Finnish giant Nokia, the country's leading mobile handset seller, will launch a mega retail drive by the end of next month to boost sales next year, a top company official said.

"We have a dominant share of India's 233 million handset users and will like to increase the number," Nokia India vice president and managing director D Shivakumar told DailyRetail.Com in a telephonic interview.

Nokia last week had launched seven mobile handsets in the price range of Rs. 1,500-Rs. 5,500 for the domestic market and will soon launch Nokia Life Tools, an innovative range of agriculture information targeted at India's burgeoning rural market. "For the last six years, our strategy of low cost handsets have worked wonders in the towns, now its the time to capture the villages," Shivakumar said, adding: "We are bringing the power of internet to the markets."

The MNC will have increased presence in the rural land, setting up nearly 400 stores across the length and breadth of the country. The project for the farmers will be launched in Maharashtra by the year-end and available in Marathi, Hindi and English. Monthly subscription prices have been pegged at between Rs 30 to Rs 60 rupees for the agriculture and education modules. Shivakumar said there are chances a similar service could be launched later throughout Asia and Africa, aimed at helping the MNC firm its grip on what is considered as emerging markets.

Experts say the move is important because all developed markets across the world are getting into a meltdown and Nokia needs to renew its focus on emerging markets. "The move shows the Finnish handset maker is toiling hard to gain a stronghold in emerging markets," added Anil Kumar, a telecom expert in the Indian Capital.

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