Page 20 - Reliance Foundation Annual Report 2021-22

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