Bangalore: 
Ernest Rutherford, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1908, is said to have once famously remarked, "All science is either physics or stamp collecting." Applying his statement to IT, you could say that all technology involves either managing a database or cleaning the grime on your keyboard.
I exaggerate, but the exaggeration is only minor. Databases play a huge role in the way IT is used, and when the number of people impacted grows, the importance of the database grows even further.
Take the jaagore.com site, for instance. A campaign of this magnitude needs to have a solid database which acts as the repository of the information that millions of Indians will provide to jaagore.com.
Capturing data
To capture the data, jaagore.com uses a php form. The data that is captured is stored in mySQL database, which has a capacity of 200 million records.
Storage is just one part of the technology deployed by jaagore.com. The data also needs to be secured in order to ensure that it does not fall into the wrong hands. To ensure security, all the private data, which is used, is stored by generating a random id.
Another issue for the jaagore.com team to handle is uptime that is, the ability of the server to stay online in the face of major outages. Thanks to the online disaster recovery methods used, if the site ever goes down, it will be back online in just 30 seconds even if there is a hardware problem. This is achieved with the use of a backup server, which will automatically take over from the main server if the latter fails. The data that you enter is backed up almost continuously. A master backup is also taken every 24 hours.
Slice and dice
While jaagore.com doesn't use any individual data that you submit for any purpose other than for elections, they do use the combined data aggregated from thousands of submitted forms for analyzing trends. For this purpose, they use Google Analytics.
This is what happens in the background. In the foreground, when you apply, jaagore.com uses GIS (Geographical Information System) to map your locality and find out the constituency to which you belong.
Once this is found, the system also provides the address of the concerned Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) and the nearest polling booth. You also get directions on how to drive there.
What it also means is that you no longer have any excuse for not voting. So, log on now.
On track
Jaagore.com has a tracking feature. Once you use the GIS feature to find the nearest ERO, you have to submit the form there. After this step is completed, jaagore.com can track the status of the registration that you have submitted all the way until the time that it appears on the voters' list. This means that all glitches can be detected and rectified quickly.
What's Jaago Re?
Jaago Re is a non-partisan campaign spearheaded by the Bangalore-based NGO Janaagraha. Its aim is to inspire young people across India to pledge to vote. Jaago Re hopes to get a billion voters to the poll booths for the Lok Sabha elections due early-2009. Its website (
http://www.jaagore.com/) helps those who sign up get updates on their voter registration status. Jaago Re also sends out voting and election-related news, and reminders on election day. MiD DAY is happy to support this initiative, and will keep you posted about all the campaign action.
For details on Jaago Re, go to
Site
http://www.jaagore.com/Email
outreach@jaagore.comPhone080 4092 6120 / 121 / 122
The cost of voting
According to the Election Commission of India, these are the voting statistics for Lok Sabha elections over the years:
| Year |
Expenditure (Rs) |
Voter turnout(%) |
| 1980 |
54,77,39,000 |
56.92 |
| 1984 |
81,51,34,000 |
63.56 |
| 1989 |
154,22,00,000 |
61.95 |
| 1991 |
359,10,24,679 |
56.93 |
| 1996 |
597,34,41,000 |
57.94 |
| 1998 |
666,22,16,000 |
61.97 |
| 1999 |
880,00,00,000 |
59.99 |
| 2004 |
1300,00,00,000 |
57.65 |
As can be seen, almost 60 percent of the population voted in 1999, when Rs 880 crore was spent. In 2004, even though Rs 1,300 crore was spent, fewer people voted. Time to wake up, isn't it?
Source: eci.gov.in
