- Why in news
- On 14 February 2026, PIB published an explainer on how AI is being used in Indian agriculture. It centres on the Digital Agriculture Mission, AgriStack and the Bharat-VISTAAR tool proposed in Budget 2026-27.
- What it is
- The Digital Agriculture Mission was launched in 2024 to build digital public infrastructure for farming. It rests on AgriStack (Farmer IDs, digital crop survey), the Krishi Decision Support System and soil profile maps. It uses data analytics, AI and remote sensing to give farmers reliable crop information.
- Outlay
- The Mission was launched in 2024 with a total outlay of ₹2,817 crore.
- AgriStack and Farmer ID
- AgriStack gives each farmer a unique Farmer ID linked to land records, livestock, crops and benefits. Over 7.63 crore IDs were issued by 27 Nov 2025, against a target of 11 crore by 2026-27.
- Krishi Decision Support System
- KDSS combines satellite, weather, soil, water and crop data to produce crop maps, soil maps, yield estimates and drought and flood monitoring.
- Bharat-VISTAAR
- Budget 2026-27 proposed Bharat-VISTAAR, a multilingual AI tool that links AgriStack portals and the ICAR package of practices with AI systems.
- YES-TECH in PMFBY
- YES-TECH uses remote sensing and AI for yield estimates under PMFBY, with a minimum 30 percent weightage to technology-based assessment.
Don’t confuse with YES-TECH vs CROPIC: YES-TECH estimates crop yield using remote sensing and AI. CROPIC uses geotagged farmer photos to monitor crop health and assess damage.
Don’t confuse with PMFBY vs RWBCIS: PMFBY is yield-based crop insurance. RWBCIS is weather index-based insurance that complements it.
Schemes: 52 Prelims questions since 2013, 10 in Prelims 2026 alone. They test features, the period and who funds it. In Mains, 33 news-triggered questions, mostly GS3.
Why it matters
- Verified data on farmers and plots can improve targeting of benefits and the planning of schemes.
- AI advisories in regional languages can reduce crop losses and help small farmers handle climate risk.
Problems
- Fragmented data, limited digital infrastructure and affordability barriers slow the move from pilots to scale.
- Farmer ID coverage (7.63 crore) is well short of the 11 crore target, and digital literacy and last-mile delivery remain weak.
Way forward
- Expand AgriStack coverage with strong data-protection safeguards and consent rules.
- Strengthen extension services so AI advice reaches small and marginal farmers in local languages.
Put in your answer
AI Playbook for agriculture: A World Economic Forum playbook with the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, IndiaAI and BCG X was released on 22 October 2025. It proposes the IMPACT AI framework.
- 2015Mains GS3 · Q4How Digital India helps farmers improve productivity and income, and government steps
- 2026Mains GS1 · Q15Role of satellite-based technologies in climate-smart agriculture and food security
- 2023Mains GS3 · Q3How e-Technology helps farmers in production and marketing of produce
- 2017Prelims Q33Advantages of National Agriculture Market, a pan-India electronic trading portal
- 2024Prelims Q26Correct description of the 100 Million Farmers platform
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Lasting scheme topic, but this release is a data roundup. Schemes are 16% of news-linked Prelims questions; this gives few distinct features.
Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.