Business
Empowering farmers with easy to consume tech need of the hour: Khetibuddy CEO
Fuelled by new-age technologies like drone surveillance, remote sensing and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven solutions, India’s agritech market has the potential to reach $30-$35 billion by 2025.
One of the key challenges faced by the agri-businesses is that there are very few software platforms available which have an agri-first approach, and can help them improve the farming process, increase yield and reduce cost or achieve sustainability.
Vinay Nair, Co-founder and CEO, Khetibuddy which is a Unified Agtech platform that strengthens digital infrastructure of agribusinesses, tells IANS that remote sensing, internet of things (IoT) and use of AI/ML have huge applications in agriculture and the need of the hour is make the technology agri-specific and easy to use.
Here are the excerpts from his interview:
Q: Tell us more about your Unified Agtech platform and how it empowers agri-businesses across India?
A: Industries have flourished once they have access to data related to their business. Agricultural data possesses the power to transform agribusinesses. Agri-domain experts have now realized this and are embracing the future with digitization.
One of the key challenges faced by agri-businesses today in doing so, is that there are very few software platforms which are available which have an agri-first approach. Major agribusinesses either rely on customizing large ERP or rely on available farm management applications which have the challenges and limitations in customizing to suit their requirement.
It is this gap which we are trying to address through our Unified agtech platform. Khetibuddy’s Agtech platform which is a SaaS (software-as-a-service) offering, allows agri-businesses to monitor, measure and manage their farms, farmers and the entire agri value chain. It’s a suite of modules from farm management, remote sensing, pest management, m-commerce to mention a few.
Any organisation who is in the business of serving farmers can use the platform based on their goals. However, unlike other players, Khetibuddy is unique by providing the science behind the tech as well. We provide ready-to-use crop schedules and advisory, which can be customized based on the local conditions with integration to weather, soil and satellite data sources.
If the goal of an agri-business is improving farming process, increasing yield, reducing cost or achieving sustainability then all of these goals can be facilitated through our SAAS platform.
Q: How are you leveraging AI/ML to help farmers make better informed decisions?
A: We use computer vision for pest and disease detection. What we have done differently is enable agribusinesses to take over on the model’s learning curve for pests and diseases relevant to their geography with minimal efforts. Our models are easier to train even by non-technical teams from agribusinesses. We developed models for specific crops for early pest and disease detection.
Importantly, we took a hybrid approach for developing continuous model learning mode with support from experienced entomologists in our team with a clear goal of avoiding crop loss.
We are also using ML for statistical modelling methods through which we estimate yields and currently working on detecting crop grown at a cluster/district or state level through remote sensing. These insights help private and public organizations to plan their services accordingly. We have already started working on some of these areas with some government units like Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK).
Q: What are some of the emerging technologies that you are most excited about over the medium term (3-5 years) in the agritech space?
A: Covid taught us to use technology to continue business as usual. If you are not able to visit the farms how do we ensure we serve the farmers, which include remote farm management through remote sensing, audio/video calls , have automated advisory services, build data models which help in predicting patterns. Remote sensing, IOTand use of AI/ML have huge applications in agriculture. The need of the hour is to make the technology agri specific and easy to use and consume at the ground level.
Q: You recently announced the launch of a dedicated premium gardening app for your home platform. What is your vision behind this and how has the user response been to this feature?
Did you know that by spending only 15 minutes a day you can grow 60 per cent of the food you consume daily right in your balcony or terrace? That’s what the app under the brand name ‘Khetibuddy Home’ helps you do.
Right from selection of places and inputs to what care you need to take every day to grow food at home, this app can be your gardening guide. Our mission here was to encourage urban people to take up growing some food at home and contribute towards self-sustainability.
We also have curated training courses dedicated only for passionate gardeners through a learning portal which also helps first time gardeners to take up gardening. Since last year, we have on�boarded more than 50,000 home growers on our platform. Now, we have added premium services for a fun and personalized gardening experience. While we work on the larger cause with farmers this allows people in urban cities to also be partially self-sustainable by growing food from food.
Q: You were born in a cloud organisation. What does cloud technology allow you to do better?
A: With the increase of broadband and 4G across rural India, Cloud helps in the reach. We no longer have to worry about local infrastructure as long as you have the internet, the technology is accessible which was not the case earlier. Today, B2B has to follow the B2C experience, I call it the ‘touch generation’. Every consumer needs all services at their fingertip. This is only possible with technologies like cloud and mobile, so businesses also should be provided such services and not use old technology.
AWS has been a great strategic partner. We grew from 0-1 lakh users and we could plan to scale the platform whenever needed which kept our costs in control with our multi-tenant architecture on AWS. AWS helps us to give a promise of uptime to our customers with their always on services.
Customers have the comfort when they know we are on AWS which is a great help. Today, we have a number of servers on production, development, which we use and a variety of technology stack, if this infrastructure had to be maintained by us, our time to be market ready would have increased at least by 2 times. We can focus on our development and not worry about infrastructure needs.
Business
Stock markets remain closed on account of Muharram

Mumbai, June 26: Indian stock exchanges — the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the BSE — remained closed on Friday on account of Muharram, with trading suspended across all equity market segments, including equity derivatives, currency derivatives, securities lending and borrowing (SLB).
Meanwhile, in the commodity segment, the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) remained closed during the morning session from 9 am to 5 pm.
Trading on the commodity exchange will resume in the evening session from 5 pm.
In addition, the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) — which primarily deals in agricultural commodities — remained closed for the entire day.
Following Friday’s Muharram holiday, the stock market will remain open for nearly three months before the next scheduled holiday on September 14 for Ganesh Chaturthi.
Thereafter, the bourses will remain closed on October 2 (Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti), October 20 (Dussehra), November 10 (Diwali-Balipratipada), November 24 (Prakash Gurpurb Sri Guru Nanak Dev) and December 25 (Christmas).
In the last session, the equity benchmarks ended their two-session winning streak on a positive note despite paring most of their intraday gains due to profit booking in IT and metal stocks.
Sensex settled over 100 points or 0.14 per cent higher at 77,100.47 after touching an intraday high of 77,803.18.
Similarly, Nifty ended higher, with an increase of 34.35 points or 0.14 per cent at 24,056.
Among Nifty constituents, Hindalco Industries, Power Grid, Bharti Airtel, ONGC, Infosys, NTPC, BEL, HCL Tech, HDFC Life, Asian Paints, Trent, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel and Titan were top losers.
Moreover, the broader markets underperformed, with Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices declining 0.5 per cent each.
As the holiday falls on a Friday, market participants will enjoy a three-day weekend, with trading set to resume on Monday, June 29.
Business
Indian markets open higher as crude oil prices hover near $70 mark

Mumbai, June 25: Indian stock markets opened higher on Thursday as crude oil prices eased towards the $70-per-barrel mark, with tankers resuming their exit from the Strait of Hormuz following an initial peace deal between the US and Iran.
Sensex started the session up 400 points or 0.52 per cent at 77,391.07, while Nifty opened at 24,125.85, gaining over 100 points or 0.43 per cent.
Most sectoral indices traded in positive territory, led by Nifty Realty and Nifty Auto, gained up to 1 per cent.
Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty IT, Nifty Pharma, Nifty Oil & Gas, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Private Bank indices also advanced.
However, Nifty Metal was the lone major sectoral loser, declining 0.56 per cent.
From the Nifty pack, Hindalco Industries, Eternal, Bharat Electronics, Power Grid Corporation, ONGC, Infosys, Titan, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, ITC, Asian Paints and Coal India were among the top losers in early trade.
Category-wise, Nifty Microcap 250 gained 0.87 per cent, Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.63 per cent, Nifty Midcap 50 advanced 0.61 per cent, and Nifty Smallcap 500 climbed 0.59 per cent.
Meanwhile, India VIX — the market’s fear gauge — slipped nearly 3 per cent to 13, indicating easing volatility.
According to analysts, the technical undertone remains positive as long as the Nifty sustains above the 24,000 mark. Immediate support is placed at 23,900, followed by the 23,790-23,750 zone if profit-booking intensifies.
“On the upside, the 24,090-24,150 zone remains the key resistance area, and a decisive breakout above this supply zone could trigger fresh short-covering, paving the way for a move towards 24,300,” they said.
Analysts further noted that supportive global cues and lower crude oil prices favour further gains, although traders should remain watchful of expiry-related volatility and evolving global monetary policy expectations.
Meanwhile, international benchmark Brent crude declined about 2 per cent to around $72 a barrel. Similarly, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 1.83 per cent to trade below the $70-per-barrel mark.
Business
Adani Group’s consolidated portfolio revenue stands at Rs 2.92 lakh crore in FY26: Chairman

Ahmedabad, June 24: Gautam Adani, the Adani Group Chairman, on Wednesday said that FY2025-26 was another year of disciplined growth and strong execution for the Group, and its consolidated portfolio revenue stood at Rs 2.92 lakh crore, thereby reflecting a year-on-year growth of 7.4 per cent.
Addressing shareholders at the Adani Group’s 34th Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2026, Gautam Adani said they are now one of the very few global companies that are not reacting to the future but are prepared for it.
“At Adani Energy Solutions, our transmission order book rose to Rs 72,000 crore. We secured several major projects, including the Khavda South Olpad HVDC line, reinforcing our position as India’s only private sector player with proven HVDC capability,” the billionaire industrialist told the gathering.
“At Adani Power, we are implementing India’s largest ever private sector power capex programme of over Rs 2 lakh crore, with a target of reaching 45 GW of capacity over the next five years. We are also honoured to be partnering with the Government of Bhutan’s Druk Green Power Corporation. As part of this partnership, the Adani Group and the DGPC will jointly develop 5,000 megawatts of hydropower projects in Bhutan,” the Adani Group Chairman explained.
The Group’s entry into nuclear energy through Adani Atomic Energy is another confident step towards securing India’s long-term energy future.
“With land identified and a 10 GW targeted capacity by 2035, we are positioning ourselves early to serve the growing national demand for clean, round-the-clock power,” Gautam Adani noted.
“At Adani Total Gas, we accelerated and crossed the significant milestone of over 1.1 million Piped Natural Gas home connections. Given the current geopolitical situation, we are further ramping up our PNG projects to meet India’s rising demand for more accessible gas. Coming to connectivity and logistics, Adani Ports handled over 500 million tonnes of cargo in FY 2025-26, setting an unmatched benchmark for the nation and creating a clear pathway to one billion tonnes by 2030,” Gautam Adani highlighted.
The integrated network of ports, SEZs, logistics assets and expanding maritime services “places us in a unique position to keep gaining market share while lowering the cost and complexity of India’s trade”, the Adani Group Chairman noted.
“I am proud to specifically say that Vizhinjam, one of the most strategic ports on the global maritime route, delivered a record first year by crossing one million TEUs. This is the fastest pace ever achieved by any Indian port and a strong signal of India’s arrival on the global transshipment map,” said Gautam Adani during his speech.
In airports, the Group achieved two defining milestones with the opening of Navi Mumbai International Airport and the new integrated terminal building at Guwahati Airport, both inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Earlier this year, both these airports made it to the list of the World’s Seven Most Beautiful Airports. The commencement of operations at Navi Mumbai in December 2025 also marked a proud moment in India’s aviation landscape, with a 90-million-passenger-capacity-airport built in a world-record time of just over four years,” said Gautam Adani.
In digital and industrial infrastructure, the Group’s Data Centre business is firmly on the path to building a 3 GW platform by 2030.
“The binding MoU for a gigawatt-scale data centre with Google in Visakhapatnam reflects both the scale of the digital demand ahead, and the confidence that global technology leaders such as Google, Microsoft, Uber and Flipkart are placing on us,” the Adani Group Chairman noted.
“At Adani Cement, we contributed to iconic national projects ranging from the Chenab Railway Bridge to Navi Mumbai International Airport and the Umiya Dham foundation in Ahmedabad. Over the past year, our cement platform expanded significantly, with total capacity increasing to 110 MMTPA,” Gautam Adani added.
The Adani Group Chairman further added that in defence and aerospace, “our ambition became even bolder”.
“Our partnerships with Leonardo and Embraer are helping lay the foundation for integrated helicopter and regional aircraft manufacturing ecosystems in India. We are building a national aerospace platform that spans manufacturing, MRO, services and pilot training,” Gautam Adani said.
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