Gujarat puts 63.35 lakh farmers on digital registry; links Aadhaar to land records
Gujarat's Farmer Registry has registered 63.35 lakh farmers, linking Aadhaar-based identity with verified land records to create a unique Farmer ID for each farmer
The registry is being implemented as part of the Centre's Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM), which envisages a national farmer database known as AgriStack
Registration involves Aadhaar authentication followed by verification of land ownership records, after which a unique Farmer ID is generated linking identity and land details
The digital identity is intended to simplify and speed up access to government agricultural schemes and services such as subsidies, crop insurance and credit
Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM), 2024
The Digital Agriculture Mission was approved by the Union Cabinet on 2 September 2024 as an umbrella scheme under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, with a total outlay of Rs 2,817 crore, including a central government share of Rs 1,940 crore.
Key Details
- Core components: AgriStack (farmer database, land records and crop data), the Krishi Decision Support System, Comprehensive Soil Fertility and Profile Maps, and a nationwide Digital Crop Survey
- The Digital Crop Survey was rolled out across 400 districts in FY 2024-25, with coverage extended to all districts by FY 2025-26
- The mission also funds the deployment of around 90,000 "Agriculture Sakhi" digital facilitators to assist farmers in accessing digital agriculture services
Gujarat's Farmer Registry is a state-level building block of DAM's AgriStack component, generating the Aadhaar-linked, land-record-verified Farmer IDs the mission is designed to create nationwide.
AgriStack and the Unique Farmer ID (Kisan ID)
AgriStack is envisaged as a digital public infrastructure for agriculture, built on three foundational datasets: a farmers' registry, geo-referenced village land maps, and a crop-sown registry generated through digital crop surveys.
Key Details
- Each farmer is assigned a unique Farmer ID (Kisan ID) linking their verified land records with data from schemes such as PM-KISAN, the Kisan Credit Card, Soil Health Card, and the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (crop insurance)
- The Farmer ID is designed to function as a single-window digital identity across central and state agricultural schemes
- Gujarat was among the earliest states to advance Farmer ID generation under this framework
The 63.35 lakh registrations reported are Farmer IDs created under this AgriStack model, intended to replace scheme-specific documentation with one linked digital identity.
Aadhaar Act, 2016 — Legal Basis for Aadhaar-Linked Service Delivery
The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 provides the statutory basis for using Aadhaar authentication to deliver government subsidies, benefits and services funded from the Consolidated Fund of India.
Key Details
- Section 7 permits the Central or State Government to require Aadhaar authentication as a condition for receiving a subsidy, benefit or service, while mandating alternate means of identification where an Aadhaar number has not been assigned
- The Act was upheld with certain modifications by the Supreme Court's Constitution Bench in the Aadhaar verdict (Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India, 2018), including striking down mandatory Aadhaar linkage for private entities such as banks and telecom operators
- Aadhaar-seeding for farmer registries and scheme delivery operates under this Section 7 framework
The Aadhaar authentication step in Gujarat's Farmer Registry draws its legal authority from Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act, which governs the use of Aadhaar for delivery of government agricultural benefits.
Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP)
DILRMP is the Centrally Sponsored (now Central Sector) scheme for digitising and modernising India's land record system. It originated as the National Land Records Modernisation Programme in 2008 and was revamped and renamed DILRMP in 2016, funded entirely by the Centre.
Key Details
- Objectives include creating an integrated land information management system, reducing land disputes, checking fraudulent or benami transactions, and eliminating the need for physical visits to revenue or registration offices
- Components include computerisation of land records, survey and re-survey using modern technology, and digitisation of cadastral maps
The verified land records that Gujarat's Farmer Registry links to Aadhaar identities rely on the digitised land record base built up under DILRMP over the past decade.
- Gujarat Farmer Registry registrations reported: 63.35 lakh farmers
- Digital Agriculture Mission: Cabinet approval 2 September 2024; total outlay Rs 2,817 crore (central share Rs 1,940 crore)
- Digital Crop Survey rollout: 400 districts in FY 2024-25, extended to all districts by FY 2025-26
- Agriculture Sakhi digital facilitators to be deployed under DAM: around 90,000
- Aadhaar Act, 2016, Section 7 governs Aadhaar-based subsidy and benefit delivery
- DILRMP: originated as NLRMP in 2008, renamed and revamped as DILRMP in 2016, 100% centrally funded