resilience pilot 01
Resilience

TechEmerge Resilience India

assess
source
select
match
pilot
scale
Project start
Sep, 2019
Open Call
Jan, 2020
Finalist announced
Aug, 2020
Selection process
Sep, 2020
Pilots announced
Jan, 2021

In partnership with:

Vulnerable communities in India are facing simultaneous crises, with the COVID-19 pandemic and recurring cycles of natural disasters such as cyclones and floods challenging the capacities of frontline workers and disaster agencies.

Market context

1.37 bn

India has 17% of the world’s population

$8.2 bn

Direct losses from natural disasters in India over the past 20 years

↑151%

Global economic losses from climate-related disasters over 20 years

In partnership with the World Bank, TechEmerge Resilience India connects national, state, and district Disaster Management Authorities (DMAs) with innovators worldwide of affordable, accessible technologies that can help better prepare, respond, and build resilience to disasters and climate change.

Together, we are piloting ten solutions in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Uttarakhand, in close collaboration with respective State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs). If successful, these solutions can be scaled across the country to increase disaster preparedness and resilience capacities across India.

Partners

The TechEmerge Resilience program is a partnership of the World Bank, IFC, the Consumer Technology Association, and the Government of India’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). With support from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), innovators have access to a total pool of $1 million in grant funding for pilot implementation, cloud credits and technical assistance from IBM, and technical and advisory support from the World Bank.

Applications closed.

TechEmerge Resilience India was first unveiled in New York and then at CES2020 in Las Vegas to mobilize the global tech community to create solutions focused on the dual development challenges of immediate disaster response in the time of COVID-19, while building long term disaster and climate resilience.

More than 300 applications were received from innovators in more than 100 countries.  After a rigorous, six-month, multi-stage evaluation process, ten technologies were selected for pilots on the ground in the Indian states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala. These innovations aligned with two tracks identified by an in-depth needs assessment. 

Track 1: Resilience
Risk Information & Resilience Analytics Risk Information & Resilience Analytics

 

  • Remote data collection, monitoring
  • Dynamic and localized inputs and analytics
  • Integrated Resilience and Recovery Planning Platforms
Hyperlocal early warning systems Hyperlocal early warning systems

 

  • Multi-hazard detection and forecasting systems
  • Incident reporting and networking for at-sea citizens
  • Hyperlocal warning and alert systems
Building Resilience and Mitigating Risks Building Resilience and Mitigating Risks

 

  • Resilient connectivity and logistics solutions
  • Structural health monitoring solutions
  • Low-cost solutions for lightening, coastal erosion detection and protection
  • Resilient livelihood solutions
Local Resilience & Response Capacity Local Resilience & Response Capacity

 

  • Training solutions for local risk-informed land use
  • Enhanced building and zoning code compliance solutions
  • Training on resilience housing construction
Track 2: Disaster Management During Pandemics
Integrated Health & Disaster Data Solutions Integrated Health & Disaster Data Solutions

 

  • Platforms for integrated needs and relief mapping and coordination
  • Integrated supply chain and logistics platforms
  • Information systems for accurate relief targeting
Disaster preparedness measures for high-risk communities Disaster preparedness measures for high-risk communities

 

  • Increase access to telemedicine
  • Dynamic migrant mapping database systems
  • Mobile Emergency Operations Center for remote locations
  • Two-way info sharing – communities and first responders
Automated early warning and post-disaster impact assessment Automated early warning and post-disaster impact assessment

 

  • Systems/AI models to automate damage assessment
  • Remote monitoring of critical infrastructure and damage reconstruction
  • Automated multi-hazard early warning for remote locations
  • Multi-platform solutions for communication of COVID-19 and disaster warning

Our resilience pilots are conducted in partnership with State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs) in Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, and Uttarakhand. These four states were chosen for not only their high disaster vulnerability, but also their commitment and experience in using technologies and innovation to enhance disaster resilience.

SDMA focal points liaise with innovators on site selection and provide operational, regulatory, and administrative guidance. Implementation and monitoring is provided by World Bank’s Climate Adaptation and Resilience Project, through the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center. This innovative model ensures that while benefits accrue to the SDMA and the states, they do not bear any fiduciary or monitoring burden as they prepare and respond to recurring disasters and COVID-19.

Competitively selected from a field of more than 300 applicants from 100 countries, our innovators offer new solutions to improve disaster and climate resilience in the time of COVID-19

Ten pilots are underway in India to strengthen disaster resilience in the time of COVID-19, leveraging cutting-edge AI, drones, IoT, as well as affordable, accessible wifi-connected radios to ensure information access to remote communities.