Saaf Water wins 4th annual 'Call for Code' Global Challenge

The India-based team will also receive assistance from The Linux Foundation to open source their application so developers around the world can improve, scale, and use the technology, the statement said.A panel of some of the most eminent leaders in sustainability, business and technology, including former President Bill Clinton, awarded Saaf Water the grand prize, it added.Four runners-up were also recognized.

Call for Code founding partner IBM and its creator David Clark Cause on Wednesday announced that India-based Saaf Water - an accessible water quality sensor and analytics platform - has won the fourth annual 'Call for Code Global Challenge'.

Call for Code is among the largest efforts to bring together the world's software developers to take on pressing societal issues by using the latest advanced technologies to problem solve and create cutting-edge solutions. The top prize this year went to Saaf Water, an accessible water quality sensor and analytics platform created, in particular, for people living in rural localities, a statement said.

Saaf Water built a solution using IBM Cloud and IBM Watson services to address the need for making water quality information accessible and easy to understand, it added.

The hardware-software platform, once installed, is designed to monitor groundwater and provide a water quality summary along with suggested purification methods.

Saaf Water will receive USD 200,000 and support to incubate, test, and deploy their solution from the IBM Service Corps and expert partners in the 'Call for Code' ecosystem. The India-based team will also receive assistance from The Linux Foundation to open source their application so developers around the world can improve, scale, and use the technology, the statement said.

A panel of some of the most eminent leaders in sustainability, business and technology, including former President Bill Clinton, awarded Saaf Water the grand prize, it added.

Four runners-up were also recognized. Each finalist created a solution to problems addressing the climate change competition's three sub-themes: clean water and sanitation; zero hunger; and responsible production and green consumption.

Green Farm, an app to make agriculture more sustainable by, among other things, connecting local producers and consumers to each other, was awarded second place (USD 25,000), while Project Scavenger - an app to enable individuals to responsibly dispose of their devices - was awarded third place (USD 25,000).

Honestly, an online browser extension aimed at passing supply chain transparency to consumers, was awarded fourth place (USD 10,000), while Plenti - a mobile application designed to make inventory tracking and waste measurement processes user-friendly and easy to do at home - was awarded fifth place (USD 10,000).

In total, 42 regional finalists and the local winners among them from Asia Pacific, Europe, Greater China, India, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, and North America were celebrated at the event. To date, more than 20,000 Call for Code applications have been built using open source-powered software such as Red Hat OpenShift, IBM Cloud, IBM Watson, and IBM Blockchain, as well as data from IBM's The Weather Company and developer resources and APIs from partners like Esriand Twilio. 14 Call for Code projects have been adopted into open governance by the Linux Foundation.

It's incredibly inspiring to see the Call for Code global movement continue to grow, now with more than 500,000 developers and problem solvers participating across 180 nations, Bob Lord, senior vice president, worldwide ecosystems at IBM, said. "What makes Call for Code unique is the impact it is making on the ground through our deployments in communities around the world. The potential of these technologies, like Saaf Water, are vast and have the potential help save lives," he added. Chelsea Clinton, vice chair, The Clinton Foundation, announced the winner of the Call for Code University Edition, a collaboration between IBM and the Clinton Global Initiative University.

Trashtag, technology using AI, blockchain, and cloud to verify, track, and reward waste removal in outdoor areas, took the top prize and will receive USD 10,000 as well as an invitation for team members to interview for potential roles at IBM, the statement said.

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