Oilseeds Kisan Mitra is India's first nationwide WhatsApp-based AI advisory chatbot for oilseed farmers, developed by ICAR-Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research (ICAR-IIOR), Hyderabad. It was launched on 6 February 2026 at the National Oilseeds Conference in New Delhi by the DARE Secretary and Director General of ICAR. The service provides free, research-based and multilingual advice in all Indian languages, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, directly on farmers' mobile phones. Farmers do not need to download any separate application; they simply save the number +91 4024598180 as 'Oilseeds Kisan Mitra' on WhatsApp and ask questions in any Indian language. The AI-powered chatbot gives instant, research-based answers on groundnut, mustard, sesame, sunflower, soybean, niger and other oilseed crops, covering variety selection, crop management, pest and disease control, irrigation, post-harvest practices and seed availability. The knowledge base combines scientific information from ICAR-IIOR, ICAR-National Soybean Research Institute (Indore), ICAR-Indian Institute of Groundnut Research (Junagadh), ICAR-Indian Institute of Rapeseed and Mustard Research (Bharatpur, Rajasthan) and the PC-Unit (sesame and niger). The Bharatpur institute gives the initiative a strong Rajasthan link, as the state is central to mustard research. ICAR-IIOR Director Dr R.K. Mathur said it is ICAR's first oilseed research effort delivered to every farmer in their own language on a platform they already use, removing barriers of distance, language and cost between the laboratory and the field. The initiative supports India's push to raise domestic oilseed output and cut edible oil import dependence during the kharif sowing season.