ITC e-Choupal and Saagar

1. A Comparative Study ITC – e Choupal

2. E – Choupal (June 2000) An initiative of ITC Limited to link directly with rural farmers via the Internet for procurement of agricultural & aquaculture products The programme involves the installation of computers with Internet access in rural areas of India to offer farmers up-to-date marketing and agricultural information.

3. Initial Objective: Access to target soya producing markets & achieve organized buying over the current Indian soya procurements systems in long term Mid Objective: Access to key agricultural/products producing markets & achieve organized buying & selling in key Indian rural markets Current Objective: To expand the network further & offer a complete package to server rural customer daily needs & develop the platform for the future (to get services like web tourism) To Develop a Channel Directly Linking farmers to Organizations :

4. The eChoupal infrastructure ITC Kiosk with Internet Access and Local Language Content (Weather, Prices, Farming Practices etc) In the house of one trained farmer, Sanchalak Within walking distance of target farmers Warehousing Hub with Internet Access Managed by the erstwhile middleman, Samyojak Within tractorable distance of target farmers

5. The ITC eChoupal Scale Today 6500 Choupals are serving over 4million farmers & villagers across 40000 villages (adding 6 a day ) Higher capture of consumer spend Building capacities of rural communities Vision Reach 100,000+villages by 2012 Dealing with wider variety of crops Creating infrastructure for Education and Healthcare services Enhancing Quality of Life in rural India

6. E- choupal : Strategic Thrust Procurement: cost & quality optimization Strategic sourcing support to the Foods business (support creation of verticals in wheat, soya, corn, potato etc.) Cost-effective sourcing for exports/domestic external business Rural Distribution ‘Last mile connectivity’: 100 partnering companies Diverse range of goods/services: FMCG, consumer durables, agri -inputs, paid extension services etc. Financial Services Insurance (focus: weather) Credit (focus: Kisan Credit Card scheme) Rural retail 24 Choupal Saagars operational 6

7. E- Choupal Saagar – Benefits to a Farmer Option of selling to Choupal Saagar or Mandies In some crops, farmers earns 25% higher prices than selling to Mandies Profit realization increased upto 60% Availability of Loan facilities Availability of brands/quality products at best prices Exposure to latest information Difference in net earning will be high if saving on commission to middle man & cost of transport are considered

8. Main Competitiors Godrej Aadhar – Godrej Kisan Seva Kendra - IOC Tata Kisan Sansar - TATA Chemicals Mahindra Subh Labh – M&M HUL iShakti – HUL Parry’s Conner - Murugappa Group

9. Conclusion An innovative strategy which is elaborative & extensive in rural markets so far. Rural wealth creation in agriculture through securing empowerment, collaboration & competition A transformational initiative for sustainable development of society Commitment to transparency & the respect & fairness with which both farmers & local partners are treated.

10. Venkatesh . B Inderveer Singh .B Thank You