Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], February 17 : Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan arrived at Jaipur airport on Tuesday ahead of the scheduled launch of the new digital companion 'Bharat-VISTAAR', aimed at benefiting farmers across the country.
The inauguration will be held in the presence of Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma.
According to a Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare release, this AI-based platform will provide farmers with information on weather, market prices, pests and diseases, soil, crop advice, and government schemes, all in one place, via phone calls, chatbots, and, later, an app.
In Phase-1, this facility will start in Hindi and English and will reach lakhs of farmers in several states, including Maharashtra, Bihar and Gujarat. The launch program will see virtual participation from lakhs of farmers across the country through the networks of state agriculture ministers, Indian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR), Krishi Vigyan Kendra's (KVKs), agricultural universities, and other agricultural institutions.
'AI for Agriculture Roadmap' will also be launched by Union Minister Chouhan and CM Sharma, while announcements of 'AI Hackathon' and 'AgriKosh' will also be made by them.
Bharat-VISTAAR is the Government of India's farmer-centric, AI-powered digital public infrastructure, which will deliver reliable information to farmers by connecting various government and scientific sources. On this platform, farmers will be able to view information and status related to weather, market prices, pests and diseases, soil health, crop management, and at least 10 major central government schemes.
It has been designed as a Voice-First AI so that even a farmer with a simple feature phone can benefit from it just by making a call. For this, the telephonic helpline number 155261 has been linked to the platform, along with facilities like voice input-output, website, and mobile site chatbot, and an Android app will also be released.
The launch ceremony in Jaipur will see the participation of Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare Bhagirath Choudhary, Ram Nath Thakur, Rajasthan Agriculture Minister Kirodi Lal Meena, Members of Parliament, MLAs, other public representatives, senior officials from the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Rajasthan Chief Secretary, and top officials of the state Agriculture Department.
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