Water for Every Field, Relief for Every Farmer – PM Irrigation Mission Gains Momentum

Launched in 2015-16, the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) aims to enhance water availability at the farm level, expand the area under irrigation, improve on-farm water use efficiency, and promote sustainable water conservation practices.

A Comprehensive Umbrella Scheme:

PMKSY operates as an umbrella scheme comprising two major components:

1. Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP)
2. Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP)

The HKKP component includes four key sub-components:

• Command Area Development and Water Management (CAD&WM)
• Surface Micro Irrigation (SMI)
• Repair, Renovation, and Restoration of Water Bodies (RRR)
• Ground Water Development (GW)

The CAD&WM component is being implemented in parallel with AIBP.

Current Implementation Status:

The Government of India has approved the continuation of PMKSY for the period 2021–22 to 2025–26. The Ground Water sub-component under HKKP, initially approved only for liabilities up to 2021–22, has now been extended until ongoing projects are fully completed.

Components Implemented by Other Ministries:

Two components of PMKSY are implemented by other central ministries:

• Watershed Development Component (WDC) – Managed by the Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development.
• Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) – Initially part of PMKSY under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare until 2021, this has now been subsumed under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY).

Progress in Land Use and Water Efficiency:

Land acquisition has historically posed a significant challenge for irrigation project implementation. Under PMKSY, approximately 55,290 km of underground pipeline distribution networks have been constructed, helping to avoid the acquisition of 76,594 hectares of land.
In several projects, SCADA-based water distribution systems and micro-irrigation technologies have led to significant improvements in water use efficiency.

Monitoring and Transparency: The physical and financial progress of PMKSY projects is being closely monitored through a dedicated dashboard and Management Information System (MIS), allowing near real-time tracking of performance and bottlenecks. Project-related issues such as land acquisition delays and statutory clearances are actively monitored and resolved via the Project Monitoring Group (PMG) portal, helping ensure timely completion of projects.