MUMBAI: A UK based organisation promoting free speech- Index on Censorship, awarded a journalist from India- Shubhranshu Choudhary the 2014 Digital Activism award. Choudhary is the founder of CGnet Swara, a mobile news service.

He was awarded for developing a service that allows tribal in remote parts of India to receive and share news in the local language. He was competing against three names including ex-American Intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, Chinese social network Free Weibo and The Amnesic Incognito Live System (TAILS).

During Choudhary’s acceptance speech, he said that to create a democratic, more equitable media they are using mobile phones as an experiment. Mobile phones have reached remote interiors even in countries like India. He further stated that everyone has a voice and can speak in their mother tongue. They feel more comfortable speaking rather than writing as many do not know how to read and write.

Choudhary was a producer with BBC South Asia for ten years and a Guardian correspondent for two years. He also served as a media trainer for the BBC World Service Trust and the United Nations. He has trained more than 100 citizen journalists to produce audio news reports. CGnet Swara receives an average of 200 calls a day from people accessing those reports.

CGNet Swara was launched as part of the Knight International Journalism Fellowships, a program of the International Centre for Journalists. The project also won an mBillionth Award for mobile phone development that helps underserved communities in South Asia.