Bhubaneswar/ Gajapati : Under Indus Towers Limited CSR programand Vodafone Idea Foundation
along with Solidaridad, announces the launch of ‘SmartAgri Project’ in Kharsanda at Gajapati
District in Odisha. The SmartAgri Project – Gajapati was inaugurated by Hon’ble Member of
Parliament, Shri Chandra Sekhar Sahuat the District Collector’s Office, Gajapatiin presence of
several dignitaries including Shri G Tirupati Rao, President Zilla Parishad (Gajapati), Shri B K Nayak,
Sr. DDG- DoT,Shri K Narayan Rao, MLA (Paralakhemundi), Shri Dasarathi Gamango, MLA
(Mohana).The programme saw presence of farmers from nearby villages who were also given an
understanding and benefits of the project. On the occasion, Shri Sahu also unveiled Indus Towers’
Kharsanda mobile tower site situated 18kms from the DC’s office. The mobile tower will play a
significant role in enabling internet connectivity for IoT (Internet of Things) enabled equipment,
servicesand information flow requirement for this project.The inauguration was attended by
Chairmen of Zila Parishads as well.
Indus Towers and Vodafone Foundation SmartAgri Project in Gajapati is being implemented in two
Blocks– Mohana and Gumma which will benefit around 5000 farmers across the 25 villages in the
district.At the project location, IoT based farm equipment such as Automatic Weather Station, Soil
moisture Sensor and Remote monitoring Camera will be installed in the fields to collected Realtime
information related to crops, weather pattern, moisture and insect infestation. The farmers
included in this project will also be provided regular support through trainings on good agricultural
practices. They will also be offered access to farm advisory which will be localised in Odiya so that
they are able to have a view of precise measures and are equipped to apply the right inputs in their
farmland.This is the second of such project being introduced in Odisha. The otherprojects is in
Cuttack.
At the inauguration, Shri Chandra Sekhar Sahu, Hon’ble Member of Parliament said,“Odisha has a
marked reliance on agriculture. A project SmartAgri Project will play significant role in education
and equipping farmers to learn ways to increase yields. I congratulate Indus Towers, Vodafone Idea
Foundation and Solidaridad for introducing a powerful platform aimed to solve challenges faced by
our farmer community and improve their agriculture practices, farm yield, revenues and overall
quality of life.”
Mr. Vijay Chaturvedi, Circle CEO, Odisha, Indus Towers Limited said, “On behalf of Indus Towers,
I would like to thankHon’ble Member of Parliament, Shri Chandra Sekhar Sahu for his presence
today and for supporting the much-needed expansion of telecom infrastructure in Odisha. We will
continue to bring communities across the length and breadth of India into the digital fold which, in
addition to giving them countless benefits. Under Indus’s CSR program, the SmartAgri Project is a
nationwide project designed with the belief that mobile technology has the potential to improve
agricultural productivity by enabling access to information and services to farmers. It is currently
being implemented in ten states namely Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and
Telangana, Karnataka, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The project will
potentially reach approximately 4,11,500 farmers.”
