📌 By Economy India News | 16 July 2025
In a landmark move to transform India’s agriculture landscape, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the ‘Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana’—a six-year-long mission starting from FY 2025-26, aimed at improving productivity, sustainability, and self-reliance in 100 backward agricultural districts.
This initiative, inspired by NITI Aayog’s Aspirational District Programme, is the first-of-its-kind scheme exclusively focusing on agriculture and allied sectors.
🎯 Key Objectives of the Scheme:
- Enhance agricultural productivity and crop diversification
- Promote sustainable and climate-resilient farming practices
- Strengthen post-harvest infrastructure at the Panchayat and Block levels
- Improve irrigation facilities and water-use efficiency
- Facilitate access to long- and short-term agricultural credit
🔍 District Selection Criteria:
The 100 districts will be identified using three critical indicators:
- Low agricultural productivity
- Low cropping intensity
- Limited agricultural credit disbursement
Each state/UT will have a minimum of one district included, with the final number based on the state’s net cropped area and number of operational land holdings.
🔗 Converging 36 Schemes Across 11 Departments:
The scheme will be implemented through convergence of 36 existing schemes (like PM-KISAN, PMFBY, PMKSY, etc.) from 11 Central Ministries, in collaboration with state government schemes and private sector partnerships.
🏛️ Multi-Level Planning and Monitoring Structure:
To ensure effective execution:
- Committees will be established at district, state, and national levels
- Each district will prepare a District Agriculture and Allied Activities Plan, approved by the District Dhan-Dhaanya Samiti, which will include progressive farmers as members
- Plans will align with national goals of crop diversification, water and soil conservation, and promotion of natural and organic farming
📊 Real-Time Performance Monitoring:
Progress in each district will be tracked monthly through 117 key performance indicators (KPIs) using a centralized digital dashboard.
NITI Aayog will monitor progress and guide course correction.
Additionally, Central Nodal Officers will conduct on-ground reviews for each of the 100 districts.
🛠️ Transformative Impact Expected:
As the performance of these districts improves, the scheme is expected to:
- Raise the national average across key agri-performance metrics
- Drive value addition in the agri and allied sectors
- Promote local employment and livelihood generation
- Strengthen the goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India)
“This is a visionary and holistic reform in India’s agri-governance. With a focused and data-driven approach, it promises to uplift the most underperforming districts and contribute to the country’s agricultural resilience,” said a senior government official.
(Economy India)
