New Delhi, Oct 13 (PTI) A group of 33 professionals, including from the mutual fund industry, has launched an initiative to reduce the printing of traditional business cards and replace them with digital cards.

Kotak Mutual Fund Group President and Managing Director Nilesh Shah and HDFC Mutual Fund MD and CEO Navneet Munot are among the professionals behind the "Save Tree VC" mobile app developed by the 'Save Trees by DMi' initiative to promote digital contact sharing.

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"Thirty-three distinguished professionals have united as thought partners to support DMi's 'Save Trees by DMi' Initiative, which introduces the 'Save Tree VC' mobile app, promoting digital contact sharing and personal social responsibility (PSR) for the environment," a release said, adding that Deepak Mundra has conceived the project.

Using the app for one year by 50 people can save one tree, as 20,000 paper business cards are equivalent to one tree, it said.

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Beyond its ecological benefits, the app streamlines contact management, saving users time and costs associated with paper business cards, it added.

According to the release, roughly 10 billion business cards are printed annually, with an astonishing 88 per cent discarded within a week.

The app offers several features, including the ability to make calls directly and a search function in the saved cardholder feature, while also integrating with WhatsApp.

The mobile app is available for free, and it will remain free for a lifetime, the release added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)