Shivraj Singh Chouhan launches Bharat Vistaar from Jaipur

Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday launched the farmers’ digital companion ‘Bharat Vistaar’ from Jaipur. The initiative aims to make farmers smart, empowered, and information-rich. Through this platform, farmers will be able to access all necessary information with a single call via their mobile phones. Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Chouhan described it as a historic step toward a digital revolution in the agriculture sector. He said the initiative will provide farmers with crop-based scientific advisory services, mandi prices, and weather information. He added that the initiative would prove decisive in extending the vision of Digital India to rural India. He further stated that to increase farmers’ income, it is essential to connect them not only with agriculture but also with animal husbandry, for which technology is crucial. 
Chief Minister of Rajasthan Bhajan Lal Sharma termed this digital initiative as the beginning of a farmers’ revolution and urged farmers to make maximum use of it. At the programme held at the State Institute of Agricultural Management, Durgapura, the Agriculture Minister of the state, Dr. Kirori Lal Meena, said that farmers would receive comprehensive agricultural services and information in their own language on an integrated digital platform.
Chouhan and Sharma also launched "AI Hexathon, Agriculture Fund and the AI for Agriculture Roadmap. The launch ceremony was joined by virtual participation lakhs of farmers across the country through the networks of state agriculture ministers, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), Agricultural Universities, and other Agricultural Institutions".
The Vistaar services include providing 24×7 feed back and updates on weather, market prices, pests-diseases, soil, crop advice, and government schemes all in one place initially through phone calls, chatbots, and later through an app. In the present Phase-1, this facility will start in Hindi and English and will reach lakhs of farmers in many states including Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Bihar, Gujarat.