Bengaluru developers aged 12 and 13 devise Android social app vPledge

The city of Bengaluru continues to bask in the glory of being the startup hub of the country, with two school students, aged 12 and 13, developing an Android social application called vPledge.

Priyal Jain and Prateek Mahesh have devised an app for people to pledge their support to conserve nature, donate meals, feed stray dogs, use public transport and ensure better health, hygiene or education. This was after an exposure to Android for Kids at a technology summer camp hosted by AcadGild, the company said in a release.

Through the vPledge app, an individual can make a pledge such as planting 10 trees. On successful completion of a pledge, vPledgers, as the app's users are called, are allowed to share the accomplishment on social media channels, tag friends, challenge them and also grab points that can be redeemed.

While 13-year-old Priyal is from Delhi Public School, 12-year-old Prateek belongs to New Horizon Public School. AcadGild, a technology education startup led by Vinod Dham and Vikalp Jain, has launched the mobile application. The startup offers both students and working professionals a hands-on experience on software programming skills globally, in batches of eight to 10 students.

Also read : My Child App, run by 19-year olds, raises $100K funding

In addition to the vPledge app, 13-year-old Samarth Grover, another AcadGild student, has successfully created Tic-Tac-Toe for mobiles - a game for two players that can be played via Bluetooth without using the Internet, the release added.

The development of a fully functional and much-needed social cause app like vPledge and Tic-Tac-Toe for mobiles by children as young as 12 and 13 illustrates how the right training and mentorship programme can impact the development of programming skills, said Vikalp, President and Co-founder of AcadGild.

vPledgers can also graduate to other levels with activities such as feeding and caring for strays, distributing storybooks to poor children, walking 2-3 km every day to ensure better health, reducing vehicle emission and donating meals to the poor, the release said.