Airtel, IFFCO take mobile to AP's rural areas

HYDERABAD, INDIA: Bharti Airtel Limited has announced its ‘Grameena Mobile Kranthi’ campaign for penetrating deeper into Andhra Pradesh’s rural market by means of customized and affordable products and services particularly meant for rural consumers.

Airtel has entered into a strategic tie-up with the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative limited (IFFCO) and formed a new joint venture company called IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited (IKSL).

This joint venture company will harness the power of telecom to add value to the farm sector and empower the rural farmer by giving him access to vital market information at his fingertips.

IKSL will offer products and services, expressly designed for farmers, through IFFCO societies in villages across the state. On offer will be affordable mobile handsets bundled with an Airtel mobile connection.

The farmer will get access to farming techniques, weather forecasts, dairy farming, animal husbandry, rural health initiatives and fertilizer availability etc. on a daily basis.

RVS Bhullar, COO, IKSL, “IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Ltd. is a unique venture to strengthen the cooperative movement in rural India, to empower the farmers through information, to boost the rural economy, and also to create rural employment.”