Reuters Launches Mobile Information Service to Indian Farming Community  

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Monday, October 01, 2007 -- (Business Wire India)

Honourable Union Minister of Agriculture, Govt of India, Mr. Sharad Pawar, today launched Reuters unique mobile information service for Indian farmers. Reuters Market Light (‘RML’) has been designed to support India’s 250-million-strong agricultural community and following a very successful pilot scheme is now being rolled-out across the country.

-- Reuters Market Light offers Indian farmers up-to-date, local and customised commodity pricing information, news and weather updates

-- Successfully trialled since April 2007, the service already has over 7,500 farmers signed-up and is being actively supported by The Government of India

-- RML helps farmers to enhance their crop yields and improve their productivity over a very wide range of produce including onion, cotton, soybean, pulses, pomegranates and oranges

-- Reuters will be developing Reuters Market Light, from an information service, to a full mobile news, information and price facilitator

Reuters Market Light today welcomed Honourable Union Minister of Agriculture, Govt. of India, Mr Sharad Pawar, at The Nisarga Hall, Pune Market Yard in Maharashtra State, India.

RML, a mobile phone-based service, was started in Maharashtra State in Western India in April 2007 on a free trial basis, and has already signed up over 7,500 farmers. RML helps farmers achieve better yields and secure better prices by allowing them to receive accurate weather forecasts and local price information direct to their mobile phones, in their own language.

Before RML farmers had very limited information on current and local market prices for their crops or timely information that would help them be guided on when to harvest their crop. This hindered market efficiency, reduced yields, increased wastage and could severely impact upon a farmer’s earnings and livelihood. Importantly, as well as helping farmers to get the best price, RML’s accurate and timely information has the potential to reduce crop wastage, which across India runs into billions of dollars each year.

Given the success of the pilot scheme, Reuters is to launch Reuters Market Light on a full commercial basis. Reuters Market Light will now introduce a small customer charge of Rs.60 per month. RML will also now be rolled out across other rural areas in India, extending its offering beyond Maharashtra State.

Reuters will also soon be piloting another very exciting offering that extends the current RML information service to one that facilitates transactions by connecting farmers with various buyers and traders through their mobile phones.

Amit Mehra, RML Managing Director said:

“The farming community in India is one of the largest in the world, but despite its size it remains a relatively opaque market in which to operate. The rural and often remote nature of the community makes it incredibly difficult for farmers, especially those with small holdings, to get even the most basic information.”

“Reuters Market Light provides crucial, local and customised agricultural information for Indian farmers via mobile phones, including crop prices, weather updates and other agric-related news. The aim is to facilitate greater transparency in the Indian agricultural markets allowing individual farmers to increase their productivity and maximise their revenue.”

Tom Glocer, Reuters Chief Executive added:

“I am thrilled to support the progress of Reuters Market Light. This innovative information service for the Indian farmer reflects the best tradition of Reuters - promoting transparency and fairness in market operations around the world.“

“The pilot programme was an unequivocal success and now, rolling out Reuters Market Light across India will signal a very important milestone in its adoption as a standard for the Indian agricultural industry”

For further information or to interview Amit Mehra, MD of RML please contact:

Victoria Brough: + 44 207 542 8763
Eileen Wise: + 44 207 542 9697
Sophie Brendel: + 44 207 542 0496
Liam Hwee Tay: + 65 6870 3028

Notes to Editors

Reuters Market Light has its origins in a project-idea conceived by a Reuters employee whilst on a year's Fellowship at Stanford University. The employee was being sponsored by The Reuters Foundation on Stanford University’s Digital Vision Program. From this initial idea, the project was taken on by Reuters development team, implemented and this year successfully trialled in India. Reuters Market Light is an example of Reuters commitment to empowering the world’s financial markets through blue-ski thinking, technological innovation and fast and responsive implementation.

About Reuters:

Reuters (www.reuters.com), the global information company, provides indispensable information tailored for professionals in the financial services, media and corporate markets. Through reuters.com and other digital properties, Reuters now also supplies its trusted content direct to individuals. Reuters drives decision making across the globe based on a reputation for speed, accuracy and independence. Reuters has 17,500 staff in 94 countries, including 2,400 editorial staff in 196 bureaux serving 131 countries. In 2006, Reuters revenues were £2.6 billion.

To view the photograph click the link below:

Inaugration of Reuters Market Light - Harashwardhan Patil, Sharad Pawar & Rosemary Martin