National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS&LUP) has developed India’s first Soil Texture Map

National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS&LUP) has developed India’s first Soil Texture Map

¨     National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS&LUP) has developed India’s first Soil Texture Map.

¨     NBSS&LUP is headquartered in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

¨     It functions under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

¨     The Soil Texture Map was released on 16 July 2026.

¨     The map provides digitised soil classification data at the hectare level across India.

¨     Soil texture refers to the relative proportion of sand, silt and clay in soil.

¨     Soil texture is an important physical property of soil.

¨     It is used in soil classification, land-use planning, irrigation design and crop suitability assessment.

¨     NBSS&LUP prepared the map using field studies, remote sensing, satellite imagery and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

¨     These technologies combine ground observations with geospatial analysis and digital classification.

¨     The map will help farmers identify suitable crops for specific plots of land.

¨     It also provides village-level data for agricultural planning.

¨     The map can support crop suitability mapping and government resource allocation.

¨     NBSS&LUP was given official status in 1976.

¨     In 2026, NBSS&LUP completed 50 years of its official status.

¨     India’s first Soil Depth Map was developed and released one year before the Soil Texture Map.