Taking Help to the Remotest Corners of India During COVID
By Manisha Raghunath
With the pandemic killing every aspect of livelihood, especially during the lockdown, people in rural areas were left wanting for critical medical resources and other daily needs essential items to reach them under several time constrained situations.
Some of the ACT grantee companies were involved in the herculean task of transporting some critical resources. Haqdarshak, one of the ACT Grantees, embarked on a project to equip citizens with a host of facilities that would not just help them financially but also get them the required essentials to tide through the lockdown period and thereafter.
As they themselves say, “We help citizens discover, apply for and benefit from eligible government and private welfare schemes, thereby plugging the information gap about entitlements, using technology.”
Work done by Haqdarshak
One of the most crucial necessities is finance for those citizens who belong to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category. Through the lockdown period and later, the team at Haqdarshak came together to plug information gaps regarding various services for the citizens, some of which include financial schemes established by the government, support through the application process for essential documents, and so on.
Jyoti and her husband, both daily wage construction workers, lost their jobs during the lockdown. Through the Direct-Benefit Transfer scheme, specifically designed to help registered construction workers with financial assistance, Jyoti and her husband were able to receive Rs 3500 immediately.
Some specific instances where Haqdarshak has been able to help out citizens are in the process of getting their PAN cards done needed primarily to avail other schemes initiated by the government such as ration cards, livelihood support, and so on. Apart from this, they also help out micro-entrepreneurs in availing small-ticket loans from the Prime Minister’s SVAnidhi Yojana which was launched as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
Ripe into old age, when the body no longer is capable of supporting physical work, or when health fails, the two saviours are pension and insurance. The folks at Haqdarshak ensure this is taken care of, as well.
All this is done through their mobile application, for citizens where all one has to do is connect with the team digitally. However, taking into consideration, digital channels cannot serve those with limited access to the internet or mobile network itself, there were field activities enlisted in order to take the convenience of these facilities to those in the interiors of the country. While a segment of Haqdarshak were at this project, another segment, especially in states such as Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh tirelessly worked on producing masks and sanitizers. The distribution of these was carried out through the support of the other Haqdarshaks.
With their enthusiastic team, Haqdarshak is well on their way to making a huge difference in the lives of many more citizens and sure to help out more people in getting the various benefits from the government.
