Examine the role of digital technologies like geospatial mapping and AI in improving soil assessment and agricultural advisory services in India.

Q. Examine the role of digital technologies like geospatial mapping and AI in improving soil assessment and agricultural advisory services in India. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

Soil testing in India has historically been sample-based, slow and thinly spread, even as over 25.89 crore Soil Health Cards have been issued since 2015 [1]. Digital technologies now seek to shift soil management from periodic sampling to a continuous, data-driven system, though delivery gaps persist.

Strengthening soil assessment - Geospatial mapping: the Nationwide Soil Resource Mapping project under SLUSI generates high-resolution soil profile maps, replacing point samples with spatially continuous data [1]. - Precision in nutrient advice: mapped data allows crop-wise, plot-specific nutrient recommendations under the Soil Health and Fertility Scheme, correcting the NPK imbalance caused by indiscriminate fertilizer use [2]. - Monitoring degradation: repeat satellite coverage enables tracking of erosion, salinity and organic-carbon decline over time rather than at three-yearly card intervals [2].

Transforming advisory services - AI-based advisories: under the Digital Agriculture Mission, the Krishi Decision Support System (KDSS) integrates soil, weather and crop data into actionable farmer advice [1]. - Cost and sustainability gains: soil-test-linked balanced fertilisation lowers input costs for farmers and reduces the fertilizer subsidy burden [2]. - Last-mile reach: digital tools work through human extension networks — over 70,000 Krishi Sakhis trained in soil health under the National Mission on Natural Farming [3], and mass demonstrations such as the Khet Bachao Abhiyan (June 2026) with 96,227 field demonstrations on green manuring and bio-fertilisers [4].

Limitations - Advisories remain only as good as the density of soil-testing laboratories feeding them [2]. - Digital literacy gaps, fragmented holdings and patchy connectivity limit smallholder uptake; technology supplements, but cannot substitute, functioning extension machinery [3].

Digital soil intelligence is therefore an enabler rather than a solution in itself: its value lies in converting data into decisions the farmer actually acts upon. Coupling geospatial and AI tools with strengthened testing infrastructure and trained community resource persons can make soil health management genuinely preventive, advancing SDG-2 and SDG-15 alongside farm profitability.

(~320 words)

Sources: 1. PIB, Saving Soil, Securing Farms (2026) — 25.89 crore Soil Health Cards; SLUSI Nationwide Soil Resource Mapping; AI and Krishi Decision Support System under Digital Agriculture Mission 2. PIB, Soil Health Card — "Swasth Dharaa, Khet Haraa" (2025) — crop-wise nutrient recommendations, soil testing laboratory network, input-cost and subsidy rationale 3. PIB, Implementation of National Mission on Natural Farming — 70,021 Krishi Sakhis trained in soil health; cluster-based extension design 4. PIB, Khet Bachao Abhiyan (2026) — 96,227 field demonstrations on green manuring and bio-fertilisers