Cabinet approves the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana.

This scheme is a six-year initiative, starting from 2025-26, and is designed to accelerate agricultural and allied sector development in 100 districts. Inspired by NITI Aayog’s Aspirational District Programme, it is the first program to specifically target these sectors.

Key objectives of the scheme include:

• Enhancing agricultural productivity.
• Promoting crop diversification and sustainable practices.
• Improving local post-harvest storage.
• Upgrading irrigation facilities.
• Ensuring the availability of both long-term and short-term credit.

The scheme will be implemented by converging 36 existing schemes from 11 departments, along with various state schemes and local private sector partnerships.

The 100 districts will be selected based on indicators such as low productivity, low cropping intensity, and less credit disbursement, with at least one district from each state/union territory.

For effective planning, implementation, and monitoring, committees will be formed at the District, State, and National levels. District Agriculture and Allied Activities Plans, finalized by the District Dhan Dhaanya Samiti (which includes progressive farmers), will focus on national goals like crop diversification, water and soil health conservation, agricultural self-sufficiency, and the expansion of natural and organic farming. Progress will be monitored monthly using 117 key performance indicators.

The expected outcomes include increased productivity, value addition in the agricultural sector, local livelihood creation, increased domestic production, and contributing to India’s self-reliance (Atmanirbhar Bharat).