The Union Budget on Sunday announced the launch of an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered, multilingual platform, Bharat Vistaar, to provide region-specific and verified advisories to farmers.
Presenting the budget for fiscal year 2026-27, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that Bharat Vistaar, short for virtually integrated system to access agricultural resources, will integrate the government’s agri stack portal with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s package of practices.
It will enable farmers to access customized guidance in multiple Indian languages on areas such as weather conditions, soil health, irrigation practices and pest management, using artificial intelligence to tailor recommendations to local conditions.
Mint reported on 11 January that the government was considering a significant increase in funding for the Digital Agriculture Mission as part of its broader push to use AI-driven solutions in farming.
The initiative is intended to improve real-time decision-making at the farm level, reduce crop losses and raise productivity in a sector that supports nearly half of India’s workforce.
The announcement signals a wider push to deploy AI and digital tools across agriculture as part of the government’s efforts to modernize farm practices and improve the reach of extension services.
By linking existing datasets and research-backed practices, Bharat Vistaar is expected to address gaps in information dissemination, particularly for small and marginal farmers who often lack access to timely and reliable advisory services.
India has undertaken multiple digital agriculture initiatives for over a decade, and many of the elements now being highlighted under the Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM) were piloted earlier, but they remained fragmented, limited in coverage, or advisory-only.
The use of AI to boost agriculture assumes significance given that the sector and its allied segments account for around 16% of India’s gross domestic product (GDP), with nearly 46% of the country’s workforce dependent on it.
This will be done by leveraging agri-tech startups and AI to offer personalized advice through chats to improve farmer livelihoods and drive sustainable agriculture. Farmers will also be able to ask questions and receive instant responses in local languages through voice and text, supported by Bhashini, the AI-powered language translation platform aimed at breaking language barriers across India.
Farmers are likely to be onboarded on the Vistaar scheme next month, according to people in the knowledge of the matter.
“AI-driven advisory and digital tools can serve as a critical decision support co-pilot for farmers and agriculture extension workers,” said Aparna Bijapurkar, managing director & partner, BCG.
“Personalized, data-driven advisory support has the potential to enhance productivity, optimize input usage, facilitate better price discovery and meaningfully reduce risks for farmers,” Bijapurkar added.
