**Hey devs!
We all talk about scaling, but what about scaling with zero budget and a single, shared mobile device?
My name is Shambhavi. I'm a self-taught programmer from a remote BSF campus, and I just built Project Parichay, an open-source digital identity project designed to formalize the employment of 450 million informal workers in India.
This is a deep dive into the constraints that drove the architecture and how I proved that a powerful, civic-focused tool can be built without a $100k grant.
The Technical Problem: How Do You Authenticate the 'Invisible'?
The core challenge isn't the code itself; it's the environment. These 450 million users have little to no verifiable history. I had to build a system that:
Eliminates Paper: Converts ephemeral, paper-based work records into a single, immutable, digital asset.
Works on a 2G Connection: Minimal payload size and highly efficient data exchange.
Is Secure/Tamper-Proof: The identity is used for loans and government benefits, so it needs enterprise-level security against fraud.
The Architecture (A Low-Resource Lesson)
Since I was building this project with limited resources (sometimes just in ADHD-like bursts of productivity!) and from a remote location, I had to be ruthlessly efficient.
Constraint-Driven Design: The entire architecture is optimized for low-bandwidth environments. I avoided complex microservices and focused on a monolithic core to reduce latency and dependencies.
The Power of Open Source: This is built for the community. I used GitHub not just for version control, but as my single, free, global collaboration tool. This project lives and dies on its ability to be scrutinized and improved by others.
I believe this shows that impact scales, not budgets. You don't need a huge team or a massive Series A to start solving the hardest problems in the world.
I'm looking for feedback and contributors to stress-test the architecture (much needed). Check out the repository and join the mission:
https://shalinibhavi525-sudo.github.io/Project_Parichay/
https://github.com/shalinibhavi525-sudo/
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