My name is Tanay. I’m a third year computer science major in Manipal University and, after three rounds of interviews, I joined SocialCops as a summer intern. You join SocialCops with people expecting a lot from you. Varun Banka, our co-founder told me on day 1 that you’ll be working…
Mapping Granular Household-Level Data for a Small Village in Odisha
Tata Trusts wanted to be able to visualise granular household level data for a small village in Orissa, in an intuitive, lifelike manner that could help identify various issues and their patterns in occurrence. We built them a map with custom shape files of the houses that represented the data…
Our Second Anniversary: Introducing SocialCops.com
June 19th marks an important date in the history of SocialCops – our anniversary. On June 19th, 2013, Varun and I arrived in Delhi to kickstart a few pilots aimed at driving better decisions in governance through better data collection. Through the course of the next year, we piloted one of…
Using Mobile Technology to Optimize Disaster Relief Efforts
Summary The Nepal earthquake in April-May, 2015 was one of the worst natural disasters to have hit the region in over 8 decades: tens of thousands of people were killed, and a lot more injured. Goonj – India’s leading disaster relief organisation – needed to ensure that their resources were…
How Five University Students Deployed 2.15 Crores By Mapping Broken Streetlights In Ranchi
The Problem The small city of Ranchi was known for poor street lighting since time anyone remembered – a basic problem that led most people to pull out their smartphones from their pockets post 7 p.m. and not think twice about it. Broken streetlights caused much bigger problems in the…
Boosting Public Worker Morale and Performance Using Cleanliness Data
The Problem In India, “Safai Karamcharis” refer to the group of public workers responsible for street sweeping and garbage picking. The public worker system in India lacks an incredibly important component – incentives for good performance. People tend to perform better when recognized for their good performance. While this is…
From Traditional Marketing to Digital Marketing in a Startup: My Learnings
Life is quite different 35,000 kilometers away from where I was just 10 months ago. I think the competitive environment in University instills the idea of a perfect job awaiting you as you step out into the world. But the truth is far from that. I stumbled upon my first…
Work and Travel, Learn and Touch Lives: A Month in the Life of a Himsagar Fellow
Yes, I’ve spent the last four months traveling to Bihar, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Odisha meeting over a hundred NGOs working across a myriad of issues. And yes, I’ve been doing all of it on my own. Quick rewind: I chanced upon the Himsagar Fellowship some months ago when I…
The Indian Express: Training Program Begins for Micro-Planning Survey
“Development of villages on all fronts is in the hands of the people of respective villages and now there is golden chance to do it, said JM Paresh, an official of Tata Trust… SocialCops co-founder Prukalpa Sankar… explained various technical aspects of enumerating the data.” – The Indian Express SocialCops…
Youth Ki Awaaz: Want To Know The Status Of Education In Your District? Here’s A Cool Map To Help
“In the map, every district has been scored out of an average score of 10. As one navigates across the map, information regarding the infrastructure, the learning conditions, and the Member of Parliament to be held accountable is also available for every district. This information is provided in the form…
The Hindu: Tata’s Micro-Planning in Vijayawada to Begin on May 1
“Tata Trusts will launch the process of micro-planning for development of 264 villages in Vijayawada Parliamentary constituency starting with a two-week training session for 1,200 volunteers on May 1.” – The Hindu SocialCops was featured in The Hindu. Read the full article here.
Shipping an Internal Real-Time Dashboard: My Internship at SocialCops
It all began in November 2014 when I got to know about the openings for internships at SocialCops. I was initially hesitant about applying, given my college was still running. But, after exploring their work, the hard problems they’re looking to solve using technology and their super awesome work culture,…
Modi-fied: When We Met PMO India
We’re excited to announce that SocialCops was chosen as one of the top 10 emerging startups in India by NASSCOM to meet and speak with the PMO India Narendra Modi, along with other leading startups like: Cash Karo, My Notice Period, News In Shorts, Freshdesk, Table Grabber, Komli, Wingify, Rolocule. Shout out…
Deccan Chronicle: Devil’s in the Data
“Why 23 year old founders of SocialCops have been listed in the Forbes 30 under 30 & Fortune 40 under 40 list” – Deccan Chronicle SocialCops was featured in Deccan Chronicle. Read the full article here.
Fortune India: 40 Under 40 List, 2015
“If a girl wants to know the safest route home, we should be able to help.” – Varun Banka in Fortune India We are excited to be a part of the prestigious Fortune 40 under 40 list along with the founders of companies like Flipkart, Zomato, Urban Ladder, ZipDial et…
Google Search: “Travel jobs”…. How Elita Almeida Found a Cure to Her Restless Feet Syndrome
“Tum ho kahaan ki?” (“Where are you from?”), he asked. I was puzzled. Should I say Patna or Delhi or Mumbai? I was in Muzaffarpur in Bihar speaking with three NGOs on a late January afternoon. Beside us, a team from the NGO were sifting through reams of paper. I…
Forbes India 30 Under 30
“Unfettered by preconception and baggage, these men and women are giving change a real chance in India. Meet the tomorrow people.” SocialCops is part of the Forbes India 30 under 30, 2015 list! Read the full list here. Read the full list: The Forbes India 30 Under 30 list for 2015…
Why I Chose a Startup Internship in my First Semester Winter and Why You Should Too
A hard disk full of 1080p videos, high-end games, riveting music collection, a cozy room, a garam garam cup of tea and all that you could possibly find on your college’s Intranet is what most people look forward to when winter vacations come close. But, what if you could finish…
The Huffington Post: 500 Startups and United Nations Invest in Big Data for Social Good
“Big data allows startups, companies, governments, and societies to gather unprecedented amounts of insights that could change the world for good. Recently, 500 Startups invested in SocialCops, which processes millions of discrete data points in the most remote locations in the world for industry and social sector leaders to make data-driven…
India Today: Modernising Government
“This ‘governance at your fingertips’ also creates a new way for citizen-government engagement, which can be a powerful coalition for good. MobileOne and SocialCops both offer this today and with mobile penetration increasing by the day, these initiatives will give a huge platform to ignite the minds of the youth…
Yourstory: Fundraising for Early Stage Entrepreneurs 101
“We were novices – 21 year olds from a university in Singapore — trying to figure out a way to use data to solve real life problems in India.” – Prukalpa Sankar in Yourstory SocialCops was featured in Yourstory. Read the full article here. Fundraising for early stage #entrepreneurs 101…
Why I Left My Swanky Westin Office to Work in Client Management for Grassroots India
College kids – a naïve bunch of youngsters that run purely on skill, caffeine, and an insatiable hunger to make a mark. It’s been 3 months since I officially graduated — not long enough for me to be overcome by the cynicism that all those preceding me have succumbed to; not…
Economic Times: Why Women Entrepreneurs Dominate Google India Head Rajan Anandan’s Portfolio
“In terms of scale, from his portfolio, Anandan is particularly bullish on SocialCops. He sees its five-year goal as being able to power products like Google Maps with social data, which should be useful for customers as diverse as Hindustan Unilever, Unicef and the Karnataka government, all current clients.” –…
Economic Times: Indian Students Turn Entrepreneurs in Singapore
“Buoyed by Singapore government’s support including cash payouts and tax waivers, and assistance from universities, Indians are giving up corporate jobs for businesses in the South-east Asian country.” – Economic Times SocialCops was featured in Economic Times. Read the full article here. Born in India, trained in Sing, building big…
Economic Times: Technical Start-Ups Flourish on Deals With Indian Police Forces
“Another start-up looking at police as its key clients is Delhi-based data analytics firm SocialCops, which is in talks with Bangalore and Gurgaon traffic police. The firm performs analytics on crowd-sourced data obtained from NGOs, citizens and municipal bodies, to suggest, for example, the safest route for women to reach…
Times of India: Desi Companies Beat Facebook in “Swachh Apps Race”
“A lot of cleanliness drives have been happening all over the country and there are people who want to know how they can pitch in. These drives have to be made sustainable and not just reduced to hype-creating exercises.” – Times of India SocialCops was featured in Times of India.…
Achieving the Swachh Bharat Mission: Two Tried-and-True Models for Change
On Oct 2nd, 2014, PM Narendra Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission, a clarion call for citizens to participate in the process of creating a clean India. Narendra Modi’s words echoed the vision that we have been striving towards at SocialCops. We’ve always called for citizens to stop complaining and start contributing. In…
Livemint: My (Wired) Cool Idea
“These startups are not only changing what you can buy with your money online, but redefining how an idea can translate into a scalable, lucrative business.” – Livemint Socialcops was featured in the 8th issue of “Cool Ideas”. Read the full article here. My (wired) #coolidea. These #startups are redefining how an…
Livemint: SocialCops, an Ongoing Census
An article tracing our trajectory right from our days as a university startup to where we are today, a technology data company on a mission to solve the world’s biggest problems. Read the full article here. “The idea is to collaborate with as many non-profits in the country as possible,…
Why We Do What We Do: Our Learnings From a Pilot Study in Taoru
Be the change you wish to see in the world. A few years ago, I read this quote while walking and holding the hand of the children I used to teach. It struck me so deeply that it has kept me going to this day. Change is a long process – one…
My Summer Internship: What Google Won’t Tell You About SocialCops
This summer was different – different from the other lazy lousy summers where I would just sit back and relax. Being a first-year student, I wanted to experience what is like to live a “corporate life”. I was sure I would try to intern somewhere this summer. I spoke to…
My Internship Experience: Why SocialCops Makes You Want to Drop Out of College
On my first day as an intern, the first thing that struck me when I entered the SocialCops office were the oddly-positioned black and white photos with seemingly nonsensical captions on one of the walls. I was wondering whether this was some kind of voodoo thing until my attention was…
Official Funding Announcement
Last week, the official funding announcement from the SocialCops team went out – we raised USD 320k to further our mission of powering the world’s decisions through data from the grassroots. We’d like to officially welcome our kickass investors – 500 Startups, Rajan Anandan (MD, Google India) and Manoj Menon (MD, Frost…
Economic Times: Internet of Things: Know All About the Top Technology for 2014
“Delhi-based technology data startup SocialCops also uses cheap smartphones to accumulate data public infrastructure and services. For instance, Google Maps tells us the quickest route home, but not the safest route home for a girl.” – Economic Times SocialCops was featured in Economic Times. Read the full article here. #InternetofThings:…
Tech in Asia: How 500 Startups-Backed SocialCops Gets to the Bottom of the Pyramid With Big Data
“Here is how SocialCops works: data from the people on a variety of issues that affect their daily lives – from pot-holes on roads to teacher-attendance in government schools – is crowd-sourced via low-cost internet-enabled mobile phones. It also deploys field workers to remote areas with no mobile connectivity. From…
VC Circle: Delhi-Based SocialCops Raises $320K From 500 Startups, Rajan Anandan & Others
“SocialCops is taking Big Data in a direction that a few companies have been able to do, which is providing data and insights that can help solve real world problems.” – Pankaj Jain, Venture Partner at 500 Startups SocialCops was featured in VC Circle. Read the full article here. .@VCcircle: Delhi…
Economic Times: SocialCops Raises $320K Seed From 500 Startups, Rajan Anandan and Manoj Menon
“SocialCops uses mobile phones – ranging from simple feature phones to high-end smart phones to source ground level data from citizens and non-profits, says a statement. Says co- founder, Prukalpa Sankar, ‘Even today, important national level decisions about issues like vaccinations and medication affecting millions of people are made based…
Livemint: SocialCops, the Social Data Aggregator Raises $320,000 Fund From 500 Startups, Rajan Anandan and Others
“I am thrilled with the pioneering work that SocialCops is doing. We are limited only by our imagination in terms of how technology can address the challenges facing humanity. SocialCops is well poised to play an important role in helping shape a better future and humbled to be part of…
The Google Glass, Raspberry Pi, and My First Hackathon
4 weeks into my internship at SocialCops, we realized that the office had too much hardware that wasn’t being put to much use.”Let’s organize our own internal hackathon” was a random idea that someone suggested and, with that, Hackathon #1 was organized right here at our basement office in Malviya…
There Are Lies, And Then There Is Data
We’ve always said that we’re all about data. We want to power the data behind any big decision that impacts the world… social data, if you may. The Census is the only reference point for most data interpretations to measure quality of life indicators in the country. We asked ourselves…
What It’s Like to Work at SocialCops
I started to work for the young and vibrant SocialCops team as a Partnerships lead about two months ago. I came on board at a time when SocialCops was in its early phase of expansion after a few successful pilots. It’s been one hell of a experience to be on the SocialCops…
Fast Company: Using Citizens as Human Sensors to Improve Public Services
“SocialCops is a social enterprise that recruits citizens to act as ‘human sensors’ around India’s capital. After only eight months, it’s already worked on several intractable city issues by creating a mobile platform that allows people to get involved in their area.” – Fast Company Read the full article on Fast Company.…
Times of India: With Data From Grassroots, Young Guns Expose Govt’s Failures
“They call themselves the SocialCops; a team of five geeks who procure data from ground zero to work on social and civic issues. Be it the quality of the rice served in a school’s midday scheme, the non-functioning faucets in public toilets or getting residents to rate their streets on…
What the “God of Cricket” Sachin Tendulkar Taught Us About Building a Startup
This 24th of April, the team at SocialCops would like to celebrate Sachin Tendulkar. It has been a few months since India’s biggest sporting icon bid us farewell. After a brief period of uncertainty, Indian cricket has moved on. In a country which has a habit of finding heroes, it has not taken…
My First Campaign #my SHElfie: Behind the Scenes
Just 3 weeks ago, when I was finding my way to the SocialCops office in Malviya Nagar, I remember how inhibited I was with petty worries. Will I be able to contribute? I’m still a university student from a pure commerce background. I’m not a tech genius. Will they let…
From Idea To Funding: What Not To Do After You’re Struck With Your Billion-Dollar Startup Idea
I recently had someone message me and ask me to connect them to “VCs” to fund their “idea”. About a year and half since I started conceptualizing my startup, I was struck by the naïveté of such a question – almost beginning to laugh. Then a visit up memory lane…
Livemint: India Needs Technology and Not “Durbars”
“Last year a group of engineers from Singapore, with the aim of using technology to create change, set up Socialcops.com, a citizen platform that sources reports regarding civic issues. There are several, isolated initiatives like these dotting the country. But lacking in support and funding, they run out of steam…
Dedicating Thanksgiving to Some Awesome People
December 2013 is here. It’s Thanksgiving weekend, and the SocialCops team is in Delhi. Sitting in our cozy, small office, I can’t help marvel over the fact that we’re really here. About 16 months ago, we decided to stop thinking and start doing. We released a Facebook campaign and crowdfunding campaign to…
Why We Do What We Do
Doing startups for the money is not a great idea. Perhaps doing startups to be remembered or become famous is a better motive. Perhaps not. A better motive still would be a desire to change the world. We believe that the only good reason to do a startup is because…
Our First Pilot: From an Idea to a Startup
On September 11th, 2012, we launched a crowdfunding campaign asking for your support to make our dream of empowering citizens to change the country bit by bit come true. The support that we received from you was the biggest motivating factor in giving us the strength to persevere through this journey. SocialCops as…
What You Should Know Before You Pitch Your Company at a Global Level
SocialCops was a finalist at the Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (2013) held by the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business. We came out as winners for the Information and Communications Technology prize and in the process we’ve learnt a LOT. I’m trying to summarize my learnings with what we…
What You Should Know Before You Give Your Startup Pitch at a Global Level
SocialCops was a finalist at the Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (2013) held by the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business. We came out as the winner of the Information and Communications Technology prize. It was one of my initial successes as an entrepreneur and, in the process, SocialCops has learned a LOT.…
Voices in the Head of a Middle-Class Aspiring Startup Founder
I am an average 20-something university student from a middle-class Indian family. In my final year of university, I was bitten by what they call the “startup bug” and I dreamt of being an entrepreneur. Around me, my batchmates were applying for jobs feverishly. On the other hand, my co-founders…