Union Minister For Agriculture Shivraj Singh Launches AI Platform ‘Bharat-VISTAAR’ For Farmers In Jaipur

Jaipur: Union Minister for Agriculture Shivraj Singh launched the AI-based farmers' platform ‘Bharat-VISTAAR’ in Jaipur on Tuesday. This platform will provide farmers with information on weather, market prices, pests and diseases, soil, crop advice, and government schemes all in one place through phone calls, chatbots, and later through an app.

Addressing the nationwide launching ceremony, Shivraj Singh, without naming, took a jibe at leader of oppression Rahul Gandhi and said, “ One leader is questioning the US trade deal. He is a part-time politician and a full-time drama king. He has neither understanding of trade nor tradition. He hasn't seen a field, a crop, or dirt, but he is finding fault with the trade deal."

Countering the agriculture policies of the Congress regime, Shivraj Singh asked Rahul Gandhi why the Congress refused to accept the Swaminathan Commission report, which called for a minimum support price based on farmers' input costs. Why did the Congress government refuse to consider input costs as the basis for implementing MSP? “In 2009-10, the Congress government imported sugar from abroad at ₹36 per kg and then exported the same sugar at ₹12.50 per kg. Who benefited from this,” asked Shivraj.

The union minister accused Congress of destroying India's self-sufficiency in edible oils by putting edible oils under the Open General License.

Responding to the allegations of putting farmers' interests at stake in the US trade deal, Shivraj said that the interests of Indian farmers have been fully considered in the trade deal with America. “The country is not yet self-sufficient in pulses. Apples currently come from Turkey and Iran. Turkey opposed India in Operation Sindoor, so what's the problem if apples come from America now? This import won't affect the apple production in the country,” said the union minister.

Talking about the Bharat-VISTAAR, he said that in the future, farmer IDs will be linked to Bharat Vistar. Farmers are being connected to technology with the aim of ensuring that clerks and officials don't interfere with farmers' access to benefits. Bharat Vistar is the call for a new revolution.

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Bharat-VISTAAR is the Government of India’s farmer-centric, AI-powered digital public infrastructure, which will deliver reliable information to farmers by connecting various government and scientific sources. On this platform, farmers will be able to view information and status related to weather, market prices, pests and diseases, soil health, crop management, and at least 10 major central government schemes.

Bharat-VISTAAR has been designed as a voice first AI so that even a farmer with a simple feature phone can benefit from it just by making a call. For this, telephonic helpline number 155261 has been linked to the platform, along with facilities like voice input-output, a website, and a mobile site chatbot, and an Android app will also be released. For the Phase 1 launch, Bharat-VISTAAR has integrated weather information from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), market prices from AgMarkNet, pest and disease management through the National Pest Surveillance System (NPSS), Agri-Stack data, and information on 10 central government schemes. Along with this, facilities to view scheme details, application status, benefit tracking, and complaint registration and resolution status have also been integrated so that farmers do not have to repeatedly visit offices or different portals.