A volunteer response that became a public health mission
Project StepOne is a non-profit collective of technology and healthcare professionals on a mission to better prepare our societies for future health emergencies, by deploying better institutional and technology systems.
Our story
StepOne started in March 2020, at the very start of the Covid-19 pandemic, using technology to triage patients for Covid symptoms through a free telemedicine helpline staffed by volunteer doctors in Karnataka.
That initial focus expanded in scope and reach. Governments popularised StepOne helplines in their Covid communications; citizens could reach a doctor simply by calling a number. We proactively called patients who tested positive, monitored those isolating at home and helped shift critical patients to hospitals and Covid Care Centres. Eventually we reached over 41 million citizens in 21 states and union territories, with more than 10 million free consultations and over 1.5 lakh mental health counselling sessions delivered by 20,000+ volunteers.
It was completely volunteer-driven and offered free to governments. The experience taught us that a well-organised, community-led, technology-assisted response saves lives — but only if it exists before the emergency begins.
StepOne 2.0
Make our societies resilient to future pandemics and public health emergencies by institutionalising the right combination of platform (technology), people, policies, physical goods and processes for a more effective response.
Why StepOne?
We have found no other organisation with StepOne’s track record in health disaster management. Our advantages:
- Proven impact during Covid-19
- Goodwill and working relationships with governments in 21 states and UTs, at state and district level
- An open-source technology framework that orchestrated and scaled the Covid-19 response
- Qualified people who care — doctors, medics, technologists, marketers and other professionals
- A proven model as a non-commercial augmentation partner to government
Why now?
The world has just lived through one of the worst pandemics in modern history, and we are no better prepared for the next one. Organisations have moved on, Covid infrastructure has been dismantled and experienced teams have been reassigned — taking their know-how with them.
More pandemics are expected. Technology has changed how people communicate, yet it is still not an integral part of emergency response. That gap needs to be closed urgently.
Our principles
Alongside government
We strengthen public systems rather than run parallel ones. Governments provide the mandate and reach; StepOne brings technology, protocols and people.
Open and free to deploy
Our platform is open source and was free to governments, so preparedness is never blocked by licences or tenders.
Empowered volunteers
Startup-like execution with empowered teams, frequent recognition, transparency and a culture of continuous improvement.
Board of Trustees
Project StepOne is registered as a public charitable trust, Project StepOne Trust, in Bengaluru. Our trustees bring together healthcare, technology, entrepreneurship and brand-building experience.
Raghavendra Prasad T S
Managing Trustee
Founder, PassPro Labs; ex-Qikwell (acquired by Practo)
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Santanu Sinha
Trustee
Chief Architect, PhonePe
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Dr Shuchin Bajaj
Trustee
Founder, Ujala Cygnus Hospitals
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Krishnan Kasturirangan
Trustee
Co-founder, Wastelink / ForPlanet; ex-COO Knowlarity; ex-McKinsey
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Poonam Kaul
Trustee
Brand evangelist; former CMO, Apple India
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Ashish Agarwal
Trustee
Founder, Fyno; ex-founder, Solutions Infini (acquired by Kaleyra)
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Amrita Sukrity
Trustee
Founder, SpotSense
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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.