IIITB and CII Young Indians co-create ‘Bengaluru for Humanity’

The International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIITB), in collaboration with Young Indians (Yi) an integral part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) have developed and launched a real-time application called ‘Bengaluru for Humanity’ to provide verified data on COVID care services in the city. With support from BBMP and the Office of MP Tejasvi Surya, the application provides authenticated and updated information on COVID treatment facilities, availability of oxygen, medication, plasma, blood types, and mental health counseling, to name a few. Users will also have access to feed in information, which would be verified by volunteers.

The rising COVID crisis in Bengaluru has led to a wide circulation of unverified and false data. Commenting on the urgent need for authenticated information to those seeking it, Prof S Sadagopan, Director, IIITB stated, “The raging second-wave calls for an urgent need for the population to work together. People who need timely medical care and emergency services are not getting accurate and updated information. With Bengaluru for Humanity, we can provide the general public access to authenticated data and curb the spread of misinformation.”

The ‘Bengaluru for Humanity’ application was developed, and information verified and uploaded in less than 48 hours. The core team involved in establishing this initiative included Neelish Reddy, Chair Yi Bengaluru / Dr. Kaushik Murali Past Chair & Yi Bengaluru Team, Karthik Kittu, Chief Innovation Officer at IIITB, Manoj H P, Design Consultant at IIITB, and Sumukh Betagiri, Officer on Special Duty at the office of Tejasvi Surya, MP Bengaluru South. While the Operations and Department co-ordination efforts are led by Karthik Kittu, the Application design and development was contributed by Manoj H P.

Tejasvi Surya, MP Bengaluru South said, “It is important to eliminate misleading information and guide the public in the right direction during these trying times. The Bengaluru for Humanity application will help society find correct information during emergencies, without any delay.”

“Young Indians Bengaluru has been focusing on validating and collating information on this digital platform on a real-time basis to tackle the second wave. The team has been wading through information surrounding COVID medical care, hospital availability, mental health and home care support, etc. to help the society. During these difficult times, finding the right information is critical, and we hope this can help,” added Neelish Reddy, Chair - Young Indians Bengaluru.

The Yi COVID Task Force has been focus on collating and sharing validated information on a digital platform on a real-time basis. This information includes COVID medical care, hospital information, mental health, support for home COVID care and most importantly, facts and myths to avoid panic of any sort.

Bengaluru for Humanity is available for public use. Download the application here.