Dr. Parveen Kumar
Every year the government comes up with a Budget; a written plan that comes with hopes and aspirations for different sections of the society. It comes up with a blueprint for strengthening economy. It reflects hopes and aspirations wherein national goals, social needs and our vision gets translated into financial allocations with the ultimate aim of empowering all sections of society. An important section of our society is the farming community which is engaged in agriculture sector that is backbone of our economy. This sector has a share of 17-18% in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is a source of livelihood for about 50% of the population residing mostly in rural areas. Around 55-65% of India’s workforce is engaged in agriculture and various allied activities related to agriculture. According to a report of National Statistical Office NSO entitled Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households 2018-19, the country has 93.09 million agricultural households. Some projections also suggest closer to 40 million full time farmers by 2025. Almost every budget emphasizes agriculture as the foremost engine of India’s Development. The allocation to the agriculture sector matters a lot for the farming community of the country. Every year besides the financial allocation, the government also comes up with various new programmes and policies for strengthening the sector.
Agriculture has been receiving a renewed thrust for last decade as is evident from the various government legislations, policies and programmes. The Doubling Farmers’ Income programme aimed at doubling the income of farmers’ by 2022 was a flagship initiative of the government in a mission mode. Similarly PMKISAN programme aims at financial support of rupees 6,000 for the farming community thrice in a year in installments of 2,000 each. PM Kisan Sinchai Yojana, e-NAM, Soil Health Cards (SHCs), National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF), PM Matsaya Sampada Yojana, Agricultural Infrastructure Fund, PM Fasal Bima Yojana, Kisan Credit Card (KCC) are some of the many schemes of the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare for the welfare of farming community.
PRIMEMINISTER DHAN-DHAANYA KRISHI YOJANA (PMDDKY): Despite an abundance of farm related schemes and when benefits of these schemes have already percolated down to the grassroots level; agricultural development across different regions in the country has been uneven. Certain regions in the country have lacked behind in different agricultural growth parameters as compared to other. Many districts, particularly in Uttar Pradesh (Purvanchal, Bundelkhand), Bihar (Seemanchal) and Madhya Pradesh (tribal areas) produce lower yields due to degraded soil, outdated farming methods or lack of desired irrigation infrastructure. For instance, average rice yield in certain districts falling under Seemanchal region of Bihar is 1. 8 tonnes / hectare compared to the national 2.7 tonnes. Union Finance Minister Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman in her 2025-26 budget announced a comprehensive development programme for 100 districts of the country which are underperforming in terms of parameters like crop yields, cropping intensity and credit penetration. The new scheme called as Pradhan Mantri Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PMDDKY) was announced on February 1, 2025, during the Union Budget 2025-26 by Finance Minister and approved by the Union Cabinet on July 16, 2025, PMDDKY targets 100 underperforming districts where farming faces challenges like low crop yields, water scarcity, and limited access to resources. PMDDKY has an annual budget of ₹24,000 crore for six years (2025-26 to 2030-31), totaling ₹1.44 lakh crore and it aims to support 1.7 crore farmers, particularly small and marginal farmers owning less than 2 hectares of land, who constitute 86% of India’s farming population
The Yojana has consolidated 36 existing agricultural schemes across 11 ministries, including PM-KISAN, PMFBY, PMKSY, and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), into a unified program to streamline efforts and maximize impact. The Yojana owes its origin from the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) of NITI Aayog which transformed 112 underdeveloped districts in health, education, and infrastructure, PMDDKY focuses on regions with low crop yields, cropping intensity below 155% and limited access to credit. By providing irrigation, storage, loans, training, and modern technology support, PMDDKY seeks to boost farmer incomes, ensure food security and advance Atmanirbhar Bharat i. e self-reliant India. The scheme operates under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, with oversight from a National Steering Committee, state-level nodal committees, and District Dhan Dhaanya Samitis led by District Collectors. These bodies ensure tailored implementation based on local needs, monitored through a digital dashboard tracking 117 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) like crop yields, loan disbursals, and storage usage. PMDDKY is ready to launch in October 2025 for the Rabi season, with applications opening in September 2025.
PMDDKY aims to address these challenges by providing high quality inputs and affordable tools, creating modern irrigation infrastructure, strengthening post harvest infrastructure to reduce food losses, ensure easy and timely availability of credit to farming community, promotion of sustainable agricultural practices, diversification through Integrated Farming System (IFS) approach and support to youth for entrepreneurship in agriculture and allied sectors. The ultimate aim is to increase crop yields by 20-30%, through high-quality inputs and technology, reduce dependence on monsoons with advanced irrigation systems like drip and sprinkler, increase mechanization, cut post-harvest losses to under 5%, offer direct market access to double farmer incomes by 2030 and promotion of sustainable practices. Under PMKDDY, there is provision of village and block-level warehouses and cold storages to prevent spoilage of of perishables like fruits, vegetables and dairy products. Financial support in the form of subsidies (50-80% off inputs) and loans (short-term: ₹50,000–₹1 lakh; long-term: ₹1–10 lakh) through Kisan Credit Cards or NABARD, market access through digital platforms like e-NAM and new PMDDKY apps to connect farmers directly to buyers and reducing middlemen, support for 10,000 women producer groups with training, loans, and market linkages for activities like dairy or organic farming and global exposure with a fully funded international training for 500 farmers in countries like Israel (expertise in drip irrigation), Japan (precision farming), or the Netherlands (greenhouse technology).
By addressing these challenges, PMDDKY will lead to increase in profits of the farming community by 30-40%, strengthen rural economies, reduce poverty and make farming a viable and attractive profession. KVKs and SAUs will again play a leading role in the implementation of this programme.
JK UT UNDER PMDDKY: Of the different states and UTs, Uttarpradesh leads with 12 districts, Maharashtra (09) Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan (08 each), Bihar (07), Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Tamilnadu, Telangana and West Bengal (04 each), Assam Chattisgarh and Kerala (03 each), J&K, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand (02 each) and 01 district each in other states. From the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, District Baramulla and Kishtwar have been included in the list of 100 aspirational agriculture districts under the Yojana. The department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare in the districts have already been told by the respective district collector to submit plans by including interventions and innovations in agriculture and allied sectors related to climate resilience, area expansion under different crops, cultivation of niche crops, natural resources management, processing and value addition, marketing, mobilization of farming communities especially farm women and youth through SHGs, FPOs and towards entrepreneurship. These should bring tangible benefits for the farming community. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has described it as a cornerstone for creating a ‘poverty-free India’ by empowering rural communities through sustainable agriculture.
The author writes on agriculture and social issues; can be reached at [email protected]
