How we count
Methodology
Adopted before we have a single number to apply it to — because a counting method decided after the fact is a method that bends to whatever looks good.
The doctrine
We measure impact, not activity. A photograph of people at an event proves attendance, not outcome. Every record we publish ties to a place, a date, and a named organiser who is accountable for its accuracy.
Where the four figures on this site come from
Registered members, integrity pledges, panchayats and districts are not typed in by anyone. Each is counted, at the moment the page is built, out of a register that holds one row per person — name, mobile number, district and panchayat, entered by our staff after speaking to them. Members counts the rows. Pledges counts the rows that have taken the pledge. Panchayats and districts count the distinct places those rows come from. There is no field anywhere in our admin system for entering a total, which is deliberate: a number that can be typed is a number that can be wished upward. Ours can only move when a person does.
One row per person, and the mobile number has to be unique — so nobody is counted twice.
A member who asks to be removed is marked withdrawn and stops being counted, and the record of them asking survives.
Somebody who filled in a form on this site is not counted until a staff member has spoken to them and entered them in the register.
A panchayat counts once, however many members it has. A district counts once, however many panchayats.
The five-field record
The problem
Stated plainly before the work starts — what specifically was wrong with this site, this system, or this gap.
Who took part
Named organiser, and a headcount — not a guess, not an estimate rounded up.
What changed
The concrete result: kilograms removed, a water body's new depth, a batch's enrolment — measured, not described.
The evidence
A dated photograph or record, tied to the site, so the claim can be checked by anyone.
What happens next
Whether the site needs a follow-up visit, and when — most published results otherwise get counted once and forgotten.
Why we publish our gaps
A monthly roll-up that only lists successes reads like marketing, and rural audiences have learned to discount marketing on sight. We publish which panchayats fell short of the month's task too — that is what makes the rest of the report worth believing.
How you can check us
Every published record names a place and a date. If you're from that panchayat and something doesn't match what you saw, our contact page is the place to say so — and we will correct the public record, not just the internal one.
Contact →