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UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, BANGALORE,

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION, COA, GKVK, BENGALURU-65

Content

SEMINAR I: Mobile Technologies and Indian Rural

Upliftment

Submitted To:

Seminar Teachers

Dr. B. Krishnamurthy, Professor & Head, Dr. S. Ganesamoorthi, Assoc. Professor, Department of Agril. Extension. Submitted By:

SAKSHI SHRIVASTAV PALB 9164, Sr. M.Sc. Dept. of Agril. Extension

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Chapter

No. Title

Page

No.

I. Introduction 2

II. Objectives 2

III. National telephony scenario of India 3-5

IV. Current trends in rural and urban telecom industry 6-7

V. Mobile Advisory Services by public sector

8-13

VI. Mobile Advisory Services by private sector 13-17

VII. Mobile services for Social development

17-19

VIII. Mobile Helplines

19-20

IX. Impact of mobile phone on upgradation of education, health and

social skills. 21-24

X. Problems and prospects 24-25

XI. Research studies 26-29

XII. Conclusion 30

XIII. References 30

XIV. Discussion 30-32

XV. Synopsis 33-35

XVI. Presentation slides 36-71

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Mobile Technologies and Indian Rural Upliftment

“In today’s modern world, people are either asleep or connected.”

- Janice H. Reinold

The rural area, where nearly 70 per cent of the total Indian population lives still faces several

challenges, such as low literacy, poor healthcare facilities, low income, high poverty, low access

to formal employment and poor infrastructure. Agriculture continues to be the most important

sector of the Indian economy and agriculture is a more or less a compulsion for livelihood of

millions of farmers. In present day agriculture, soft resources like knowledge and skills are as

important as hard resources like inputs, and sometimes more important. But estimates indicate

that 60 per cent of farmers do not access any source of information for advanced agricultural

technologies resulting in huge adoption gap. The mobile phone comes into the picture here. In

today’s world, almost everybody owns a mobile phone. This huge reach, if harnessed in

agricultural extension, can change the face of agriculture altogether in a developing country like

India where we have nothing to lose by using it as a medium to disseminate agricultural

information in multimodal form. In recent years, the mobile phone has emerged as an important

development tool. It is seen as a device that has the potential to break the rural–urban

developmental gap by delivering information on a variety of economic and social issues. Mobile

phones can facilitate need-based and user-centric information and services at an affordable cost

to India’s rural population, which was hitherto unreachable.

India is riding the wave of digitisation, with the delivery of services to citizens rapidly shifting to

digital platforms. With widespread adoption of smartphones running on open operating systems

like Android, there are currently more than 300 government applications, which are facilitating

essential citizen services, including information dissemination, direct benefit transfers, education

and healthcare. In this context, the present seminar explores the impact of mobile phone usage on

livelihood of rural people in India through following objectives.

1. To explore the prospects of mobile for rural communities

2. To understand the mobile utilization pattern of rural communities & challenges.

3. To review the impact of mobile utilization on up-gradation of health, education & social

skills.

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National Telephony Scenario of India

History of Telecommunication industry

Telecommunications in India began with the introduction of the telegraph. The Indian postal and

telecom sectors are one of the worlds oldest. In 1850, the first experimental electric telegraph

line was started between Calcutta and Diamond Harbour. In 1881, a licence was granted to the

Oriental Telephone Company Limited of England for opening telephone exchanges at Calcutta,

Bombay, Madras and Ahmedabad and the first formal telephone service was established in the

country. Liberalisation of Indian telecommunication in industry started in 1981 when Prime

Minister Indira Gandhi signed contracts with Alcatel CIT of France to merge with the state

owned Telecom Company (ITI), in an effort to set up 5,000,000 lines per year. But soon the

policy was let down because of political opposition.[17] Attempts to liberalise the

telecommunication industry were continued by the following government under the prime-

minister-ship of Rajiv Gandhi. He invited Sam Pitroda, a US-based Non-resident Indian NRI and

a former Rockwell International executive to set up a Centre for Development of Telematics(C-

DOT) which manufactured electronic telephone exchanges in India for the first time.

In 1985, the Department of Telecom(DoT) was separated from Indian Post &

Telecommunication Department. DoT was responsible for telecom services in entire country

until 1986 when Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and Videsh Sanchar Nigam

Limited (VSNL) were carved out of DoT to run the telecom services of metro cities (Delhi and

Mumbai) and international long-distance operations respectively. Consequently, private

investment in the sector of Value Added Services (VAS) was allowed and cellular telecom sector

were opened up for competition from private investments. It was during this period that the

government introduced the National Telecommunications policy (NTP) in 1994 which brought

changes in the following areas: ownership, service and regulation of telecommunications

infrastructure. In 1997, the government set up TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India)

which reduced the interference of Government in deciding tariffs and policymaking. The

political powers changed in 1999 and the new government was more pro-reforms and introduced

better liberalisation policies. In 2000, the government constituted the Telecom Disputes

Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) through an amendment of the TRAI Act, 1997. The

government corporatized the operations wing of DoT on 1 October 2000 and named it as

Department of Telecommunication Services (DTS) which was later named as Bharat Sanchar

Nigam Limited (BSNL). Finally in April 2002, the government decided to cut its stake of 53% to

26% in VSNL and to throw it open for sale to private enterprises. TATA finally took 25% stake

in VSNL.

This was a gateway to many foreign investors to get entry into the Indian telecom markets. After

March 2000, the government became more liberal in making policies and issuing licences to

private operators. The government further reduced licence fees for [cellular service providers and

increased the allowable stake to 74% for foreign companies. Because of all these factors, the

service fees finally reduced and the call costs were cut greatly enabling every common middle-

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class family in India to afford a cell phone. Nearly 32 million handsets were sold in India. The

data reveals the real potential for growth of the Indian mobile market. Many private operators,

such as Reliance Communications, Jio, Tata Indicom, Vodafone, Loop Mobile, Airtel, Idea etc.,

successfully entered the high potential Indian telecom market. In March 2008, the total GSM and

CDMA mobile subscriber base in the country was 375 million, which represented a nearly 50%

growth when compared with previous year.

Even though all the efforts and policies, reach of mobile phones was limited to urban area and

subscriber base in rural areas was still limited. The challenges that companies had to address

while going rural are those of low population density, high infrastructure costs, low average

revenue per user (ARPU) and high operating costs. Passive infrastructure sharing can greatly

alleviate some of the challenges that operators face by bringing down the operating and capital

costs by 30%.

A telecom industry-wide initiative, Rural Chalo Programme, under the auspices of Association

of Unified Service Providers and Cellular Operators Association of India, all telecom operators

came out with a scheme for rural subscribers. With effect from first of this instance, each new

rural subscriber is being offered an upfront cash discount of Rs. 50, with an additional Rs. 75

free talk-time. The major growth in mobile phone numbers was seen in non-metro areas, circles

B and C in industry parlance, and a large part of this growth came from rural areas in these

telecom regions. It was realized that the benefits offered to new rural subscribers strongly

incentivize both the take-up as well as the usage of mobile service in rural areas and thus helped

to meet the rural telephony objectives of the government during 2008-11.

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According to the Internet And Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), the Internet user base in the

country stood at 190 million at the end of June 2013, rousing to 378.10 million in January 2018.

2G revolution followed and brought with it some late but necessary changes like increased traffic

handling, improved call clarity and reduced power requirements, thus bringing forth the order of

smaller, sleeker more versatile mobile handsets. The introduction of 2G was a catalyst for the

explosion of the GSM phenomenon. The rapid pace of adoption saw the cost of equipment fall,

and deployment costs going down rapidly. The most important fact of this particular generation

was the emergence of text messaging, aka SMS. Then newer and better 3G services offer

consumers internet access at speeds that are at least 30 times faster than 2G in 2009. Mahanagar

Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) one of India’s leading telecom service providers, launched

first 3G services in the country.

A recent study by CMR (CyberMedia Research), reveals that one out of three 4G subscribers’ live in the

villages. Rural India accounts for 83 million of the total 238 million 4G subscribers in the country, in

December 2017. Jio leads the 4G market in India, however its competitors like Airtel. Vodafone and Idea

focused on the rural markets and grew by 457 percent adding 64 million subscribers. Thus, the next

gigantic frontier to conquer rural markets will be the opportunities being generated by the rapid

proliferation of mobile phones, internet and social media A study conducted by Padmanabhan (2016)

reported that mobile phones are replacing TVs as an important marketing medium, alongside other

traditional communication methods. While there are challenges in operating in rural India, creating brand

awareness will be the first step to making in-roads. Study also predicted that by 2030, possession of

smartphones will also exceed colour TV sets and mobile phones will top the chart, this seems the logical

route to go down.

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Current trends in Telecom industry

According to a report jointly released by Indian Cellular and Electronics Association and

consulting firm KPMG, rural India witnessed a year-on-year growth of 35% in 2018 as opposed

to 7% growth in urban India in the same period in terms of internet users. Smartphone penetration

in rural India has risen from 9% in 2015 to 25% in 2018. As a result of increased digital inclusion

there are currently more than 300 government apps, which are facilitating essential citizen

services, including information dissemination, direct benefit transfers, education and healthcare,

the report said.

According to market research firm techARC, India had 502.2 million smartphone users as of

December 2019, which means over 77 per cent of Indians are now accessing wireless broadband

through smartphones. Over 500 million Indians are now using smartphones, a 15 per cent

increase from 2018 primarily due to brands like Xiaomi and Realme that continue to bring new

users to the ecosystem.

According to IAMAI's 'Digital in India' report, India had 504 million active Internet users, who

logged onto the web at least once in the last one month, at the end of November 2019. The

number of internet users in rural areas of India has surpassed those living in metropolitan cities

for the first time, according to a new report that also found women partly responsible for driving

the trend along with better connectivity and more affordable price plans. Study revealed there

were 227 million active internet users in rural areas, as of November 2019, compared with about

205 million in cities which is 10% more than in urban areas.

By November last year – and therefore before the lockdown precautions against coronavirus that

has forced millions to stay at home – there were 30 million additional new internet users in rural

India since March 2019, including a 31% increase among women.

Akshara Foundation (2017) conducted a household survey on mobile penetration in rural

Karnataka, out of the 6,752 adults, 49% owned mobile phones. A majority of the mobile phone

owners owned button phones (2,393), followed by smart phones (721) and touch phones (215).

Out of this 49% population 79% population belongs to male respondents and 21% population

belongs to female repondents. About 41% of the smart phone users subscribed to both talk-time

and an internet package, and around 30% were recharging for an amount of Rs 399 every month.

The majority of smart phone users used their device for communication and most of the internet

users seemed to be using it because of a cost-effective plan from their service provider.

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Study indicates that children’s exposure to screen time has been increasing over the years. In

some cases, children are exposed to as much as four hours of screen time on weekdays. However,

our survey found that only 25% or 652 of 2,618 children had access to smart phones. Of the 652

children who had such access, a majority reported that they had used the device for gaming.

Games like Jalebi, Temple Run and Candy Crush are popular among them.

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Mobile Advisory Services by Public Sector

1. Farmer Call Centre (Kissan Call Centre)

The Department of Agriculture & Cooperation (DoA&C), Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India

launched Farmer Call Centres across the country on January 21, 2004, to deliver extension

services to the farming community. The purpose of these call centres is to respond to issues raised

by farmers, instantly, in the local language. There are call centres for every state which are

expected to handle traffic from any part of the country. Queries related to agriculture and allied

sectors are being addressed through these call centres. The Farmer Call Centre is a synthesis of

two hitherto separate technologies namely, the Information and Communication Technology

(ICT) and the Agricultural Technology- both have their specialized domains and work cultures.

The Farmer Call Centre consists of three levels – namely Level-I (the basic Call Centre interface,

with

high quality bandwidth and local language proficient Agriculture Graduate),Level-II (Subject

Matter Specialists on concerned important crops and enterprises, connected through good

bandwidth telecom and computer connectivity) and Level-III (the Management Group to ensure

ultimate answering and resolution of all the farmers’ queries which are not resolved at Level-II,

connected on and off line mode).

2. Mobile Advisory Services by ICAR-KVKs

Mobile advisory services to the farmers by the Farm Science Centres (KVKs) of the Indian

Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) have been operational since, 2008. The Farm Science

Centre (Krishi Viigyan Kendra -KVK), Babhaleshwar, India has pioneered in the IT-enabled

service aiding instant messaging from Farm Science Centre to individual farmers for extending

Agricultural information through SMS alerts. Weekly SMS alerts are issued on various

agricultural developments like weather forecast, disease forecast and market information). KVK,

Chhindwara, Madya Mobile Phone Applications for Agricultural Extension in India 9 Pradesh

implemented a programme called “Kisan Mobile Sandesh” for giving bulk SMS to the farmers.

From the year 2010 onwards large numbers of ICAR KVKs have been disseminating farm

information by Kisan Mobile Advisory Services (KMAS). For example, annual report of the

KVK- Zonal Project Directorate –VIII, Bangalore during the year 2008-10 reports that 6765 SMS

were sent benefitting 34844 farmers. Out of which maximum SMSs sent by KVKs in Karnataka

(5192) followed by Tamil Nadu (1022) and Kerala (551).

3. Mandi on Mobile Service by BSNL

Uttar Pradesh State farmers are able to know rates of agriculture commodities in any market in

the State on their mobile phones; service was launched by the State-run telecom major Bharat

Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) teamed up with the Uttar Pradesh Agricultural Marketing Board

(Mandi Parishad) to launch

the ‘Mandi on Mobile’ service for the farmers. The service would be voice-based. To know the

rates of over 100 commodities including crops, vegetables and other items, the farmers need to

dial a specific number from their BSNL cellular phones, and follow the voice command

subsequently. The service would immensely benefit the farmers, especially those who used to sell

their agriculture produce to middlemen at low prices without knowing the market rates (IANS,

2008). Second phase on “Digital Mandi” was launched by the BSNL in collaboration with IIT,

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Kanpur, in August, 2011. The “Digital Mandi” application is for effective dissemination of mandi

(market) rates of different crops, in approximately 3 000 agricultural produce markets to the

Indian farmers.

4. Market Price by SMS by Rubber Board, India

The Rubber Board provides the update of both national and international rates of natural rubber

through SMS throughout the country. Through this service the rubber farmers and dealers in India

(especially those in the state of Kerala in South India) are tracking the prices of the commodity in

real time by SMS.

5. SMS Service to Farmers by the Department of Agriculture, Haryana State

Farmers of Chandigarh (India) are using mobile phones to sort out agricultural related problems.

The Haryana Agriculture Department has introduced Short Messaging Service (SMS) for farmers.

The service was made available by the agriculture department’s Kissan (Farmer) Call Centre.

6. Dynamic Market Information (DMI), TNAU-C-DAC, Hyderabad

The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) and Centre for Developmentof Advanced

Computing (C-DAC), Hyderabad jointly provided daily market information on 161 perishable

commodities from 13 markets in South India where information was disseminated to ten thousand

farmers through mobile based SMS in the local language at free of cost.

7. vKVK (Virtual Krishi Vigyan Kendra)

vKVK (Virtual Krishi Vigyan Kendra), a simple messaging system based platform allows Agro-

advisories to be sent to the farmers’ cell phone using SMS alerts and voice-based advisory.

vKVK is a platform that connects KVKs with farmers through internet and mobile technology. A

phone-based delivery system allows an agricultural expert to transmit a voice-based

alert/advisory to be transmitted to farmers through a phone call. A recorded message can be

transmitted via vKVK platform to all farmers under the guidance of KVK experts. This platform

is currently being tested in some selected districts of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Karnataka.

8. Interactive Information Dissemination System (IIDS)

IIDS is an outcome of a comprehensive need assessment study carried under the component 4 of

National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP). A total of 26 ICT initiatives in agriculture were

studied covering 1381 farmers in 57 selected sample villages across 12 states of India to elicit the

need of the farmers, prioritize their perceptions, and bring out the reality of the issues involved in

development of ideal ICT based applications for agriculture.

9. Mobile based Agro-Advisory System in North-East India (m4agriNEI)

m4agriNEI is a mobile based pull and push based system where agriculture related information

can be pulled by the farmers and pushed by the advisory service providers using their mobile

phones. There would be a mobile interface at the front end for the farmers and web interface at

the back end for the agricultural experts. The system allows transmitting data through voice, text,

images and videos from both ends (farmers to expert and back).

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10. AGMET Services by IMD

India Meteorological Department (IMD) delivers Agro-meteorology services to farmers by

public-private partnership with the mobile service providers such as Reuters Market Light

(RML), Handygo, IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited (IKSL), Nokia Life Tools and State Govt. of

Maharashtra.

11. Intelligent Advisory System for Farmers (IASF)

In the states of Manipur and Meghalaya, India, IASF is currently catering to the needs of 1886

registered farmers in six districts of Meghalaya and nine districts of Manipur which uses the

platform to redress of their farm related problems. Fifty Subject Matter Specialists are also

registered in the portal to respond to farmers’ queries.

12. Kissan Kerala

It is a multi-modal agricultural information system for farmers of Kerala by the Department of

Agriculture, Government of Kerala, in collaboration with Indian Institute of Information

Technology and Management – Kerala (IIITM-K). The Kissan mobile-based advisory services

provides the farmers with up-to date

agricultural information through SMS based service (both push and pull) voice-based agro-

advisory service and videos in the local language.

13. Kisan Help Line

Since 2012, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, has started a help line for the farmers of the

region. The farmers can call on the helpline number 0641-2451035 and ask their queries to the

agricultural scientists from different streams. The helpline works from 10 a.m to 5 p.m on all

working days.

Mobile advisory apps by public sector

1. Kisan Suvidha

Kisan Suvidha is an omnibus mobile app developed to help farmers by providing relevant

information.

The app provides information to farmers on weather, market prices, dealers, plant protection, IPM

practices, seeds, expert advisory, Soil Health Card, godowns and cold storage. The information is

currently provided in English, Hindi, Tamil, Gujarati, Odia and Marathi. Information pertaining

to weather, market price, dealers , soil health, agro advisory is given.

2. Pusa Krishi

Developed by Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Govt. of India. This mobile app was

launched for farmers in order to take the technology to farm fields. Provides information related

to new varieties of crops developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR),

resource conserving cultivation practices, farm machinery and its implementation and production

technologies, to the farmers. A feedback section enables farmers to have a real time conversation

with the stakeholders.

3. Soil Health Card (SHC) Mobile App

Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme is a Government of India scheme promoted by the Department

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of Agriculture, Co-operation & Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and

being implemented in the States and Union Territories. A Soil Health Card gives soil nutrient

status

to each farmer for his/her land holding and also gives advice on fertilizer dosage and soil

amendments

needed to maintain soil health in the long run. To further simplify the data entry work for Sample

registration, NIC has designed and developed an android mobile phone application for Soil

Health Card. This application captures Latitude and Longitude automatically when “Location” is

on. The farmer details, land details, crop details and fertilizer details can be entered using this

mobile app.

4. Bhuvan Hailstorm App

This mobile app has been developed to capture crop loss, which has happened due to hailstorm,

along with photographs and geographical locations. An Agriculture Officer would go to the field

with a this mobile app is able to capture the photograph of the field with latitude and longitude,

name of the crop, date

of sowing, date of likely harvesting, source of irrigation. The captured data gets automatically

plotted to Bhuvan Portal and analysis can be done easily mobile or tablet loaded with this mobile

app, and collect field data for hailstorm damage assessment.

5. Crop Insurance

Developed by Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW). This app provides

details of crop insurance. Crop Insurance mobile app can be used to calculate the Insurance

Premium for notified crops based on area, coverage amount and loan amount in case of loanee

farmer. It can also be used to get details of normal sum insured, extended sum insured, premium

details and subsidy information of any notified crop in any notified area.

6. Krishi Video Advice mobile app

Developed by MANAGE with NIC, Hyderabad

Krishi Video Advice project aims to provide advisory services related to agriculture and allied

sector on farming issues with the help of a mobile app/smartphone/tab. The project has been

conceptualized by MANAGE to bridge the information gap between the farmer

and the expert. The mobile app works on all smart phones or tabs having android operating

system. Any farmer/extension officer can use the mobile app to capture three images of the crop

live from the farmers field itself and upload the same. The Kisan Call centre (KCC) expert will

provide advice based on the crop images.

7. eSAP: A Complete ICT solution for Crop Health Management

Electronic Solutions against Agricultural Pests (eSAP), is an ICT solution in the field of Plant

protection. It is a dedicated system that effectively integrates Mobile communications, Tablet-

based technologies and Cloud solutions to bring different players of the agricultural ecosystem

including farmers, agricultural universities and policy makers to interact on a single platform in

real time enabling two-way dissemination of real time information strengthening the agricultural

sector of a nation.

The eSAP uniquely addresses crop health management issue structured with multimedia-based

presentation of information in the field devices transcending language and literacy barriers. It is

the first solution to enable on-field identification and quantification of pest problem along with

instant solutions. It also generates and synthesizes real time data of pest situations of a region

(country) and makes it available over its web solution to other players in the agriculture sector.

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Deployment of eSAP technology started since January 2013 onwards after pilot scale studies

during 2012 under the aegis of University of Agricultural sciences, Raichur and has spread to all

the districts under other Agricultural Universities in Karnataka.

8. Havaamana Krishi

“Havaamaana-Krishi” is an Agrometeorological Application that provides information on

weather, short range weather forecast and agromet advisory for seven districts under the

jurisdiction of UAS Dharwad in north Karnataka, India. The seven districts are: Bagalkot,

Belagavi (Belgaum), Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Uttara Kannada and Vijayapura. The information

provided in this Application is meant for use by farmers to save their crop from adverse weather

conditions by adopting timely agricultural operations in the field and horticultural crops as well as

animal husbandry in the region. The information is available both in vernacular Kannada and in

English.

9. eNAM Mobile App

National Agriculture Market (NAM) is a pan-India electronic trading portal promoted by

Government of India which networks the existing mandis to create a unified national market for

agricultural commodities. The purpose of the Mobile App is to facilitate remote bidding by

traders and access to arrivals and pricerelated information to farmers and other stake holders on

their smart phones. The e-NAM mobile app v1.0 is released with limited features of bidding by

the traders and viewing the information related to the trade on e-NAM.

10. AgriMarket

The app has been developed with an aim to keep farmers abreast of crop prices. AgriMarket

mobile app can be used to get the market price of crops in the markets within 50 km of the

device’s location.This app automatically captures the location of the person using mobile GPS

and fetches the market price of crops in those markets which fall within the range of 50 km.

There is another option to get prices of anymarket and any crop in case the person does not want

to use GPS location. The prices of agri commodities are sourced from the AGMARKNET portal.

The app is available in Hindi and English.

11. Pashu Poshan

Developed by: National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)

With the help of this app, balanced ration can be formulated while optimizing the cost

considering animal profile, i.e. cattle or buffalo, age, milk production, milk fat, and feeding

regime etc. and milk producers are advised to adjust the quantity of locally available feed

ingredients offered to their animals along with mineral mixture. Through this app a dairy farmer

can know the correct quantity and mix of the feed and fodder to be fed to the milch animals.

12. Cattle Expert System

Developed by TNAU, Coimbatore and C-DAC, Hyderabad

Cattle expert system is a mobile app that covers feeding management for cattle and buffalo,

breeding management, disease and control management, production technology, calf

management, general care and management, practices etc. for cattle and buffalo.

Crop specific apps

1. riceXpert

NRRI Cuttack has developed the mobile App ‘riceXpert’ bilingual (English and Odia) on

Android platform with a view to reach the latest rice technologies to the rice farmers in real

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time basis. The download link is also provided in the web portal www.nrri.in and

www.crri.nic.in.

2. Mobile App on Castor

This mobile app provides information on castor production technologies, recommended

hybrid varieties, intercropping, major insects, pests and diseases and its remedies to castor

farmers.

3. Solapur Anar

This app aims to educate pomegranate growers about scientific pomegranate production

practices. The app includes publications for download from ICAR-NRCP website. Weather

forecast of the region, on the go daily market rates of pomegranate from across India,

announcement from National Research Centre on Pomegranate regarding upcoming

programmes such as trainings, seminar etc. contact with NRCP scientists for all problems

related to pomegranate. The app is available in English, Hindi and Marathi and is free to

download for pomegranate growers, researchers, extension personnel, industry and students.

4. Cane Advisor

Cane Adviser is a mobile app for cane growers and millers. It gives gives details from

planting to harvest with text and graphics for tropical and sub-tropical India. The features of

the app include static as well as dynamic platforms. The content runs to over 220 pages with

650 digital stills relevant to the content.

Mobile Advisory Services by Private Sector

1. Lifelines India

Connectivity by innovative mix of internet and telephony reaches 200 000 farmers in 2130

villages in four states of India (www.lifelines-india.net) with more than 400,000 questions and

answers in their knowledge base and eight completed crop cycles. It operates in partnership mode

with other organisations and NGOs.

Lifelines India- Soochna Se Samadhan (Solutions through Information), is an initiative to use the

power of voice as the primary means of information dissemination. It facilitates the exchange of

critical and timely information among marginalised communities so that it helps in improving

their quality of life. It aims to provide connectivity, content and capability via a phone-based

service.

2. Fisher Friend

QUALCOMM, M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Tata Teleservices and Asute

System Technology jointly implemented mobile based advisory services (instant access to helpful

information such as weather conditions, where they can and cannot fish and seeking information

on market prices) to fishing communities of costal Tamil Nadu since, 2007.

3. IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited (IKSL)

Through voice messages in local languages. 95 000 voice messages have been delivered and 81,

000 Q&A repositories with 5 000 feedback messages from the farmers have been received. 1.3

million active farmers are benefiting from IKSL’s Value Added Services and IKSL enrollment

has crossed four million with forty thousand cooperative societies operating as IKSL Retailers.

The farmers get access to a unique VAS platform that will broadcast five free voice messages on

mandi prices, farming techniques, weather forecasts, dairy farming, animal husbandry, rural

health initiatives and fertiliser availability etc. on a daily basis. In addition, the farmer will be able

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to call a dedicated helpline, manned by experts from various fields, to get answers to their

specific queries.

4. mKRISHI by TATA Consultancy Services

mKrishi is having three combimnation of services using Interactive Voice Response System

(IVRS), mobile based and automatic weather station information integrated service to the farmers

(http://www.tcs.com). Initially mKrishi was pilot tested among the grape growing farmers of

Bargaon village in Maharastra state of India. Camera enabled mobile phones with mKrishi

aplication software were distributed to the farmers. Automatic weather station with weather, soil

and leaf wetness sensors were installed at the farmers’ fields. This set-up was connected to a

wireless modem to send the dynamic weather and soil information to the expert over a cellular

network. The camera in the mobile phone was used to send high resolution pictures of the crop to

the experts. Farmers uploaded fertilizer and pesticide history of the crop through the mobile

phone having mKrishi client application software. A local person was deputed to assist the

farmers to feed the information throrugh the mobile.

5. Nokia Life Tools

Nokia Life Tools is a range of services which include agriculture, education and entertainment

services designed specially, for the consumers in small towns and rural areas of the emerging

markets. The service provides timely and relevant information customized to the user’s location

and personal preferences directly on their mobile phones. Nokia Life Tools Agriculture services

aim to plug the information gaps and needs of farmers by providing information on seeds,

fertilizers, pesticides, market prices, and weather (temperature, rainfall, wind conditions) via their

mobile phones. Information on weather, agriculture tips and techniques, as well as market prices

are provided to improve farmers’ productivity and earnings

6. KHETI (Knowledge Help Extension Technology Initiative)

KHETI, has been implemented since August, 2008, by the Sironj Crop Producers’ Company

(SCPCL), which is a co-operative of small farmers from the villages around Sironj in Madya

Pradesh State of India with the financial support from the UK Engineering and Physical Science

Research Council. KHETI provided solutions by integrating mobile phones, the internet and

desktop computers, and also by using Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS).

7. Behtar Zindagi (Better Life)

Behtar Zindagi was conceived by the Handygo’ product team and based on Interactive Voice

Response System (IVRS) on mobile in the regional languages to reach the rural population to

deliver voice based information services on improved package of practices in agriculture.

Information on commodity prices (mandi rate), weather forecast & agro-met advisory, advisory

for fisherman &management of inland fisheries, managing livestock, women & child health, HIV

& STDs and towards reducing mortality rate, rural finance & ongoing Govt. schemes, education

& self-employment options in rural sector are also provided.

8. Awaaz De (Give your voice)

Awaaz De is a software platform enabling organizations to engage with poor, remote, and

marginal communities by providing on-demand, many-to-many information access through

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mobile phones. People access Awaaz.De applications by dialling regular phone numbers to

create, browse, and share voice.

9. Spoken Web

VoiKiosk (Avaaj Otalo) is like voice-based information kiosk or voice based portal. VoiKiosk is

designed and developed by IBM Research to reach out to masses based on oral communication,

which is the forte of a country like India. Voikiosks are a central point of access for a community

where information relevant to the community can be posted and accessed directly by the users

themselves. This solution doesn’t rely on internet connectivity. It allows end users to directly

interact with the services removing the dependence on the kiosk operator.

10. Mrittikka

Mrittikka is a mobile phone and web-based online/offline application for the soil nutrient analysis

and recommendation to the farmers. Mrittikka is a joint venture between Grameen Intel Social

Business Limited and eKutir Social Business, Orissa, India. Based on the type of crop, soil type,

size of the land, planting season, and irrigation access, Mrittikka recommends specific fertilizers

and application amounts along with proper application method, source of fertilizer availability

and cost estimation.

11. Fasal

Fasal is a free SMS based product connecting rural farmers to buyers and provides them up-to-

date price information. Fasal, which started in 2008, establishes buyer-seller connection using

SMS. The service is currently available in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

12. Videokheti

Videokheti, developed by Microsoft Research India in collaboration with Digital Green, an NGO,

is a multimodal interface with speech, graphics, and touch on a smart phone or tablet designed to

make available to the farmers agricultural videos on a click and in their own dialect.

Mobile advisory apps by private sector

1. Plantix

Developed by: PEAT, Germany Plantix is a mobile app for plant disease diagnostics and monitoring. The App provides users

worldwide with customized information concerning best practices, information on preventive

measures and independent options for action. Plantix offers the possibility to send pictures of

affected plants directly via smartphone and guides through an identification process to determine the plant disease in a very simple manner. All pictures sent via the Mobile App are

tagged with coordinates, which enables real time monitoring of pest and diseases. Plantix app

was cutomized in collaboration with ICRISAT and State Agricultural University for local crop needs and was launched in Telugu. This has been demonstrated successfully with farmers in

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

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2. IFFCO Kisan Agriculture This app enables access to various modules including agricultural advisory, weather, market

prices, and agriculture information library in the form of text, images, audio and videos in the

selected language. The app also offers helpline numbers to get in touch with Kisan Call Centre

Services. The app supports eleven languages across India including English. Farmers can set their preferences based on their interests and need; on weather, mandi, advisory, Gyan Bhandar,

etc.

3. APEDA Farmer Connect

This mobile app allows a farmer to apply online for farm registration and approval by state

government and lab sampling by authorized laboratories. The farmer can track status of applications. An authorized State Government Officer, farmer or registered laboratory can login

to access the information. The Mobile app also assists State Horticulture Departments to capture

details of farmers, their farms and products & farm inspections etc. in real time straight from the

field. This app has in-built GPS capabilities to identify the farm location.

4. Digital Mandi India

This App helps in checking the latest Mandi prices of agricultural commodities reported from different states and districts/mandis in India. One can get commodity wise categorization or

state wise categorization. One can Browse through various commodity categories and get the

selected commodity’s pricereported by various states/by mandis. One can also browse prices in

different states/ mandis. It has simplified flow to reach the selected commodity’s mandi price.

5. Loop

Developed by: Digital Green

Loop is a mobile phone application launched by Digital Green, in Bihar, to improve

smallholder farmers’access to markets and to help them realize high income from sale of their

vegetables. The app improves farmers’ access to markets by helping them to aggregate their

perishable produce. Aggregators determine the market offering the best price, arrange transport,

sell the produce, complete the transaction on behalf of farmers and disburse payment to farmers

the same day. Loop enables aggregators to record collections, sale, transportation, trader details

and sends farmers receipts by text messages when sales are completed.

6. Dairy Telugu and Dairy Kannada

Developed by: Jayalaxmi Agrotech

The se apps are equipped with analytics and decision support system with language support.

The mobile app content is presented in the form of interactive audio video content, to help

farmers understand easily.

7. mKrishi Fisheries App

It generates Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ), a fish shoals prediction information based on the

remote sensing data received from NOAA satellites, sea surface temperature and the presence

of phytoplankton which form the food of several fish species. The app consolidates this

information and presents advisories in local language. Mumbai Research Centre of ICAR-

CMFRI piloted this service in 56 fishermen societies in Raigad, Maharashtra. This service is

available only to registered users.

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8. Fisher Friendly Mobile Application (FEMA)

The app provides vulnerable fishermen access to knowledge and information services on

weather, potential fishing zones, ocean state forecasts, disaster alerts and market related

information.The application is a decision support tool for the fisher community to make

informed decisions about their own personal safety and the safety of their boats, as well as

make smart choices for fishing and marketing their catch. FFMA is being used by fisher folk in

six states including Tamil Nadu, Puducherry,Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha, and West

Bengal.

Mobile apps for Social development

1. Gram Samvaad

A citizen centric mobile app to serve and empower the rural citizens of India, by facilitating

single window access by citizens to information at Gram Panchayat level on various Rural

Development programs, covering inter-alia programme objectives, scope and performance.

2. Janmanrega

A citizen centric mobile app provides an interface to improve quality of public services

under MGNREGA.

3. AwaasApp

A citizen centric mobile app to inspect and report the houses constructed under PMAYG or

other rural housing schemes.

4. Meri Sadak

A citizen centric mobile app to enable users to give their feedback regarding pace of works,

quality of works etc. of PMGSY roads to the Nodal Departments in the State Governments

/ National Rural Roads Development Agency (NRRDA).

5. Kaushal Panjee - Skill Register

A citizen centric mobile for DDUGKY and RSETI where Rural Youth can register free of

cost and be connected to Training Partners and Banks working in collaboration with the

Ministry of Rural Development.

6. Suyojana

Designed to benefit Auxiliary Nurse Midwives, who play a decisive role in ensuring better

maternal health care and child care, in rural Karnataka, this app provides systematic

guidelines regarding antenatal and postnatal services.

7. mDemand

Developed by Dhwani Rural Information Systems in collaboration with Samarthan, a

Bhopal-based non-profit organisation, mDemand enables villagers to register and monitor

their requests for construction of toilets in rural areas.

8. GoCoop

GoCoop, is an online social marketplace for India’s cooperatives and community-based

enterprises. It works with more than 70,000 producers, and aims to impact a million

weavers and artisans working in rural areas.

9. mSakhi

It’s is an all-in-one job aid and electronic medical record system that replaces multiple

paper-based tools and helps health workers gain access to the most up-to-date training and

information in easy-to-understand, convenient formats that work for them.

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10. ArogyaSakhi

A mobile application helping rural women entrepreneurs delivering preventive health care

at rural doorsteps. help women in setting up social enterprises for delivering preventive

health care solutions and enable them to have access to sustainable livelihood options.

11. Self-Reliant Initiatives through Joint Action (SRIJAN)

A mobile- based soya crop monitoring system that enables women farmers to increase

profitability, productivity and efficiency. SRIJAN’s Soya Samriddhi project focuses on

enhancing the productivity and profitability of the small farmers. Due to SRIJAN’s

intervention, Soya Samriddhi farmers received 47 percent higher average yield than other

farmers in spite of poor rainfall.

12. Operation ASHA

OpASHA’s TB Contact Tracing and Active Case Finding software increases detection rates

and diagnosis of potential patients.

13. SNEHA (Society for Nutrition Education and Health Action)

Little Sisters project helping tackle the social issue of domestic violence with mobile phone

technology. Through crisis intervention at the right time, SNEHA helps women identify

the most suitable course of action to deal with domestic violence. They collaborate with the

police, health and legal systems to provide the appropriate and timely help to women and

children in need.

14. Citizen Connect SMS

Surat Municipal corporation launched a mobile app ‘Citizens Connect’ that enables

information sharing and service providing through latest technology. The mobile app,

which can be downloaded free of cost on Android phones, provides information regarding

elected and administrative wings, registration procedures, recruitment advertisements and

even rainfall.

15. Early education web channel

Chinh India focuses on empowering children and people from marginalized communities.

This mobile app for the children is a unique tool that engages and educates children through

various films made by other children. The main focus of this app is to enable children to

think critically, communicate effectively and empathize with others.

16. Citizen COP

This Madhya Pradesh-based app allows users to help the Police maintain law and order

through a mobile phone. The interesting app is called Citizen Cop andhas features like

Report an Incident, Help Me (SOS) for Emergency Help, e-Laxman Rekha, Search Towed

Vehicle and Vehicle Owner Search, and Auto-Taxi Fare Calculator.

17. Eye Connect

Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Medical Trust has been providing quality eye care facilities to the

poor since 1977, through the Sankara Eye Care Institution. Their vision is help people get

freedom from curable and preventable blindness at affordable prices. To make this easier,

they launched an Android mobile app,Eye-Connect, to automate community eye care. The

field workers from the institution use mobile phone to identify people in the villages who

need eye care.

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Mobile helplines

1. Bayer Helpline

1800-120-4049 or 1800-200-6321, operational between 09:00 am – 06:00 pm every

Monday to Saturday.

2. Agri War Room

To resolve problems in getting agricultural inputs and farm implements. (8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

and 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.). The helpline numbers are 080-22212818 and 080-22210237.

3. Gram Vaani (Mobile Vaani)

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) service that reaches over 800,000 households across 12

states. Platform for grievance redressal and to support women’s labour unions in Tamil

Nadu.

Name Contact

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin) 1800-11-6446

Helpline for Handloom Weavers ‘Bunkar Mitra’ - Working

Hours :10:00 AM to 6:00 PM

1800-208-9988

Startup India Hub - Working Hours :10:00 AM to 5:30 PM 1800115565

Help centre on Gold schemes of Government of India 18001800000

'Eyeway National Helpdesk' for Visually Impaired Citizens 1800-300-20469

UIDAI -Aadhar card 18003001947

Anti Corruption Bureau 1800222021

National Consumer Helpline 1800114000

Core Centre Helpline 18001804566

PF Office Mumbai 1800118005

Telecom Monitoring Cell 1800110420

Ex. Serviceman Contributory Health Scheme( ECHS)-Helpline 1800114115

Registrar General and Census Commissioner India 1800 110 111

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) 18004254372

Tax Return Prepares (TRPS) 18001023738 / 1800113738

Central Vigilance Commission 1800 11 0180

Income Tax-e-Filling 1800 4250 0025

e-procurement 1800 3070 2232

Income Tax Department 18004252229

Passport Seva Kendra 18002581800

PAN Card 18001801961

Telecom Monitoring Cell 1800110420

Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India 1800 110 111

TIN Verification Number 18001801961

Tax Return Prepares (TRPS) 18001023738 / 1800113738

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

(NREGA)

1800110707

Jan Aushadhi 18001808080

Kisan Call Centre 18001801551

IMD Weather on Web 18001801717

Crop Insurance Schemes -ICICI Lombard 18002666

Crop Insurance Schemes-IFFCO Tokio 18001035499

Crop Insurance Schemes-Reliance general 18003009

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Crop Insurance Schemes-Royal Sundaram 18604250000

Crop Insurance Schemes -TATA AIG Insurance 18002667780

Crop Insurance Schemes- Future Generali 1800220233 / 18605003333

Crop Insurance Schemes -HDFC ERGO 18002700700

Crop Insurance Schemes -Chola Insurance 18002005544

Crop Insurance Schemes -L&T insurance 18002095846

Central Vigilance Commission 1800110180

Income Tax-e-Filling 180042500025

e-procurement 180030702232

Central Pension Accounting Open

Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana

1800117788

1800 11 0001 / 1800 180 1111

Community Radio Facilitation Centre 1800 11 6346

National Career Service 1800-425-1514 (Timing:

Tue-Sun 08:00 AM to 08:00 PM)

Toll Free Helpline for Cable TV Digitisation 1-800-180-4343

Impact of mobile utilization on up-gradation of health, education & social skills

m-Education

On an average, the rural population having below primary education is 13.97 per cent and till middle level

is 13.53 per cent. Illiteracy, one of the country’s biggest problem, is the result of lack of easy access from

schools. Also, the teacher-student ration in most villages is also very high. To combat these issues, internet and different applications of it can come to rescue.

Present Rural Education

1. Lack of easy access to schools –Most villages have very poor connectivity to travel to government schools and hence, it demotivates them to continue with studies.

2. Indirect costs are very high –Costs for provisions provided by the school are very high from school

uniforms to textbooks. 3. Lack of teachers

4. Poor infrastructure of the school –The school doesn’t have proper classroom, clean toilets, reliable

electricity etc. 5. Mostly well experienced professionals migrate to urban areas since they are getting paid very less in

rural areas.

6. In most of the rural schools the teaching equipment that is used is only blackboard and chalk.

7. For students who want to really learn, they have only one source i.e. teacher. So they are fully dependent on teachers. If the teacher is not very well trained in that subject then they don’t have any other

source. This leads to lack of interest of the students in that subject.

E-learning refers to the use of technology to deliver learning. Mobile education or mobile learning is E-

Learning in which the end devices are mobile devices. Smartphone penetration into India’s mobile market

is expanding. For now, most low income groups use feature phones. Hence, the new ed-tech interventions are creating applications for both smart phones and feature phones. An analysis of empirical research

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(Yao-Ting Sung et al. 2016) on the use of mobile devices revealed that the overall effect of using mobile devices as a tool in education is better than using desktop computers. Due to:

Low costs and increasing ubiquity

Delivery of 'anytime, anywhere' education

Reduces the gap between urban education and the rural.

m-Learning can hugely save the long distances that students have to travel to attend far-away

schools.

Present Initiatives In Rural India

• Gurukul School in rural Bihar is run through power generators and Skype. The attendance of

students is taken through computers and teachers by the use of fingerprint machines.

•8 day academy, which conduct 8 days seminar on important topics like computers, development

of skills, speaking in public etc. A few NPOs have been working on bringing internet in Rural

India’s education and have seen success in the same. This has given positive results as well.

• EDUSAT: EDUSAT is the first dedicated “Educational Satellite” that provide India with

satellite based two-way communication to classroom for delivering educational materials.

• Samudaya: In Raichur district of Karnataka, Cisco used technology to deliver content out of

video interfacing to provide remote education by experts and qualified teachers out of Bangalore.

Proposed Initiative

a. Video Learning: The first proposed solution is the use of videos to impart education among the

students of rural India.Offline videos can be downloaded and viewed. In this way, lectures given by

qualified experts from urban cities can be easily viewed by the students.

b. Examination: The second proposed solution is with regard to exams conducted which are an equally

important part of the education system. M-Learning can be used to conduct Multiple Choice

Questions in two forms : 1. Vivas conducted on telephonically for the students – on call or through a

recorder. 2. Written exams can also be conducted online or via SMS’s without having to travel long

distances. By giving online tests the students can also get the results immediately within few seconds.

c. Feedback: The third proposed solution is the feedback of the tests given by students. After giving

online tests, the students can fill the online survey form and can give their opinion regarding the test.

This helps us to know the students better.

d. Interactives: The fourth proposed solution is to use interactives as an alternative for textbooks.

Instead of using static textbooks which contains only text, we can use interactives which will explain

the chapter by using graphics, images, 3D animated videos etc. These interactives can be viewed in

tablets or smart phones. The students can learn all the subjects by using single tablet rather than

carrying different textbooks for all subjects. This will also be cost effective.

m-Health

Given the ubiquity of mobile phones, their use to support healthcare in the Indian context is inevitable. It

is however necessary to assess end-user perceptions regarding mobile health interventions especially in

the rural Indian context prior to its use in healthcare. This would contextualize the use of mobile phone

communication for health to 70% of the country's population that resides in rural India. The healthcare

system in India is already overburdened; the doctor-patient ratio is alarmingly unhealthy with just one

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doctor for every 1800 citizens in urban areas which dips further in rural areas to one doctor per 60,000

patients. The health care infrastructure in rural India is also grossly inadequate at all levels – primary

healthcare centers, community healthcare centers and sub-center levels; all are lacking in facilities,

medicines and trained manpower. Added to which, the doctor absenteeism in rural areas is around 56 %,

further compounding the problem.

In such a dismal scenario, a ray of light is emerging in the form of mobile phone technology. Despite the

lack of basic facilities like electricity, drinking water, education or healthcare infrastructure, the mobile

phone penetration in India is huge. Although only 3% of households in India have a PC, over 69% of

households have a mobile phone. In fact India has the 2nd largest mobile phone subscription base in the

world, with over 900 million mobile phone users and has already surpassed China in the high-end

smartphone market on the back of falling prices of high-end devices and the growing adoption of 3G

services. Mobile devices have good penetration even in rural areas where other sophisticated

infrastructure components do not exist.

The innovative practice of using mobile phones for the delivery of healthcare delivery has been termed as

m-health. M-health is fast emerging as a sub-segment of eHealth (the use of information and

communication technology for healthcare) and with the advancement of technology, m-health as a

concept extends to the use of any type of mobile device (e.g. phones, tablet computers, PDAs etc. ) for

healthcare delivery.

M-health can be broadly used in the following three ways to help the end consumer –

Information Services - the lowest tier of m-health offers one-way communication between healthcare

providers and patients. Patients can read basic information about diseases, healthcare myths, treatments of

common ailments etc. and can send questions to a panel of medical experts.

Enabling Services - This kind of m-health service allows for a two-way information-flow between the

patient and healthcare providers. This type of service can act as a substitute for traditional methods of

health delivery and can help extend health services to a much larger market. These include services such

as teleconsultation, video consultation over 3G, appointment scheduling, triaging, SMS prescription

services etc.

Transformative Services - This is the most transformative arm of m-health, where real time health data

can be collected by the m-health network. Currently these kinds of services in the field are limited to

health monitoring for chronic conditions such as cancer and diabetes. The platform can also include vital

sign monitoring during healthcare transportation of a patient, transmission of real time radiology images

during live surgeries etc.

Social Inclusion through mobile phones

Mobile platform not only eliminates digital divide, but also play a vital role in communication and social

participation. ICTs, such as social media, provide people with effective communication ways and promote

information sharing. Social inclusion is “the extent that individuals, families, communities are able to

fully participate in society and control their own destinies”. Social inclusion has three aspects.

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(1) Political inclusion relates to a social group or individual citizen’s ability to be involved in political

activities, such as voicing their opinions, participating in democratic political decisions.

(2) Social participation inclusion relates to the extent to which a group or an individual participates in

society, in terms of social interaction and interpersonal networks.

(3) Economic inclusion means people have plentiful job opportunities and can be productively engaged

in train and work, leading to economic growth and poverty alleviation. The degree of participation in

political democratization, social life and economic activities determine people’s sense of belonging to

society.

ICTs can enable various marginalized people to join an inclusive society. For resettled refugees, ICTs are

viewed as a useful resource that provides settlement services, helps them be socially connected and

communicate effectively, and promotes their participation in a new resettled society. For communities

during natural disasters, social media empowers them to achieve collective participation, shared

identification, and collaborative control. In rural areas, it is also important that vulnerable rural residents,

such as rural children, older people, rural women, etc., learn about the usage of ICTs, and that

governments or firms take the lead in organizing inclusion-promoting projects

Mobile platform is a software tool that integrates resources, and provides services and content to support

interactions and transactions among multiple sets of actors. Mobile platform is based on smartphones or

other portable devices and has the advantages of mobilization, connection, and interaction. It can deliver

information accurately and promptly, facilitate interactions among multi-actors and promote community

building . There are different types of mobile platforms, for example, transactional platforms serve as

intermediaries between buyers and sellers, such as the mobile payment platform, including PhonePay and

Google pay. Communication platforms support participant’s group communication, sharing and opinion

expressions, such as social media, including Facebook and Whatsapp. Participative platforms attract

customers to participate actively in product improvement and to configure new service or business

decision with the company together, for example, a company motivates and invites customers to

participate in new product R&D. In rural areas, mobile platforms play an important role mainly as the

transactional and communication platforms. Although the majority of urban citizens can be connected to

the Internet by mobile phones, most rural citizens in developing countries can hardly access to

information services. Mobile platforms provide potential features or functionalities to overcome the

barriers of distance through mobile connectivity, increasing farmers’ access to public and private

information, as well as linking buyers and sellers, facilitating agricultural data collection and improving

access to financial services as well as m-Banking.

Problems and Prospects

Problems:

1. Design (Navigation): One of the most basic challenges observed thus far pertains to navigating a

given app-based service. On the whole, there are a number of dimensions to these challenges, as outlined

below:

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Screen/ icons: apps where all functions could be accessed from a single screen appeared to be easier and

more intuitive to use, as opposed to apps where multiple screens, and multiple navigation choices were

involved.

Use of voice: Large number farmers appeared to rely on mic/ voice features of Android phones in order to

complete small tasks such as searching for apps on Play Store. As voice computing becomes more and

more feasible and popular across the world and India, it perhaps thus offers a solution to overcome

various challenges of ICT/ digital literacy in rural areas.

2. Trust, comfort with technology, and affordances: One of the prominent gaps in both research and

practice in the agri/financial app space remains the question of what ‘hooks’ might work best for low

income segments to adopt digital technologies and services. However, from our fieldwork, we observe a

persistent lack of trust in this regard. This appears to arise from a lack of understanding on the range of

capabilities of a smartphone, knowledge of the internet and its workings, and little to no understanding of

passwords and encryption.

3. Poor internet connectivity/ Infrastructure: While infrastructure/ connectivity issues are fast improving,

there is still plenty to be done if the mass adoption and usage of app-based services is to be achieved. In

villages, we observed delays in receiving SMS/ OTP (during app registration), and poor internet

connectivity in parts of rural areas.

4. Age: Across the board, older segments of population faced significant challenges in using the various

smartphone based services we tested. In multiple instances, we found that older farmers often either

refrained from using smartphone based services due to a lack of familiarity, or relied on their educated

children to help them.

5. Electric fluctuations in village areas, which is a common problem deters the pathway of further

development of ICT into remote areas.

6. Lack of awareness and digital literacy among rural people is a major problem in expansion of mobile

based services.

7. Lack of Transparency/ Ambiguity in online platforms, which makes user hesitant in feeding data and

information into the apps and websites. There is also a trust issue among rural people while using web or

mobile based services.

Future Prospects:

eGovernance in rural areas

Boost towards ePayments (Cashless India)

High speed internet connection should be available for every gram panchyats

e-Justice

e-election (Digital Voting)

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Research Studies

Research Study 1: Use of Mobile phones a ICT tools by Dairy Entrepreneurs in Kolhapur District of

Maharastra

Warthi Mrunal Jagan, (2017)

Study was conducted in Kolhapur District of Maharastra, 3 Blocks were selected and from each block

2 villages, totaling of 6 villages were selected as sample. 20 dairy entrepreneurs selected from each

villages. Total number of respondents were 120.

Table shows majority of respondents used mobile phone for availing information on breeding,

feeding and healthcare of dairy animals regularly.

Implications of study:

1. Study showed 100% of farmers have favorable attitude towards use of mobile phone for obtaining

information regarding animal husbandry and agriculture.

2. Major benefits perceived by dairy farmers were ease in access to veterinary expert, reduces time

and distance barrier, timely access to useful information, ease in handling.

3. Ease in marketing and marketing information.

Research study 2: A Study on Farmers perception and utility of mobile e-Extension services in

agriculture.

(Eldagi Prashant S.)

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Study was conducted in Gulbarga district of Karnataka. Out of seven taluk, three taluk were selected

(Gulbarga, Chittapur and Jewargi). Total number of farmers selected as respondents are 120.

Table shows respondents corresponded mobile SMS by given by KVK and APMC as most useful and

useful in majority of aspects.

Implications of study:

1. Study found that Majority (98%) of farmers possessed mobile phones.

2. Majority (67%) of farmers perceived SMS services provided by KVK and APMC useful.

3. Majority (66%) of farmers fully adopted pest management strategies with respect to red gram.

Research study 3: Mobile Phones: The Next Step towards Healthcare Delivery in Rural India

Sherwin I. DeSouza et al. (2014)

This is an exploratory study done at a village, 52 kilometers from Bangalore, Karnataka State. Village had

608 households, 558 were available and willing to participate in the study, of these only 488 owned a

mobile phone and were enrolled.

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Of the 484 respondents willing to receive health information via mobile phones, 218 (45%) preferred to

receive the information daily, 223 (46%) weekly, and 42 (9%) monthly. A majority 371 (76%) preferred

to receive vaccination reminders a day earlier to the date of vaccination, 73 (15%) on the vaccination day

itself and 42 (9%) from a week to a month prior to the date of vaccination.

Implications of study:

1. Of 488 respondents, 484 (99%) were open to receiving health information on mobile phones.

Topics that participants preferred information on included healthy living, nutrition, maternal and

child health, vaccination, self-care in chronic illnesses and information on infectious disease

epidemics.

2. mHealth interventions such as reminders and information disseminating applications via mobile

phone were acceptable by rural people.

3. The voice call was the preferred mode of communication in our setting, and needs to be

considered in light of the popularity of SMSs globally.

4. From among 488 respondents, 475 (97%) felt that receiving health information via mobile phones

was not an intrusion into their lives. On the contrary, 345 (70%) felt that calling their doctor over

the phone would disturb the doctor at work.

Research study 4: A study on use of e-Learning among rural youth.

Kawita Bhatt (2019)

Study conducted in Udaipur district of Rajasthan, in Badegaon panchayat samiti, 7 government

schools were selected. Total number of students selected as respondents are 140.

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Above table and graph suggest that mobile phone was most used means of e-learning, and applications

mostly used by students are Youtube and Quora.

Implications of study:

1. Study concluded that most of the respondents used internet (94%) and smartphone (93%).

2. More than half respondent’s perceived mobile learning useful in exams, provides answer to each

and every query.

3. Helpful in learning concepts, provides current affairs, and increases general awareness to great

extent.

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Conclusion

There are numerous usages of mobile phones by rural people. There has been improved access to

knowledge in agriculture, including non-grain products, such as vegetables and milk production. It has

added personal touch to the machines through voice calls, IVRS and Interactive made understanding

easier through pictures and videos and instant communication with agricultural experts anytime anywhere

a reality through mobile communications. Other aspect of rural development such as m-Education and m-

Health can be a boon for people living in remote areas. This dynamic growth of mobile communications

technology is creating opportunities for economic growth, social empowerment, and grassroots

innovation.

References:

BHATT, K., 2019, A Study On Use Of E-Learning Among Rural Youth. M.Sc. thesis (Pub.),

Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur.

DESOUZA, S., I., RASHMI, M.,R., VASANTHI, A.,P., JOSEPH, S.,M., RODRIGUES, R., 2014,

Mobile Phones: The Next Step towards Healthcare Delivery in Rural India?. PLOS ONE, 9(8):

104-895.

ELADAGI PRASHANT S., 2014, A Study On Farmers’ Perception And Utility Of Mobile E-

Extension Services In Agriculture. M.Sc. thesis (Pub.), Univ. Agric. Sci., Raichur.

JAGAN, W., M., 2017, Use of Mobile phones a ICT tools by Dairy Entrepreneurs in Kolhapur

District of Maharastra. M.Sc. thesis (Pub.), Maharastra Animal and Fishery Science

University, Nagpur.

NIELSON,2020, Digital in India report(2019-2020). Internet and Mobile association of India.

Discussion

1. How to bridge the gender difference in mobile ownership?

Throughout the world, economic, social and cultural obstacles prevent or limit women’s access

to,use of, and benefits from ICTs, a phenomenon referred to as the gender digital divide.

ncreasing girls’ and women's digital skills involves early, varied and sustained exposure to digital

technologies. Interventions should not be limited to formal education settings, they should reflect

a multifaceted approach, enabling women and girls to acquire skills in a variety of formal and

informal contexts (at home, in school, in their communities and in the workplace)

Adopting sustained, varied and life-wide approaches;

Establishing incentives, targets and quotas;

Embedding ICT in formal education;

Supporting engaging experiences;

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Emphasising meaningful use and tangible benefits;

Encouraging collaborative and peer learning;

Creating safe spaces and meet women where they are;

Examining exclusionary practices and language;

Recruiting and training gender-sensitive teachers;

Promoting role models and mentors;

Bringing parents on board;

Leveraging community connections and recruiting allies;

Supporting technology autonomy and women's digital rights

2. Initiatives for more Internet boosting to develop e-governance?

Government has launched various schemes to boost use of technology to connect and empower

people in areas relating to health, education, labour and employment, commerce, etc. The

initiative comprises of several projects which will focus on better governance, knowledge and

universal phone connectivity across the country.Some of which are:

Digi Locker: launched as an important facility to store crucial documents like Voter ID

Card, Pan Card, BPL Card, Driving License, education certificates, etc. in the cloud.

MyGov.in : The portal works as an online platform to engage citizens in governance

through a “Discuss”, “Do” and “Disseminate” approach.

Esign framework: This initiative would enable users to digitally sign a document online

using Aadhaar authentication

Swach Bharat Mission mobile app : The app will enable organizations and citizens to

access information regarding the cleanliness drive and achieve the goals of the mission.

eHospital : Online Registration System under this initiative enables people to avail

services like online registration, payment of fees and appointment, online diagnostic

reports, checking on the availability of blood online, etc.

Digitize India Platform: This initiative will involve digitization of data and records on a

large scale in the country to make easy and quick access to them possible.

3. Which is most used app by farmers in agriculture?

Most used app by farmers are Kisan Suvidha, Pusa Krishi, IFFCO kisan, mKrishi etc.

4. What is the right age to own a smartphone?

Parents have to remember that there is no right or wrong age to give the phone to your child.

Every child is different and their maturity level varies too. So, the right age is when a parent feel

that your kid is ready-- it can be 8th grade or the end of the high school. If you feel that they are

responsible enough to handle extracurricular activities and social responsibilities without the

smartphone. According to the recent Influence Central report, Kids & Tech: The Evolution of

Today’s Digital Natives, the average age for a child to get their first smartphone is currently 10.3

years. The right age you should give the smartphone to your child is when you have laid the

groundwork and talked about the rules of using the smartphone to prevent overusing it.

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5. Why mobile phone are not used for economic growth in rural areas?

Due to lack of awareness among rural citizens regarding new and innovative methods of banking

and transaction, another reason maybe not able to afford android phone, on which majority of

m-finance apps are compatible.

6. What are the extension strategies useful for making people m-aware?

Training and seminars can be organized at school level to make people aware about

existing online platforms.

Training can be given to rural people specially youth about mobile apps and other ICT

tools such a internet, smart classroom, and they should be motivated to learn through that.

Teachers and Extension worker can take initiative to provide rural people with e-learning

materials.

There can be schemes to provide rural people with Laptops and mobile specially those

who are pursuing higher studies.

Facility of internet connection should be provided at rural govt. schools.

Training regarding use and awareness of crop and cattle related apps can be given to

farmers.

Government can set up village knowledge center or internet kiosk at villages or cluster of

villages to increase digital literacy of rural populace.

7. Problems associated with marketing of milk?

Mobile phone help in ease of access to information and marketing channels to milk producer who

are not in cooperative and also those who are. It keeps producer updated with market price and

also helps in selling and producing value added products along with it.

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UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, BANGALORE

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION

COA, GKVK, BENGALURU-560065

Name: Sakshi Shrivastav Date: 23-01-2021

ID. No: PALB-9164 Time: 9:30 am

Class: Sr. M.Sc. Venue: Dr. Dwarakinath

hall

Seminar I

Mobile Technologies and Indian Rural Upliftment

Synopsis

In recent years, the mobile phone has emerged as an important development tool. It is seen as a

device that has the potential to break the rural–urban developmental gap by delivering information

on a variety of economic and social issues. Mobile phones can facilitate need-based and user-

centric information and services at an affordable cost to India’s rural population, which was

hitherto unreachable.

India is riding the wave of digitisation, with the delivery of services to citizens rapidly shifting to

digital platforms. With widespread adoption of smartphones running on open operating systems

like Android, there are currently more than 300 government applications, which are facilitating

essential citizen services, including information dissemination, direct benefit transfers, education

and healthcare. In this context, the present seminar explores the impact of mobile phone usage on

livelihood of rural people in India through following objectives.

1. To explore the prospects of mobile for rural communities

2. To understand the mobile utilization pattern of rural communities & challenges.

3. To review the impact of mobile utilization on up-gradation of health, education & social

skills.

National Mobile usage scenario

According to a report jointly released by Indian Cellular and Electronics Association and

consulting firm KPMG, rural India witnessed a year-on-year growth of 35% in 2018 as opposed

to 7% growth in urban India in the same period in terms of internet users. Smartphone

penetration in rural India has risen from 9% in 2015 to 25% in 2018. As a result of increased

digital inclusion there are currently more than 300 government apps, which are facilitating

essential citizen services, including information dissemination, direct benefit transfers, education

and healthcare.

Prospects of Mobile usage for rural community

Agriculture continues to be the most important sector of the Indian economy. There is a non-

negotiable need of complementary advisory service in this area. In this existing scenario and

with impressive mobile penetration in rural areas, integration of ICTs in agricultural extension

will provide much needed impetus to agricultural sector and ICTs can complement the traditional

extension system. Various mobile advisory services are also provided by ICAR institutes and

KVKs to provide improved package of practices in agriculture. Some of the popular Advisory

services and apps include,Kisan Call Center, Mandi on Mobile Kisan Suvidha, Pusa Krishi,

eSAP, eNAM, RiceXpert, Pashu Poshan, Crop Insurance etc.Some of the popular services

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provided and apps developed by private agencies are mKRISHI, Lifelines india, Fisher Friend,

Nokia life tools, Plantix, IFFCO Kisan, Digital mandi india, Loop, FEMA etc.

There are many services and apps for social development and change in rural area by both public

and private sector. Some of them include, Gramsamvad, Janmanrega, Aawas app, Meri Sadak,

ArogyaSakhi, mDemand etc. There are Mobile helplines for every govt. department and private

helpline are also there to help farmers as well as rural citizens.

Mobile utilization pattern

Mostly in rural context, the mobile phone is used for keeping in touch with friends and family

members (social networking). It’s also found useful for economic purposes like securing

information on agriculture, employment and credit in some areas. Rural youths and few of the

progressive rural citizens used mobile phones for improving their livelihood skills through

education and securing information on healthcare. It’s also revealed that they used mobile phones

for entertainment and contacting others during emergencies. (Balwant Singh Mehta, 2018)

Impact on health, education and social skills of rural people

Given their low costs and increasing ubiquity, even in very poor communities, there is a great

potential for mobile phones to aid in the delivery of 'anytime, anywhere' education. In developing

country like India where more than 50% of the population lives in rural parts, rural education is an

important part that leads to the betterment of the society and country. Mobile education without

doubt, will bring a positive change towards the enhancement of the rural education in India.

Given the ubiquity of mobile phones, their use to support healthcare in the Indian context is

inevitable. Healthcare communication directed at rural people via mobile phones, could empower

them with the necessary knowledge to promote not only their own health but also the health of

their families.

Growing use of mobile phones has also helped in bridging the digital divide in rural-urban areas

and has fundamentally changed the way of economy. It has brought people closer not only through

network and communications but also through political, economic and social inclusion.

Research studies

Jagan (2017) concluded that cent per cent of farmers have favourable attitude towards use of

mobile phone for obtaining information regarding animal husbandry and agriculture.

Eldagi (2014) reported that majority (67%) of farmers perceived SMS services provided by KVK

and APMC useful and have fully adopted package of practices provided through mobile phone

with respect to their crop.

DeSouza et al (2014), elucidated that majority of respondents (99%) were open to receiving health

information on mobile phones. Voice call was preferred mode of communication.

Bhatt (2019), investigated that most of the respondents used internet (94%) and smartphone (93%).

More than half respondent’s perceived mobile learning useful in exams, provides answer to each

and every query.

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Conclusion

There are numerous usages of mobile phones by rural people. There has been improved access to

knowledge in agriculture, including non-grain products, such as vegetables and milk production. It

has added personal touch to the machines through voice calls, IVRS and Interactive made

understanding easier through pictures and videos and instant communication with agricultural

experts anytime anywhere a reality through mobile communications. Other aspect of rural

development such as m-Education and m-Health can be a boon for people living in remote areas. This dynamic growth of mobile communications technology is creating opportunities for economic

growth, social empowerment, and grassroots innovation.

References

BHATT, K., 2019, A Study On Use Of E-Learning Among Rural Youth. M.Sc. thesis (Pub.),

Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur.

DESOUZA, S., I., RASHMI, M.,R., VASANTHI, A.,P., JOSEPH, S.,M., RODRIGUES, R., 2014,

Mobile Phones: The Next Step towards Healthcare Delivery in Rural India?. PLOS ONE, 9(8):

104-895.

ELADAGI PRASHANT S., 2014, A Study On Farmers’ Perception And Utility Of Mobile E-

Extension Services In Agriculture. M.Sc. thesis (Pub.), Univ. Agric. Sci., Raichur.

JAGAN, W., M., 2017, Use of Mobile phones a ICT tools by Dairy Entrepreneurs in Kolhapur

District of Maharastra. M.Sc. thesis (Pub.), Maharastra Animal and Fishery Science

University, Nagpur.

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