TCS’ mKrishi wireless agri service wins WSJ's global innovation technology award

New Delhi: TCS has received The Wall Street Journal's 2008 Technology Innovation Award in the wireless technology category for its mKrishi service, for technological breakthroughs

The awards recognise breakthrough technology in the areas of medicine, software, internet, wireless and consumer electronics.

TCS' mobile based crop-advisory service, mKrishi, is a novel approach to helping rural farmers throughout India have better access to information through a cell phone application.

It has been developed to provide personalised information and expert advice to rural farmers in their local language using sensor technology. It is also adaptable to illiterate farmers to make a query from a cell phone using voice-specific functions.

The Wall Street Journal received more than 700 entries for the Innovation Awards, which was narrowed by a WSJ editor to the 162 that were scored by the judges.

Winners were chosen based on whether the technology represented a breakthrough from conventional methods, rather than just an incremental improvement.

''This award is a testament to the culture of innovation in TCS and to our commitment to creating value for clients, the community and society through pioneering new standards of technology and business models,'' said S. Ramadorai, CEO and managing director, Tata Consultancy Services. ''We are truly honoured to receive the prestigious Wall Street Journal Innovation Technology award for TCS' mKrishi service.''