Kriyate\'s app for visually impaired SimplEye gets NASSCOM Social Innovation 2015 award

In a bid to recognise the efforts made by individuals, groups, organisations and corporates in the sphere of social innovation, NASSCOM Foundation announced the winners of one of India's largest platform devoted to encouraging 'Technology for good' - NASSCOM Social Innovation Forum.

Commenting on the occasion, Ganesh Ayyar, CEO, Mphasis, said, "Our focus on true corporate social responsibility coupled with our brand promise of 'Unleash the Next', NSIF forms a perfect fit to our core values and provides for a great platform to identify and support innovations that can really create the India of the future."

New Delhi-based startup Kriyate's app for visually impaired SimplEye gets NASSCOM Social Innovation 2015 award under the category 'ICT led Social Innovation by a Social Enterprise'. Founded by Sumit Dagar, SimplEye is a custom designed smartphone application with an easytouse Interface for the visually impaired. A voice narrates which element is put on screen. The user can interact with this element using simple gestures.  A user can apply these gestures anywhere on the screen, freeing one from the need of seeing the display.

In its seventh edition, supported by leading IT companies Mphasis and Genpact this year, this platform has grown from recognizing impactful projects to now actively supporting early stage, high impact projects through industry mentorship and catalytic grants.

In this forum, 11 projects were chosen from among 1000+ entries this year.

Commenting on the initiative, Mohit Thukral, Genpact Officer and Senior Vice President said, "There is a very strong connection between technology and social good. Through NSIF, Genpact is trying to encourage innovative solutions to help them scale in terms of both, reach as well as impact."

Dr Ganesh Natarajan, Chairman, NASSCOM Foundation, said, "Our country today needs to catalyse its growth by creating an eco-system which not only produces entrepreneurs but also drives inclusion. The thought behind NASSCOM Social Innovation Forum is that technology has the ability to bring forth social change by creating this ecosystem and nurturing entrepreneurs. The Forum not only recognizes ideas and projects but also provides them with a platform to collaborate, scale and sustain development. I congratulate all the winners and hope that they will continue to bring about a positive change in India using their innovations."

The programme attracted a huge number of innovative projects from NGOs, corporates, social enterprises, Government departments, students and individuals, year on year. Over the years NASSCOM Foundation has established itself as a harbinger of change, driving technology for good through this programme.