Xarathi
Bridging Benefits for Those Who Sustain Us
At a Glance
We designed a concept that reimagines how farmers in India access welfare schemes, ensuring usability even for low-literacy users. With our AI agent, farmers can seamlessly navigate complex processes and unlock the full benefits they rightfully deserve.
Timeline
Sept-Oct 2025
Tools
Figma
Team
Arunav Deka
Savvy Thomas
HIGHLIGHTS
Automated Access,
Personalized for You
We designed a concept that reimagines how farmers in India access welfare schemes, ensuring usability even for low-literacy users. With Ahom, our AI agent, farmers can seamlessly navigate complex processes and unlock the full benefits they rightfully deserve.
AI benefits companion
Discover new opportunities, complete tasks, and resolve queries all by chatting with our AI assistant.
complex documents into easy conversations
Going through an filling complicated documents and forms is a major hurdle for our users .Our app breaks them down into a manageable easy to understand Q&A format
Personalized benefits
Receive tailored recommendations based on your profile, and easily check your eligibility for new schemes before you begin your application.
Connectivity anytime, anywhere
A fully voice-based interface is available over calls without requiring network connectivity, specifically designed for the large portion of users who are unfamiliar with smartphones.
In app accessibility features
Heavy use of images and videos, read aloud, native language based etc
Never Miss a Dealine Again
Integrating directly with government platforms to got proactive information in case of any updates or outliers in the benefits process- from application to availing claims- and guides what are the next steps to be taken.
DISCOVER
The struggle for stability
Farmers in the Northeast of India face challenges unique to their geography. The abundant resources, gamut of crop production possibilities, and rich biodiversity remain an unexploited storehouse of natural resources.
Erratic rainfall patterns
The region has low proportion of irrigated area and investment in building irrigation capacity has been insufficient and ineffective.
Fragmented landholdings
Fragmented land holdings by small and marginal farmers which dominate the landholdings pattern in the North-East region is uneconomical.
Primitive farming systems
Limited adoption of technology and scientific practices, poor investment capacity, and a general lack of awareness about improved cultivation methods
One major challenge is Low access to public support programs.
With 85% of farmers in Assam being small or marginal landholders, the government has established multiple schemes to supplement income, insure crops, and boost agricultural investment.
Horticulture issue and challenges in North East India
Agricultural Development in North-East India: Problems, Prospects and Challenges
But the main question is
Are they truly getting what they need to develop?
PROBLEM SPACE
Long story short... Not always
1
82% Marginal farmers are aware of flagship schemes, but most face structural and bureaucratic barriers and cannot effectively claim benefits
2
68.29% Marginal farmers are engaged in nonfarm activities to supplement their income from crop cultivation.
3
20,000–₹25,000 the amount missed out by farmers yearly
4
39% of marginal farmers have outstanding debt, with average debt amount standing at Rs. 26,883.
ANNUAL SURVEY OF STATE OF MARGINAL FARMERS IN INDIA
India’s small and marginal farmer: Where they live and What they produce
Beyond the numbers
To get a deeper, firsthand perspective, We spoke directly with farmers and their household members through semi-formal interviews and surveys, aiming to understand their experiences and challenges beyond the statistics.
We dentified Three major problems
CAUSE
EFFECT
Do not know what programs they are eligible for
Missed opportunity
Lack of awareness - Farmers do not know what support programs are available and how what they are eligible for
Overly reliant on authority to acccess schemes
Short-changed
Unreachable- Poor organization and lack of initiative, misuse of power by authorities. Schemes do not reach the grassroots level.
Have to file multiple forms and documents
Time and energy intensive
Complex- There are a lot of forms and documents to be juggled between multiple portals for applications. And in addition the renewals and follow-ups which can be overwhelming
HYPOTHESIS
Having an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system would make the system directly accessible for more farmers with limited network reachability and literacy
Personalized recommendations according to the users eligibility would increase the farmers awareness and utilization of the benefits
Automating parts of application process with the aid of AI will reduce time and effort of claim and management
CORE PRINCIPAL
Accesibility
Both in the terms of reachability (technological constrains, location)and usability (low literacy, digital divide)
Since we are introducing a complex topic to a user base that are generally not that accustomed to digital technology, we tried making the interface intuitive.
It was our goal to not have the users ‘learn’ any new skills just to use this.
To enable intuitive use, we structured the product in a way that reduced cognitive load and tech dependency
01.
Make them understand
Awareness and onboarding
How can we transition users into this digital system
Minimum features
Is the feature absolutely necessary to achieve the goal?
Hick’s Law
Reduce descision fatigue by having a clear and singular focus
Feedback loop
Are the result of a person's actions communicate to them?
02.
Make it easy for them to do it
Personalize
Is the experience personalized to the user
Voice and tone
How can we use language to elevate people's psych just enough to help them take action
Familiar nomenclature
Are the labels and jargon familiar and easy to understand?
03.
Make them want to do it
Explain why
Have we communicated to he user why they need to complete the task?
Provide value
How can we use language to elevate people's psych just enough to help them take action
Social proof
capitalize on the shortcut our brain uses to determine how to act by relying on the behaviors of others
04.
Make sure they don’t miss out on anything
Zeigarnik Effect
People remember uncompleted tasks better than completed tasks. How can we bring it to focus?
Actionable alerts
Is there a clear way forward to be taken for each notification?
CORE PRINCIPAL
Accesibility
Both in the terms of reachability (technological constrains, location)and usability (low literacy, digital divide)
Since we are introducing a complex topic to a user base that are generally not that accustomed to digital technology, we tried making the interface intuitive.
It was our goal to not have the users ‘learn’ any new skills just to use this.
To enable intuitive use, we structured the product in a way that reduced cognitive load and tech dependency
01.
Make them understand
Awareness and onboarding
How can we transition users into this digital system
Minimum features
Is the feature absolutely necessary to achieve the goal?
Hick’s Law
Reduce descision fatigue by having a clear and singular focus
Feedback loop
Are the result of a person's actions communicate to them?
02.
Make it easy for them to do it
Personalize
Is the experience personalized to the user
Voice and tone
How can we use language to elevate people's psych just enough to help them take action
Familiar nomenclature
Are the labels and jargon familiar and easy to understand?
03.
Make them want to do it
Explain why
Have we communicated to he user why they need to complete the task?
Provide value
How can we use language to elevate people's psych just enough to help them take action
Social proof
capitalize on the shortcut our brain uses to determine how to act by relying on the behaviors of others
04.
Make sure they don’t miss out on anything
Zeigarnik Effect
People remember uncompleted tasks better than completed tasks. How can we bring it to focus?
Actionable alerts
Is there a clear way forward to be taken for each notification?
EXPLORATION
Reaching our audience
How to we get our farmers onboard?
To understand the current structure and see how our app can be integrated into it, we created a
touchpoint ecosystem map from when a farmer receives a new info to it’s follow-up and implementation
farmer
CSC
mobile phone
messages
kiosk
hoardings
word of mouth
posters and flyers
govt website
news channels
presentation in meetings
Family
Banks
panchayat
local community
govt departments
NGO/ cooperatives
sarpanch
smart phone
progress updates
gen awareness
queries
eligibility
interface
stakeholder
type of information
Insights
Real-life success stories told by people in the local community are significantly more persuasive than generic advertisements or official endorsements
Ongoing demonstrations and regular in-person support (from extension workers, NGOs, village meetings) help sustain interest and build users’ confidence over time
Recommended Community Engagement Strategies
Self-service kiosks at CSC and panchayat offices: Digital help points where farmers can access services and get in-person support.
Train local youth as app demo volunteers: They build trust by showcasing the app at village events and market days, boosting word-of-mouth adoption.
Temptation Bundling
One way we can use the insights to pique interest while onboarding is to pair unattractive action(should do) to attractive rewards (want to do)
One way to achieve it is to tie up the onboarding of the application (should do) to the reward of PM KISAN scheme which assures 6k per annum for all farmers
CONTENTS
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