Lok Sabha Question No. 128 (STARRED), answered on 2023-12-12
Subject: Digital Agriculture Mission
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Jaskaur Meena

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 128

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 12 TH  DECEMBER, 2023

## DIGITAL AGRICULTURE MISSION

- *128.  SHRIMATI JASKAUR MEENA:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ͪष एवं ͩकसान कãयाण मंğी

- be pleased to state: (a) the salient features of Digital Agriculture Mission; (b) the details of the funds sanctioned, allocated and utilized under the said Mission in the country including Rajasthan; (c) the details of targets set and achievements made in the country under the above Mission so far; (d) whether the Government has focused on small scale farmers under the said Mission; and (e) if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken/being taken so far in this regard?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ͪष एवं ͩकसान कãयाण मंğी (SHRI ARJUN MUNDA)

- (a) to (e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT  IN  RESPECT  OF  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA  STARRED QUESTION  NO.  128  DUE  FOR  ANSWER  ON  12.12.2023  REGARDING  'DIGITAL AGRICULTURE MISSION'

(a) to (e) : As per the Budget Announcement for the year 2023-24, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has taken various initiatives to build Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for agriculture as an open source, open standard and interoperable public good. These initiatives intend to provide access to technology and information to the farmers across the country to address the farmer-centric solutions, through various digital initiatives, such as:

- I.  Under the Agristack initiative, the Government has initiated the development of three core registries, viz. Farmers Registry (Registry of Farmers), Geo-Referenced Village maps (of the Farmland plots) and Crop Sown Registry through the Digital Crop Survey. The Digital Crop Survey establishes a clear picture of crop being sown across all the farmlands in the country during the different agriculture seasons. These initiatives have been launched on pilot basis in some States including the state of Rajasthan.
- II.  National Project on Soil Health and Fertility:-Issuance of soil health cards to farmers of the  country,  so  as  to  provide  a  basis  to  address  nutrient  deficiencies  in  fertilization practices. The Soil Health Card Portal helps farmers to track soil samples.
- III.  Unified Portal for Agricultural Statistics (UPAg) is  an  advanced  agricultural data management  platform  designed  to  generate  crop  estimates  and  integrate  with  other systems generating Agriculture Statistics such as Price, Trade, Procurement, Stock etc. It serves as a centralized hub for near real time information on crop production, market trends, pricing, and other vital agricultural data. By unifying diverse sources of agricultural statistics,  the  portal  enables  a  comprehensive  and  cohesive  view  of  the  agricultural landscape, facilitating better decision-making and policy formulation.
- IV.  Krishi  Mapper  application  has  been  developed  to  establish  a  comprehensive  landintervention database under various agricultural schemes and programs. This centralized repository not only enhances efficiency in data management but also plays a crucial role in preventing leakages in government schemes related to fertilizers, seeds, PM-KISAN, and more. By facilitating the identification of farms, Krishi Mapper ensures targeted and efficient utilization of resources.
- V.  Several new technological initiatives have been taken under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima  Yojana  such  as  Yield  Estimation  System,  based  on  Technology  (YES-Tech), Weather Information Network Data Systems (WINDS) and door to door enrollment app AIDE/Sahayak. YES-TECH,  a technology-driven yield estimation system, offers methodologies, best practices, and integration insights for accurate yield assessments at the Gram Panchayat level. WINDS Portal is a centralized platform that hosts, manages,

and processes hyper-local weather data collected by Automatic Weather Stations and Rain  Gauges  at  Taluk/Block  and  Gram  Panchayat  levels.  The  portal  enhances  risk assessment and decision-making in crop insurance, agriculture advisories, and disaster mitigation, supporting the agricultural sector and rural economy.

- VI.  The functioning of the Commercial Horticulture Schemes of National Horticulture Board (NHB)  has  been  completely  digitized  through  a  customized  web-based  online  portal. Through  this  portal the farmers/entrepreneurs  can  file  and  track  status  of their applications online.  Handling of applications is also done online by NHB which allows applicants to respond to the queries and submit required documents online, apart from getting updates through SMS and emails.  The physical pre-inspection of the project land is done away and replaced with mobile based App to capture the geo-coordinates.  These measures have improved the transparency and efficiency in the sanctioning process.
- VII.  Drought portal hosts data of multiple drought indicators related to rainfall, soil moisture, remote sensing-based crop condition, water storages etc. This portal provides drought indicators from a single window digital platform and enables easy, timely and objective assessment of drought situation over any district or region.
- VIII.  Kisan-eMitra (PM Kisan Samman Nidhi chatbot) is an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-assisted Grievance  Management  System. The chatbot  has been  integrated  with  Bhashini  and currently supports 5+ indic languages. By bridging the technological gap, this solution ensures that even those with limited access to advanced devices can seamlessly engage with the AI Chatbot and access crucial information related to payments, registration, and other facets of the PMKISAN program.
- IX.  To create awareness on use of Kisan Drones, the government under Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) is providing financial assistance for its purchase and demonstration on the farmers' fields. To promote technology in the rural development and agriculture sectors, government has approved 15 thousand drones to women through Self-Help Groups.
- X.  In  addition,  under  National  e-Governance  Plan  in  Agriculture  (NeGPA),  a  Centrally Sponsored Scheme, funds are provided to states for the projects involving the use of modern Information Technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Block chain Technology, the Internet of Things, Robotics, etc. The details of projects sanctioned under this schemes is given at Annexure.

These initiatives aim at enhancing interoperability and convergence of efforts, fostering the development of applications in the agricultural sector using emerging technologies.

ANNEXURE TO THE REPLY IN RESPECT OF PARTS (a) TO (e) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 128 DUE FOR ANSWER ON 12.12.2023 REGARDING 'DIGITAL AGRICULTURE MISSION'

## Projects sanctioned under NeGPA from FY 2020-21 to 2023-24

|   S No | State/UT         | Year    | Project Name                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
|--------|------------------|---------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|      1 | Tripura          | 2022-23 | Centralized farmer database, Direct benefit transfer, Precision farming, Integrated Information Ecosystem, Use of AI/ ML and Block chain technologies, Capacity Building of Employees, Digital Soil Health Card App, SSO Integrated Platform, Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) Portal etc. |
|      2 | Punjab           | 2020-21 | Development of Crop and Soil Digital Algorithms for Crop Growth Monitoring, Crop Yield and Soil Quality and Precision irrigation in major cropping systems                                                                                                                                   |
|      2 | Punjab           | 2021-22 | Estimation of Ground water draft and water budgeting                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
|      2 | Punjab           | 2023-24 | Implementation of National e-Governance Plan in Punjab                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
|      3 | Uttar Pradesh    | 2020-21 | (i)Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Agriculture Applications, (ii) Hand Held Tool based Soil Health Monitoring Integrated system and (iii) Automated Fire Alert System for Crop Residue Burning in U.P.                                                                                           |
|      3 | Uttar Pradesh    | 2023-24 | Digital Crop Survey                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
|      4 | Assam            | 2020-21 | e-project on ML based Crop Health Checkup for paddy crops.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
|      4 | Assam            | 2023-24 | Pilot on Digital Crop Survey                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
|      5 | Puducherry       | 2022-23 | Project proposal for setup of Intelligent Agriculture Advisory System(i-AAS), Robotic Control Tissue culture (RCTC) and real time irrigation management system(RIMS)                                                                                                                         |
|      6 | Nagaland         | 2021-22 | Soil & Water Resource Management, Meteorological Analysis & Forecasting System using Remote Sensing, GIS mapping, Drone and Emerging Technologies under NeGPA                                                                                                                                |
|      7 | Bihar            | 2020-21 | Digital Package of Practices for Major Crops and Automation Technique in Irrigation In State Seed Multiplication Farms                                                                                                                                                                       |
|      8 | Himachal Pradesh | 2022-23 | Project proposal for setup of ICT Infrastructure Requirements in the Department of Agriculture                                                                                                                                                                                               |
|      9 | Meghalaya        | 2020-21 | Development of web and mobile based "Crop Pest Surveillance and Advisory Project (CROPSAP)                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
|      9 | Meghalaya        | 2021-22 | Regarding creation of farmers database                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |

|   10 | Odisha            | 2020-21   | Creation of Farmer Database                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
|------|-------------------|-----------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|   10 | Odisha            | 2021-22   | Phase II of Krushak database                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
|   10 | Odisha            | 2023-24   | Digital Crop Survey                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
|   11 | Sikkim            | 2021-22   | Sikkim Agriculture Resource and Management System (ARMS)                                                                                                                                                                     |
|   11 | Sikkim            | 2023-24   | Precision farming in Sikkim                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
|   12 | Telangana         | 2020-21   | (i)Crop Monitoring(ii)Automated irrigation Systems(iii) Fertilizer Calculation (iv)Automated Farm Operation (v)Traceability from                                                                                             |
|   12 | Telangana         | 2023-24   | Digital Crop Survey                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
|   13 | Arunachal Pradesh | 2020-21   | Resilient Supply Chain for identified Agricultural Crops Leveraging Digitization                                                                                                                                             |
|   13 | Arunachal Pradesh | 2021-22   | 1.Developing a resilient Agriculture /Farm Produce Supply Chain System Leveraging Digitalization in Arunachal Pradesh 2. Development of Smart Pest Surveillance System cum Geo Spatial aided Agricultural Information System |
|   14 | Andhra Pradesh    | 2020-21   | Unified Digital Programme (UDP) for Agriculture                                                                                                                                                                              |
|   14 | Andhra Pradesh    | 2021-22   | Implementation of Phase-II 'Unified Digital Platform app to operate Rythu Bhrosa Kendralu (RBKs)'                                                                                                                            |
|   15 | Madhya Pradesh    | 2020-21   | (i)Precision Farming and(ii)Ground water Availability                                                                                                                                                                        |
|   15 | Madhya Pradesh    | 2023-24   | 1.To operate and Maintain 'e-Krishi Yantra Anudan Portal' (Online Subsidy Disbursement System in E- Rupi Mode) 2. Digital Crop Survey                                                                                        |
|   16 | Tamil Nadu        | 2021-22   | creation of Unified Farmers Database and building layers or solutions over the Farmers Database                                                                                                                              |
|   16 | Tamil Nadu        | 2023-24   | 1.Geo-referencing of 8026 villages and Development of Farmers' database 2.Digital Crop Survey                                                                                                                                |
|   17 | Mizoram           | 2021-22   | Geospatial Analytics & Decision Support for agriculture Development in Mizoram                                                                                                                                               |
|   18 | Gujarat           | 2023-24   | 1.Revamping of existing iKhedut Portal 2. Digital Crop Survey                                                                                                                                                                |
|   19 | West Bengal       | 2023-24   | Development of Digital Ecosystem for Crop Mapping, Crop surveillance, Crop Yield & Production Estimation in west Bengal                                                                                                      |
|   20 | Kerala            | 2023-24   | Digital Crop Survey                                                                                                                                                                                                          |

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