This startup's electric farm machine can help ease India’s labour shortage

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This startup's electric farm machine can help ease India’s labour shortage, according to YourStory. Mumbai startup Balisto Agritech’s battery-powered Balisto 130 Pro handles weeding, rotavating, and more, with an autonomous version in development. Farm work is labour-intensive, and fewer young people want to do it.

On small plots, farmers often need different machines for different jobs. Mumbai-based Balisto Agritech, founded in 2024, is addressing this with the Balisto 130 Pro, an electric, multi-purpose farm machine.

Designed to work across the crop cycle, it reduces the need for farmers to rely on a combination of labour, bullocks, and multiple diesel-powered machines. The startup was founded by IIT Bombay alumni Aishwarya Ramakrishnan and Kedar Gokhale, who later worked together at Boston Consulting Group.