Barwani (Madhya Pradesh) [India], April 26 (ANI/GPRC): Atul Patidar, founder of agritech startup Farmkart in Barwani, Madhya Pradesh, has been invited as an esteemed guest in a special programme organised to celebrate the 100th episode of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat'.

The week-long programme will be organised in New Delhi. Many achievers, who were mentioned in different episodes of Mann Ki Baat, have received an invitation for this special programme.

Atul Patidar and Farmkart team were praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 70th edition of Mann ki Baat for its agritech solutions and exemplary contribution during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown.

"This is a moment of pride for the Farmkart team. I want to show my gratitude to Prime Minister Modi for this invitation. I must say that the only reason behind our success is the hard work of our team, which has been working day and night to simplify the lives of farmers through technology," said Atul Patidar, Founder and CEO, Farmkart.

The beginning:

The startup was conceptualised in 2017 while Atul Patidar was working in a Fortune 500 multinational in Canada, after completing 4 post-graduation degrees from the top universities of the world such as Cornell University, Queen's University, and University of Toronto.

He collaborated with some Canadian Indians and founded Farmkart in the same year in Barwani (Madhya Pradesh), which also happens to be his hometown.

Farmkart team first came to India and spent quality time with the rural farmers. They wanted to have a closer look at the hardships faced by these farmers. The team lived with around 6,000 rural farmers in and around Barwani before the inception of the company.

Innovative technology solutions:

After the initial research, Farmkart team designed some path-breaking technology solutions for non-tech savvy farmers. The most important among these is UIC or unique identification code. This is a farmer's digital identity. This technology solution is helping farmers in the remotest locations to order agri-products online and get it delivered to their doorsteps. Additionally, the farmers get consultancy throughout the process of farming. In the last 5 years, Farmkart has positively impacted the lives of lakhs of farmers. Today, the company is offering its products and services in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and some parts of south India.

Also, the company has provided rural jobs in world-class workspace to around 150 young and educated locals in Barwani.

Farmkart is on an expansion spree as the company plans to have pan India footprints within months. The company is also moving towards Series A funding.

100th episode of 'Mann Ki Baat' programme:

The Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankar will be the chief guest of the programme and Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur will be the Guest of Honour at the inaugural session of 'National Conclave on Mann Ki Baat @100'. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will also attend the session.

Other dignitaries expected to attend the programme are renowned personalities from films, sports and industry including Aamir Khan, Raveena Tandon, Ricky Kej, Deepa Malik, RJ Raunac, RJ Sid Kannan, T V Mohandas Pai and Kiran Bedi.

There will be another programme after this in Rajya Bhawans of the respective states.

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