2. E-Choupal
An initiative of ITC Limited.
Conceived to tackle the challenges posed by the
unique features of Indian agriculture - fragmented
farms, weak infrastructure and the involvement of
numerous intermediaries.
Involves the installation of
computers with Internet access
in rural areas of India to offer
farmers up-to-date marketing
and agricultural information.
3. Sanchalak –
A literate in village is elected from among the village
population. He acts as a mediator and retrieve the
information on behalf of the farmer.
The computer, typically housed in the farmer’s house.
It is linked to the Internet via phone lines or by a VSAT
connection.
It serves an average of
600 farmers in 10
surrounding villages
within about a
5 kilometer radius.
4. Benefits –
Accurate weighing, faster processing time, and prompt
payment.
Access to a wide range of information, including
market price knowledge, weather, scientific farming
practices, farmer peer groups, soil-testing and market
trends.
Helps them decide when, where, and at what price to
sell.
Serves as both a social gathering place for exchange of
information (choupal means gathering place in Hindi)
and an e-commerce hub.
5. Process –
The farmer carries a sample to local kiosk and receives
a spot quote from the sanchalak. If the farmer accepts
the quote, he can transport the produce directly to an
ITC collection center, and gets payment within two
hours.
Success data –
Today this initiative of ITC
has empowered the lives of
people living in 10 states
where 40000 villages have
6500 e-choupals and
around 4 million farmers
have been empowered.
6. Statement of a farmer - “Initially we were restricted
to selling our produce in the local mandi. We had to go
through middlemen and prices were low. ITC trained
me to manage the Internet kiosk and I became the
Sanchalak in my village. Today we are a community of
e-farmers with access to daily prices of a variety of
crops in India and abroad – this helps us to get the
best price. We can also find out about many other
important things – weather forecasts, the latest
farming techniques, crop insurance, etc. e-Choupal
has not only changed the quality of our lives, but our
entire outlook.”
7. Shakti Project
HUL's rural initiative which targets small villages with
population less than 2000.
Aim –
To increase the company's rural distribution reach.
To empower underprivileged women by providing
income-generating opportunities, education and
access to relevant information.
Combines the social objective with business strategy.
Started in 2001 with 17 women in two states.
Today, it provides livelihood enhancing opportunities
to about 45,000 women in 15 Indian states and
provides access to quality products across 100,000+
villages and over 3 million households every month .
8. Shakti Amma –
Women from the village are selected as Shakti
entrepreneurs and trained.
She is asked to put up Rs 20,000 as investment which
is used to buy products for selling.
The products are then sold door-to-door or through
petty shops at home.
On an average a Shakti
Amma makes a 10%
margin on the
products she sells.
9. Shakti Vani –
Works to improve the quality of life in rural India, by
spreading awareness of best practices in health and
hygiene.
Trained communicators visit schools and village
congregations to spread messages on sanitation, good
hygiene practices and women empowerment.
Serves as a rural
communication vehicle
and helps the Shakti
entrepreneurs in their
sales.
10. i-Shakti –
an IT-enabled community portal established across
the state of Andhra Pradesh in 2004.
Designed to give rural people access to information via
a network of village “kiosks” containing internet linked
computers run by entrepreneurs.
Villagers can access free content,
developed in their local language,
or email questions on a wide
range of topics, including
Unilever products, health and
hygiene, agriculture, education,
finance and employment.
11. Shaktimaan –
In 2010-11, men of the Shakti families were given
bicycles to cover surrounding villages to increase
HUL’s distribution and sales as well as enhance the
income of Shakti families.
Chosen based on his location
advantage and his proximity to
villages which are to be covered.
There are now 30,000
Shaktimaans across India.
It is estimated that the Shaktimaan would earn more
due to the arduous task he has been given to perform.
