{
  "id": 14140344,
  "title": "This startup's electric farm machine can help ease India’s labour shortage",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/this-startups-electric-farm-machine-can-help-ease-indias-labour",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-13T06:35:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "YourStory",
    "slug": "yourstory",
    "url": "https://yourstory.com/2026/10/tech30-balisto-electric-farm-machine-labour-shortage"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Farm work in India is demanding, and a labor shortage is causing problems for farmers. The startup Balisto Agritech, founded in 2024 by IIT Bombay alumni Aishwarya Ramakrishnan and Kedar Gokhale, is working to solve this issue with their electric, multi-purpose farm machine, the Balisto 130 Pro. Designed to work across the entire crop cycle, the machine aims to reduce the need for farmers to rely on a mix of labor, bullocks, and multiple diesel-powered machines. Ramakrishnan, who also has an MBA from Harvard Business School, previously worked at Mahindra Group while Gokhale ran his own agritech startup before becoming vice president of operations at Swiggy. The machine runs on detachable batteries and can be operated through an electric dashboard or remotely. It features three motors for each wheel and a back rotary unit, along with a smart machine control unit that manages battery and motor functions. The machine can be used for various tasks such as earthing up, weeding, intercultivation, rotavating, and trolley operations. Balisto has sold over 30 machines since June 2025, saving estimated 3,300 liters of diesel. The current version is government-certified and eligible for subsidies. Balisto is in the final stages of developing an autonomous version of the machine and aims to sell 200 machines by March 2027.",
  "summary": "Mumbai startup Balisto Agritech’s battery-powered Balisto 130 Pro handles weeding, rotavating, and more, with an autonomous version in development.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}