Agriculture & Rural Economy

How farming policies, rural livelihoods, and food systems are shaping life for India’s hundreds of millions of agricultural households.

Farm Income  ·  Digital Economy  ·  India

India extends $33 billion farmer support scheme, expanding digital welfare push

India has extended PM-KISAN for another five years, committing ₹3.15 lakh crore to keep direct cash transfers flowing to nearly 95 million farmers through 2030-31 — leaning further on Aadhaar authentication and the Direct Benefit Transfer system to deliver welfare digitally.

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31 July 2026
AI  ·  Climate  ·  India

India deploys AI to help farmers fight pests, climate risks

India’s AI-powered National Pest Surveillance System and BharatVistaar platform are helping millions of farmers detect pests, access weather forecasts and government schemes — though the government admits it has not yet assessed the technologies’ real impact on farm incomes.

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25 July 2026
AgriTech  ·  India  ·  Innovation

From digital IDs to drones, technology is finding its way into India’s villages

Over 100 million farmer IDs, satellite-based crop assessments, and Kisan Drones are reshaping how rural India accesses subsidies, insurance and disaster relief — with women’s self-help groups now training as drone operators under the Namo Drone Didi Scheme.

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25 July 2026
Farm Income  ·  India  ·  Policy

PM-KISAN strengthens farm incomes as India broadens agricultural support

The 23rd instalment of PM-KISAN has transferred over ₹18,880 crore to 94.4 million farmers, with West Bengal receiving additional support through crop insurance, digital agriculture, and natural farming initiatives that together aim to build more resilient rural livelihoods.

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22 June 2026