Pradhan Mantri Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana

✦Key Features

• 100 districts selected by 3 criteria: low productivity + low cropping intensity + low credit disbursement
• At least 1 district per state; direct inspiration from NITI Aayog Aspirational Districts Programme
• Convergence: 36 existing schemes across 11 departments + state schemes + private sector
• Duration: 6 years (2025-26 onwards); no separate budget — uses existing scheme allocations
• 1.7 crore farmers targeted; district-level implementation and monitoring committees
• Focus: productivity, crop diversification, post-harvest storage, irrigation, credit
• First programme exclusively targeting agricultural performance of laggard districts

✓Eligibility Criteria

• Small and marginal farmers holding cultivable land in any State or Union Territory.
• Farmers registered on the unified state agriculture portals or the PM-Kisan database.
• Agricultural households aiming to adopt crop diversification or sustainable farming practices.
• Farmers who are not excluded by high-income criteria such as being professional practitioners or institutional landholders.

★Benefits

• Financial assistance for the procurement of high-quality certified seeds and bio-fertilizers.
• Access to modern agricultural machinery and equipment through customized hiring centers.
• Provision of technical training and capacity building for integrated nutrient management.
• Incentives for diversifying from cereal crops to high-value nutritional crops like pulses and oilseeds.

▶Application Process

• Eligible farmers register through the official scheme portal or via the local agriculture department office.
• Land ownership details are verified through the digital land records (Bhulekh) of the respective state.
• The application is vetted by the Village Level or Block Level Agriculture Extension Officer.
• Sanctioned financial assistance is transferred via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to the farmer's bank account.

₹ Budget Allocation

2816

Funding Ratio (Centre:State): Central Sector Scheme (with state implementation partnerships)

Historical Context

Announced in Budget 2025-26 and approved by the Cabinet on July 16, 2025, to address productivity gaps in 100 lagging districts over 6 years.

Sub-Schemes

Challenges

• Inter-departmental coordination at the district level.
• Potential for political bias in district selection.
• High cost of customized technology transfer for underperforming regions.

Reforms & Recommendations

• Implementing a 'District Agriculture Index' to measure annual progress.
• Mandatory involvement of local Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) in district planning.

Performance Statistics

SDG Linkages

Constitutional Backing

Technology Used

Success Stories

Key Takeaways

• Focus on 100 most underperforming agricultural districts.
• 6-year implementation cycle.
• Holistic convergence of inputs, credit, and market access.
• Emphasis on climate-resilient and nutrition-rich crops.

Convergence Schemes

• PM-KISAN
• Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)
• PM-KUSUM
• National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture

Sector Tags