The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare detailed India's comprehensive technology-driven crop monitoring system utilizing modern technologies including satellites, drones, Artificial Intelligence, Remote Sensing, Geographic Information Systems, and Internet of Things. The FASAL system provides pre-harvest production forecasts at national, state, and district levels for 11 major crops (Paddy, Wheat, Jute, Cotton, Sugarcane, Soybean, Tur, Gram, Mustard, Lentil, and Rabi Sorghum) across 20 states using multispectral and Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite data.
The Ministry regularly generates remote-based inputs including vegetation condition maps, soil moisture status, drought condition assessment, flood inundation, and hailstorm impact for effective crop management. The Krishi Decision Support System integrates geospatial and non-geospatial data including satellite, weather, soil, crop signatures, reservoir, and groundwater data along with government scheme information to support evidence-based decision-making.
The YESTECH initiative under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana includes satellite-based crop yield models for Gram Panchayat-level yield estimation and claim settlement, currently implemented for paddy, wheat, and soybean crops across 12 states. The WINDS initiative aims to strengthen weather data infrastructure by augmenting existing networks with new Automatic Weather Stations at Block/Tehsil/Taluk level and Automatic Rain Gauges at Gram Panchayat level, currently implemented in 7 states.
Drones are promoted under the Sub-Mission on Agriculture Mechanization with financial assistance of 50% for agriculture graduates and Small and Marginal farmers of North Eastern States, and 40% for other farmers and Custom Hiring Centers. A total of 2,122 drones have been distributed/approved under the SMAM scheme. The 'Namo Drone Didi' scheme has equipped 1,094 Women Self Help Groups with drones for agricultural applications, with all SHG members receiving training at DGCA-authorized Remote Pilot Organizations.
The National Pest Surveillance System utilizes AI and Machine Learning to detect pest infestation across 73 crops for 436 pests, with 35,565 advisories issued to date. BharatVistaar, an AI-powered Digital Public Infrastructure for Agriculture, has served over 590,000 farmers and addressed more than 9.3 million farmer queries, providing information on 18 Central Government schemes, crop and livestock advisories, weather forecasts, mandi prices, and pest identification. KISAN SARATHI platform has registered more than 29.7 million farmers across the country for crop-specific advisories.
The AgriStack project under Digital Agriculture Mission supports digital services integration with various schemes for accurate beneficiary targeting for Direct Benefit Transfer under PM-KISAN, MSP-based procurement through FCI, fertilizer booking, and efficient claim settlement under PMFBY. It enables faster service delivery including disaster relief disbursement in Maharashtra, Kisan Credit Card loan sanctioning within half an hour, and improved farmer outreach for procurement schemes. Farmer ID is used for enrollment under PMFBY, procurement under PM-ASHA's Price Support Scheme, and linking with Soil Health Cards for crop and input planning. Digital Crop Survey data is utilized to generate near real-time crop production estimates, while geo-referencing of Natural farms/clusters is captured under Krishi MApper application under the National Mission on Natural Farming.