India, Aug. 9 -- Two friends, Sachin Patil and Nishant Burnase, who hail from farming families in Vidarbha and share similar backgrounds, have a story rooted in the agricultural heartland of Maharashtra. They both lived and experienced the problems that almost all farmers in India do.

Says Burnase, who did biotechnology from Nagpur University, "Farmers lack agricultural data. They do not have a clear picture of what they are spending on, where they should tighten the purse, and where they should spend more. They buy seeds, plough the land, hire labour and go through the routine without much data that could help them immensely."

"They do keep diaries, but that's a rather crude way to know how much you are spending. At times, if they have...