KhetScore: AI-Driven Analytical tool for Inclusive Agricultural Finance Services
India
Agriculture
Implementing Organisation
Dvara E-Registry Private Limited
India, Telangana, Hyderabad
Implementing Point of Contact
Tarun Katoch
Cofounder and Head Value Chain
Contributor of the Impact Story
Government of Maharashtra’s AI and Agritech Innovation Center, World Bank Group, Wadhwani AI
Year of implementation
2019
Problem statement
Smallholder farmers in India are increasingly vulnerable to climate shocks and financial exclusion. 7 out of 10 smallholders admit lack of access to formal finance limited their ability to invest in climate-smart practices and manage climate risks. Women and tenant farmers are disproportionately excluded even with active participation in agriculture. Conventional lending and insurance models, which rely on land ownership and traditional credit-scores, fail to capture farmers' true productive capacity and climate exposure.
Submission Overview
Dvara E-Registry (DER) is a digital agriculture platform that leverages AI, geospatial intelligence, and remote sensing to enable financial inclusion for smallholder farmers. DER partners with 300+ Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) to deliver doorstep digital credit, crop insurance, and climate-smart agricultural inputs. Through its KhetScore tool - an AI-driven alternate credit scoring system - DER has facilitated ₹175+ crore in institutional credit to 40,000+ farmers, with 100% loans having women as primary or co-borrowers. DER's mission is to unlock climate finance and build resilient farming systems by transforming land and climate data into actionable financial intelligence.
AI Technology Used
Key Outcomes
Efficiency & Productivity
KhetScore uses AI and satellite data to assess smallholder farmers' creditworthiness based on land productivity rather than collateral. The platform has reached 40,000+ farmers across India, disbursing ₹175+ crore in institutional credit. Notably, 100% of loans include women as borrowers, compared to just 6% in traditional agricultural finance. An independent study found participating farmers earned $110 more per acre, with women's participation in financial decisions increasing by 30%. The results suggest AI can expand access to credit for marginalized farming communities while strengthening climate resilience.
Impact Metrics
Total institutional credit disbursed to smallholder farmers through KhetScore-enabled lending
Baseline Value
₹0 crore (before KhetScore implementation) Indian Rupees
Post-Implementation
₹175+ crore Indian Rupees
Number of smallholder farmers benefiting from KhetScore-enabled credit services
Baseline Value
NA farmers before implementation
Post-Implementation
40 ,000+ farmers received credit and 120,000+ farmers onboarded on platform
Percentage of loans with women as primary or co-borrowers
Baseline Value
Women account for only 6% of formal agricultural credit nationally Percentage
Post-Implementation
100 % of KhetScore loans have women as primary or co-borrowers; 35% of loans have women as primary borrowers
Number of farmers receiving crop loss coverage through KhetScore-enabled insurance
Baseline Value
Nearly 30% national crop insurance penetration with manual, time-consuming claim processes Number of farmers
Post-Implementation
82 out of 200 insured farmers (41%) received claims totaling ₹35 lakhs through faster, transparent settlement using KhetScore and picture-based loss assessment
Implementation Context
Pan-India deployment with focus on climate-vulnerable districts. Primary operations in states including Telangana, Odisha, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and other agricultural regions across India.
120,000+ farmers onboarded on DoorDrishti platform; 40,000+ credit beneficiaries. Target demographics: smallholder and marginal farmers (86% of India's 140 million farmers), women farmers (100% of loans have women as primary or co-borrowers), tenant farmers, first-time borrowers (40% of beneficiaries), climate-vulnerable farming communities in rural areas
Key Partnerships
NICRA, DCB Bank, Shivalik Small Finance Bank, NBFCs (Samunnati, PAHAL, Agriwise), HDFC ERGO, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
Replicability & Adaptation
1. Satellite imagery access (Sentinel, Landsat) 2. AI/ML infrastructure 3. Geospatial analytics platform and mobile application for field operations 4. Trained Farmer Solution Officers (FSOs)
* The data presented is self-reported by the respective organisations. Readers should consult the original sources for further details.