India to Mandate Farmer ID for Government Benefits Starting 2025

India to Mandate Farmer ID for Government Benefits Starting 2025

Starting in 2025, farmers in India will need a farmer ID to access government benefits.

This digital identity initiative is a key element of the government’s push to digitize the agricultural sector and was prominently featured in the 2024-25 union budget. The farmer ID, linked to the Aadhaar biometric system, serves as a centralized identity to simplify access to benefits, insurance, subsidies, and other welfare programs.

The ID is integrated with the Farmers Registry, part of the AgriStack initiative aimed at building digital public infrastructure (DPI) for agriculture. In addition to the Aadhaar number, the registry includes data such as mobile numbers, land ownership records, and e-KYC details. The ID provides the government with essential information about farmers, including the size of their landholdings, crops grown, and livestock numbers.

To accelerate the rollout, the Finance Ministry allocated approximately $600 million under the Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment 2024-25. These funds are available to states until March 2025 to develop Farmers Registries.

From December 31, 2024, farmers can access both central and state government schemes exclusively through the farmer ID, also known as the Kisan Pehchaan Patra or Kisan Card. This eliminates the need for repeated e-KYC processes that were previously required for benefit applications.

The government aims to issue digital identities to 110 million farmers. According to the Business Standard, around 60 million are expected to be enrolled by the end of the 2024-25 fiscal year, with the remaining farmers receiving their IDs by 2027.

In early December, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare urged state governments to expedite the issuance of farmer IDs.

The concept of a digital farmer ID was first proposed in 2021 as part of a broader plan to modernize India’s agricultural sector.