Telecom Lead India: In a bid to empower farming and
allied communities of rural areas in Rajasthan, telecom major Bharti
Airtel has introduced a mobile based service in conjunction with VAS provider
Handygo Technologies called Behtar Zindagi.
Supporting a wide range of dialects and is available in
Hindi and 17 other regional languages, the IVR-based service will provide a
wide array of relevant and useful information including market prices,
agricultural & cropping advisory, livestock advisory, weather and finance.
Backed by the technology and content expertise of
Handygo, we are confident that this unique service will deliver valuable
insights for farming and allied communities across Rajasthan, thus
furthering our ongoing efforts towards empowering the masses and enabling
financial inclusion,” said Sudipto Chowdhury, CEO – Rajasthan, Bharti Airtel.
Airtel serves over 1.45 crore mobile customers in
Rajasthan, a large part of which comes from the rural parts of the state.
Airtel and Handygo will use the service to educate and
sensitize Gram Panchayats. Additionally, experts from both companies will
conduct a mass awareness drive including mobile vans that will reach out to
potential customers all across the state.
Handygo has worked with various private and government
bodies to collate relevant information to ensure A-grade quality information.
At Handygo we want to empower the rural segment through
partnership with government organizations and NGOs helping them to reap the
benefits of mobile telephony reducing the dependency of rural masses on agents
for most basic information,” said Praveen Rajpal, CEO, Handygo Technologies.
The -Behtar Zindagi’ service is available for
farmers 24×7 and 365 days of the year. To use this service, Airtel mobile
customers can dial 556780 (toll free) and avail the subscription pack at a
charge of Rs 30 for 30 days.