Telangana: KTR launches India’s first Agricultural Data Exchange platform

The Agricultural Data Exchange is collaboration between Telangana Government, World Economic Forum, and the Indian Institute of Science

Hyderabad: Telangana became the first State in India to launch Agricultural Data Exchange (ADeX) and Agricultural Data Management Framework (ADMF). Developed as a digital public infrastructure (DPI) for the agriculture sector, ADeX is collaboration between Telangana Government, World Economic Forum and the Indian Institute of Science. IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao formally launched the ADeX and ADMF here on Friday.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that both ADeX and ADMF provide the right platform to ensure fair and efficient usage of agricultural data by the industry and startups, besides providing a big boost to the data economy specifically in the argi-sector. These initiatives help Telangana lead the country from the front in using innovation and technology to drive food systems transformation and improve the livelihoods of farmers, he said.

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From being drought prone region in the past, Telangana emerged as the rice bowl of India. It was the only State, which was implementing Rythu Bima, insurance coverage for farmers, besides extending 24 hours free power supply, the Minister said. ADeX software platform facilitates secure, standards-based exchange of data between agricultural data users (e.g. agri application developers) and agricultural data providers (e.g. government agencies, private companies, NGO’s, universities, etc).

It is an open source, open standard and interoperable public good, democratizing access to data and enabling public and private sector to build applications and deliver services to benefit society. In Phase-I of the project, the ADeX Platform is currently deployed in Khammam and subsequently will be expanded to the entire State.

Similarly, the State government launched the ADMF, which was developed after extensive public and industry consultations on the crucial aspects of data protection, management, and innovation. Informed by domestic laws and regulations and converging global best practices. It is an agile, forward-looking framework, with the objective of facilitating consent-based responsible data sharing.

ADMF is applicable to all government departments dealing with agricultural activities as well as all agriculture information users and providers. The framework envisages an Inter Departmental Committee, which will issue standard operating procedures and guidance on key aspects such as access controls, data quality, data service providers etc.

The core principles of ADMF are built into the ADeX platform which ensures safety and protection for personal data collection and use. These twin initiatives will create a comprehensive data economy for the future of agriculture and will enable large scale innovation that will drive impact to the farmer community.