Rajesh Veeraraghavan

rajeshv AT microsoft DOT com

I am an associate researcher in the Technology for Emerging Markets Group at Microsoft Research India in Bangalore. Prior to this I was a software developer at Microsoft and a volunteer for Association for India’s Development for several years. I am interested in developing computing systems that complement existing efforts of sustainable development in the developing world. My current work has been in the broad area of computing in rural agriculture. I take an interdisciplinary approach to my work involving ethnographic principles to understand in depth the problem and then offer a technical solution to make the existing system possibly more efficient.

If you need to call me, my number in reverse is 0510566889 19+.

Projects

		Warana Unwired: An experiment to replace a set of PC kiosks set up for an agricultural cooperative with a less expensive SMS enabled mobile phone system. The underlying technology involves a PC turned into a SMS gateway and the client devices are cheap SMS enabled mobile phones.
			Digital Green: Digital Green (DG) is a research project that seeks to disseminate targeted agricultural information to small and marginal farmers in India through digital video. We are currently working with an NGO called Green foundation to experiment with using video based recordings and screenings of agricultural extension activities to reach out to a broader audience.
				Kiosk Logging Tool: With an effort to quantitatively understand what people do in rural kiosks; we have adapted an existing tool developed at MSR Redmond (VibeLog) to be able to monitor rural kiosk usage.
	SMS based mobile auction for commodity exchange: We are developing a SMS based mobile auction system to extend the reach of a commodity exchange market (SAFAL) to be able to connect with remote traders. The goal is to increase the demand of the produce so that farmers ultimately are able to get a better price.

Last Updated: Sunday, April 22, 2007