Bharat-VISTAAR(Virtually Integrated System to Access Agricultural Resources),a multilingual Artificial intelligence (AI) powered tool, has been announced in the Union Budget 2026–27with 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.
This information was given by Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Bhagirath Choudhary in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
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RC/MS/DK/2411