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India’s first Agricultural Data Exchange (ADeX) was launched in Hyderabad on Friday.

Developed as a digital public infrastructure (DPI) for the agriculture sector, ADeX is a collaboration between the Government of Telangana, World Economic Forum, and the Indian Institute of Science.

Telangana Minister for Information Technology and Industries K. T. Rama Rao launched ADeX and Agriculture Data Management Framework (ADMF).

“Both ADeX and ADMF provide the right platform to ensure fair and efficient usage of agricultural data by the industry and startups and provide 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.

It is an open source, open standard and interoperable public good, democratizing access to data and enabling the public and private sector to build applications and deliver services to benefit society.

Purushottam Kaushik, Head, Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution India, World Economic Forum stated: “Data and digital ecosystems are critical for responsible innovation in the agriculture sector. The agriculture data exchange and the agriculture data management framework highlight the power of multi-stakeholder communities and collective action in addressing complex challenges in the agriculture sector.”

The software platform facilitates the secure, standards-based exchange of data between agricultural data users like agri application developers and agricultural data providers like government agencies, private companies, NGOs and universities. 

Commenting on the launch, Prof G. Rangarajan, Director, IISc, said: “ADeX will prove to be a game changer in the agriculture ecosystem providing impetus to research and innovation in the sector and creating value by mobilising data for healthy, sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices.”

Under the first phase of the project, the ADeX platform is currently deployed in the district of Khammam and over a period, itwill be expanded to the entire state.

At the launch, several agtechs demonstrated their digital solutions using data accessed through ADeX, such as market advisory, pest prediction advisory and easy access to credit.

The government of Telangana also released the Agriculture Data Management Framework (ADMF).

The framework has been 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, ADMF is an agile, forward-looking framework, with the objective of facilitating consent-based responsible data sharing.