Utility MVAS – transforming lives of masses
 
Although India is poised for rapid economic growth, the country still falls behind in key development indicators such as basic health and education facilities. It is vital to put in place a favorable policy framework and infrastructure for these services to grow and reach all the corners of the country.
 
India is poised for a new era of growth with its young and entrepreneurial workforce, international services sector, opportunities in nascent industries such as green manufacturing and a huge untapped consumer demand from its rural population. However, it is still far from reaching its full potential, for the growth is not uniform across regions and sectors. The biggest challenge our country faces today is ensuring sustainability – social and economic – which is key in accelerating inclusive growth.
 
Achieving inclusive growth requires improving access for the poor to crucial services, allowing them to participate in the conventional progress of the eco-system through economic opportunities. This challenge poses an interesting opportunity for the industry to empower masses through digital technology. It has been well established that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has a very longimpacting role to play in the economic growth of any country. The mobile phone, which has become a significant part of our lives and changed the way we work, is one such example.
 
The massive reach and penetration of mobile phones can ensure the delivery of a large number of services in a cost-effective and speedy way, without physical access. Today, India has a subscriber base of 903.72 million with almost 23% penetration in the rural area (TRAI, 2012). With advancement in technology, even the most elementary mobile phone can today support powerful applications which empower the user in a variety of ways—from exchanging information via SMS, accessing entertainment-based services to checking bank account details, crop prices, receiving personalized health alerts and obtaining vocational training. This positions mobiles phones as a perfect medium to deliver a variety of needful content and services to the Indian population.
 
Such services—referred to as “Utility MVAS”—form the next decade of services in India. Some of these Utility MVAS services are: m-education, m-health, m-governance, m-commerce, m-banking, m-agriculture, m-culture, m-tourism and m-commerce. Together, they could be a game changer, especially since there could be newer payment platforms and services in the future. Mobile advertising is another area which has emerged as an alternative monetization model. M-commerce will be a 20 billion dollar market by 2015 and advertising will be a 21.2 billion dollar market. Medical advice on mobile is another sector which is slowly developing in the country. There has also been a boost in mobile ticketing and mcoupons, which are growing at a rate of 30%.
 
The power of the mobile phone braced with the high demand for certain key services in India will be the driving force for the success of “Utility MVAS” in the country. Other factors that will stimulate the growth of the Utility MVAS services include: an efficient application nurturing infrastructure providing open access, government policy framework for inclusive growth, increasing mobile subscriber base even in remote areas, need for differentiation among telecom operators and device manufacturers, increasing consumer demand and the growth of the healthcare and financial sectors.
 
However, there is a lack of an effective eco-system to deliver these services for the masses to use. One of the most commonly cited issues is the inability of independent and small application providers in developing innovative services common to all operator networks. There are certain constraints that need to be addressed collectively for efficient use of Utility MVAS for the growth and development of the country. The industry needs to overcome the operational challenges, such as the lack of a regulatory framework or guidelines related to privacy.
 
Although India is poised for rapid economic growth, the country still falls behind in key development indicators such as basic health and education facilities. It is vital to put in place a  favourable policy framework and infrastructure for these services to grow and reach all the corners of the country.
 
OnMobile has been working towards delivering critical utility services on mobile phones across verticals, especially health, education and governance. We have tiedup, and are working with, relevant industry bodies to extend these services by leveraging our existing platforms and technologies. We are excited about this new phase of growth and hope that the mobile ecosystem will come together towards creating a sustainable and resilient sector.
 
Mouli Raman
Managing Director : OnMobile Global Ltd.