Bharat-VISTAAR: AI Platform Integrating AgriStack and ICAR Data

Recently, in her budget speech, the finance minister announced the Bharat-VISTAAR, a multilingual AI platform integrating AgriStack and ICAR farm practice data.

About Agristack

• AgriStack is a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for agriculture launched in 2024 under the Digital Agriculture Mission.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW)
• Objective: To consolidate farm-related data on a unified platform.
• Components: It creates three core digital registries — Farmer Registry, Crop Sown Registry, and Geo-referenced Village Maps — maintained by state governments and UTs.

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How does it work?

• Farmer Registry: Every farmer is issued a unique digital identity (Farmer ID), similar to Aadhaar, linked with landholding, crops, livestock, demographic details and scheme benefits.
  • Progress: Out of the target 11 crore farmers, 8.62 crore IDs have already been created.
  • Benefits: Farmers can access services digitally, reducing paperwork and physical visits.
• Crop Sown Registry: The Crop Sown Registry captures seasonal crop details through digital surveys.
  • The government targets to cover all 30 crore farm plots in 604 districts in the country by the Kharif season 2026.
• Geo-referenced Village Maps: Geo-referenced maps connect land records to precise GPS locations.
  • So far, 5.4 lakh village maps have been geo-referenced out of the total 6.75 lakh villages. The target is to cover all villages by March 2027.

Significance

• It aims to make agricultural services more efficient and transparent by:
  • linking farmers’ digital profiles with government schemes,
  • reducing paperwork
  • enhancing access to benefits like MSP procurement
  • fertiliser distribution
  • insurance, loans and advisory services

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About Bharat VISTAAR (Virtually Integrated System to Access Agricultural Resources)

• It is a multilingual AI-driven platform announced in the Union Budget 2026.
• It integrates AI, AgriStack portals, and ICAR knowledge to provide real-time, personalized advisory services on crops, weather, pest control, and market prices.
• Key Features
  • Integrates AgriStack farmer databases with ICAR’s package of agricultural practices
  • Uses AI-driven analytics for crop-specific, location-specific advisories
  • Provides multilingual, customised recommendations to farmers
  • Supports real-time inputs on weather, soil health, crop management and risk mitigation
  • Reduces information asymmetry and improves last-mile digital outreach

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