[Answered] Examine the potential of AgriStack as a transformative Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in formalizing India’s agricultural sector. Evaluate how its integration with MSP and DBT systems can enhance governance, while addressing the underlying challenges of land-record accuracy and data inclusivity.

Introduction

With agriculture supporting nearly 45% of India’s workforce but contributing ~15% to GDP (Economic Survey 2023-24), AgriStack under the Digital Agriculture Mission seeks to formalize fragmented farm systems through data-driven governance architecture.

AgriStack as a Foundational Digital Public Infrastructure

1. Digital Identity Architecture: At the core lies the Farmer Registry, assigning a unique Farmer ID linked to dynamic Records of Rights (RoR), livestock, cropping patterns and scheme benefits. This mirrors the JAM trinity model (Jan Dhan–Aadhaar–Mobile) that enabled financial inclusion.
2. Geo-Spatial Land Intelligence: The Geo-referenced Village Maps Registry integrates cadastral maps with latitude-longitude coordinates, enabling parcel-level authentication. Over 5.4 lakh village maps have reportedly been geo-tagged, strengthening spatial governance.
3. Real-Time Crop Intelligence: Through Digital Crop Surveys, the Crop Sown Registry captures seasonal sowing data via GPS-enabled mobile applications, enabling real-time agricultural statistics and reducing reliance on outdated manual estimation.
4. Formalization through Data Convergence: By creating a Single Source of Truth, AgriStack reduces information asymmetry, improves traceability, and integrates fragmented agricultural databases—thereby formalizing India’s largely informal agrarian economy.

Integration with MSP: Enhancing Procurement Transparency

1. Targeted MSP Procurement: Integration with MSP systems ensures only verified cultivators registered in the Crop Sown Registry can sell produce at Minimum Support Price, reducing ghost beneficiaries and middlemen leakages.
2. Evidence from States: States like Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh have piloted registry-linked procurement, demonstrating faster approvals and reduced documentation burdens.
3. Supply Chain Rationalization: Plot-level data improves production forecasting, enabling agencies like Food Corporation of India to optimize storage and logistics.
4. Reduction in Fiscal Leakage: By linking procurement to authenticated land records, fiscal discipline improves—aligning with recommendations of the Shanta Kumar Committee on rationalizing food subsidies.

Integration with DBT: Towards Precision Welfare Delivery

1. Dynamic Beneficiary Authentication: Linking Farmer ID with schemes like PM-KISAN ensures payments reflect updated ownership, reducing duplication and transfers to deceased/non-farmers.
2. Fertilizer and Subsidy Rationalization: AgriStack-enabled fertilizer distribution pilots in Madhya Pradesh addressed artificial shortages and diversion, enhancing last-mile accountability.
3. Credit Deepening and Risk Mitigation: Banks can leverage authenticated land and crop data as digital collateral for KCC loans and integrate with Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana for quicker claim settlement.
4. From Welfare to Governance-as-a-Platform: Like Unified Payments Interface revolutionized fintech interoperability, AgriStack can enable plug-and-play agri-tech innovation through open APIs.

Structural Challenges: Risks to Equitable Formalization

1. Land-Record Inaccuracies: Outdated or litigated land records risk digital exclusion. India’s land governance remains fragmented, with tenancy often informal and undocumented.
2. Exclusion of Tenants and Sharecroppers: As the architecture is land-centric, landless cultivators may be denied MSP or DBT benefits, contradicting inclusive growth objectives.
3. Data Privacy and Consent Architecture: With AI integration through Bharat-VISTAAR, concerns arise regarding misuse of sensitive farm-level data. Robust consent managers under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act are essential.
4. Federal Coordination Constraints: Since land is a State subject, harmonization across States with varied digitization capacities remains complex.

Way Forward: Towards Inclusive Precision Governance

1. Comprehensive Land Reforms 2.0: Accelerating digitization under the SVAMITVA scheme and ensuring RoR synchronization is crucial.
2. Inclusion Protocols for Tenants: Institutionalizing legally recognized cultivator certificates to incorporate sharecroppers.
3. Data Governance Framework: Adopting interoperable standards, privacy-by-design architecture, and farmer-centric consent dashboards.
4. AI-Driven Advisory Services: Transitioning from data aggregation to predictive analytics—pest alerts, climate advisories, and market intelligence—to enhance productivity and resilience.

Conclusion

As President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam envisioned in India 2020, technology must empower rural citizens; AgriStack’s success will depend on transforming digital architecture into inclusive agrarian empowerment.