Arya.ag, one of India’s largest agricultural warehousing companies, has deployed a dedicated blockchain network to record information linked to about $2 billion worth of crops stored across its facilities. The initiative is aimed at giving lenders a shared and more reliable way to verify agricultural commodities used as collateral for loans.
The network, built using Avalanche technology, records grain deposits, electronic warehouse receipts and loan-related information. It was announced at the Global Fintech Festival in Mumbai by Nandan Nilekani, the Infosys co-founder who also played a leading role in India’s Aadhaar identity program.
The blockchain is designed to allow participating lenders to verify whether pledged crops exist, whether they have already been used as collateral, and how much debt remains outstanding, addressing a key information gap in warehouse-backed farm lending.
The system targets a long-standing challenge in India’s agricultural finance sector. Farmers who store grain in regulated warehouses can receive electronic negotiable warehouse receipts, known as e-NWRs, which can then be used to secure financing while they wait for more favorable market prices.
However, information about stored commodities, existing claims, and outstanding loans can be spread across separate systems operated by warehouses and financial institutions. Arya.ag’s shared ledger is intended to consolidate those records, allowing participating lenders to check the status of collateral through a common system.
The blockchain does not replace the physical grain or transfer ownership of agricultural commodities. The grain remains in warehouses, while the legally recognized e-NWR continues to serve as the financing instrument.
Three banks expected to join network
The dedicated layer-1 blockchain operates separately from Avalanche’s main public networks and can use operating rules tailored to financial institutions, warehouse operators and regulated lending records.
Ava Labs’ India head Devika Mittal said the network is currently operated by Arya.ag and is expected to eventually accommodate other warehouse companies. She also indicated that banks beyond the initial participants could join the system.
Three major banks are joining the network, although their names have not been disclosed. The companies have also not provided details on the amount of collateral or lending activity already recorded on the blockchain.
Transaction volumes, network capacity, smart-contract addresses and blockchain explorer information have not been publicly released. Financial terms between Arya.ag and Ava Labs were also not disclosed.
Claims that blockchain deployment will result in faster approvals, lower operating costs or broader access to agricultural credit remain unproven. The companies have not published comparisons showing changes in processing times, expenses or loan approval rates.
Blockchain builds on Arya.ag lending operations
The scale of Arya.ag’s existing lending business provides context for the initiative. The company facilitates about $1.3 billion in agricultural loans annually, while its non-bank financial subsidiary, Arya Dhan, directly issues about $230 million.
The wider lending activity involves banks and other financial institutions that finance commodities stored in Arya.ag-managed facilities. Lenders assess factors including grain quantity, quality, market value, and whether the commodities have already been pledged.
Arya.ag also serves an estimated 850,000 to 900,000 farmers and operates or leases around 12,000 warehouses, according to figures associated with the announcement.
Earlier company disclosures cited different annual figures for grain and lending because they covered different measurement periods. Grain handled during a year can be higher than the value of crops held in warehouses at any particular point.
The company has previously used artificial intelligence for grain-quality assessments, satellite monitoring, and storage sensors. Those technologies have supported lending processes independently of the new blockchain infrastructure.
Finternet framework supports shared financial records
The initiative is also connected to the broader Finternet concept developed by Nilekani and Agustín Carstens, a former Bank for International Settlements general manager and former governor of the Bank of Mexico.
BREAKING: India is bringing agricultural credit to Avalanche, unlocking a new layer of access for millions of farmers
Together with @finternet_org, Arya․ag is bringing agricultural financing infrastructure onchain, alongside 4-5 major lenders including Singularity Credit and… pic.twitter.com/5sb10u49SK
— Avalanche🔺 (@avax) September 10, 2026
A 2024 BIS working paper described Finternet as a model in which interconnected financial ecosystems use common technical and institutional standards, including tokenization and shared ledgers. The framework emphasizes interoperability, verification, programmability, settlement finality, scalability, privacy, and governance.
For Arya.ag, the framework is intended to help establish how lenders and warehouse operators communicate and exchange information. It does not represent a new financial regulation or binding BIS operating standard.
Targeting India’s agricultural credit gap
The project comes as India continues to face challenges in providing farmers with affordable formal credit. Warehouse-backed financing is intended to allow farmers to borrow against stored crops rather than sell commodities immediately when prices are unfavorable.
By creating a shared record of warehouse deposits and financing claims, Arya.ag aims to reduce uncertainty for lenders while making agricultural collateral easier to verify across participating institutions.
The company has not announced a timetable for expanding the network to other warehouse operators. It also has not disclosed when the three participating banks will begin processing loans through the system or when transaction-level blockchain data will become publicly available.
The initial deployment therefore represents a technology and infrastructure test rather than evidence of measurable improvements in lending costs or approval times. Its longer-term significance will depend on adoption by banks and warehouses, the reliability of shared records, and whether the network can improve access to warehouse-backed financing at scale.
