Why in the news
AgriStack is being called the “UPI of Indian agriculture” for speeding up scheme payouts and credit. Maharashtra paid over ₹14,000 crore of Kharif disaster relief to 89 lakh farmers in 5 days (February 2026), and Chhattisgarh handled MSP paddy procurement for over 32 lakh farmers in one season (March 2026).
About AgriStack
- A digital public infrastructure created by the Agriculture Ministry; its design is federated, authenticated and consent-driven.
- Also likened to the “Aadhaar of farmers”; rollout is phased, with over 70% coverage in several States.
| Registry | What it holds | Target / status |
|---|
| Farmers’ Registry | Verified digital Farmer ID linked to land, livestock and family details | 11 crore IDs; about 8.62 crore created |
| Crop Sown Registry | Season-wise crops planted, via mobile Digital Crop Survey | 30 crore plots in 604 districts by Kharif 2026 |
| Geo-Referenced Village Maps | GPS-tagged cadastral maps of farm plots | Done for 5.4 lakh of 6.75 lakh villages; completion March 2027 |
Related platforms
- UFSI: open API gateway letting approved public and private apps exchange data with consent.
- Krishi-DSS: Krishi Decision Support System, launched 16 August 2024; combines geospatial and other data for decision support.
- Bharat-VISTAAR: expands to Virtually Integrated System to Access Agricultural Resources; a Budget 2026 announcement of a multilingual AI tool that ties AgriStack portals to ICAR practice packages.
- Digital Crop Survey: mobile, field-based replacement for paper Girdawari; piloted in 11 States in 2023-24; geo-fencing blocks logging unless GPS matches the plot.
Link with RBI’s ULI
- Built by Reserve Bank Innovation Hub, Bengaluru; RBI announced it on 10 August 2023 as a platform for frictionless credit; pilot in September 2022 on KCC loans below ₹1.6 lakh in MP, TN, Karnataka, UP and Maharashtra.
- Connects 89 lenders, 53 data providers and 141 data points; paperless loans in under 30 minutes.
Kisan Credit Card
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|
| KCC launched / modified | 1998 / 2004 |
| Latest RBI directions | KCC Directions, 2026: dated 19 June 2026, in force from 1 January 2027 |
| Applicable to | Commercial banks, SFBs, RRBs and rural co-operative banks |
| Limit without collateral | ₹2 lakh for each borrower (up from ₹1.6 lakh in December 2024) |
| Marginal farmers (up to 1 ha) | ₹10,000-₹50,000, flexible and not tied to land value |
| Crop season | 12 months short-duration; 18 months long-duration |
| Interest subvention | 2% (effective 7%); prompt repayment incentive 3% (effective 4%) |
How it narrows the credit gap
- Crop Sown Registry matches loans to real acreage, curbing fraud.
- Farmer ID and village maps make land checks instant.
- Tenant farmers without titles can get credit as ULI verifies end-use.
- Last-mile support comes from CSCs, cooperatives and Krishi Sakhis.
Exam angle
- AgriStack builder: Agriculture Ministry; ULI builder: RBIH, Bengaluru.
- KCC collateral-free limit: ₹2 lakh.
- Three registries and their targets.