India's digital agriculture infrastructure has evolved from Kisan Call Centres to Kisan Sarathi. Trace this evolution and assess its impact on farmer welfare and extension service delivery.

Q. India's digital agriculture infrastructure has evolved from Kisan Call Centres to Kisan Sarathi. Trace this evolution and assess its impact on farmer welfare and extension service delivery. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

India's public extension system, long constrained by a low extension-worker-to-farmer ratio, has been progressively digitised — moving from the voice-only Kisan Call Centres (2004) to the two-way, multilingual Kisan Sarathi (2021), marking a shift from information delivery to information dialogue.

Tracing the evolution - Voice era (2004): KCCs launched on 21 January 2004 with a toll-free number, answering queries in 22 local languages — but unidirectional, unrecorded and non-scalable [3]. - SMS era: the mKisan portal pushed crop-specific SMS and IVRS advisories with backstopping from research institutes, widening reach but offering no expert consultation [4]. - Platform era (2021): Kisan Sarathi, launched in July 2021 on ICAR's 93rd Foundation Day as a joint MeitY–MoAFW initiative implemented by IASRI and Digital India Corporation, integrated these channels into one interface [2]. - Kisan Sarathi 2.0: ongoing upgrade, with ICAR-ATARI workshops sensitising KVKs as delivery nodes [5].

Impact on farmer welfare - Scale: 2.95 crore registered farmers, including 56.16 lakh women, across 36 States/UTs and 6.63 lakh villages [1]. - Reduces information asymmetry — 19.21 lakh queries answered and 21,900 advisories issued across 351 commodities, cutting input misuse [1]. - Live interaction in 13 regional languages lowers literacy and linguistic barriers for small and marginal farmers [1].

Impact on extension service delivery - The Interactive Information Dissemination System (IIDS) enables genuine two-way farmer–scientist contact, operationalising lab-to-land transfer [1]. - Institutionalises expertise: 4,767 ICAR scientists from 113 institutes supply vetted advisories, curbing misinformation [1]. - Limitations persist — most registrations (2.89 crore) still occur physically at KVKs rather than through the app or portal, showing that digital self-access remains shallow and connectivity gaps endure [1].

Kisan Sarathi thus converts extension from a scarce, one-way service into a networked, accountable and personalised one. Deepening last-mile connectivity, integrating it with AgriStack and strengthening KVK handholding under Kisan Sarathi 2.0 can make technology-enabled extension a genuine instrument of farmer welfare and inclusive rural development.

(~330 words)

Sources: 1. PIB Factsheet — The Kisan Sarathi Platform (June 2026) — 2.95 crore farmers, 56.16 lakh women, 19.21 lakh queries, 21,900 advisories, 351 commodities, 36 States/UTs, 6.63 lakh villages, IIDS, 13 languages, 4,767 scientists, 113 institutes, KVK-based registration 2. PIB — Digital Platform Kisan Sarathi launched (July 2021) — launch date, ICAR Foundation Day, MeitY–MoAFW, IASRI and DIC 3. mKisan Portal — About Kisan Call Centres — KCC launch on 21 January 2004, 22 local languages 4. PIB Factsheet — mKisan — SMS/voice advisories and IVRS with institutional backstopping 5. ICAR — Kisan Sarathi 2.0 Sensitization Workshop, ICAR-ATARI Kanpur — Kisan Sarathi 2.0 rollout and KVK sensitisation