Sanchaar 2010

A Panel Discussion on “How Mobile Telephony is Changing the Face

of Rural India”

Date: 4th September, 2010.

Timings: 11am – 2pm (Panel Discussion followed by Lunch)

Target Audience:
1. IIT Students community (Management and Engineering students).

2. Esteemed academicians

3. Corporate Leaders

4. Students of other universities

5. Government representatives

Topic of discussion:
Currently, the mobile phone population in India is growing by eight million
phones per month. But rural tele density has yet to cross 25% marks (despite
television penetration levels of 30% and urban teledensity being more than
100%). This represents ample scope. Wouldn’t we want to know what telecom
companies are doing to penetrate the rural market? What initiatives are taken?
How lives of people are made better? What are the initiatives by Govt and
regulatory authorities to make it affordable? The topic of discussion would be
“How mobile telephony is changing the face of rural India”

Background:-
Businesses, moving ahead cannot just be profitable. They have to be socially
sustainable as well. 70% of India lives in villages. Even commercially, Rural India
is a prime example of the opportunity. Here's Why

• A huge population – 720 million people in 630,000 Villages across 3.2 million
square miles.

• A massive economy – over 50% of India’s total GDP. There is almost same
number of middle to high income households in rural areas (21.16 mn) as
urban India (23.22 mn).

• A booming economy – with the consumer durables Market, for example,

growing at 25% per year (vs 10% nationally).

• A parallel economy – with the same needs as developed markets but a

reduced ability to pay.
Govt, Telecom and related companies have started various initiatives to tap the
rural market, viz

o Arranging economical handsets so that mobile phone availability is within

their reach

o Helping agriculturists get beneficial information related to weather, farms

prices etc

o Government Subsidies for setting up telecom towers

o The government is implementing a program of connecting 66,822

uncovered villages under the Bharat Nirman programme

There is scope for rapid growth in the sector and harnessing the
fortune at the bottom of the pyramid

Rules and Regulations:-

No of Panellists – 6-8

Moderator – Dr. Gautam Sinha (IIT Kharagpur)

The Panel discussion will consist of 4 rounds

Round 1:-
An individual opening note, where the speaker gives an introduction about the
organization and its vision and mission also how the organization perceives rural
India as a market. The duration of this monologue is 3-5 mins. The speaker can
use the aid of powerpoints/flash player/any other supporting platform.

Round 2-
A discussion among the panellists on how Rural sector is a viable prospect for
the telecom and related companies .Is it untapped? What are challenges and
strategies for rural market? The discussion will last about 20 minutes.

Round 3:-
How Telecom operators can help in adding value to the lives of people in villages
and rural businesses. How mobile phone is not only helping people keep in touch
but propagating other businesses and can be a knowledge source for people as
well. This will be the soul of the discussion as the topic revolves around impact of
mobile phones on lives of people. Some good anecdotes, personal experiences
that can be shared would add great value to the discussion. This round would
again last for about 30 mins

Round 4:-
This would be the concluding round where recent trends and future prospects
would be discussed. What telecom companies’ estimate would be the growth of
rural mobile telephony and potential areas where it can leave an impact?

The Panel discussion would finish by about 1 PM and lunch would follow. The
delegate is expected to get free by 1.30 PM.

We urge you to think! Looking forward to have you on board…

Regards

Mohd Mudasser

Team Sanchaar, under Saamanjasya’s Banner.

Email: mohammad.mudasser@saamanjasya.com

+91-9547891335