Citizen apps for civic work

PUNE, MAHARASHTRA: Microsoft kicked off Windows AppFest in collaboration with the Government of Maharashtra to build apps for social good. The initiative as stated, will encourage app developers to ideate and create solutions that address social and civic issues. These apps, the announcement adds, will help civil authorities seek alternative methods of interacting with citizens. The top three apps will be selected for a presentation at a conference hosted by Asian Development Bank.

"App marketplaces are now proving to be viable platforms to host e-governance and socially relevant apps. Such apps can provide citizen-centric services in a secure manner, while ensuring increased transparency, reliability and efficiency in services. Cloud computing also enables e-governance solutions to be much more scalable and accessible. Microsoft, with its various initiatives including the Windows AppFest for social good in Pune, provides a good platform for app builders to ideate and create solutions to address social and civic issues," said Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary IT, Government of Maharashtra.

Sanket Akerkar, Managing Director, Microsoft Corporation India Pvt. Ltd. said "As the world gravitates towards a plethora of new devices and form factors, two things are going to be the key - apps and the cloud to power those apps. The collective capability of the developer population in India is going to play a key role in fueling this movement across the world. With this Windows AppFest, Microsoft is focusing on encouraging app developers to build apps for social good on the Windows platform."