Vodafone Idea Limited

Vodafone Idea Limited's Smart Agri project addresses the challenges faced by smallholder farmers in India by using technology to improve agricultural productivity and enhance their socio-economic conditions. It provides a tech-based solution to help around 50,000 farmers, particularly in cotton and soya farming, adopt sustainable practices. The project incorporates IoT-based solutions such as sensors, a multilingual app, QueryBot, crop disease detection, and AI-driven data analysis. Through regular training and support, farmers are guided to adopt these methods and improve their farm yields and income. Additionally, lead farmers are developed as entrepreneurs to manage tech-enabled demonstration farms. The two-year initiative is underway in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Vodafone Idea Limited's Jigyasa programme focuses on improving education in India by addressing key challenges like outdated teaching methods and underutilised infrastructure. It works to enhance the capacity of teachers, introduces digital content to make learning more engaging, and upgrades infrastructure as needed. Jigyasa has benefited over 12,000 teachers and more than 2 lakh students in 26 districts across five states in just a year. It also tackles the issue of limited awareness of scholarships by offering India's largest multi-lingual scholarship discovery platform, helping nearly 30,000 students access scholarships, many for the first time.

Vodafone Idea Limited's health initiative aims to address anaemia among school children, aligning with the Government of India's Anaemia Mukt Bharat programme under Poshan Abhiyan. It focuses on improving diagnosis by using a specialised medical device that provides quick results, stored securely in the cloud to track trends and patterns. Local "health entrepreneurs" are trained to facilitate testing and connect beneficiaries with care providers. The programme is active in 8 districts across five states and has tested nearly 2 lakh children for anaemia to date.

Vodafone Idea Limited's Jaadu Ginni Ka programme focuses on enhancing financial literacy, particularly for people below the poverty line, to help them manage budgets, invest in assets, and plan for education or marriage. Given recent developments like demonetisation and the push towards a digital economy, financial awareness has become crucial. The programme provides simple, customised content through storytelling, games, and quizzes, available in ten Indian languages via a free Android app. It also reaches communities through mobile vans across seven states. Since its launch in 2018, the initiative has impacted nearly 1 crore people, half of them women, in 16 states.

Vodafone Idea Limited's Digital Village initiative aims to address rural challenges such as lack of livelihood opportunities, basic infrastructure, and awareness, particularly in areas affected by left-wing extremism. The programme includes two components: creating model villages and supporting rural women in establishing a food supply chain using technology. In Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, the project seeks to develop 24 model villages to improve livelihoods, sanitation, education, healthcare, and access to government schemes, with dedicated funds and local support. Additionally, the RUDI Sandesha Vyavahar initiative equips rural women with mobile technology to manage and sell agro-based products, benefiting 1.4 lakh households. The programme has expanded to Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, training 4700 women in sustainable business practices.

Vodafone Idea Limited's Connecting for Good initiative leverages mobile technology to support sustainable development. It helps civil society organisations, NGOs, and community-based groups enhance their impact by providing technology support through grants. As part of this effort, it has developed India's first crowdsourcing platform, www.socialapphub.com, which curates over 700 mobile apps with social impact. The platform offers a wide range of resources, including articles, news, interviews, and case studies, showcasing how mobile technology drives positive change at the grassroots level.

Vodafone Idea Limited's Student Scholarships programme supports deserving students by covering education-related expenses such as books and reference materials, helping them overcome financial barriers to education. Alongside this, the organisation has introduced the Teachers' Award to recognise exceptional Mathematics and Science teachers who use innovative teaching methods to make learning more engaging for students.

Vodafone Idea Limited's project at the Shree Somnath Temple supports the Government of India's Swachh Bharat Mission by improving cleanliness at this heritage site. It aims to enhance the sanitation infrastructure within the temple complex and surrounding areas while raising public awareness about cleanliness. Various initiatives have been implemented, including the construction of e-toilets, the use of heavy-duty road sweepers and sewer cleaning machines, and the installation of LED display boards to inform visitors about cleanliness. Additionally, a "School on Wheels" computer education bus has been deployed to provide digital literacy training for children and women in the community.

Vodafone Idea Limited's Vidya Har Beti ka Adhikar programme focuses on enhancing the learning environment in government schools by promoting digital and engaging learning. Implemented in Sitamarhi, Bihar, across three government schools, the project includes setting up digital learning infrastructure and training teachers to effectively use digital content and activity-based learning methods. Key activities involve renovating school buildings, improving classroom furniture, and upgrading water and sanitation facilities and sports amenities. An ICT room has also been established, equipped with LED televisions and tablets preloaded with educational content, enabling students to learn through digital means while enhancing teachers' pedagogical skills.

Vodafone Idea Limited implemented various initiatives to support communities during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It supplied essential medical supplies to local health authorities in Pune, Bengaluru, and Ahmedabad, and distributed dry ration kits to affected communities in collaboration with CSC Academy and MasterChef Vikas Khanna. Additionally, it provided a specialised incinerator to the UP Police for the safe disposal of personal protective equipment (PPE).