 Hi, my name is Balasubramanyam. I work with the Commonwealth of Learning. I work in the area of agriculture and livelihood. It is said that technology by itself cannot be a silver bullet for development. Innovation is more about harnessing the technologies in an appropriate socio-economic and political context for reaching various development goals. Studies have shown that information and communication technologies such as mobile phones can reach the rural communities with direct, indirect and intangible benefits. However, it is important to understand the conditions and assumptions under which this can take place. I will be talking about mobiles and rural development with a focus on financial inclusion and learning. This elective module in this course is about harnessing and domesticating the mobile phone technologies in the context of rural development. In particular, it will focus on agriculture credit, agriculture extension and human resource development. In recent times, mobile telephones have acquired four dimensions of utility, communication, recreational, transactional and critical. Communication refers to the conventional role of telephone communication. Games and entertainment have given a recreational value to the mobile phones. Mobile banking has enhanced the role of mobile phone as a transacting tool. In recent times, the mobile phone-based learning has helped to reach the unreached and strengthen their critical faculty. This course with case studies will help you to understand the transactional and critical role of mobile phones. Thank you.