Indian Agriculture is being transformed by the way AI is used to drive farming efficiency, sustainability, and resilience to various other challenges, from climate to markets, with a few such pioneering projects. These projects use drones, sensors, and satellite images to track crops and animals in real time and spot problems early. AI models that accurately predict harvests, better assist in the planning of crops, and facilitate location-based pest/weed control drastically decrease input costs as well as chemicals. Satellite data analysis in sustainable land management and decision support services for regional languages improves farmer decision-making in a better way.
In this article, learn about the top AI-powered projects transforming the Indian agriculture sector.
| Project Name | Key Technologies Used | Key Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| IBM + Govt. of India | AI, Cloud, Satellite Imagery | Crop yield prediction, resource optimization, climate resilience |
| PMFBY (Crop Insurance) | AI Models (SVM, RF, NN), Drones, Remote Sensing | Faster yield assessment, reduced human error, quicker claims |
| PM-KISAN + Kisan e-Mitra | AI Chatbot, Facial e-KYC | Multilingual assistance, grievance redressal, instant updates |
| Govt. of Karnataka + Microsoft | Machine Learning, Weather & Soil Data | Sowing advice, price forecasting, improved productivity |
| AGRI-UDAAN | AI, IoT, Data Analytics | Startup support, disease forecasting, AI adoption |
| Maha Agri Tech | Geo-ICT, Satellite-based Monitoring | Crop health tracking, input efficiency, multilingual dashboard |
| Digital India Bhashini | AI Voice Tech, NLP, Translation | Language inclusion, voice-enabled advisory |
| FutureSkills PRIME | AI Training & Certification | Skilling in AI, digital literacy for agri-professionals |
| National AI Centres of Excellence (IIT) | AI R&D, Big Data, ML | Innovation in pest control, yield prediction |
| Kisan e-Mitra | Voice AI, Satellite + Weather Data | Crop support, query resolution, integrated agri platforms |
Government of India with IBM
AI-driven farm programmes towards increasing productivity, sustainability, and resilience to climate change are being implemented in conjunction with the Government of India and IBM. The initiatives are building on IBM’s depth of AI, cloud computing, and data analytics to give farmers the tools they need for improved access to info and technology. AI-based Agricultural Monitoring: Crop Supervision by Satellite Imagery, Yield Estimation, and Resource Optimization are some key Features. However, tools for climate resilience direct decisions about local seed, water use, and platforms (i.e, CRM Connect) encourage sustainable agriculture while reducing residue burning. They allow for mobile and web-based access to real-time insights into market dynamics with digital advisory services.
Pros
- Improved crop yields
- Promotes sustainable agriculture
- Enhanced climate resilience
Cons
- Initial costs for deployment
- Requires digital literacy among small farmers
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)
India’s PMFBY (Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana), commonly referred to as the crop insurance scheme, turned into the next level of reforms in 2025, adopting Artificial Intelligence(AI), Machine Learning(ML), remote sensing, and drones to increase transparency and efficiency. Yield estimation now uses AI (SVM, Random Forest, Neural Networks) models to circumvent reliance on human crop-cutting. Satellite and drone images to monitor the real-time crop, speed up loss assessment. Digital platforms are used for ease of claim submission and direct benefit transfers (DBT) through these channels. YES-TECH and WINDS are among the solutions using hyper-local weather data for risk assessment at an accurate scale. National training programs, complaint digital portals strengthen stakeholder capacity and responsive support services.
Pros
- Faster and accurate crop assessment
- Reduced bias and errors
- Timely claim settlement via digital process
Cons
- Data privacy issues on a large scale
- Issues with technology due to local conditions
Archana Karthikeyan
PM-KISAN
Introduced in the year 2023 and launched on non-agricultural landholders every Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) gives INR 6,000 per year to the eligible farmer-holders by disbursing it in three installments; first major flagship scheme for India to integrate AI in; The instant multilingual response chatbot powered by AI, Kisan-eMitra available on both PM-KISAN portal and app takes queries about the status of application, payments paid, eligibility and updates. It improves the grievance redressal process as farmers themselves can resolve the issues, and they no longer need third-party intermediaries. It also contains remote e-KYC with facial authentication FOR those who don’t have OTPs or biometrics enabled on the app.
Pros
- Instant and accurate information to farmers
- Multilingual and user-friendly interface
- Face authentication for e-KYC
Cons
- Continuous updates and AI training are required
- Handholding might be required for less tech-savvy farmers
Nitin Konde
Government of Karnataka with Microsoft
In a quest to uplift the incomes and yield factors of smallholder farmers in the Government of Karnataka, in partnership with Microsoft, an AI & algorithm-driven digital agriculture project has been launched to support connected farmers to support their ventures. Based on Microsoft’s Cortana Intelligence Suite, the organization leverages cloud computing, machine learning, and advanced analytics for real-time insights. It is equipped with AI on board price forecasting models that utilize weather, yield, and sowing data to help farmers make market decisions. SMS-based, soil and weather data integrated service for sowing advisory instead of costly devices to receive recommendations on planting times. A community of satellite imagery for crop health monitoring or yield prediction.
Pros
- Increases yield and income through data-driven decisions
- Seamless scalability
- Transparency through price forecasting
Cons
- Dependence on accurate data
- Issues with poor connectivity in some villages
AGRI-UDAAN
AGRI-UDAAN — a flagship food and agribusiness accelerator by a-IDEA (ICAR NAARM TBI) along with the govt. of India in association with NABARD, seeks to accelerate innovation in Agriculture at its best. Well-established in its maturity variants, by 2025, this is responsible for growing AI/tech-based startups focusing on productivity, sustainability, and challenges along the supply chain. In the structured 4-6 month programme beneficiary will have mentorship, workshops, and business development support. Startups get mentioned through demo days and investor connections, agribusiness contacts as well. AI, IoT, and data analytics are the clear keywords of the program, thereby driving solutions in disease/disease detection, weather forecasting, and resource use.
Pros
- Provides mentorship for agri startups
- Creates solutions for supply chain issues
- Drives adoption of AI in agriculture
Cons
- Limited cohort size
- Impact created is indirect
Maha Agri Tech
Maha Agri Tech Project is being launched by the Government of Maharashtra to digitalise the agriculture sector at the State level through AI and next-generation geo-ICTs. Launched with pilots on 1 lakh acres and supporting 50,000 farmers, the program aims at improving productivity, farmer income, & climate resiliency. The AI-grade satellite-based crop monitoring tells you how healthy your crops and soil are. Yield forecasts, pest alerts, and input recommendations are some of the decision support available through interactive dashboards. Efficient use of water, fertilizer, and pesticides; improved supply chain traceability & market access. Linked to the MahaVISTAAR-AI, it gives Multilingual and Personalized advisories as part of the framework and is planned as per pilot success.
Pros
- Reduces input costs
- Enhances transparency in the supply chain
- Supports sustainable farming practices
Cons
- Issues with digital infrastructure in villages
- Full benefits realisation might take a long time
Devashish Shrivastava
Digital India Bhashini
Digital India Bhashini will be a nationwide program to eliminate the language barrier by leveraging AI-based language technology services for all 22 Scheduled Indian Languages. In agriculture, it empowers a farmer with real-time voice-enabled multilingual advisory, weather updates, schemes, etc, as well as advanced practices directly from his/her mobile. By using AI for speech recognition and translation to text-to-speech, Bhashini bridges the language gap for all farmers be it literate or illiterate. It offers speech-to-text and machine translation, voice-enabled support, as well as a single access to the Unified Language Interface for digital services. These are integrated with other platforms like MahaVISTAAR-AI, which provides location-cropped advice on the crop.
Pros
- Multilingual support
- Provides transparency, inclusion, and government outreach
- Supports multiple agri-tech platforms and government schemes
Cons
- Quality and AI translations can vary
- Ongoing demands for AI model training
FutureSkills PRIME
FutureSkills PRIME (Public-Private Partnership of MeitY & NASSCOM), which is a grand initiative to give India’s workforce skillset on future-focused technologies with heavy Auto-agonism in Artificial Intelligence (AI).Not agriculture-agnostic but equally important to Arm agri-professionals, Students, and Entrepreneurs with AI skills for transforming agriculture in India. A comprehensive range of beginning to advanced AI courses on agriculture use case through to 2025, featuring beginner courses about crop monitoring, yield prediction, and resource optimization. The programme offers government-certified certifications, a curriculum in sync with the industry, practical AI tools, and use cases. It also helps agri-tech startups in the space through mentorship and funding, and runs inclusive, high-density studies at scale under online or blended platforms, bridging rural & urban.
Pros
- Supports innovation
- Bridges the gap in digital skills
- Provides upskilling in AI for agri professionals
Cons
- Practical training is very limited
- Requires ongoing development of curriculum
National AI Centres of Excellence
The Government of India has also launched National AI Centres of Excellence (CoEs) across India to spur transformative innovation in the key sectors of agriculture. Make AI in India, and Make AI Work for India (Agriculture AI CoE under IIT Ropar with a budget of INR 990 Crores over the next five years aims at making revolutionary science and solutions for agriculture technology, realizing these problems. They engaged in multi-disciplinary R&D towards agriculture (yield prediction, pest detection, precision farming) using big data and ML. The centre will help link up academia, industry, and startups in the country, impart training to the vast talent pool relating to AI support for agri-tech innovation.
Pros
- Supports innovation
- Bridges the gap in digital skills
- Provides upskilling in AI for agri professionals
Cons
- Practical training is very limited
- Requires ongoing development of curriculum
Kisan e-Mitra
Kisan e-Mitra is India’s first voice-based AI chatbot, an instant multilingual agricultural query answering assistant integrated by the Indian government. It started with advising the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme but currently gives out instructions for several govenment programs pest alerts, weathers update and crop management in a multi-language platform. 11 regional languages enabledoperates with over 20,000 queries served daily and over 9.2 million queries resolved so far Supported A/B testing with National Pest Surveillance System learns crop pests from images sent by farmers and suggest solutions for 61 crops Leveraging satellite imagery, weather data and soil info to provide in real-time crop monitoring insights via Kisan e-Mitra.
Pros
- Reduces dependency on middlemen
- Integrates with other agritech and government platforms
- Efficient in scheme delivery and grievance redressal
Cons
- Quality of AI responses depends on data accuracy
- Data privacy and security concerns
Conclusion
AI-driven projects are transforming Indian agriculture at the field level by providing real-time alerts, tools for applicator precision, and automation to the farmers for challenges related to climate change, farmer labour shortages, crop disease, etc. Primarily initiated by the government and private sector initiatives with the use of drones, sensors, satellite imagery, AI chatbot lighting for irrigation, fertigation, pest control, and predicting yields in these projects brings higher productivity, sustainability. AI is also used to scale climate resilience, help improve resource-efficient practices, and add transparency and including using multilingual digital platforms. AI will scale to guarantee food security and an economically stable infrastructure, driving a sustainable future of Indian agriculture as adoption grows.
Nitin Konde
FAQs
How is AI transforming Indian agriculture?
AI is revolutionizing Indian agriculture by enhancing productivity, enabling precision farming, reducing input costs, and improving sustainability.
What are the benefits of using AI in farming?
The main benefits of AI in agriculture include better crop yield prediction, efficient pest and weed control, optimized resource use (water, fertilizer, pesticides), early disease detection, and improved climate resilience.
Which AI technologies are commonly used in agriculture?
Key AI technologies used in agriculture include machine learning models, computer vision, drones, satellite imagery, IoT sensors, natural language processing (NLP), and voice-based AI chatbots.
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