Rahul Tongia

HealthLine: Speech-based access to health information by low-literate users

Health information access by low-literate community health workers is a pressing need of community health programs across the developing world. We present results from a needs assessment we conducted to understand the health information access practices and needs of various types of health workers in Pakistan. We also present a prototype for speech-based health information access, as well as discuss our experiences from a pilot study involving its use by community health workers in a rural health center.

Connectivity in emerging regions: the need for improved technology and business models

The digital divide is a pressing challenge for both technology and policy professionals. Connectivity is one aspect of the divide, albeit an important one. Availability and affordability remain important issues, but these depend on not only technology choices, but also business and regulatory models. While mobile phones have achieved spectacular growth in emerging regions, Internet access, especially broadband, lags far behind. A generalized model of costing broadband indicates that limited uplinking (interconnection) is a significant barrier to widespread and affordable connectivity, but last mile access also remains a challenge. In addition, policy distortions and regulations raise costs dramatically. Because of these, new technologies, business models, and regulations may be required to make connectivity available and affordable in emerging economies. These include advanced wireless technologies, greater fiber utilization, and open access networking

Price of power in India

Abstract The Government of India liberalized its economy in 1991, opening up the power sector to private participation. The existing Central Electricity Authority guidelines for Independent Power Producers (IPPs) are analyzed to obtain the net price of power and the internal rate of return for coal and combined-cycle natural gas power plants, under different assumptions of input parameters. The results show rates of return higher than the nominal 16%. An uncertainty analysis reveals the relative importance of various parameters. Problems with the existing guidelines are shown, providing insights for policy changes. Adoption of modified guidelines for IPPs which are more transparent are likely to result in more affordable tariffs, less delays and yet provide adequate rates of return for investors.

Community radio for development in South Asia: A sustainability study

Community radio (CR) is a participatory medium and a subset of radio broadcasting. It is an inexpensive and popular way for disseminating content (information, news, entertainment, etc.) CR is designed to increase availability of localized information, media access and empowerment, and even market based growth and societal resource distribution for the community. We examine the sustainability of CR as a tool towards achieving the overall development in the South Asian region. A cross-country comparison of CR in areas including peoples participation, regulatory scenarios, human resource development, technology usage trends, financial practices etc. shows a wide variety of CR applications and challenges. An indepth analysis of financial data and practices of several Nepalese CR stations (rural, urban, and semi-urban) alongside regulatory and anecdotal references from India and Bangladesh shows potential viability through advertising and other mechanisms. Even with an advertisement cap of 5 minutes per hour, every station shows the potential of achieving financial sustainability by selling a fraction of the allotted ad time (7%-46%). Our model shows that the monthly operating expenditure of types of stations turns out to be more significant than the annualized capital expenditure. In our analysis (and borne out in the real world), of the three considered stations, the semi-urban station has the highest cost per listener. Stochastic cost modeling of real world CR data show the trend of increased cost for content development is a trade-off for expanding the listener base and transmission time. We conclude with a proposed set of policy and operating recommendations to enable CR to play a significant role in overall South Asian development.

Cross technology comparison for information services in rural Bangladesh

This paper introduces a framework to examine the relative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of different information and communications technologies to deliver a range of social services in rural Bangladesh. It focuses particularly on major sectors like agriculture, education, disaster response and healthcare. Expert elicitation (using both local and international group of experts) survey on ICT effectiveness by service domains shows localization as the key determining factor for any technological intervention. Community based radio broadcasting (CR) appears as the dominant option among the considered ICTs. Human intervention has been found to be crucial in both low (20%) and medium-high (60%) literacy populations. Our study also shows public funded Terrestrial TV is more effective and has higher acceptability in providing information over privately owned Satellite/Cable TV channels. Literacy doesnt seem to significantly affect the relative effectiveness of Information Centers with Internet connection over Print and TV based options. In addition, an extensive techno-economic model for the various ICTs and stochastic evaluation of potential penetrations of the ICTs (reach) has also found CR to be the most cost-effective option. We conclude with a proposed set of policy and operating recommendations to enable effective technology based information services for rural Bangladeshi development.

Why is connectivity in developing regions expensive: policy challenges more than technical limitations?

I present analysis examining some of the causes of poor connectivity in developing countries. Based on a techno-economic analysis and design, I show that technical limitations per se are not the bottleneck for widespread connectivity; rather, design, policy, and regulatory challenges dominate.

India's quest for energy security

Indias energy policy has historically laid special emphasis on energy security, which translated into favouring domestic energy fuel options. Recent growth in demand, fueled by economic growth, far outpaces available domestic resources. In this light, there is a gradual recognition that energy security is more than mere self‐sufficiency, and a modern global energy market invariably involves increased energy trade. Indian domestic crude oil production has stagnated for many years, just when car ownership is becoming a middle‐class aspiration. Even coal, of which India has very large reserves, is difficult to produce and transport, and thus supplies to end‐users are not inherently secure. We see that importing energy in addition to exploring new stable and sustainable energy options is not only inevitable, but can offer economic and strategic security through diversity of supply, increased competition, and greater environmental compatibility. Seeking energy securuty through novel technologies can spur indigenous innovations as well. Most of these technologies are intrinsically capable of addressing concerns of global warming.

India's Energy Data: The Urgent Need to Move from Patchwork Systems to a National Energy Information Agency

We propose that India should create a national Energy Information Agency – an Indian EIA or “indEIA.” India urgently needs a dedicated, central agency to collect, collate, disseminate, and facilitate the analysis of all essential energy-related data. There are a number of government support programs, for everything from renewable energy to electricity access, in the billions of dollars. Their efficacy is rarely understood, in part because of data limitations. An entity like indEIA will be critical in helping India leverage the creative powers of the national and international research community to provide reliable, cost-effective, and clean energy to its citizens. In addition, granular data can enable the industry as well as policymakers to move towards more customized, dynamic, and nimble solutions, instead of relying on averaged, aggregated, and nongranular time-series or spatial data. Thus our proposal envisions indEIA as the primary vehicle for curating and maintaining India’s energy data, a vital national (and global) asset.