Developing a Rural Market e-hub The case study of e-Choupal experience of ITC

ICT has potential to make significant inroads in a traditional agrarian economy like India. Indian agro-sector has been exploiting the benefits to ICT. Innovative ICT application platforms are being created by private sector players in conjunction with local farmers. One such private initiative has been by ITC Ltd in the state of Madhya Pradesh. It has helped the farmers in many ways, such as developing of local leadership, shared ownership of the assets created in this initiative, access to the latest knowledge for the agro-sector, sustainable income levels and skill development for productivity improvement. This initiative from ITC[1] has become a benchmark today in the ICT initiatives in agro-sector. Several best practices can be learned from this initiative, namely: § ease of replicability and scalability § customization to meet the specific local needs and § organizational commitment. The success of e-choupal has heralded a new era in the Indian agro-sector. The work needs to be carried forward and replicated in the other untapped areas. Creating business channels that can create a win-win situation both business and farming community has enormous economies of scope. Once a channel is created it could be used for many products and services as shown in this case study. The main reasons for the success of the platform have been the involvement of local farmers and maintenance of the rural IT network by the corporate entity.