The kit identifies a urinary protein, albumin, which is a red flag for kidney damage.  It’s only present when something is wrong, often dangerous conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular problems, and hypertension.  This simple home-test can help alert people to these conditions early, so that they can seek prompt medical care. Right now, the prototype is ready—Sarabjeet needs a grant to bring his invention to the market.

Top three reasons why you should vote for URINE ALBUKIT:

• It’s the only kidney-test that can be used by the common man as well as medical practitioners
• It can be used at home by people at risk for kidney problems, such as those with diabetes, cardiovascular issues, hypertension, smoking or drinking habits, and obesity
• It is 100% accurate without being invasive: no blood sample is required from the patient. The test can accurately indicate the health of the kidney with only a urine sample.

If you would like to learn more about this innovation please visit http://www.sparktherise.com/projectdetail.php?pid=4837

It has been found that about half of the total lac-host trees are still lying un-exploited for lac cultivation in lac growing areas and there are areas where, in spite of large number of host trees, lac cultivation is not carried out at all. However, increase in production requires considerable technical training and exact timing because the seed (brood lac) for lac production cannot be stored and is very short-lived.

That’s where Manoj Singh and his team become involved. They have devised a program to develop brood lac farms that will train local tribal and non-tribal families how to grow and cultivate lac. This includes training inputs on timely pruning, brood lac inoculation and precaution against predators of the lac insect. All this training will help many families earn much needed additional income during cash-strapped seasons.

The top three reasons to vote for Manoj Singh’s project:

• Lac Production is considered to be a complimentary and supplementary form of income to the existing livelihoods of rural households in Jharkhand. It is relatively inexpensive crop to maintain with little labor input, and very high returns!
• Lac cultivation encourages conservation of the host trees and leads to re-greening of the land and conservation of the forest.
• Lac cultivation provides an important livelihood activity for women because there are very little barriers to entry.

If you would like to learn more about this innovation please visit http://www.sparktherise.com/projectdetail.php?pid=5017

“To me, Rise symbolizes the ability and intent to surge ahead with passion, perseverance and pride, taking one’s stakeholders, customers, employees, investors and society along with him on the journey towards excellence.” – Vijay Bhaskar Reddy Dinnepu

Transporting and pumping well-water to irrigate crops at the appropriate time is a difficult task plaguing farmers day and night, especially in areas with constant power cuts. Vijay and his team have created a remote-controlled starter and smart valve controller to manage when and how much water is pumped by electric pumps from the well into irrigation systems. Farmers can control the flow of water via their mobile phones, which helps to significantly reduce water waste and electricity, saving farmers money and time! But Vijay and his team have gone beyond this. Features like automated voice alerts – which can warn farmers about faulty power supplies and motors, and even attempted thefts – and a host of other features have made Kisan Raja’s automation solutions a dream come true for farmers wanting to increase productivity.

You should vote for Vijay’s project because:

• It leverages technology to positively impact 72% of India’s population that is dependent on agriculture and making agriculture a profitable and farmer- friendly occupation with an ultimate objective of bringing food security.
• It has a large environmental impact, resulting in the conservation of water and energy (of which there is significant usage in rural India).
• It is a rapidly scalable business model with global potential, and can further strengthen India’s position as a land of technology innovation.

If you would like to learn more about this innovation please visit http://www.sparktherise.com/projectdetail.php?pid=3445

“Millions of Indians suffer from some form of hearing loss. Some estimates put that number as high as 60 million. 66% of those are unemployed. Mirakle Couriers views these numbers as a challenge—a challenge to which we are determined to rise above. We rise above the notion that we are “disabled” from participating in society, and that a “disability” is an impediment to a life of worth.” –Dhruv Larka, CEO, Mirakle Couriers

They offer their clients excellent logistical solutions, consistently providing them with reliable, efficient and customizable service, without compromising their social commitment to empower India’s vast and very underserved deaf community.

They aim to fulfill this commitment by creating meaningful employment for deaf adults that allows them to develop professional skills, confidence, and a sense of dignity. They actively work to get people to rethink their notions about “disability”, and hope to be an example to other companies of the importance and benefits of hiring from marginalized populations.

They are passionate about promoting socially responsible business practices and positive consumerism, and are excited to be a part of the burgeoning movement to create sustainable social change.

Top 3 reasons why you should vote for Mirakle Couriers:

• YOUR VOTE WILL HELP DEAF INDIA RISE
  Mirakle Couriers is one of the very few social enterprises working with India’s huge deaf population—6-8%—which has an extremely high unemployment rate—66%.
• YOUR VOTE WILL GIVE THEIR BUSINESS A BOOST
  Mirakle Couriers is a business. This means their work is sustainable. The grant money you help them win will be capital they can use to expand operations, hiring more deaf people and providing more businesses with excellent courier services.
• YOUR VOTE WILL IMPROVE THE LOGISTICS INDUSTRY
  Mirakle Couriers is leading the charge of employing differently-abled people in the logistics industry. The scope for meaningful employment and socially responsible business practices in this burgeoning sector is huge. By supporting them, you make them an example of success for others in the industry.

If you would like to learn more about this innovation please visit http://www.sparktherise.com/projectdetail.php?pid=5879

“To me, Rise is transformation – transformation of lives through providing opportunities; Rise is making a change.”  - Samik Ghosh, Co-founder and CEO, Village BPO

One such program, the Village BPO Pvt. Ltd., specializes in getting outsourced work done from rural India. Villagers with little or no education can become BPO employees after an intensive training course. This not only gives them a new, steady source of income but the confidence to tackle any problems. Meet Samik Ghosh, the CEO of the Village BPO. Help him to keep everyone’s Head Held High!

Here are the top 3 reasons to vote for Head Held High:

• The Village BPO provides that one opportunity to the poorest of the poor villagers for them to lead life of dignity and keep their HEAD HELD HIGH.
• They create a win-win model for both commercial enterprises and rural villagers by building on the way the world works.
• The Head Held High movement has the potential for replication to impact 400 million lives; they simply make opportunities more inclusive and accessible; they build self-sustainable communities which provide opportunities and dignity to villagers without the need of charity or hand-outs.

If you would like to learn more about this innovation please visit http://www.sparktherise.com/projectdetail.php?pid=3631

“Rise is to challenge the problems instead of complaining, to try and find solutions instead of talking about them, and if we dare to look around, solutions are often part of the problem.”  - Rajnish Jain, Founder, AVANI

Himalayan pine needles are about 25cm long and very slender. Yet, a few kilos worth of these tiny needles, collected from 1-2 hectares of land, hold the potential to provide electricity for 50 people and cooking charcoal for 5 people. Once these needles are put into a gassifier system, 15% of the needle is burned while the other 85% is brought to a scorching temperature of 800 degrees Celsius. At this temperature the needle converts to gas. Once this gas is filtered, it can be used to drive an alternator that generates electricity. The waste from the part of the needle that is burned can be converted into charcoal bricks for use in the kitchen.  Amazing, huh?

Top three reasons why you should vote for AVANI:

1. It harnesses the destructive energy of pine needles for cooking charcoal and for generating electricity.
2. It stops forest fires, saves biodiversity and reduces carbon emissions.
3. It generates incomes locally, stopping outmigration and increasing togetherness of families.

If you would like to learn more about this innovation please visit http://www.sparktherise.com/projectdetail.php?pid=4238

“Rise means to be empowered to convert ideas, dreams, inspirations to reality”—Roopa Nagarajan, Co-founder E-MPOWER

They have two on-going community based projects to provide speech and hearing services to individuals in rural areas. The first project screens hearing of newborns and children through trained community workers—it covers 27 villages and over 3000 children in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. The second project provides comprehensive support for individuals with cleft lip and palate through community workers who identify, provide basic speech correction therapy, and refer individuals to the hospital—it benefits over 300 individuals in Thiruvannamalai.

Monitoring for these two projects has been done through field visits and paper records, which are difficult to review. Their plan through E-MPOWER is to develop an e-technology platform to make check-ups, follow-ups and interventions more efficient, and to reach more people through it. Their goal is to improve service delivery and quality based on online monitoring of projects.

Top three reasons why you should vote for E-MPOWER:

• It provides speech therapy and audiology services to rural areas, where they otherwise would not exist
• Through the mobile application: assessment/intervention can be provided to beneficiary without delay and quality of service can be monitored real-time
• Through the mobile application: accurate documentation and regular review of beneficiaries can be ensured

If you would like to learn more about this innovation please visit http://www.sparktherise.com/projectdetail.php?pid=5754

“Rise means not sitting by idly and watching, but getting up and doing something. Rise means not cribbing, but doing. Rise means taking charge of tomorrow by getting to work today!”—Jithin Krishnan, Executive Director, Make a Difference

Children at these facilities have a government school education, clothes to wear, food to eat, and a roof over their heads. But is that enough? Growing up, they miss out on a few critical things that shape their lives, such as: positive role models to look up to, parental support, skills to excel in a global work-place, communication skills and career awareness.  Research has shown that these non-school factors impact a child’s educational achievement by up to 60%. MAD is a platform that enlists the youth community to drive change in the lives of these children. Currently, they run four projects to make this change:

1. An English project, through which they deliver the Cambridge English for Schools Curriculum
2. A career awareness project to build children’s aspirations.
3. A life skills projects, through which they develop interpersonal skills, confidence, and creativity.
4. A library project, to cultivate an interest in reading at a young age.

Top 3 reasons why you should vote for MAD:

• MAD empowers the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future—children. Invest in their development today, and you’d have invested in the development of a nation. MAD currently delivers solutions in 19 cities, by the end of 2013 they hope to work in 40 cities, but they need your help to get there.
• MAD’s English program helps Indian children Rise—a student’s employability goes up by 400% if s/he can communicate in English effectively, plus his/her confidence and ambitions are boosted as well.
• MAD provides a space for young people to step in, lead and make a difference in their own communities. By providing on-ground exposure, actively initiating dialogue and establishing a culture of entrepreneurship, MAD transforms youth into a potent social movement to strategically impact children at risk around India.

Watch these cool videos about MAD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNkZU_iqCtk & http://vimeo.com/36439042

If you would like to learn more about this innovation please visit http://www.sparktherise.com/projectdetail.php?pid=5433

“To me Rise is Revolutionary, Inspiring, Sustainable Excellence.” – Chitra Shah

Founded in 2003 with a staff of 5, the Satya Special School now works with 175 children with various special needs such as Down’s syndrome and cerebral palsy. It is an inclusive center – it provides free services to any child with any special needs, irrespective of socioeconomic conditions – and offers the expertise of psychologists, physiotherapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, and social workers. Chitra is providing a much-needed service: children with special needs are the most marginalized in Indian society, which many lacking proper care and support. By combating the stigma and stereotypes surrounding children with special needs, Chitra hopes to rehabilitate the individuals who need it most. Vote for the Satya Special School and help Chitra continue to reach out to children with special needs!

Vote for Chitra and Satya because:

• It will ensure dignity for children with special needs, thereby making social inclusion a reality.
• Satya is a holistic program aimed at changing the lives of children with special needs.
• The role of the mother as a co-therapist ensures the sustainability of rehabilitation services to each and every children.

If you would like to learn more about this innovation please visit http://www.sparktherise.com/projectdetail.php?pid=5397

“To us, Rise is a synonym for development; it is the guiding force and benefactor for the initiatives behind India’s rise.” – Dr. Devendra Tayal, SAM

SAM workshops – there have been over 35 of them in India, mostly in Delhi and NCR – aim to revolutionize the mindset of the young and to encourage them to contribute toward society. They’re busy, colorful events: through musical and dance performances, theater workshops, and motivational speeches and interactive sessions, the SAM team hopes to endow each and every attendee with the knowledge and determination to become an active, global citizen. Specifically, SAM workshops are designed to combat drug abuse, to decrease the “brain drain” that sends bright, young Indians abroad instead of having them contribute to their home country, and to transform inertia into active, positive change. Since 2009, the SAM team has been able to reach out to more than 30,000 people and has developed an active base of 7,000 participants. Vote for SAM and help them spread their message across India!

Top three reasons why you should vote for SAM?

• SAM aims at transforming young minds, which forms the largest chunk of Indian demography. We believe that “youth forms 41 per cent of India today and 100 per cent of tomorrow”.
• When we shape and mould the psychology of youth, the persisting socio-economic scenario of the country is directly and indirectly benefitted.
• SAM is not at the experimental stage; rather, it has been tested at various geographical locations across the country.

If you would like to learn more about this innovation please visit http://www.sparktherise.com/projectdetail.php?pid=5424