DoLR, RBI Innovation Hub Explore Digital Land Records Integration to Speed Up Farm Credit

The Department of Land Resources (DoLR) under the Ministry of Rural Development has initiated discussions with the RBI Innovation Hub (RBIH) to integrate India's digital land governance ecosystem with the Unified Lending Interface (ULI), a move aimed at making agricultural and rural credit faster, more transparent and easier to access.

The proposal seeks to leverage authenticated digital land records to enable seamless, consent-based lending, particularly for farmers seeking Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loans and other agricultural credit. The initiative could significantly reduce paperwork, shorten loan processing times and improve financial inclusion by allowing banks to verify land ownership digitally.

The discussions took place during a high-level meeting chaired by DoLR Secretary Narendra Bhooshan with RBIH Chief Executive Officer Sahil Kini and senior officials from both organisations.

According to the Department, the two sides explored ways to create synergies between the government's Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for land governance and RBIH's Unified Lending Interface (ULI), which is emerging as India's common digital infrastructure for credit delivery.

Among the key proposals discussed were secure and standardised access to authenticated digital land records, faster digital processing of KCC and agricultural loans, reduction in transaction costs, and the use of digital mortgage information and flag-marking mechanisms to prevent multiple loans being sanctioned against the same land parcel.

Officials also discussed adopting common data standards, expanding the use of the Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN), popularly known as Bhu-Aadhaar, and ensuring API interoperability between land record databases and financial institutions.

Land records to become trusted digital assets

The Department said authenticated and interoperable land records could transform land into a trusted digital asset that enables easier access to formal credit while improving transparency and reducing fraud in agricultural lending.

The initiative aligns with the government's broader Digital India strategy, under which land records across states are being digitised and standardised through the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP).

ULI aims to become the UPI for lending

The Unified Lending Interface, developed by RBI Innovation Hub, is designed as a common API-based platform that allows lenders to securely access verified borrower information from multiple sources with customer consent. These include land records, identity verification, credit bureau information, satellite imagery and other datasets required for loan appraisal.

The ULI ecosystem has expanded rapidly over the past year. Earlier this year, RBIH also integrated NABARD's e-KCC and Cooperative Digital Credit Infrastructure platforms with ULI, allowing Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) to process agricultural loans digitally through the platform.

The Department of Land Resources said it would continue working with RBI Innovation Hub and other stakeholders to build a secure, interoperable and citizen-centric digital public infrastructure that strengthens land governance while expanding access to formal institutional credit across rural India.