Student innovator creates AI app, meets Union Minister

Hyderabad: Rishab, a 12-grade student of Rockwell International School in Hyderabad, has developed an application - 'SabkaVikas' to help Below Poverty Line (BPL) households in seeking more information about various Union Government Welfare Schemes. The info on this app is available in nine Indian languages such as Telugu, Marathi, Oriya, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Gujarathi, English and Hindi.

Giving more details about the app, Rishab said: "Our maid Shileela sought my help to seek more information about Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, a scheme of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas for providing LPG connections to BPL women. It was an eye-opener for me. Though there are hundreds of Union Government Welfare Schemes available, many poor people do not know about them. They don’t know how to utilise these schemes. My maid Shileela is not alone, there are many like her, who are unable to utilise these schemes. I wanted to make a difference by using AI (Artificial Intelligence)."

"Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) are some of the important schemes of the Government of India. There are 740 Central sector initiatives in India’s Union budget for 2022 and 65 Centrally funded schemes. As per the 2023 budget, Rs 14,67,880 crore was proposed to be spent on these schemes. There are over 1,400 Union government schemes are available in the country. All these schemes are meant for the poor. But, how many of them are aware of them," he asked.

The 'Sabka Vikaas' app is currently in the final stages and it was demonstrated to Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of India during his tour to Serilingampally Constituency, the neighbourhood of the boy in Gowli Doddi (Jayabheri Meadows in the Financial District). The minister spoke to the boy for thirty-plus minutes, even visited his house and invited him to pay a visit to make a presentation to their officials in his ministry.

"I was excited when I got a chance to brief the Minister. It was a dream come true. I never expected that I would ever meet the Minister, Even if I had met him, I would have imagined that he would ever give me so much time," said Rishab. The Minister later tweeted the photo and spoke about his visit to the Serlingampally constituency and interaction with people there.

The 'Sabka Vikaas' app allows users, particularly women, to communicate in their native language, making information about Central and State-level schemes more accessible. The users can specify their demographic details, such as being women, children, or specially-abled, and describe their situation. The application then uses this information to find and present relevant government schemes applicable to their needs. Importantly, the app responds in the user's native language through voice technology, further breaking down the barriers.