Lok Sabha Question No. 2534 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-05
Subject: Budget Allocation to DARE
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Shri Manish Tewari

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH & EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2534

TO BE ANSWERED ON 5 TH  AUGUST, 2025

## BUDGET ALLOCATION TO DARE

## 2534.  SHRI MANISH TEWARI:

Will  the  Minister  of  AGRICULTURE  AND  FARMERS  WELFARE कृ षि और ककसान कल्याण मंत्री be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  of  budget  allocation  and  actual  expenditure  for  the  Department  of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) in the Union Budget over the past ten years, year-wise;
- (b) the reasons for the budget allocation for DARE remaining marginal, despite the critical need for research and development in the agricultural sector;
- (c) the  reasons  for  the  limited  adoption  of  Artificial  Intelligence  (AI)  and  advanced technologies  in  agriculture,  despite  challenges  such  as  unpredictable  weather,  labour shortages, and crop diseases;
- (d) whether the Government has conducted any independent assessments to measure the impact of AI and technological interventions on agricultural output and farmers' income, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (e) the details of measures implemented by the Government to ensure that technological advancements in agriculture are accessible and affordable to small and marginal farmers across the country?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ षि और ककसान कल्याण राज्य मंत्री (SHRI BHAGIRATH CHOUDHARY)

(a) & (b): The budget allocation and expenditure of DARE is as under:

(Rs in crore)

| Year    |   Budget Allocation |   Actual Expenditure |
|---------|---------------------|----------------------|
| 2015-16 |             5586    |              5572.9  |
| 2016-17 |             6238    |              5995.21 |
| 2017-18 |             6992    |              6989.92 |
| 2018-19 |             7952.73 |              7943.59 |
| 2019-20 |             7846.17 |              7844.98 |

| 2020-21   |   7762.38 |   7685.52 |
|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| 2021-22   |   8513.62 |   8439.94 |
| 2022-23   |   8658.89 |   8578.17 |
| 2023-24   |   9876.6  |   9804.39 |
| 2024-25   |  10156.4  |  10091.2  |

The budget allocation of Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) has increased during last 10 years (year to year basis) except during the period affected by COVID-19 Pandemic.

(c): Farmers  in  India  are  adopting  advanced  technologies  such  as  drones,  precision farming, and automated irrigation and fertigation systems. Both the public and private sectors along with AgriTech startups are playing a vital role in accelerating the adoption of Artificial Intelligence  (AI)  and  other  advanced  technologies  in  agriculture.  In  this  direction,  some initiatives of government are given below:

· Kisan-e-Mitra and an AI-powered chatbot, to assist farmers with queries about PM Kisan Samman Nidhi (PMKISAN) and is evolving to assist with other government program.

· ICAR  has  established  a  Virtual  Centre  of  Excellence  on  AI  in  Agriculture,  and developing  mobile  applications  such  as AI-DISC  (for  crop  disease  identification)  and AIDISHA (for livestock disease diagnosis).

· National  Pest  Surveillance  System  for  tracking  the  loss  of  produce  due  to  climate change.

· AI  based  analytics  using  field  photographs  for  crop  health  assessment  and  crop monitoring using satellite, weather & soil moisture datasets. This tool supports 61 crops and over 400 pests combinations, and currently used by over 10,000 extension workers.

(d): A  study  conducted  by  ICAR-NIAP,  New  Delhi,  titled 'Harvesting  Benefits  of  Drone Technology in Agriculture' during Kharif 2024 in Uttar Pradesh, reported a yield increase of 4.1% in paddy and 1.6% in sugarcane. Additionally, the labour cost of spraying using drones was found to be 31.4% lower compared to conventional methods.

(e): The Government has launched key initiatives to ensure technology accessibility for small and marginal farmers. Some of the schemes/initiatives by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare are:

(i) Digital Agriculture Mission, which deploys AI, big data, geospatial analytics, block chain and digital platforms for enhanced crop monitoring, soil profiling, real-time weather forecasts, and decision support.

(ii) Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM), provision of Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs) under SMAM, and support for the 'Drone Didi' and 'Kisan Drones'.

(iii)  Promotion  of Affordable  Farm  Machinery  through  various  schemes,  the  Government promotes the manufacture and distribution of low-cost, efficient farm implements suitable for small land holdings. Subsidies are provided to farmers and entrepreneurs for  purchasing such equipment.

(iv) Capacity buildings and human resource development through a network of 731 Krishi Vigyan  Kendra  (KVKs)  under  Indian  Council  of  Agricultural  Research  and  Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA), wherein technology assessment, demonstration and capacity development are executed. The KVKs also provide inputs support of advanced technologies though production and supply of quality seeds, planting materials, fingerlings, improved animal and poultry germplasm.