National Soil Spectral Library inaugurated; Maharashtra becomes first State with a soil map
At a Krishi Samvad in Nagpur on 18 May 2025, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and CM Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the National Soil Spectral Library, making Maharashtra the first State to have a soil map.
Summary
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan addressed a Krishi Samvad farmers' convention in Nagpur, Maharashtra on 18 May 2025, held under the Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan. He and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the National Soil Spectral Library, which holds data on soil pH, density and elemental composition collected by NBSS&LUP using hyperspectral sensor technology; with it, Maharashtra became the first State to have a soil map. Chouhan announced the theme 'One Nation, One Agriculture, One Team', said ICAR has 113 institutes of which 11 are in Maharashtra, and announced a national laboratory in Pune under the Clean Plant Programme for research on original plant varieties.
Key facts
- Event
- Krishi Samvad, Nagpur, 18 May 2025
- Inaugurated
- National Soil Spectral Library (NBSS&LUP, hyperspectral sensors)
- First
- Maharashtra — first State with a soil map
- Theme
- 'One Nation, One Agriculture, One Team'
- ICAR
- 113 institutes; 11 in Maharashtra
- Pune
- National lab under Clean Plant Programme
Practice MCQs 2 questions
With the inauguration of the National Soil Spectral Library in May 2025, which State became the first to have a soil map?
Show answer
Correct answer: B — Maharashtra
With the inauguration of the National Soil Spectral Library at Nagpur, Maharashtra became the first State to have a soil map.
Consider the following statements made at the Krishi Samvad in Nagpur (May 2025): 1. The Agriculture Ministry will work on the theme 'One Nation, One Agriculture, One Team'. 2. ICAR has 113 institutes, 11 of which are in Maharashtra. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Show answer
Correct answer: C — Both 1 and 2
Both are correct, as announced by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Nagpur on 18 May 2025.