The Karnataka government has launched software for Aadhar-based, single-window registration for various government schemes to guarantee that farmers have simple access to benefits granted under various government schemes. Agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, revenue, food, civil supplies, and fisheries sectors of the state government are all included in the effort.
The FRUITS software facilitates single registration utilising an Aadhar card and Karnataka's Bhoomi digitised land record system for authenticating ownership.
Farmers can benefit from a variety of schemes, including Direct Benefit Transfer under PM Kisan, payment for Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for crops, special financial assistance, caste certificate authentication, and ration cards, thanks to the creation of a single digital identification through FRUITS.
"The software allows several departments to access information on farmers through a single platform, ensuring greater targeting and efficacy in the implementation of the schemes," said Shakeel Ahmed, Karnataka's joint director of horticulture.
The Karnataka government uses FRUITS data to create a GIS-based mobile app that records soil health and crop condition data for three crop seasons: summer, Kharif, and Rabi. This information is gathered by local youth who have been trained in the use of mobile applications for the state's more than 2.1 crore agricultural plots.
This aids in the accurate measurement of the output of various crops like as paddy, ragi, jowar, tur, Bengal gram, groundnut, and copra, as well as crop surveys for crop insurance settlements.
The horticulture department of Karnataka started to use the software in 2017-18.
Currently, all other departments are using this software to reduce the number of registration requirements for farmers for various schemes and to improve targeting. Several states have expressed interest in replicating the FRUITS initiative, according to officials.
The crop survey began in Kharif in 2017 on a pilot basis with government personnel, but due to a staffing shortage, Ahmed said that starting 2018, local youths have been trained to collect GIS-based data.
The software was also linked to the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, which provided farmers with daily weather and rainfall data based on their location.
More than 7.8 million farmers have signed up for FRUITS software, with over 6.2 million of them registering their land information.
Several landless dairy farmers have also signed up for benefits through the common digital platform, particularly the '4 per litre subsidy offered to farmers for milk procured by the Karnataka Milk Federation.'
The software was created by the Karnataka unit of the National Informatic Centre, while the crop survey application was created by the Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation.
The software's experience in simplifying various schemes given out for farmers in Karnataka, according to sources, would be discussed at a Chief Secretaries' conclave scheduled for June 16-17 in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh. The conclave, which will focus on major topics of urban administration, education, and agriculture, will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
