16-Year-Old Gurgaon Boy Develops Amazing App to Help Indian Paralympians in Rio

Arhan Bagati, a 16-year-old athlete from Gurgaon, has developed a mobile app to assist the Indian contingent in the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. The app, named InRio, is loaded with useful information to help participants move around easily, access relevant contact details, and more.

“I was working with the Paralympics Committee of India (PCI) and I started it, because I wanted to run in the Sports for Development Run. Incidentally, my father knew the treasurer of PCI and I went to him to fill the form for running. They needed somebody who could make an audio-visual. I started because I thought I can make an audio-visual as I am good at it,” Arhan told ANI.

These are some of the feature and information points available in the app:

Source: Twitter

• Emergency contact details of the Indian embassy.
• Route maps to nearest disabled-friendly kiosks.
• Option to send SOS messages to specific numbers.
• In-built health monitor in which athletes will have to feed in some parameters and they will be able to check their performances.
• Food advice on what the athletes should eat.
• Profiles and details of other Paralympians so they can connect with each other
• Information on restaurants and places to visit.
• List of Disabled-friendly gyms.
• Language translator.

A student of Class 12 in a private school in Gurgaon, Arhan has been trying to help people with disabilities through technology for quite some time now. He has been in talks with PCI for the past few years and has been speaking with athletes to understand their problems and needs better. He was recently appointed the Awareness and Impact Ambassador by PCI to promote the Games. Arhan even convinced his father Tapesh Bagati, who is a businessman, to fund the expenses of one of the participants this year.

The Paralympics are scheduled from September 7 to 18 and the Indian contingent has 18 athletes.

The app will be updated every four years depending on the location of the games. There is a possibility that Arhan may go to Rio to help participants use the app, which was launched earlier this month in the presence of Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and Union Minister of State (IC) for Sports & Youth Affairs, Sarbananda Sonowal.

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: [email protected], or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).

Similar Story

Want to Play a Role in Shaping India’s Climate Laws & Policies? Here’s a One-Stop Guide

Civis, a platform that enables citizens to participate in public consultations in the domain of environment and policy has released Climate Voices. This is a handbook and guide for Indians to participate in environmental law-making and play an active role in shaping our climate policies.

Read more >