New Delhi | January 29, 2026
State-level innovation in agricultural governance is yielding measurable and positive outcomes across India, the Economic Survey 2025–26 said, highlighting how reforms in land and resource management, market design, water governance, and digital agriculture are strengthening farm productivity and rural resilience.
Presenting the Survey in Parliament, Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said several states have undertaken targeted agricultural reforms in recent years, spanning land governance, markets, irrigation, technology adoption, and crop diversification. These initiatives, the Survey noted, have translated into improved agricultural output and better governance outcomes at the grassroots level.
Land and Resource Governance
The Survey cites Andhra Pradesh as a leading example in land governance reform. Under its Re-survey Programme 2021, the state has deployed drone-based Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) and GIS technology to issue tamper-proof digital land titles. As of 2025, land records in 6,901 villages covering 8.1 million land parcels have been re-surveyed, with nearly 86,000 boundary disputes resolved, significantly improving land certainty for farmers.
In Bihar, the Chief Minister Integrated Chaur Development Scheme, launched in 2025, focuses on developing chaur (low-lying) land for agriculture. The initiative has enabled fish-based production across 1,933 hectares in 22 districts, adding a new income stream for rural households.
Market Reforms
Market reforms at the state level are also reducing farmers’ dependence on traditional mandis. In Madhya Pradesh, the Sauda Patrak initiative, launched in 2021, enables direct procurement from farmers at minimum support price (MSP) through a digital platform. The reform has enhanced payment transparency and efficiency, with over 1.03 lakh transactions completed by December 2025.
Water Management
Water governance reforms have delivered notable gains in irrigation coverage. The Assam State Irrigation Scheme (2022), aimed at expanding irrigation and promoting solar pumps, led to a 24.28% increase in gross irrigated agricultural area in 2024–25.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Groundwater Regulation Act, 2020 strengthened the legal framework governing water extraction. Despite increased water use in 2025, the state recorded a marginal improvement in groundwater levels, indicating early gains from regulatory oversight.
Technology and Digital Agriculture
Digital platforms are increasingly shaping agricultural service delivery. Karnataka’s FRUITS (Farmer Registration and Unified Beneficiary Information System) platform, launched in 2020, integrates DBT transfers, MSP-based procurement, and crop surveys into a unified farmer database. The platform now covers 5.5 million farmers, improving targeting and reducing leakages across schemes.
Jharkhand, meanwhile, rolled out a GIS-based Climate-Smart Agriculture and Agri-Stack initiative in 2024, combining land monitoring with climate data to support informed farm-level decision-making.
The Survey also highlights Bihar’s Fourth Agriculture Roadmap (2023–28), which replaced earlier plans and is driving “unprecedented growth” in fisheries and dairy production, reflecting a more diversified agricultural strategy.
A Broader Governance Shift
Taken together, these examples underline a broader shift in Indian agriculture—from centrally driven schemes to state-specific, innovation-led governance models. The Economic Survey concludes that such decentralised experimentation is delivering real gains on the ground and shaping a new growth narrative for Indian agriculture, one rooted in technology, transparency, and responsive policymaking.
