In January 2025, Indian Institute of Technology Indore (IIT-I), Indore, Madhya Pradesh (MP) in collaboration with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched ‘AgriHub’, an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven Centre of Excellence (CoE) to foster technological innovation, startup incubation, and industry collaboration in agritech sector.
- The CoE will utilize AI, Machine Learning (ML), and Deep Learning (DL) which will help in addressing the critical agricultural challenges such as: drought, floods, and low productivity and will also promote sustainable agriculture in India.
- It is supported by the MP government, ICAR-IISR Indore(MP), ICAR-CIAE Bhopal(MP), and C-DAC Pune(Maharashtra)
Key People:
i.The inauguration event of AgriHub was graced by S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, as the Chief Guest.
ii.K.K. Singh, Joint Secretary, Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Division, MeitY; Sanjay Dubey, Additional Chief Secretary(CS), Department of Science and Technology, MP; Dr. C.R. Mehta, Director, Indian Council of Agricultural Research – Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering(ICAR-CIAE) Bhopal; Magesh Ethirajan, Director General, Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC); and Dr. Kunwar Harendra Singh, Director, Indian Council of Agricultural Research – Indian Institute of Spices Research (ICAR-IISR) Indore were present at the event.
About AgriHub :
i.It will act as a collaborative platform, which aims to bring together stakeholders from various sectors to develop innovative solutions for Indian agriculture.
ii.The project is jointly funded by the MeitY and the government of MP for a period of 5 years.
iii.The project is led by Professor Aruna Tiwari and Professor Pavan Kankar, both are faculties of IIT-I.
iv.It will work to improve efficient utilization of resources and expertise, aligning technological advancements with the needs of farmers, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), and other key stakeholders.
v.The CoE will provide advanced research in areas like: drought-resistant crops, precision farming, and AI-driven disease diagnosis, utilizing big data analytics and genome research to promote data-driven agriculture.
Significance:
i.The project aims to accelerate varietal development programme through an integrated platform for genome sequencing and big data analysis, which will help in developing new crop varieties which can tackle adverse climatic conditions and increase crop production
ii.Smart farm management approaches will be developed by using precision agriculture technologies, drone image analysis, and AI-powered support to farmers for demand forecasts.
iii.The CoE will also conduct various training programmes and skill workshops for students and the technical community. This initiative will promote innovation in the agriculture sector and will create new job prospects in the IT and computing sectors.
About Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) :
Union Minister- Ashwini Vaishnaw (Rajya Sabha member- Odisha)
Minister of State (MoS)- Jitin Prasada(Constituency- Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, UP)
