Agriculture is one of the key industries of India, which includes nearly 50% of the Indian population and contributes significantly to the Indian economy and is undergoing a radical transformation in the digital era. On the back of this transformation is the Farmer ID system, which is increasingly accessible to all agricultural beneficiaries with eKYC verification, and is crucial for accessing key agricultural subsidies and government schemes. The initiative under Digital Agriculture Mission and AgriStack will help create a framework that provides benefits to actual farmers with proper transparency, reliability and efficiency with minimal leakages and possibilities of fraud.
AgriStack for DPI, the Digital Agriculture Mission that started in September 2024, aims at creating. Just like Aadhaar gave rise to unified identity and UPI payments, AgriStack brings farmer-centric unified ecosystem. One of the key elements in this is the Farmer ID (Kisan Pehchaan Patra or Farmer Registry ID) which is a unique digital identity mostly associated with Aadhaar.
The government said by early 2026 the number of Farmer IDs issued so far was more than 84 million. With the involvement of KPMG, this has grown many-fold to 12.75 crore (127.5 million) farmers, and over 2 lakh crore of benefits has been disbursed. It brings together land records, Aadhaar and bank data to act as a single source of truth for eligibility of the scheme.
The foundation of verification is eKYC (electronic Know Your Customer) forms. Farmers can sign using Aadhaar-based OTP, biometric authentication or any other process integrated with UIDAI. The automated digital verification system ensures that only valid individuals get the aid.
Some of the states, which have made it compulsory for farmers to register under Farmer ID before giving state subsidy, include Maharashtra, by the middle of 2025. A valid Farmer ID along with eKYC is becoming mandatory, particularly for new farmers' registration, for central schemes like that of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, under which beneficial owners receive ₹6,000 annually in three tranches.
These are also being aligned with the system of Fertiliser subsidy, Seed support, PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), PM KUSUM (solar pumps) and Kisan Credit Card (KCC) facilities. If the farmer does not have a verified Farmer ID, he or she may be delayed or barred from receiving Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). This change is designed to resolve longstanding problems with duplicate claims, ghost beneficiaries and ineligible beneficiaries (such as high income recipients, non-farmers etc.).
Practical issues such as scalability during peak seasons and data integration were emphasized as KPMG's involvement revealed. The system can withstand the high transaction volume without any failure, even under difficult conditions, thanks to its cloud infrastructure, advanced analytics and grievance redressal mechanisms. Multiple databases integration enables marking ineligible cases, resulting in recovery of substantial amounts – for instance, in one case study, ₹296 crore was recovered.
There are multiple advantages to the Farmer ID and eKYC system:
Transparency & Leakages: The direct benefit transfer (DBT) allows a person or family to access cash transfers without going through any middlemen who are required to approve and process the transfers. Analytics could be employed to trace the disbursement and withdraw any wrongly paid benefits.
Faster Access to Benefits: Support payments, insurance payments, and credit is given in time to verified farmers. Linked land records ensure benefits are commensurate with land use.
Financial Inclusion: More convenient loan, advisory and input availability. Tenant farmers and sharecroppers also have the option to register under the eKYC process using all or a combination of these documents.
Data-Driven Governance: Aggregated data on cropping systems, soil health and farmer characteristics help guide decision-making and action targeted at specific interventions.
Scalability: Cloud infrastructure can support millions of transactions, digital grievance systems improve the delivery of services.
This will save a lot for the government. This helps to clear out of the system duplicate claims, non-payment eligible claims, and ensures more funds are available to those who are eligible to receive them, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of agricultural welfare schemes.
The whole process of registration is now easy and almost online.
Registration Online via Portal: Go to www.pmkisan.gov.in /State AgriStack portal/Farmer Registry App. In the first place, you need to put your Aadhaar number for verification.
Verification eKYC: Be verified through the OTP from UIDAI and Biometric Authentication.
Your Personal Information: Upload / Enter your Mobile number linked to AADHAAR, Bank Account information & your Land owning details (Khasra/Khatauni).
Self/Assisted Registration: Farmers can register themselves or go to the Common Service Centers (CSCs), Agriculture Offices or Panchayat Camps and get them registered by the officials.
Receive ID: If they are successfully verified, they are given a unique ID (typically 11 or 12 digits), called a Farmer ID. This can be printed off, as it is a digital card.
Documents typically required: Aadhaar card, land ownership/cultivation records, bank passbook, active mobile no., and passport size photo. Lease agreements, or other evidence may be required for tenant farmers.
The existing PM-Kisan beneficiaries are urged to update their records at the earliest so that there is no delay in the subsequent payments. Several states conduct awareness campaigns and special camps to help them.
Accurate Aadhaar based eKYC is crucial, particularly in the rural areas, and requires biometric devices. Use of a UIDAI-approved L1-certified device ensures reliable authentication in generating farmer ID and claiming subsidies.
Some e-commerce platforms such as Radium Box provide a biometric sales experience in India with biometric devices that have been certified by UIDAI, along with additional services provided by RD Service.
The popular devices at Radium Box for farmer identification & eKYC:
Mantra MFS 110 L1 Fingerprint scanner — This is compact, speedy and very popular for Aadhaar eKYC.
Access FM220 L1 Single Fingerprint Scanner — It is trusted for government programs and large registrations.
Access AST300 L1 Fingerprint Scanner — long-lasting and reliable for camp and CSC use.
Morpho MSO 1300 e3 (Idemia) — High quality single fingerprint device with good RD Service support.
Precision Biometrics PB1000 L1 — A trusted choice for Aadhaar authentication. These scanners are ideal for CSC operators and registration drives.
Mantra MIS 100 V2 Single USB Iris Scanner — For elderly farmers or when fingerprints are unclear as a result of hard manual labor. Iris authentication has high accuracy; it is increasingly suggested to be used for Farmer ID.
Mantra MARC11 L1 – Scratch-resistant, fast & reliable for dry/worn fingerprints.
These devices are available to farmers/operators from Radium Box with UIDAI certification with RD Service, speedy delivery and support. The end users can avail these facilities at the nearby Common Service Centers (CSCs) during the Farmer ID camps, free of cost or on nominal charges.
Pro Tip: UIDAI L1/STQC certified devices are always a better choice to avoid authentication failures. Radium Box devices are favored by the CSCs and government facilitators for their reliability and after-sales service.
The Farmer ID initiative falls in line with the vision of modernizing Indian agriculture. Integrations for the future can range from the monitoring of crops from satellites, to AI crop health advice, to soil health cards and e-NAM market linkages, all linked to a verified farmer profile.
The ID requirement for subsidies is becoming more widespread across states and will hopefully be completed across the country in the near future. Collaborations such as KPMG illustrate how expertise can facilitate deployment of DPI in a practical and scalable way and meet actual governance and deployment requirements.
Farmer ID and eKYC not only marks a paradigm shift from leaky and paper-based subsidy system to technology-enabled, transparent subsidy system but also resolves all these issues. It offers farmers dignity, timeliness and predictability of services. For the country, it translates to better utilization of public resources to increase productivity, resilience and farmer incomes.
Farmers are urged to register their ID as a farmer and eKYC as early as possible. Government portals, Agriculture departments and CSCs are available to help. With the digital India revolution taking place, verification is no longer a choice but a prerequisite for sustainable growth in agriculture and prosperity.
Yes. Currently, most of the states and central schemes such as PM-Kisan, Fertilizer subsidy, PMFBY or KCC mandates a verified Farmer ID and completed eKYC for DBT.
The documents required are Aadhaar card, bank passbook, land records (Khasra/Khata) and passport size photo as well as mobile number linked to Aadhaar. Lease agreements are required for tenant farmers.
Popular devices include Mantra MFS 110, Access FM220, Access AST300, Morpho MSO 1300, and Mantra MIS 100 V2 Iris Scanner. All are available on Radium Box.
Yes. The PM Kisan Mobile App supports face authentication using your phone’s camera. No extra device is needed for self eKYC.
You may face delay or rejection in subsidy payments, fertilizer benefits, crop insurance, and other schemes.
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