Farmer ID Reaches 11 Crore, Five Months Before March 2027 Target
Image: Telangana Today
India has issued 11 crore Farmer IDs, reaching its target five months before the 31 March 2027 deadline, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Saturday, 24 October. The Agriculture Ministry’s PIB release calls it a milestone under the Digital Agriculture Mission, and IANS reported that over 6 crore farmers have already received benefits through the ID-based delivery system.
One ID for Credit, Insurance and MSP
The Farmer ID is a unique digital identity for each farmer. The ministry says it gives faster access to government schemes, bank credit including Kisan Credit Cards, crop insurance claims under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, disaster relief and minimum support price procurement. The idea is that a farmer no longer submits the same documents again at each office or bank. The ministry also says a verified database cuts duplicate verification and fraud.
From 8.47 Crore in February
The count has climbed steadily this year. All India Radio reported over 8.47 crore cards in February and 9.25 crore across 19 states in April. The 11 crore figure comes from the ministry and has not been independently audited. Coverage of tenant farmers and actual cultivators, who often do not own the land they till, remains a gap: IANS said states and Union Territories are still taking steps to bring them onto the platform.
Also read Chouhan Says Opposition Spreading Lies as Regime Change Row Grows
Questions on consent and data use under AgriStack are being raised by legal commentators, including a recent LiveLaw analysis of the DPDP Act, but the ministry release does not address them.
Tenant Farmers Are the Next Test
The deadline has been met, but the ministry has not said what the next target is or how many eligible farmers remain outside the system. Related IPB reports: the upgraded agri welfare portal and the Khet Bachao Abhiyan.
Source: PIB release, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, 24 October 2026. Also based on reporting by Telangana Today (IANS) and All India Radio.
Image: Telangana Today.
