INNOVATIONS IN A RANGE OF SECTORS INCLUDING LAND AND RESOURCE GOVERNANCE, MARKET REFORMS, WATER MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY AND DIGITAL AGRICULTURE

Several Indian states have undertaken targeted agricultural reforms in recent years, encompassing land governance, markets, water management, technology adoption, and crop diversification. These initiatives have improved farm outcomes states the Economic Survey 2025-26 tabled in Parliament today by the Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman.

Certain key initiatives undertaken by various states and outcomes of the governance and scheme-based initiatives are as follows:

Land and Resource Governance: Andhra Pradesh implemented the Andhra Pradesh Resurvey Project (2021) using drones, Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS), and GIS to issue tamper-proof digital land titles. As of 2025, 6,901 villages have been covered, with 81 lakh land parcels resurveyed and approximately 86,000 boundary disputes resolved.

Bihar launched the Mukhyamantri Samekit Chaur Vikas Yojana (2025) to develop chaur lands for aquaculture, bringing over 1,933 hectares under fish-based production across 22 districts.

Market Reforms: Madhya Pradesh’s Souda Patrak initiative (2021) enabled direct MSP based purchases from farmers through a digital platform, reducing mandi congestion and improving payment transparency. By December 2025, over 1.03 lakh transactions had been facilitated.

Andhra Pradesh’s e-Farmarket platform connected farmers and traders via Rythu Bharosa Kendras.

Water Management: Assam State Irrigation Plan (2022) aimed to expand irrigation coverage through new schemes and solar pumps, increasing gross irrigated area to 24.28 per cent of agricultural land by 2024–25.

Uttar Pradesh Ground Water Rules (2020) strengthened regulation of extraction, with groundwater recharge rising marginally by 2025, although extraction intensity also increased.

Technology and Digital Agriculture: Karnataka’s FRUITS platform (2020) created a unified farmer database supporting DBT, MSP procurement, and crop surveys, covering over 55 lakh farmers and multiple schemes.

Jharkhand launched a GIS-based Climate Smart Agriculture and Agri Stack Scheme (2024) to enable farm-level tracking and climate-informed planning, with outcome indicators still in development. Fourth Agriculture Roadmap of Bihar (2023–28) builds on earlier roadmaps, which have already led to significant increases in fish and milk production.

The above examples exhibit how the Indian Agriculture growth story is being driven by state level innovations in Agricultural Governance leading to positive outcomes.

State agricultural governance reforms use digital land titles, market platforms, irrigation expansion and farmer databases to boost productivity. State measures adopt geospatial resurvey and tamper proof digital land titles to resolve disputes; digital market platforms enabling direct MSP procurement to improve price realisation and payment transparency; expanded irrigation and solar pump schemes alongside strengthened groundwater regulation for supply management; and unified farmer databases plus GIS based climate smart tools to support DBT, procurement and farm level planning.