FAQs

A few commonly asked questions!

Is BBS a digital solution to a societal problem? How does it cater to children who have no access to technology?

Bharat Bal Setu is built through the digital public infrastructure approach - which means it uses a combination of tech, policy and community to build common rails for India.

The technology is uses is on the backend - simply because technology scales where humans cannot. It can provide with real-time translation in all Indian languages, real time submission of proof, remote counselling for last mile populations, virtual training and monitoring of people and policies etc. that can support the indispensable work the humans alone can do - providing mental strength, emotional support and physical intervention to children in duress.

On the frontend, it does not require technology. Children can access these rails through smartphones, feature phones, or community landlines, just as effectively. The penetration of smart phones for children in India, even in rural contexts, has crossed 80% [source]. The DIKSHA infrastructure run by the Ministry of Education, which inserts a QR code into all state textbooks to unlock digital learning avenues for children, is also based on the premise that children will have access to one smart phone in every rural or urban household. For the small percentage of children who still do not, BBS also equips last mile Asha workers, community members (police, healthcare, railway support counters, teachers, counsellors), or caregivers to use the rails to address the concerns of the children around them.

Is it the same as a national helpline for mental health or children?

A helpline (national or state-level) is one of the three methods in which a child can choose to engage with the resources on the network. The other two methods are through anonymised online counselling and in-person support.

There can be multiple helplines integrated on to the rails that focus on different areas of concern, local languages or geographic locations. Similarly, the multiple organisations and professionals who may not be part of any aggregated helpline can also choose to join the infrastructure under their own brand catering to their unique niche and providing children with the simplified optionality and direct agency to be supported by the resources they choose.

What about Data Protection? Where does the liability lie in case anything goes wrong?

BBS does not collect any personally identifiable information on children, not even their voice. It is simply a rails through which existing organisations can scale and engage with diverse groups of children in need. Just as today, when helplines and organisations have their own methods of operation and liability protection, the same will apply through the BBS rails as well. The interaction continues to be directly between the children and the supporting resources.

For the AI interface, the AI support will only provide non-actionable general information such as 'what is anxiety' or 'is child marriage bad' - information in age-appropriate, local languages, conversational tones but still information that is non-liable and commonly found on websites (if you manage to filter through the periphery!)

Is BBS similar to Amazon or Practo?

No, Amazon and Practo are platforms. That means there is a single window through which you are able to access the services listed. In BBS there are as many platforms as they are players - which means you can access therapist A from the website of NGO B or connect with organisation C from the mobile application of therapist group D, while also being discovered through feature phones and community landlines.

Amazon and Practo are also profit-making middle men. They dictate the terms of the interaction. BBS is just a network of rails - it takes no money and sets no rules. Ecosystem players are free to set their own terms on interaction and finances and operate accordingly.

Amazon and Practo are brands - you know the sellers because of the brand website they are on. BBS is not a brand. No one will know it. Everyone will only know you.

A sister of BBS (in ideology) would be UPI. The way while making a digital payment, people can log into any application (Google Pay, PhonePe, WhatsApp Money etc.) and make a payment to any other application (Kotak Bank App, Paytm Wallet) and never know that the rails supporting it is UPI, similarly people will be able to engage from any NGO or counsellor application to any other NGO or counsellor application without ever knowing that it being powered by BBS.

Who are the people building BBS?

BBS is a community-led endeavour. Everything (including the content to train the AI, the discovery networks, the modules for TF and TSS) is being built and contributed pro bono by various stakeholders in the ecosystem who believe in the power an infrastructure such as this could unleash. Till now, we have collaborated with 25+ organisations and continue to engage with as many as we can. To collaborate with us, please reach out us at [e-mail]