The Japanese IT giant announced that the study seeks to improve living conditions for the needy residents of rural areas as part of the JICA's "BOP Business Feasibility Study Assistance."
This study will include activities such as the introduction of hydroponic agricultural practices to communities in Maharashtra and Karnataka states, and testing of pesticide-free vegetable production.
The company said that the hydroponic agricultural techniques utilize technologies from GRA that were used to treat salt damaged land in communities in Japan's Miyagi prefecture. These were impacted by the tsunami following the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011.
NEC's energy management systems (EMS) will also be introduced to help stabilize power supplies needed for operating hydroponic equipment.
A partnership with the College of Agriculture, Pune is also on the cards. This relationship, said the Japanese company, will enable students to gain production management experience through on-the-job training with hydroponic technologies.
All the above-mentioned agricultural activities are being coordinated in cooperation with the non-for-profit Institute for Cultural Affairs Japan (ICA), said NEC in its statement.
NEC believes that these technological innovations will give rise to "smart villages," where living conditions improve and disposable income becomes more available from higher earnings. By 2015, NEC aims to see the commercialization of hydroponic techniques result in an increase in business and employment opportunities for the men and women of India's targeted agricultural communities, said the company.