Rollout of Digital Public Infrastructure for Agriculture: UPSC Current Affairs Story Arc

Overview

This arc tracks India's systematic transition toward a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for agriculture. It begins with the 'Agri-Tech for All' scheme, providing the technological tools (AI and satellite data) for precision farming. This evolved into the 'Agri Stack' under the Digital Agriculture Mission, creating a unified 'Kisan ID' (Digitally Verifiable Credential) to uniquely identify farmers and their crops. The arc culminates in the 'Land Stack' integration, which merges these IDs with GIS-based land records. Together, these steps aim to modernize farm management, streamline credit delivery, and ensure that government benefits reach the intended 'legal heirs' through a transparent, interoperable digital registry.

How This Story Evolved

Agri-Tech scheme launched (May 2025) → leads to Agri Stack/Kisan ID framework (June 2025) → enables Land Stack integration (Jan 2026)

1. 2025-05-02: Agri-Tech for All Scheme Launched
   More details

   UPSC Angle: "Agri-Tech for All" scheme launched to improve crop productivity.

   Key Facts:

   • “Agri-Tech for All” scheme launched on May 2, 2025
   • Aims to help farmers use AI and satellite data
   • Green energy agreement signed with Germany
   • Launched on: May 2, 2025
   • Scheme: Agri-Tech for All
   • Objective: To help farmers use AI and satellite data to improve crop productivity
   • Ministry of Education: Introduced a new fellowship program for civil service aspirants from rural areas to support equitable access to competitive exams
   • Signed on: May 2, 2025
   • Parties: India and Germany
   • Agreement: Green energy agreement
   • Objective: To expand solar and wind power collaborations
   • Initiated on: May 2, 2025
   • Ministry: Jal Shakti Ministry
   • Drive: Nationwide water conservation drive
   • Objective: To address drought-prone areas ahead of monsoon season
2. 2025-06-14: Ministry of Agriculture Launches Agri Stack Under Digital Agriculture Mission
   More details

   UPSC Angle: Ministry of Agriculture launches Agri Stack under Digital Agriculture Mission.

   Key Facts:

   • Digitally Verifiable Credential (DVC)/Kisan Pehchan Patra: Allows farmers to generate authenticated credentials for specific land parcels and crops
   • DVCs are integrated with DigiLocker
   • Special Central Assistance (SCA) Guidelines: Allocated ₹6,000 crore to support states
   • ₹4,000 crore for Farmer Registry (including legal heir systems)
   • ₹2,000 crore for Digital Crop Survey, on a first-come-first-served basis
3. 2026-01-03: Digital Land Governance Initiatives Launched
   More details

   UPSC Angle: 'Land Stack' portal launched to modernize land administration under Digital India.

   Key Facts:

   • Land Stack and the Glossary of Revenue Terms were launched under the Digital India Land Record Modernisation Programme (DILRMP).
   • Land Stack is an integrated GIS-based digital platform.
   • Union Minister of State (MoS) Dr. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani launched the 'Land Stack' portal in Chandigarh and Tamil Nadu
   • Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) completed nine years on January 1, 2026
   • PMMVY was launched on January 1, 2017
4. 2026-02-17: Launch of Bharat Vistaar Digital Platform for Farmers
   More details

   UPSC Angle: Bharat Vistaar platform launched to provide farmers agricultural information in local languages.

   Key Facts:

   • Bharat-VISTAAR launched by Union Agriculture Minister
   • AI-powered multilingual advisory platform
   • Announced in Union Budget 2026-27
   • Provides personalized, real-time information to farmers via voice, chat, and mobile
   • Bharat Vistaar is a new digital platform for farmers.
   • Launched in Jaipur by Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
   • Farmers can receive crop-specific scientific advice, weather forecasts, and market price updates.
   • Farmers can dial 155261 to ask farm-related questions.

Genesis

Trigger

The launch of the 'Agri-Tech for All' scheme on May 2, 2025, which signaled a shift toward AI-driven and satellite-monitored productivity tools.

Why Now

The move was driven by the need to resolve 'identification gaps' in farmer schemes and the maturity of India's DPI (Aadhaar/UPI) model, making it feasible to apply similar logic to land and crops.

Historical Context

It builds upon the Digital India Land Record Modernisation Programme (DILRMP), launched in 2008, which struggled with fragmented departmental data and lack of real-time crop verification.

Key Turning Points

1. [2025-06-14] Launch of Special Central Assistance (SCA) Guidelines with ₹6,000 crore funding.

   It provided the financial 'teeth' for states to implement the Digital Crop Survey and Farmer Registry.

   Before: Digital agriculture was a pilot-based experimental area. After: It became a funded, mission-mode national priority.

Key Actors and Institutions

Key Institutions

• Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare
• Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM)
• Digital India Land Record Modernisation Programme (DILRMP)
• DigiLocker

Key Concepts

Agri Stack

A collection of digital databases and standards that provide a unified platform for agricultural services, including farmer IDs and land records.

Current Fact: Allocated ₹6,000 crore under the SCA Guidelines, with ₹4,000 crore specifically for the Farmer Registry.

Digitally Verifiable Credential (DVC)

Also known as 'Kisan Pehchan Patra', it is a secure, digital identity for farmers that allows them to prove ownership of specific land parcels and crops via DigiLocker.

Current Fact: Introduced during the National Conference on June 14, 2025.

Land Stack

An integrated, GIS-based digital platform that modernizes land administration by mapping physical land data onto digital layers for governance.

Current Fact: The portal was officially launched on January 3, 2026, under the DILRMP.

What Happens Next

Current Status

As of January 3, 2026, the 'Land Stack' portal has been launched in Chandigarh and Tamil Nadu, integrating GIS data with revenue terms.

Likely Next

Nationwide scale-up of the Digital Crop Survey and mandatory 'Aadhaar seeding' for all land-based subsidies by the next Kharif season.

Wildcards

States resisting the central 'Agri Stack' framework due to land being a State Subject, or legal challenges regarding the privacy of GIS-mapped farm data.

Why UPSC Cares

Syllabus Topics

• E-technology in the aid of farmers
• Land reforms in India
• Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies

Essay Angles

• Digital Public Infrastructure: The new frontier of rural empowerment.
• From Patwari to Portal: The evolution of land governance in India.

Prelims Likely: Yes

Mains Likely: Yes

Trend Signal: rising

Exam Intelligence

Previous Year Question Connections

• Tested features of DILRMP including funding and cadastral map digitization. — The 'Land Stack' is the advanced GIS-integrated evolution of the DILRMP mentioned in this PYQ.
• Applications of Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites (crop productivity). — The 'Agri-Tech for All' scheme uses the exact satellite data capabilities tested here to implement the Digital Crop Survey.

Prelims Angles

• The specific funding split of the ₹6,000 crore SCA (₹4,000cr for Registry, ₹2,000cr for Survey).
• The role of DigiLocker in authenticating Kisan Pehchan Patra (DVCs).
• The first states to launch the Land Stack portal (Chandigarh and Tamil Nadu).

Mains Preparation

Sample Question: Critically analyze how the integration of Agri Stack and Land Stack can resolve the long-standing issues of credit access and subsidy leakage in Indian agriculture.

Answer Structure: Intro: Define Agri Stack/DPI in Agri → Body 1: Benefits (Transparency, targetted delivery via Kisan ID) → Body 2: Role of GIS/Land Stack in resolving land disputes and enabling collateral-free credit → Critical Analysis: Challenges (Data privacy, digital divide, state-center coordination) → Conclusion: Significance for the 'Viksit Bharat' vision.

Essay Topic: Data-driven Farming: Harvesting the potential of Digital Public Infrastructure.

Textbook Connections

Key Takeaway

The rollout of Agri Stack and Land Stack represents the institutionalization of Digital Public Infrastructure in the primary sector, aiming to solve the twin problems of farmer identification and land record fragmentation.

All Events in This Story (4 items)

1. 2025-05-02 [Schemes & Programs] — Agri-Tech for All Scheme Launched
   On May 2, 2025, the Indian government launched the “Agri-Tech for All” scheme to help farmers use AI and satellite data to improve crop productivity. In addition, the Ministry of Education introduced a new fellowship program for civil service aspirants from rural areas to support equitable access to competitive exams.
   More details

   UPSC Angle: "Agri-Tech for All" scheme launched to improve crop productivity.

   Key Facts:

   • “Agri-Tech for All” scheme launched on May 2, 2025
   • Aims to help farmers use AI and satellite data
   • Green energy agreement signed with Germany
   • Launched on: May 2, 2025
   • Scheme: Agri-Tech for All
   • Objective: To help farmers use AI and satellite data to improve crop productivity
   • Ministry of Education: Introduced a new fellowship program for civil service aspirants from rural areas to support equitable access to competitive exams
   • Signed on: May 2, 2025
   • Parties: India and Germany
   • Agreement: Green energy agreement
   • Objective: To expand solar and wind power collaborations
   • Initiated on: May 2, 2025
   • Ministry: Jal Shakti Ministry
   • Drive: Nationwide water conservation drive
   • Objective: To address drought-prone areas ahead of monsoon season
2. 2025-06-14 [Agriculture] — Ministry of Agriculture Launches Agri Stack Under Digital Agriculture Mission
   The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare hosted the National Conference on Agri Stack under the Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM), emphasizing digital land records and Aadhaar seeding for farmer identification. A Digitally Verifiable Credential (DVC), or Kisan Pehchan Patra, was introduced, allowing farmers to generate authenticated credentials for land parcels and crops, integrated with DigiLocker. The Special Central Assistance (SCA) Guidelines were launched, allocating ₹6,000 crore to support states.
   More details

   UPSC Angle: Ministry of Agriculture launches Agri Stack under Digital Agriculture Mission.

   Key Facts:

   • Digitally Verifiable Credential (DVC)/Kisan Pehchan Patra: Allows farmers to generate authenticated credentials for specific land parcels and crops
   • DVCs are integrated with DigiLocker
   • Special Central Assistance (SCA) Guidelines: Allocated ₹6,000 crore to support states
   • ₹4,000 crore for Farmer Registry (including legal heir systems)
   • ₹2,000 crore for Digital Crop Survey, on a first-come-first-served basis
3. 2026-01-03 [Polity & Governance] — Digital Land Governance Initiatives Launched
   Union Minister of State (MoS) Dr. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani launched the 'Land Stack' portal in Chandigarh and Tamil Nadu, marking a step towards modernizing land administration under the Digital India Land Record Modernisation Programme (DILRMP). The Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), a maternity benefit scheme, completed nine years on January 1, 2026; it was launched on January 1, 2017.
   More details

   UPSC Angle: 'Land Stack' portal launched to modernize land administration under Digital India.

   Key Facts:

   • Land Stack and the Glossary of Revenue Terms were launched under the Digital India Land Record Modernisation Programme (DILRMP).
   • Land Stack is an integrated GIS-based digital platform.
   • Union Minister of State (MoS) Dr. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani launched the 'Land Stack' portal in Chandigarh and Tamil Nadu
   • Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) completed nine years on January 1, 2026
   • PMMVY was launched on January 1, 2017
4. 2026-02-17 [Schemes & Programs] — Launch of Bharat Vistaar Digital Platform for Farmers
   The central government launched the Bharat Vistaar digital platform in Jaipur to provide farmers with essential agricultural information in their local languages. The platform, launched by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, aims to deliver timely services such as crop-specific advice, weather forecasts, and market price updates. Farmers can access the platform via call or digital interface.
   More details

   UPSC Angle: Bharat Vistaar platform launched to provide farmers agricultural information in local languages.

   Key Facts:

   • Bharat-VISTAAR launched by Union Agriculture Minister
   • AI-powered multilingual advisory platform
   • Announced in Union Budget 2026-27
   • Provides personalized, real-time information to farmers via voice, chat, and mobile
   • Bharat Vistaar is a new digital platform for farmers.
   • Launched in Jaipur by Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
   • Farmers can receive crop-specific scientific advice, weather forecasts, and market price updates.
   • Farmers can dial 155261 to ask farm-related questions.