“The success of State’s unique Maha-Vistaar App, an application integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) with agricultural practices has prompted the Union Government to adopt this application at national-level through Bharat-Vistaar app,” said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday at VANAMATI. He was speaking at the inaugural ‘Ranjitbabu Deshmukh Gram Vikas Puraskar - 2026,’ organised by RD Foundation to celebrate 80th birthday of Ranjit Deshmukh, former Maharashtra Minister of Ruarl Development.

 

Maha-Vistaar is an AI based app, accessed by around 50 lakh farmers across the State that provides weather advisory, advice regarding crops, pest control, and other useful information to farmers. Ranjit Deshmukh; Jaikumar Gore, Minister of Rural Development and Panchayat R a j ; C h a n d r a s h e k h a r Bawankule, State Revenue Minister; Dr Ashish Deshmukh, MLA; Anil Deshmukh, former State Home Minister; and Vinayak Mahamuni, Chief Executive Officer, Zilla Parishad Nagpur, were prominently present for the programme. Devendra Fadnavis, in his address, cited the work of Ranjit Deshmukh to underline the importance of public participation in rural development.

 

“The convergance of public participation and Government funding through various State and Central schemes can help any village achieve development,” said Fadnavis. He credited the success of ‘Jalyukta Shivar Yojana’ to huge public participation. Earlier, the programme featured felicitation of Gram Panchayats, Schools, Primary Health Centers among others which have performed exceptionally in various fields like crime-reduction and women safety, solid waste management, water conservation, and employement creation. The winning Gram Panchayats included Umari (Bharatpur) from Saoner tehsil, Virali from Umred tehsil; Tarodi from Kamptee tehsil; Khursapar from Katol tehsil; Aashtikala from Kalmeshwar tehsil. ZP Upper Primary School, Chankapur,won an awardfor adopting innovative study techniques, Primary Health Center in Bishnoor from Narkhed tehsil; and Gram Panchayat Dhanla from Mouda tehsil were also felicitated along with JSW foundation. Jaikumar Gore, in his address, stated that the efforts of the State Government has shown great results in many villages. Chandrashekhar Bawankule, in his address, said that these awards will encourage other Gram Panchayats in the district to work with even more enthusiasm.

 

He stated that the goals envisioned by Ranjit Deshmukh during his tenure as Minister of Rural Development are being realised now. Dr Ashish Deshmukh, in his introductory remarks, stated that the awards are instituted as a start of a movement for rural development through RD foundation. Vinayak Mahamuni shed light on process of selection of villages for the awards.