Thanal is a mobile app and web technology platform that works on the delivery of government welfare scheme information to citizens.

Many a time, government scheme benefits do not reach the intended beneficiaries simply because they donโ€™t know about them. This is what prompted Youth entrepreneur Varun Chandran, to develop a tech-enabled welfare scheme app, Thanal, in 2018 to try and bridge this information gap.

The simple solution:ย Thanal is a mobile app and web technology platform that works on the delivery of scheme benefits to citizens. The app can work even without internet connectivity and gauges a candidateโ€™s eligibility for government scheme by asking 7 to 10 questions.

Defining a civic problem:ย The issue of social injustice, fueled by unawareness of government welfare information for disadvantaged communities. ย 

โ€œIn 2017, while volunteering in rural villages of Kerala, I saw many citizens at the bottom of the social pyramid donโ€™t know about the government welfare schemes they are eligible and can apply for. We realized that schemes are for the bottom 25% of the population, and to reach them we put an app on Google Play Store. We also hope to implement an assisted model, where a Panchayat Member, Anganavady Teachers or Asha workers can be trained, who would then use the app to help citizens,โ€ explains Varun. Social workers, Public servants & Govt staff can access welfare scheme data on their phone during their meetings & discussions with citizens and advise them directly.

Phase-2: Thanal, which is at present voluntarily developed for government of Kerala, is experimenting with speech-to-text models to make the application more accessible. This will be a helpful feature for visually impaired and those not well versed with using mobile app. โ€œMost of our users being semi-literate and semi-urban, we are trying to build a tool for them,โ€ Varun says. The effort also aims for delivering welfare services through a network of specially trained community representatives on the ground, who help out with applications and form submissions. Thanal will also be made available in The App Store.

Supporting pillars: In 2017, during an annual startup conference of Kerala Startup Mission, State IT Secretary Sivasankar urged startups to come up with civic-tech solutions. The idea of a welfare scheme app was discussed with Corporate360 CEO Varun Chandran. A small team of student entrepreneurs were formed and the team then began receiving excellent support from Kerala IT Mission and PRD. Thanal is acclaimed as โ€œICT-led Social Innovation by Youth Innovatorsโ€ from Kerala. It also raised about Rs1 lakh from Corporate360, a social enterprise startup from Kerala.

Student entrepreneurs:ย Sanju Payankannur & Akhil Suresh, both graduate students of College of Engineering Idukki were handpicked by Corporate360 and started off as a student startup support project, enabling them with professional exposure. The two focused on integrating their research with technology which was critical to ensure impact design and enable scale. โ€œOur aim is to reach millions, and to be able to do that we had to build it like a public scalable platform and back it with a research engine,โ€ Sanju adds.

Reality check:ย  Social impact startups โ€” those using business tools to solve social problems – are making a big statement in Kerala. From โ€˜Adityaโ€™, the solar boat from Kochi-based startup NavAlt, to โ€˜Bandicootโ€™, the drainage cleaning robot developed by Thiruvananthapuram-based Genrobotics, to Traffitizer, which helps clear the road for ambulances,ย and Corporate360, a rural B2B startup where 80 per cent of its employees are women, startups that create a positive impact on society are slowly but surely growing in Kerala. Corporate social responsibility mandates are triggering more interest in the space. โ€˜Says Saji Gopinath, CEO of Kerala Startup Mission. There are several other social impact products which are in the implementing stage under KSUM such as a hardware that helps dairy farmers in early detection of cattle diseases to a long-range early warning and climate information communication system for fishermen.

Future plan:ย The important thing is to make a difference with your work. Believes Varun. โ€œThe thing that really drives me is an urge to bring overall inclusion of all citizens. We will try more social impact projects in the same sector,โ€ he says. Thanal idea has great potential but believes it should reach the beneficiaries frequently comes from the bottom of the income and social pyramids. โ€œAlso, this should see through the engagement till the last mile and ensure delivery of the benefits of the scheme to the intended recipients,โ€ he adds.

Thanal App can be downloaded from Google Play Store.

Google Play Storehttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onemedia.thanal&hl=en_SG

Facebook –ย https://www.facebook.com/Thanal-2026300037689075ย 

YouTube –ย https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCduaHkMKkj9aRMFNe-wlgCg