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e-Choupal
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Country:
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India
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Detailed location:
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Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan
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Mission:
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e-Choupal places computers with Internet access in rural farming villages; the e-Choupals serve as both a social gathering place for exchange of information (choupal means gathering place in Hindi) and an e-commerce hub. What began as an effort to re-engineer the procurement process for soy, tobacco, wheat, shrimp, and other cropping systems in rural India has also created a highly profitable distribution and product design channel for the company—an e-commerce platform that is also a low-cost fulfillment system focused on the needs of rural India. The e-Choupal system has also catalyzed rural transformation that is helping to alleviate rural isolation, create more transparency for farmers, and improve their productivity and incomes.
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Geo-graphic location:
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rural
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Contact:
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ITC e-choupal,
74 Golf Links,
New Delhi 110 003
Telephone: 24622846
E-mail: uparno.chaudhuri@itcinfotech.com
Mr. S. Sivakumar
Chief Executive
ITC, 31, Sarojini Devi Road
Secunderabad 500 003
INDIA
Email: shiv@itcibd.com
Web: www.itcibd.com
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Status:
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operation
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Existing telecentres:
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6500
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Future telecentres:
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20000
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Start of initiative:
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2000
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Scope of operation:
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national
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Self-sustainable:
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Yes
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Sustainability plan:
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Yes
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Pilot:
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No
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Business model:
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mix (individual entrepreneurs and NGO)
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Other resources of revenue:
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Knowledge network:
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Yes
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Community participation:
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Yes
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Women participation:
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Yes
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Type:
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private_commercial
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Stakeholder:
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ICT Application:
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Gender sensitive
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People with disability
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Illiterated sensitive
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e-commerce |
No |
No |
No |
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Connectivity:
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leased line
satelite
wireless
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Technology:
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computer+Internet
fax
phone
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Objectives of the initiative:
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promote rural marketing
provide agricultural information
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Services provided:
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agriculture information
internet access
procurement of goods
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Physical location:
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private
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Sources:
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http://www.ee.iitb.ac.in/uma/~rohan/echoupal.html. What Works: Itc's E-Choupal and Profitable Rural Transformation- Web-based information and procurement tools for Indian farmers. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN BUSINESS SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA KENAN-FLAGLER BUSINESS SCHOOL. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. August, 2003Shaik. N. Meera, Anita Jhamtani, and D.U.M. Rao (2004). Information and communication technology in agricultural development: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THREE PROJECTS FROM INDIA. Agricultural Research & Extension Network. Network Paper No.135. vJanuary 2004. URL:http://www.odi.org.uk/ Richa Kumar (2004). eChoupals: A Study on the Financial Sustainability ofVillage Internet Centers in Rural Madhya Pradesh. Information Technologies and International Development, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Volume 2, Number 1, Fall 2004, 45–73
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