Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar (HKB), the rural retail venture of DCM Shriram Consolidated Limited (DSCL), is planning to tie up with mobile telephone companies to provide farm and commodity advisory services to the farmers.
“We already have tied up with Airtel and we are planning to join hands with three to four more mobile service providers,” company’s head (marketing and brand) Nirmallya Roychowdhury told Business Standard.
HKB is the largest national rural retail chain in India with 275 outlets spread across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
It has an overwhelming presence in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand with 120 outlets. Each outlet has a catchment area of 15 kms and reaches out to 20,000 rural families. “We offer free farm advisory services at our stores and have referral arrangement with tractor manufacturers,” he added.