Mori, a tiny village under Sakhinetipalli mandal in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, today sealed its place on India's digital map by transforming completely into a Smart Digital Village, in every sense of the term.
All the 1189 households in the village with a population of 4500 became fully digital as Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu finally launched the AP FiberNet project that will provide internet at a speed of 15 mbps, WiFi, a telephone connection and 250 cable television channels (using a triple-play set-top box) for a total price of Rs 149 per month.
The Rs 4000 worth set-top box is being provided for a monthly installment of Rs 99.
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"We will make Mori a model village for the entire country," the Chief Minister announced on the occasion.
Mori hitherto was known for its export of cashew nut but its digital transformation was ushered in by its son of the soil Solomon N Darwin, Executive Director of Centre for Corporate Innovation, UC Berkeley in the US.
Mori also recently bagged the Swachh Village award at the national level after all the households got individual sanitary latrines and became open defecation-free.
"Every villager of Mori transacts digitally through e-Banking, RuPay cards or SBI Buddy. All shops in the village have electronic point of sale machines for cashless transactions," East Godavari district Collector H Arun Kumar said.
All villagers have been imparted necessary training for carrying out digital transactions, he added.
The AP State Fiber Grid Corporation distributed 650 Android-based smartphones to the villagers to enable them go for digital transactions post-demonetisation.
Mori would also soon have piped LPG supply.
"Survey and pipeline laying works will be started shortly. We are also exploring the possibility of extending this facility to nearby villages as gas wells are located at Ponnamada closers to Mori," the district Collector said.
Razole MLA Gollapalli Surya Rao expressed happiness over the transformation of Mori into a "Smart Digital Village".
Meanwhile, Information and Communications Technology major Ericsson demonstrated itsConnected Aquaponics and Smart Water Grid ManagementIoT solutions onsite in Mori as part of a pilot project run by the state government towards creating smart and sustainable villages in the state.
Connected Aquaponics integrates aquaculture and
hydroponics for reuse of the ammonia-rich waste water from aquaculture for organic farming and recycle the water back to the aqua farm.
"The Connected Aquaponics and Water Grid Management IoT solutions will help improve harvest, optimise water distribution and also have the potential to provide an improved life for millions of farmers in the country," head of Ericsson Research (Chennai) Anand Varadarajan said.
Many other Indian and foreign companies are currently working in Mori to provide other digital solutions, including complete use of LED lighting.
