TB elimination
Tele-monitoring of TB patients for treatment adherence and symptoms, with escalation for high-risk cases. Piloted in Bangalore Rural district with the Government of Karnataka, with pilots in Jammu & Kashmir.
Public health & emergency preparedness · India
How prepared are we for the next health emergency?
Project StepOne is a non-profit collective of technology and healthcare professionals. During Covid-19 we worked with governments in 21 states and union territories to reach more than 41 million citizens. Today we apply the same model to TB, mental health and dengue — and build the systems that will make the next response faster.
Impact during Covid-19
A pandemic response at national scale
Started in March 2020 as a free telemedicine helpline in Karnataka, StepOne grew into a partner to state and district governments across India — free to citizens and free to governments.
41M+citizens reached across three Covid-19 waves
10M+free telemedicine consultations by volunteer doctors
1.5 lakh+mental health counselling sessions
20,000+volunteer doctors, medics and trained citizens
Surge capacity in days, not months. In the third wave, StepOne scaled to handle 45,000 cases a day within a single week — the kind of surge capacity that public systems struggle to build overnight.
Our work today
From pandemic response to everyday public health
Since 2022 we have turned Covid-era capacity into programmes that strengthen government health systems — and keep our people and platform ready for the next emergency.
SUKOON mental health helpline
A toll-free mental health helpline with the Divisional Administration, Kashmir — converted from a Covid helpline. 10,000+ calls, with about half leading to counselling sessions or clinic visits.
Dengue home monitoring
Daily symptom tracking and early-warning escalation for dengue patients recovering at home in Karnataka and Delhi. 1,500 patients helped with access to doctors and medicines.
National disaster management
Contributing to the conceptualisation of a National Disaster Management Stack and engaging with NDMA, NDRF and state disaster management authorities.
What we did in Covid-19
Care across the entire Covid-19 journey
Our helplines supported citizens before a test, through infection and after recovery.
1Before a positive test
- Health worker trainingsRapid, protocol-driven training for doctors and frontline health workers.
- Covid suspect triagingWhen test kits were scarce, triage decided who most needed a test.
- Mental health counsellingTrained counsellors on call for anxiety, grief and isolation.
2While Covid positive
- Covid positive triagingPositive patients were called proactively; doctors assessed severity and recommended the right bed type.
- Home isolation monitoringDaily calls, diet and care guidance for patients recovering at home.
3After recovery
- Post-Covid supportFollow-up care for lingering symptoms and complications.
- Vaccine ushering serviceHelping citizens find, book and reach vaccination.
Why it works
People, platform and process — connected to government
People
A large, distributed team of professionals who volunteer remotely, with doctors supported by interns, nurses and trained citizens following set protocols.
Platform
An open-source telemedicine and workflow platform that lets anyone contribute from anywhere after a short training.
Process
Experts set clinical and operational protocols; SOPs align StepOne volunteers, governments and other NGOs as one team.
We work as an augmentation partner to government: governments popularise the helpline and provide the mandate; StepOne brings technology, protocols and people.
Government partnerships
Trusted by 21 states and union territories
Chief Ministers and health ministers launched StepOne helplines in their states and called on doctors to volunteer — while their health departments worked with StepOne every day.
- Karnataka
- Delhi
- Maharashtra
- Punjab
- Uttarakhand
- Madhya Pradesh
- Goa
- Bihar
- Assam
- Meghalaya
- Manipur
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Jharkhand
- Odisha
- Jammu & Kashmir
- Puducherry
- and more
StepOne 2.0
Our mission: societies ready for the next emergency
Most of the infrastructure built for Covid-19 has been dismantled and its teams reassigned. If another pandemic hit tomorrow, we would face similar losses. StepOne is institutionalising a community-led, technology-assisted response through five pillars.
People
- A reserve “army” of trained responders at every level
- Clearly defined roles, responsibilities, procedures and protocols
Platform
- A ready-to-use framework that coordinates the response
- One place for every stakeholder to work together
Policies
- Empower response leaders to act quickly and decisively
- Enable collaboration across departments
Physical goods
- A virtual inventory of physical resources needed in a response
- Policies to store, maintain, renew, use and dispose of them
Processes
- Pre-set expert panels to define medical protocols
- Standard response SOPs at every level
What leaders say
Ministers and administrators on StepOne
Dr C. N. Ashwath Narayan
then Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka
“I have worked very closely with StepOne from day one, and the contribution made by StepOne has been commendable and inspiring.” — on Doctors’ Day
Dr Pramod Sawant
Chief Minister of Goa
Wishes StepOne’s doctors and appreciates Project StepOne’s efforts in the battle against Covid-19.
Arvind Kejriwal
then Chief Minister of Delhi
Speaks at StepOne’s Doctors’ Day celebration, honouring the volunteer doctors behind Delhi’s Covid-19 telemedicine helpline.
Watch all video testimonials →
Recognition
Awards and honours
Karnataka Rajyotsava Award 2021
Government of Karnataka
Republic Day Award
Government of Puducherry
The Gamechangers Award
Amazon Web Services · City on Cloud
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is Project StepOne?
Project StepOne (Project StepOne Trust) is a non-profit collective of technology and healthcare professionals based in Bengaluru, India. It began in March 2020 as a free, volunteer-run Covid-19 telemedicine helpline in Karnataka and grew to work with governments in 21 states and union territories, reaching more than 41 million citizens. Today it strengthens public health systems and builds preparedness for future health emergencies.
What did StepOne do during the Covid-19 pandemic?
StepOne partnered with state and district governments to run free telemedicine helplines. Volunteer doctors, interns, nurses and trained citizens triaged callers, proactively called Covid-positive patients, monitored home isolation, recommended hospital bed types and provided mental health counselling. Over 20,000 volunteers delivered more than 10 million free consultations and over 1.5 lakh counselling sessions; at the May 2021 peak StepOne handled 3.1 lakh patients a day, about 40% of India's caseload.
What does StepOne work on now?
Since 2022 StepOne has applied its Covid-era model to everyday public health: tele-monitoring TB patients for treatment adherence with the Government of Karnataka, running the SUKOON mental health helpline in Kashmir, home monitoring of dengue patients in Karnataka and Delhi, and contributing to a National Disaster Management Stack.
What is the StepOne 5P approach?
The 5P approach says an effective response to a health emergency needs five things in place before it begins: People (a trained reserve of responders), Platform (open-source technology to coordinate the response), Policies, Physical goods (a virtual inventory of critical resources) and Processes (protocols, SOPs and regular drills).
Is StepOne a non-profit? Does it charge governments?
Yes. StepOne is a not-for-profit trust. Its Covid-19 services were free to citizens and free to governments, and it took no government money for that work. It is largely volunteer-led and funded by foundations and donors.
How can I volunteer with or support StepOne?
You can join as a volunteer (about 5 hours a week), a charter volunteer, an intern or a full-time StepOne Fellow, or enrol in S1 Force to be trained and mobilised during emergencies. Governments, corporates and funders can partner on programmes. See the Get involved page.
Help India get ready before the next emergency
We are looking for governments, disaster management agencies, corporates, funders and volunteers who want a faster, more humane response to the next health crisis.