Building data and AI systems that help public programmes reach the people they are meant for.
I founded SolveSystems Lab after seven years of making India's welfare programmes measurable, from tracing unpaid entitlements at LibTech India to running machine learning at national scale for the Ministry of Rural Development. Trained in physics, data science and public policy, I now work on making that kind of evidence standard practice across government.
Systems that run every day, for programmes that serve crores of people.
Speaking for daily wage workers on BBC World Service
In 2022 the BBC invited me to talk about why so many of India's daily wage earners were dying by suicide. I spoke as the son of a daily wage worker who was, by then, working on the welfare data meant to protect them.
What’s behind rising suicides among India’s daily wagers?
One in four Indians who died by suicide in 2021 was a daily wage earner. Presenter Devina Gupta asked what is driving it, and whether welfare schemes are reaching the people who need them. I joined Nikhil Dey of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan and labour rights activist Nida Ansari, speaking as someone who grew up in a daily wage household and was then working on welfare data at LibTech India.
Credited as “Palle Ajay Swaero, IT consultant at LibTech India, son of daily wage worker”
Watch on bbc.co.uk ↗How I got here.
- ChildhoodBeginnings
A daily wage household in Telangana
I am the son of a daily wage worker. My schooling came through the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions, which give children from marginalised communities free education and a place to live.
- 2015 – 2020Education
Physics, data science and public policy
BSc in Physics with a minor in Data Science, then a postgraduate programme in Public Policy and Governance, both at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru.
- 2019Research
Into the field
Built partner dashboards for Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives, then hired and managed survey teams for IFMR LEAD at Krea University.
- 2020 – 2023Accountability
Following the money at LibTech India
Built crawlers and pipelines over public welfare data to show where entitlements were not reaching workers, and took the evidence to state governments.
- September 2022Voice
On BBC World Service
Invited to WorklifeIndia to discuss rising suicides among India’s daily wage workers, speaking from my own family’s experience and from the data.
- 2023 – 2025Scale
Machine learning for the Ministry of Rural Development
Built and ran production ML and geospatial systems for MGNREGA and PMGSY, used every day at national scale.
- January 2024Leadership
Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative
Selected for the U.S. Department of State exchange on peace, conflict resolution and leadership through the work of Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
- May 2024Generosity
Sharing the CCDS camp model
Co-presented the lessons from residential data science camps that have placed about 2,000 welfare-school students in IT.
- May 2025Now
Founded SolveSystems Lab
Started SolveSystems Lab to make data and AI standard practice in the public systems that families like mine depend on.
What I build, give back to and learn from.
CCDS · Code For Cause
Residential data science camps that have helped about 2,000 students from social and tribal welfare institutions start careers in IT.
2019 – present · Read more →FellowshipGandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative
A U.S. Department of State exchange on peace, conflict resolution and leadership through the work of Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
January 2024 · Read more →GovernmentMachine learning for rural programmes
Production ML systems at the Ministry of Rural Development that check about 10 lakh MGNREGA images a month and about 5,000 PMGSY road images a day.
2023 – 2025 · Read more →Every rupee a government spends on a village passes through a dataset first. If the data is wrong, the money goes to the wrong place. That is the problem I have chosen to work on.
Working on public systems, skilling or civic tech?
I am always glad to compare notes.