Union Budget (Photo: ANI)
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget 2026 on Sunday, February 1, allotted ₹1,62,671 crore for the agriculture sector. This year’s budget witnessed a 7% increase from 2025-26, intending to boost farmer welfare and food security.
While introducing Bharat Vistaar, a multilingual AI-powered tool, it aimed at enhancing farm productivity, improving farmer decision-making, and reducing risks through customised advisory support.
Through Bharat Vistaar, farmers will gain direct access to Kisan Call Centre services, real-time weather forecasts via APIs, and a streamlined process to learn about, apply for, and track government schemes.
During the Union Budget 2026 presentation, Finance Minister Sitharaman introduced Bharat Vistaar, which is designed to strengthen agricultural decision-making for farmers across India. The initiative will prioritise real-time access to soil and weather data, expert guidance, and information on government schemes. The platform is expected to transform how farmers manage their operations and access support services.
While addressing the House, Sitharaman said, “Bharat Vistaar, a Virtually Integrated System to access Agricultural Resources. I propose to launch Bharat Vistaar, a multilingual AI tool that will integrate the agri-stack portals and the ICAR package of agricultural practices with AI systems.”
By integrating India’s agri-stack with artificial intelligence, the platform is expected to empower farmers and promote more sustainable livelihoods across the country.
The Bharat Vistaar platform will provide seamless access to key agricultural data, enabling informed decision-making at every stage of the farming cycle. The AI tool will offer contextual support in Hindi, Telugu, and English, with more regional languages to be added to ensure wider accessibility.
Wadhwani AI will also contribute by developing a conversational chatbot that directly connects farmers to the Kisan Call Centre (KCC). This interface will allow farmers to seek immediate advice, report issues, and receive consistent, reliable responses.
Additionally, the EkStep Foundation has organised a series of “winrooms” to connect content creators and users with Bharat Vistaar, helping expand its ecosystem of AI-powered websites, apps, and bots. The initiative is expected to give farmers access to a wider range of advisory services tailored to their specific needs.
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