News: Mobile's 'revolutionising' rural India

(UNI 28/01/2007) New Delhi - Mobile communication is revolutionising economic and social life in rural India, spawning a wave of local entrepreneurs and creating greater access to social services, according to a new study.

The study undertaken by the Center for Knowledge Societies (CKS) commissioned by Nokia identifies seven major service sectors including transport, finance and healthcare that could be radically transformed through mobile technologies.

Mobile phone ownership in India is growing rapidly, six million new mobile subscriptions are added each month and one in five Indian’s will own a phone by the end of 2007.

By the end of 2008, three quarters of India ’s population will be covered by a mobile network.

Many of these new ''mobile citizens'' live in poorer and more rural areas with scarce infrastructure and facilities, high illiteracy levels, low PC and internet penetration.

The study looks at how their new mobility could be used to bridge the growing economic and social digital divide between rural and urban areas.

Veli Sundback, Executive Vice President, Corporate Relations and Responsibility, at Nokia, says, ''Mobile phone ownership in India is growing at a phenomenal pace. This new found mobility undoubtedly has the potential to make a major contribution to socio-economic development, and we recognise the responsibility we have to play a key role in achieving this.'' This report builds on the work Nokia has been doing in developing markets like India for several years to understand how we can deliver on our goal of making universal access to technology and the associated benefits a reality.'' Dr Aditya Dev Sood, the report author highlights how many new adopters of mobile phones have found their incomes rise, he explained these findings as the increased productivity made possible through mobile communications. Dr Sood is the Founder and CEO of the Center for Knowledge Societies (CKS). He has doctorates in Anthropology and Sanskrit Philology from the University of Chicago .