Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, announced on Wednesday that the Union Cabinet has approved the ‘Pradhan Mantri Dhan-Dhanya Krishi Yojana’. The scheme will focus on districts with low agricultural productivity or where the usage of Agricultural Credit Cards (ACC) among farmers is significantly low.
The Minister highlighted that over the years, foodgrain production in India has increased by more than 40%, with record growth also seen in the production of fruits, vegetables, and milk. However, stark disparities in productivity levels continue to persist — not only between states but also among districts within the same state. To address this, the government has identified 100 districts, including at least one from each state, for targeted implementation of the scheme.
The initiative aims to bring together schemes from 11 central ministries and state governments under one umbrella to ensure efficient convergence and ground-level execution. A nodal officer will be appointed for each selected district by the end of July, followed by training and awareness campaigns starting in August.
Shri Chouhan informed that NITI Aayog will track the district-wise progress using well-defined indicators and will develop a dedicated dashboard to monitor outcomes. The campaign will officially begin in October, coinciding with the Rabi cropping season.
A district-level committee, headed by the District Collector or Gram Panchayat, will be constituted to oversee implementation. These committees will include representatives from relevant departments, progressive farmers, and subject matter experts. At the state and central levels, two more layers of committees will be formed — one under Union Ministers and another under Department Secretaries.
Emphasizing the comprehensive nature of the scheme, Shri Chouhan stated that the goal is not merely to raise productivity to national averages, but to elevate low-performing districts to the top-performing category. Alongside traditional farming, the scheme will also promote fruit cultivation, animal husbandry, beekeeping, fisheries, and agroforestry to ensure holistic rural development.
