In today’s world of comforts, the boom of technology and the plethora of apps that have simplified our lives. Whether to plan the day or track our sleep most of us are highly dependent on apps. Along the same lines of providing convenience, but with a divine purpose at the core of their work, EthicCoders have sought to bring technology to “the religiously inclined”.
Based in Hyderabad, Shibu Devasia and his team have been developing apps for the past two years for those who wish to access the Bible and prayer texts at any point of time.
Their first app, also touted to be the first Malayalam app of the POC Bible is a highly rated app. Their work also includes Bible versions in Hindu, Telugu, and Konkani (in Kannada script) that run on both Android and iOS. “People no longer need to carry the Bible around. Also it gives them access to the text in places the print version might not otherwise be able to.” Devasia’s team caters to global clients from the US and Singapore, St Thomas Diocese of Chicago being one of their international clients.
Their philosophy is that of giving back to the society. Devasia, with 10 years of experience in app development, returned from Singapore to provide a “corporate kind of service” to the Church. The venture runs on donations from congregations and individuals who pitch ideas to avail a new kind of service. One such request was for the Syro Malabar App that provides the Holy Mass text for users on the go. “The apps are not event-based. They do not telecast live prayer services, but provide the prayer in a text format. We wanted to ensure people could pre-meditate on the prayer text. It is an app that works offline,” explains Devasia of how users could prepare before going to a prayer service.
The runner-up from the 2012 App Fest, Hackathon (with his then team mate Ken M Raju), Devasia does not require “aggressive marketing.” However, does he follow a single track route while giving back to the society? “No,” says Devasia, adding, “Our goal is to provide free services to the public and we work for any individual who approaches with a potential offer,” referring to a client that approached for the development of a yoga app. The small team which presently consists of just one other member Albert Dominic from the city and a third member from Trivandrum, Prakash George, they are looking forward to breaking into fields such as education and hospitals.
Recently, Devasia has taken his principles to a larger community when he created promotional videos for the Aam Admi Party (AAP). Having been part of the national graphics team for AAP, he made videos to promote clean and honest politics. “I wanted the AAP’s manifesto to reach out to people in a creative way,” says Devasia of the reason for implementing animation in political promos.
Looking at expanding their social technological services, EthicCoders hopes to build their business one app at a time.
