How AI is shaping agriculture; Non-profits keeping heritage alive
Algorithms, AI models, and satellite imaging are shaping agricultural decisions around how crops are planned, grown and harvested. Non-profits are preserving India’s traditional art and culture for future generations.
Hello,
Wealthy families and HNIs have been giving a lot of money to India’s social sector, and this will continue.
Private philanthropy in India is expected to reach Rs 1.43 lakh crore in FY25. It is set to grow at a CAGR of 9–11% between FY25 and FY30.
But this is not enough, says a report by Bain & Company and Dasra.
Private-sector giving should grow at over 25% annually to bridge the shortfall in social sector funding. This means family philanthropy, retail giving, and CSR contributions must scale.
The good news is first-generation wealth creators are emerging as influential contributors to philanthropy. Women are becoming key decision-makers, and the diaspora is also pumping in more.
Meanwhile, in the world of AI, compute equals revenue.
NVIDIA has proven the power of compute capacity, posting robust results. For the full fiscal year 2026, the company’s revenue reached $215.9 billion, up 65% from a year ago.
“Computing demand is growing exponentially, the agentic AI inflection point has arrived,” Founder Jensen Huang said.
Still on AI, Anthropic has acquired Vercept, a startup focused on advanced software interaction. Through this, Anthropic wants to go beyond simple chat interfaces towards agents that execute multi-step tasks across platforms.
Lastly, the UK is experiencing a weak jobs market. The number of young people not in education, employment or training is edging closer to one million, the BBC reports.
In today’s newsletter, we will talk about
- How AI is shaping agriculture
- Non-profits keeping heritage alive
Here’s your trivia for today: What is a trained wine professional called?
Impact
How AI is shaping agriculture
Algorithms, AI models, and satellite imaging are shaping agricultural decisions around how crops are planned, grown and harvested.
Over the past few years, precision farming, remote sensing, and data-led decision-making have moved from experimentation to adoption, helping farmers optimise yields, reduce risk, and adapt to unpredictable conditions.
Key takeaways:
- With the global climate changing for the worse, timely information has become a crucial factor for the agricultural sector. Accurate temperature data helps farmers discern information regarding crop stress, soil moisture, drought, and harvest time.
- AI’s role extends beyond crop health into supply chain management. It studies demand patterns across villages, helps plan fodder production, and optimises logistics so waste is low and freshness is high.
- Agritech startups are helping small-time farmers with valuable inputs. There is also significant support from the government, with schemes such as e-NAM, AgriStack, Digital Agriculture Mission, and PM-KISAN helping farmers access agritech solutions.
Funding Alert
Startup: MeltPlan
Amount: $10M
Round: Seed
Startup: Gushwork AI
Amount: $9M
Round: Seed
Startup: Prayaan Capital
Amount: Rs 110 Cr
Round: Series A
Culture
Non-profits keeping heritage alive
Many of India’s traditional art forms are at risk of fading into obscurity—not because they lack value, but because they lack visibility, documentation, and monetary support.
From folk music and embroidery to oral history and theatre, our cultural heritage can survive only when communities come together to sustain it. Non-profits are leading this effort across India, preserving India’s traditional art and culture for future generations.
Sustainable model:
- A quiet cultural movement is underway through not-for-profit organisations such as Anahad Foundation and Kattaikkuttu Sangam. They are not just preserving art and culture, but are also creating new and sustainable models for the future.
- By combining technology with tradition, these organisations ensure oral histories offer viable livelihoods. They work to promote economic independence, self-sufficiency, and grassroots entrepreneurship within communities.
- All this is done without diluting the tradition and authenticity of people’s craft, be it folk music, theatre or embroidery.
News & updates
- Apple Pay: Apple is gearing up to launch Apple Pay in India. The iPhone maker is in talks with several Indian banks and global card networks, including ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank, as it plans to introduce its payment service in India around the middle of 2026.
- Rare earth: Suppliers to US aerospace and semiconductor firms are experiencing worsening shortages of rare earth such as yttrium and scandium. This comes weeks before US President Donald Trump is expected to meet Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at a summit in Beijing.
- US tariffs: Canada’s finance minister François-Philippe Champagne said the United States is unlikely to lift tariffs. A baseline tariff may be the “price” Canada has to pay to continue shipping goods to the US, he said.
What is a trained wine professional called?
Answer: Sommelier
We would love to hear from you! To let us know what you liked and disliked about our newsletter, please mail [email protected].
If you don’t already get this newsletter in your inbox, sign up here. For past editions of the YourStory Buzz, you can check our Daily Capsule page here.