Page 20 - Reliance Foundation Annual Report 2021-22
P. 20
A safer voyage Digital solutions
for fisherfolk
Sivasankaran of Samanthanpettai village
in Nagapattinam district, Tamil Nadu, is the
breadwinner of his household. When he first started In FY21-22, Reliance Foundation continued to
fishing, there was no ocean state forecasting and strive to make fishing safer, sustainable and more
often suffered losses, returning home empty- profitable through knowledge solutions, leveraging
handed. He was struggling to make ends meet technology. It has worked with the Indian National
for several years, when he came across Reliance Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS),
Foundation in 2012. the India Meteorological Department (IMD)
and the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute
He has since regularly been receiving advisories (CMFRI) to source vital information and updates
on wind direction, wind speed, wave height, rough for fisherfolks.
seas and cyclones, as well as potential fishing zone
information, helping him remain profitable and safe. The Machli app provides real-time updates on
weather and oceanographic parameters for all
In November 2021, when a storm approached major Indian landing centres, in nine languages.
the Tamil Nadu coast, RFIS advisories helped him In FY21-22, the app won acclaim at the World
navigate a safe path to calmer waters. Without it, he Summit Awards, a global platform that recognises
says, he would have lost his trawler boat worth digital content that contributes towards the UN
Rs. 80 lakh and his fibre boat worth Rs. 2 lakh. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It was
He says, “armed with support from Reliance recognised as one of the Top 40 Innovations of the
Foundation, I feel so much more confident” and Year from across the world, and one of only two
that confidence has empowered him to expand his from India.
business further.
20 Reliance Foundation
