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O.I.H.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2411
TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 13/03/2026
ROLLOUT OF BHARAT-VISTAAR PLATFORM
2411 SHRI ADITYA PRASAD:
SMT. KIRAN CHOUDHRY:
SHRI SHAMBHU SHARAN PATEL:
SHRI BABURAM NISHAD:
SMT. GEETA ALIAS CHANDRAPRABHA:
DR. ANIL SUKHDEORAO BONDE:
SHRI NARHARI AMIN:
SHRI NARAYANA KORAGAPPA:
SHRI LAHAR SINGH SIROYA:
SHRI UJJWAL DEORAO NIKAM:
DR. PARMAR JASHVANTSINH SALAMSINH:
Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE be pleased to state:
(a) the key objectives and components of the Bharat-VISTAAR platform;
(b) the total allocation made for the Bharat-VISTAAR platform in the Union Budget 2026, along
with the main components and purposes for which funds are earmarked;
(c) the planned timeline for phased rollout of the platform and the indicative coverage in terms of
districts, languages and categories of farmers targeted in the initial phase;
(d) whether the design framework of Bharat-VISTAAR incorporates safeguards relating to data
privacy, transparency of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems and equitable access for small and
marginal farmers; and
(e) if so, the details of the broad features of such safeguards?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
(SHRI BHAGIRATH CHOUDHARY)
(a) to (e): Bharat-VISTAAR (Virtually Integrated System to Access Agricultural Resources), a
multilingual Artificial intelligence (AI) powered tool, has been announced in the Union Budget
2026–27 with an total allocation of Rs. 150 Crore. Accordingly, the Government of India has
launched the Phase-1 version of Bharat-VISTAAR (Virtually Integrated System to Access
Agricultural Resources) as a nationwide, AI-powered, voice-first, multilingual Digital Public
Infrastructure platform. It is conceived as an integrated and unified Digital Public Infrastructure
platform designed to provide farmers with reliable, real-time, and location-specific personalized
agricultural advisories while ensuring seamless access to a comprehensive range of allied agricultural
and support services.The platform integrates data from various government digital ecosystems and scientific
agricultural practices developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and other
sources to deliver personalised information/advisories on crop management, weather, market prices,
pest and disease alerts, and soil health insights, in a phase-wise manner.
In the Phase I launched on 17th February, 2026, the platform is available in Hindi and English
languages through multiple channels, including a dedicated telephone number (155261), a voice-
based AI chatbot, a web portal of the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare and a
downloadable mobile application. Phase-I integrates 10 (ten) major Central schemes, including PM-
KISAN, PMFBY, Soil Health Card, Kisan Credit Card, Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, PM Krishi
Sinchayee Yojana, PM-AASHA, Modified Interest Subvention Scheme, Per Drop More Crop, and
Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization. The Government has plans to add further 4 languages in
next 3 months and other 5 languages in next 6 months.
To ensure accessibility for small and marginal farmers, the platform provides voice-based and
Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) access for non-smartphone users. It is designed for
expansion to regional languages, State Specific Agriculture schemes & information and extension
networks, along with awareness and capacity-building programmes to promote digital adoption.
Bharat-VISTAAR has been developed in accordance with the Digital Personal Data
Protection Act, 2023, and other IT laws of the country. The Government of India also ensures robust
data security, which is fully compliant with the cyber security guidelines of the Ministry of
Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Computer Emergency Response Team-
India (CERT-In). In addition, the government conducts periodic security audits of all these IT
systems and monitors risks.
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