Why in news?
The Union Budget 2026‑27 announced an AI‑powered advisory platform called Bharat‑VISTAAR. The tool, dubbed Bharati, will integrate data from the government’s AgriStack and provide farmers with 24/7 guidance on crop planning, pest management, weather, market prices and government schemes. It marks a major step towards digital agriculture.
Background – What is AgriStack?
AgriStack is a digital public infrastructure for agriculture launched under the Digital Agriculture Mission. It consists of three foundational registries:
- Farmer Registry: A database assigning each cultivator a unique digital ID linked to land records and crop details.
- Crop Sown Registry: A record of the crops planted on each plot during every season, created through remote sensing and field surveys.
- Geo‑referenced Village Map: High‑resolution maps of farmland boundaries integrated with cadastral records, enabling digital crop surveys.
The system uses a federated architecture where states maintain their own registries but follow common standards. The government aims to complete farmer registration by March 2027. AgriStack will serve as the backbone for services such as crop insurance, direct benefit transfers, minimum support price procurement and credit schemes.
Bharat‑VISTAAR features
- AI assistance: A virtual assistant named Bharati will use artificial intelligence to analyse data from AgriStack, ICAR’s farming advisories and weather services. Farmers will be able to call a phone number or access the app to receive personalised advice in local languages.
- Comprehensive coverage: The platform will cover ten central government schemes, including crop insurance, soil health cards and micro‑irrigation support. It will also alert farmers to pest outbreaks and extreme weather events.
- Accessibility: Recognising that many smallholders lack smartphones, the tool will be accessible via a simple call‑in service besides mobile applications.
- Budget allocation: The budget earmarked ₹150 crore for the first year to develop and deploy the platform.
Significance and concerns
- Empowering farmers: With better information on cropping choices, input use and market trends, farmers can improve productivity and income.
- Policy planning: Aggregated data will enable evidence‑based policymaking, targeted subsidies and timely disaster response.
- Privacy and inclusion: Critics urge safeguards to protect farmers’ personal data and ensure that marginalised groups are not excluded due to digital literacy gaps.
Conclusion
AgriStack and Bharat‑VISTAAR reflect India’s ambition to build a modern, data‑driven agricultural system. If implemented carefully with robust safeguards and wide outreach, these tools could transform the way farmers receive support and interact with government programmes.
Sources: The Indian Express – Bharat‑VISTAAR
