India, I came across this Livemint report about a bookstore on wheels. Started by Pankaj Kurulkar, the project has been kicked off in Maharashtra. Kurulkar expects to take it to more states. The article goes further and talks about the challenges that a project of this nature [...]

TC-I reader Suresh Parmar tipped us about a workshop focusing on social entrepreneurship on April 16-17 in New Delhi.  Held by the Centre for Training and Research in Responsible Business and Social Entrepreneurship (New Delhi), in partnership with the Centre for Social Initiative and Management (Hyderabad), the workshop will focus on a range of issues. [...]

As some of our readers may know, Prerna and I are both Indicorps alums.  My fellowship with Indicorps is too involved to explain in a short post, but the experience is definitely one of the contributing factors to my continued interest and involvement with development in India.  The on-the-ground experience is extremely valuable,  both in [...]

Hello TC-I Community. It was exactly one year ago when the first post on ThinkChange India was published. Today, the four founding editors wanted to share with all of you what this experience has meant to us, and we encourage all of you to do the same in the comments section. Here they are, in [...]

When I first heard the news, I was reminded of chaiwalas on local trains who chant, “chaiiii, chaiiiii, chaiiiii” and sell just the right amount of delectable tea in earthen cups for a very sweet price. Has the day come? Will a new army of “laptopwalas” soon be chanting, “laptopppp, laptopppp, laptopppp,” on local trains [...]

Using a mobile bus (such as the Nandini Mobile Van, which focuses on sanitation) is a popular method to do outreach to rural or underexposed areas.  Google India is launching their Internet Bus Project, an initiative that is essentially a mobile exhibition of the Internet.   The bus will provide an introductory look at the [...]

This is an excerpt from an email from Gunjan Sinha of SiliconIndia. He sent this to me the other day, and one part triggered some of my own feelings and thoughts that arose as a result of Obama’s recent inauguration. In this new era, I see a strong role for entrepreneurs in reinventing our governments, [...]

Here is an interesting approach to the technological hurdles of mobile banking. Called Cashnxt, this venture in Kerala, uses high-pitched sounds via mobile phones to encrypt and decrypt the secure data needed to perform a financial transaction. An article on ReadWriteWeb, explains it as such: As a customer, if you and a vendor are a [...]

Here are some high level points from his talk last night. My own observations are preceded by initials, while comments he said are left alone. I kept them in this order as this was the original chronology of how they developed: (VG) Power of one man: it is impossible to not be in awe when [...]

In the effort to connect “green” business manufacturers and suppliers, Jagdish Amin and David Wheat launched HaraBara in October 2008.  Businessworld features the duo’s new business-to-business platform: HaraBara’s primary objective is to unearth ‘golden nuggets’: companies that are doing great sustainable work, and getting them to talk about it. While there are plans to create [...]