FM Nirmala Sitharaman announces multilingual AI agriculture tool to help farmers

By FnF Correspondent | PUBLISHED: 01, Feb 2026, 12:43 pm IST | UPDATED: 01, Feb 2026, 12:43 pm IST

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced a series of major initiatives aimed at boosting agriculture, allied sectors, and rural employment while presenting the Union Budget. A key highlight was the launch of a Multilingual AI-based agriculture tool designed to assist farmers with crop planning, weather advisories, pest management, and market-related information in regional languages. The initiative is expected to improve access to technology and timely decision-making for farmers across the country.

Multilingual AI tool

The Finance Minister said that the tool, Bharat VISTAAR, will enhance farm productivity, enable better decisions for farmers and reduce risk by providing customised advisory. She added that the proposed platform will also deploy AI tools on India's "Agri Stack" portals.

"Bharat Vistar - Virtually Integrated System to access Agricultural Resources. I propose to launch Bharat Vistar, a multilingual AI tool that shall integrate the agri-stack portals and the ICAR package on agricultural practices with AI systems," she said.

Govt to support high-value crops such as coconut, sandalwood, walnuts

The Finance Minister announced, while presenting the Union Budget, that the government will extend support to the cultivation and development of high-value crops such as coconut, sandalwood, and walnuts.

The finance minister also said the Centre will partner with states to restore the glory of the sandalwood ecosystem, focusing on conservation, sustainable cultivation, and value-chain development. Sandalwood, a high-value forest and agro-forestry product, is expected to generate significant income opportunities for farmers and forest-dependent communities.

"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. 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," she said.

In the livestock sector, the government proposed a credit-linked subsidy programme and measures to encourage livestock farmer producer organisations (FPOs). These steps are aimed at improving access to finance, strengthening collective farming models, and creating new employment opportunities in rural areas.