About
Think local. Hack global.
Code for India is a Silicon Valley 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We are a fast-growing community of volunteer software engineers, designers, and data scientists building scalable technology solutions with and for Indian non-profits.
Our founder
Code for India was founded in August 2013 by Karl Mehta — serial entrepreneur, former Founder & CEO of PlaySpan (acquired by Visa), founder of Mehta Trust, a member of the inaugural White House Presidential Innovation Fellows class under President Obama, and a former Venture Partner at Menlo Ventures.
The idea grew out of his work coordinating the technology response to Superstorm Sandy — proving that small, scrappy volunteer teams could ship real software for the public good.
How we work
- → Volunteer teams pair with named NGOs — Akshaya Patra, iCREATE and 30+ others.
- → Every line of code is open source on GitHub at github.com/code-for-india.
- → Chapters in California, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Gujarat run local hack nights and field work.
- → 100% volunteer time — no equity, no IP, no for-profit motive.
A short history
Hon PM Narendra Modi, Sundar Pichai, and Karl Mehta launching "Digital India" with Code for India at Google HQ in Mountain View, 2015.
Gujarat chapter launch · Vibrant Gujarat Summit, January 2015.
Archive
Annual Report 2016
A look back at our projects, chapters and volunteer community.
- Aug 2013
Code for India launches on India's Independence Day. Founded by Karl Mehta — serial entrepreneur, White House Presidential Innovation Fellow, and Venture Capitalist — inspired by his work on the technology response to Superstorm Sandy.
- 2014
First flagship project: Routely for the Akshaya Patra Foundation — route optimization to deliver midday meals to millions of schoolchildren.
- Jan 2015
Gujarat Chapter launches at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, joining California, Bangalore and Hyderabad as CFI's fourth chapter.
- Mar 2015
Skill Up India goes live in partnership with iCREATE, IIM Ahmedabad and IIT Gandhinagar — free online education portal.
- Sept 2015
Hackathon 2015 at Google HQ, Mountain View — addressed by PM Narendra Modi, Sundar Pichai and CP Gurnani. Theme: Digital & Skilled India.
- Today
1,500+ volunteer technologists across four chapters have shipped free software for 30+ NGOs.
Want to see what we ship?
Browse our open-source projects on GitHub or here on the site.