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Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced the launch of Bharat-VISTAAR, a multilingual Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform to strengthen agricultural advisory services.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha while presenting the Union Budget 2026-27, Sitharaman said the platform will integrate the AgriStack portals and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) package on agricultural practices with AI systems. "I propose to launch Bharat-VISTAAR--a multilingual AI tool that shall integrate the AgriStack portals and the ICAR package on agricultural practices with AI systems. This will enhance farm productivity, enable better decisions for farmers and reduce risk by providing customised advisory support," Sitharaman said. The 'Bharat-VISTAAR'(Virtually Integrated System to Access Agricultural Resources) supports the development of robust Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for agricultural extension. Its goal is to empower farmers with actionable information, streamline collaboration and ensure the long-term sustainability of digital agricultural extension initiatives. The Budget cites emerging technologies and AI as important components in realizing the second kartavya of fulfilling aspirations of common citizens and build their capacity to make them strong partners in India's path to prosperity. In her Budget Speech today, the Finance Minister also proposed a Coconut Promotion Scheme to increase production and improve productivity, thereby boosting India's competitiveness in coconut cultivation. In her Union Budget 2026-27 presentation in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said the scheme will focus on major coconut-growing states and include measures such as replacing nonproductive trees with high-yielding saplings. "To further enhance competitiveness in coconut production, I propose a coconut promotion scheme to increase production and enhance productivity through various interventions, including replacing non-productive trees with new saplings or plants of varieties in major coconut-growing states," Sitharaman said. India ranks among the world's leading coconut producers, accounting for roughly 31% of global production. An estimated over 90 per cent of India's coconut cultivation is done in the southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. Around 30 million people, including nearly 10 million farmers, depend on coconut cultivation for their livelihoods. She also proposed in the Budget, a dedicated programme for Indian cashew and cocoa with the objective of making India self-reliant in raw cashew and coconut production and processing, while enhancing export competitiveness. "A dedicated program is proposed for Indian cashew and cocoa to make India self-reliant in raw cashew and coconut production and processing, enhance export competitiveness and transform Indian cashew and Indian cocoa into premium global brands by 2030," Sitharaman said. "Sandalwood is closely linked to India's social and cultural heritage. Our government will partner with state governments to promote focused cultivation and post-harvest processing to restore the glory of the Indian sandalwood ecosystem," Sitharaman said. She said sandalwood is deeply connected to India's social and cultural heritage and announced that the Centre will partner with state governments to promote targeted cultivation and post-harvest processing to revive the Indian sandalwood ecosystem. She also announced a dedicated programme to rejuvenate old and low-yielding orchards and expand high-density cultivation of walnuts, almonds and pine nuts. "To rejuvenate old, low-yielding orchards and expand high-density cultivation of walnuts, almonds, and pine nuts, we will support a dedicated program to enhance farmer incomes and in bringing value addition by engaging youth," Sitharaman said. In the animal husbandry sector, Sitharaman said efforts will focus on generating quality employment in rural and peri-urban areas through a credit-linked subsidy programme. The government will also work on scaling up and modernising livestock enterprises, creating integrated livestock, dairy and poultry value chains, and encouraging the formation of livestock farmer producer organisations. For high-value agriculture, the Union Minister said support will be extended to crops such as coconut and sandalwood to diversify farm output, increase productivity, boost farm incomes and create new employment opportunities. (ANI)
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