Reuters Market Light, Future Group's Aadhaar in tie-up to reach Indian farmers

Thomson Reuters today announced that its ground-breaking mobile information service for India’s agricultural community Reuters Market Light has teamed up with Future Group’s Aadhaar Retailing Limited (ARL), a leading end to end solution provider for rural communities across key states in India. With this tie-up Reuters Market Light (RML) looks at expanding its pioneering personalized mobile information service to the huge farming community across the country.

This new agreement will allow RML services to be offered through all ARL stores across key states like Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra and MP. ARL has a very significant presence in rural markets across the country and is a well known company in the agricultural services space. RML Direct Cards will be available for 3/6/12 month durations costing Rs. 260/500/850 respectively.

RML provides personalized and customized, decision-critical agricultural information to farmers which has created a significant positive impact in their lives. This relevant information is sent to farmers’ mobile phones via local language SMS (short message service) and is aimed at maximizing their productivity and increasing income.

Farmers can activate the RML service using an easy to use RML Direct scratch card, and create their personalized service comprising of localized weather updates, crop advisory, agricultural rural news and market prices in 11 states, from a wide menu of 250 crops and 1200 local and national markets, in the local language of their choice.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Saurabh Chadha, CEO, Aadhaar Retailing Limited, said, “We are glad to be associated with a unique and innovative service like RML, which will bring immense value to the farming community across the country. We are confident that the agreement will strengthen the network and help the farming community by providing relevant and accurate decision critical information to farmers at the right time”.

Commenting on the tie-up, Mr. Amit Mehra, Managing Director of Reuters Market Light, at Thomson Reuters, said, “Teaming up with Future Group’s ARL will add momentum and help us scale-up our footprint in key states in a very rapid and systematic manner. This tie-up is a major step to reaching millions of farmers through the agri-input consumption route.”

“We have spent over three years in creating this innovative and life enhancing personalized information service for farmers. Distribution in rural India has been a key challenge, and this partnership will greatly help address it. Thousands of farmers have benefitted between using the RML service, for instance, Mr. Vinayak Aher from village Bhalur, Nasik, who called the RML office to thank for the weather alert predicting unseasonal rainfall in his region, which helped him save Rs 50,000 by avoiding spray of pesticides”.