Rs 6,000 Crore Boost for Digital Agri Infrastructure; MoUs Signed with Four States

Union Agriculture Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi has urged States to dynamically link their Farmer Registries with updated Records of Rights (RoR) and actively utilize the digital datasets for scheme delivery and personalized agricultural services. Speaking at the ‘National Conference on Agri Stack: Turning Data into Delivery’ in New Delhi yesterday, Chaturvedi reiterated the government’s commitment to leveraging technology for transparent, farmer-centric governance. The conference was organised by The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare (MoA&FW).

Pramod Kumar Meherda, Additional Secretary (Digital), MoA&FW, provided a comprehensive overview of Agri Stack, including integration of the Farmer ID with flagship schemes such as PM-KISAN, PMFBY, KCC etc. He stressed the importance of georeferencing, data quality assurance, and compliance with Unified Farmer Service Interface (UFSI) standards. The conference also witnessed the introduction of upcoming services such as farmer authorization systems and Digitally Verifiable Certificates (DVCs), empowering farmers to share land and crop information securely and selectively.

MoU signed with four states

A major milestone of the day was the signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the States of Maharashtra, Kerala, Bihar, and Odisha, and the PSB Alliance with the National Farmers’ Welfare Program Implementation Society (NFWPIS), MoA&FW. This collaboration will enable seamless digital access to credit services through Farmer Registry-linked authentication, reducing paperwork and benefiting small and marginal farmers across India. 

Additionally, the Special Central Assistance (SCA) Guidelines were jointly launched by Secretaries of Agriculture and Land Resources, Chief knowledge Officer and Advisor (CKO&A), Add. Secretary (MoA&FW) in the presence of other dignitaries. A total allocation of ₹6,000 crore was announced to support States - ₹4,000 crore earmarked for Farmer Registry (including legal heir systems), and ₹2,000 crore for Digital Crop Survey, on a first-come-first-served basis.

Technical sessions led by the Chief Knowledge Officer and Advisor (CKO&A) focused on scaling State-level digital infrastructure, addressing gaps in data quality, and enforcing compliance with DCS standards. Challenges such as outdated tribal land records, errors in crop survey photos, and non-compliance with DCS standards were discussed. Emphasis was laid on using remote sensing, AI/ML tools, and automated data validation mechanisms to improve accuracy and efficiency. A dedicated session titled Insights from States on Agri Stack Usage featured presentations from Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka.

The Ministry also showcased an AI-powered chatbot, trained on Agri Stack data and built using Google Gemini, capable of answering queries in multiple languages. Additional AI tools are being piloted for assisting supervisors in crop identification, performing facial authentication of surveyors, and optimizing backend code in partnership with system integrators.