Bharat VISTAAR Phase 1 launched

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has launched an AI-powered multilingual tool Bharat-VISTAAR (Virtually Integrated System to Access Agricultural Resources) Phase-1 from Jaipur, Rajasthan.

What is Bharat-VISTAAR?

• It is a farmer-centric, AI-powered Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for the agriculture sector.
• It was announced in the Union Budget 2026-27.
• It will serve as a single digital gateway for farmers, integrating information and services related to:
  1. Government schemes
  2. Weather forecasts
  3. Market prices
  4. Crop and livestock advisory
  5. Pest and disease alerts
  6. Complaint registration and tracking
• It is designed as a plug-and-play DPI architecture, enabling seamless integration of central, state, cooperative, and scientific systems.

Core Objective:

• To provide farmers with reliable, real-time and personalised agricultural information in one place—accessible via smartphones or even basic feature phones—reducing dependence on:
  • Multiple portals
  • Physical offices
  • Intermediaries
• To function as a “Digital Agriculture Advisor”.
• Voice-First AI Design (Inclusive Access): It is built as a Voice-First AI platform, ensuring accessibility even for feature phone users.

Access Channels

• Helpline Number: 155261 (works from simple phones)
• Mobile App (Google Play Store)
• Web Interface (linked to Ministry website and apps like PM-KISAN & PMFBY)
• Text-based chatbot
• Speaking AI assistant “Bharati”

The AI assistant can:

• Converse in simple language
• Provide voice-based responses
• Support multilingual interaction

Integrated Data Sources (Phase-1):

• It integrates verified data from:
  • India Meteorological Department (IMD) – Weather forecasts
  • AgMarkNet – Market prices
  • National Pest Surveillance System (NPSS) – Pest & disease alerts
  • Agri-Stack data
  • Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) – Package of Practices
  • Soil Health Card database

Available 24 hours

• It will be available 24 hours, acting as a ‘Digital Agriculture Expert’, through two mediums:
• Bharat-VISTAAR: It will be available 24 hours, acting as a ‘Digital Agriculture Expert’, through two mediums:
  • Bharat-VISTAAR Chatbot – Text-based conversation.
  • Speaking AI assistant ‘Bharati’ inside Bharat-VISTAAR. It can converse with farmers, answer questions in simple language, and operate through voice in various languages.
    • Farmers can reach ‘Bharati’ through three simple ways –
      • Through the mobile app available on Google Play Store
      • Web interface link (which will work like an app), available on the Ministry of Agriculture website and popular mobile apps like PM KISAN and PMFBY
      • By calling 155261 (even from simple phones)

Services Available at Launch (Phase-1)

• Central Schemes Integrated (10 Major Schemes):

1. PM-KISAN
2. PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)
3. Soil Health Card (SHC)
4. Modified Interest Subvention Scheme
5. Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation
6. Per Drop More Crop
7. PM Krishi Sinchayee Yojana
8. PM Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan
9. Agriculture Infrastructure Fund
10. Kisan Credit Card

Additional Services

• Benefit status tracking (PM-KISAN, PMFBY, and Soil Health Card).
• PM-KISAN complaint registration & monitoring
• Crop & livestock advisory
• Advice based on ICAR’s scientific knowledge
• Weather-based advisory
• Pest and disease alerts
• Real-time market prices
• Pest & disease alerts
• State Integration in Phase-1: Initially connected states:
  • Maharashtra (MahaVistaar, Vasudha – Marathi)
  • Bihar (BiharKrishi App – Hindi)
  • Gujarat (AmulAI – Gujarati)

Language Capabilities

• At Launch
  • Chatbot: English & Hindi
  • Telephone AI (“Bharati”): Hindi & English

Expansion Plan

• Within 3 months: It will be available in Tamil, Bengali, Assamese, Kannada languages, along with related state government schemes. Schemes and services of remaining states will be added phase-wise.
• Within 6 months: Total 11 languages (English, Hindi and 9 regional languages)

Phase-wise Expansion (By May 2026)

• Integration of all central schemes for eligibility checks, applications, benefit tracking, complaint resolution

Future additions:

• More Personalised advice related to weather, pests, crop suitability, market prices, fertilizer requirements, etc.,
• State schemes integration nationwide