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India’s agriculture sector, which employs more than 40% of its people, is undergoing a digital revolution as the government uses artificial intelligence (AI) to tackle climate change, pest threats and information loss. In a reply in the Rajya Sabha on December 5, 2025, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ramnath Thakur highlighted the key initiatives to enhance crop productivity, sustainability and farmers’ income amid the challenges of Kharif 2025.

AI-powered monsoon onset forecast: Accurate sowing for 38M+ farmers
A groundbreaking pilot project in partnership with Development Innovation Lab-India made hyper-local predictions of monsoon onset across 13 states for Kharif 2025. Using an open-source blended model—NeuralGCM, ECMWF’s AIFS, and 125 years of IMD’s rainfall data—this probabilistic tool focused on sowing timing to minimize risks.

Alerts reached 38,845,214 farmers through SMS in Hindi, Oriya, Marathi, Bengali and Punjabi on M-Kisan portal. Post-distribution surveys in Madhya Pradesh and Bihar revealed that 31–52% of farmers changed their strategies—field preparation, sowing dates, crop selection, and changes in inputs—to avoid potential losses during irregular rainy seasons. “This shows the potential of AI for climate-smart decisions,” Thakur said, and there are plans to implement it on a large scale across the country.

Kisan e-Mitra: Voice AI chatbot answers questions to schemes
Launched in 2023, the voice-based Kisan e-Mitra chatbot—integrated with Bhashini for multilingual access—provides farmers with instant information about PM-KISAN Samman Nidhi, PM Fasal Bima Yojana and Kisan Credit Card in 11 languages. Handling over 8,000 queries (total 93 lakh) daily, it resolves complaints to payments, eligibility and e-KYC through the PM-KISAN app or web, thereby reducing call center burden and bridging the rural-digital divide. It is being expanded to all 22 languages ​​and more plans. ### National Pest Monitoring System: AI keeps an eye on crop threats
To respond to climate change-induced pest attacks, the AI-powered National Pest Surveillance System (NPSS)—a collaboration of DA&FW-ICAR—uses machine learning for early detection. More than 10,000 extension workers use it; Farmers upload photos of pests through the app for immediate identification and treatment, reducing damage caused to 66 crops and more than 432 pests. Satellite-based analytics also match crops to the weather, resulting in better yields.

These tools—piloted amid 8.2% GDP growth to 2025—are aligned with the Digital Agriculture Mission, which promises 10-20% productivity gains. As Thakur affirms, AI increases resilience: “From forecasting to fields, technology empowers every farmer.” With plans for expansion, India’s focus on agri-AI is aimed at food security for 1.4 billion people.