GovTech · Rural Chhattisgarh · CGSRLM & Pradan
Samriddhi
Offline-first data platform: field workers capture data with no signal, and it syncs with conflict resolution into a central analytics layer.
1,000+self-help groups
50,000+beneficiaries
40%faster processing
Offlinefirst, by design
- Client
- PRADAN with CGSRLM, Chhattisgarh
- Domain
- Rural livelihoods, GovTech
- My role
- Offline-first app and data platform
01
Context
- Field workers visit villages with little or no signal
- Data had to be checked before anyone used it
- Programme teams needed district and block-level answers
02
Before and after
Data collectionPaper and phone calls, often re-enteredOffline app with automatic sync
Data qualityUnchecked, inconsistent formatsFixed formats and supervisor approval before use
VisibilityNo central pictureDistrict and block dashboards
Processing timeManual consolidationDown 40%
ReachProgrammes designed on partial dataBenefit distribution to 50,000+ beneficiaries guided by data
03
The problem
- No signal in the fieldData collectors work in places with weak or no internet, so a web form simply could not be the tool.
- Data you can't trust yetField data has to be complete, consistent and in a fixed format before anyone decides anything with it, and supervisors needed a way to check it.
- Numbers without meaningRaw survey answers did not tell a programme manager which district or block needed what.
- LanguageMost field workers are more comfortable in Hindi than English.
04
How it works
1Field
- Android app for data collectors
- Works fully offline
- Hindi and English
2Sync
- Uploads when a connection appears
- Conflict handling when a record changed in two places
3Review
- Supervisor validation and approval
- Full record of every submission and change
4Insight
- District and block dashboards
- Programme-level view of need and demand
05
What we built
- Works offline
- Manage groups and members
- Collect and save data with no internet
- Syncs on its own when signal returns
- Safe sync
- Same record can change in two places
- Conflicts resolved explicitly
- No field worker's data is ever lost
- Supervisor check
- Data arrives as unvalidated
- Reviewed and approved before it counts
- Every step logged
- Clear dashboards
- Overall picture down to district and block
- In Hindi and English
05
Key insight
Design for the worst network your users have. In rural India, offline isn't an edge case, it is the main case.
06
The hard parts
- Offline by design. Every screen and rule had to work without a server.
- Real conflicts. The same record can change in two places days apart.
- The trade-off. Offline-first means every record can be edited in two places - sync with explicit conflict resolution costs UX complexity, but never silently loses a field worker's data.
07
My part
With the Auriga IT team, I built the offline-first Android app with sync and conflict resolution, and the central data and analytics layer behind the dashboards.
08
What I took away
- Design for your users' worst network.
- Put a human check between data and decisions.
- Speak the user's language, literally.
Want the detail behind the numbers - architecture, failure modes, what I’d change? Happy to walk through it.
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