Villagers in India will soon be able to connect directly with city lawyers and receive free legal advice via video conferencing as part of a government initiative aimed at improving access to justice for the country's poorest and most marginalised.

The "Tele-Law" initiative launched on Sunday will be piloted in 500 village councils in the northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and then rolled out across the rest of the country in a phased manner, said the law ministry.