Cabinet Clears ‘Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana’ to Boost Agriculture in 100 Districts
New Delhi, July 17: In a major move to revitalize India’s agricultural landscape, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana, a six-year initiative aimed at transforming agriculture and allied sectors across 100 districts in the country.
According to a statement released by the Cabinet, the new scheme modeled on the lines of NITI Aayog’s Aspirational District Programme will commence from the financial year 2025-26 and is the first central initiative exclusively targeting agricultural development at the district level.
The Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana focuses on five key objectives: enhancing agricultural productivity, promoting crop diversification and sustainable farming, boosting post-harvest storage at the panchayat and block levels, improving irrigation infrastructure, and ensuring better access to both long-term and short-term credit.
The programme will be driven through the convergence of 36 existing schemes across 11 central departments, along with support from relevant state-level schemes and collaborations with the private sector, the government noted.
Selection of the 100 districts will be based on three critical indicators—low agricultural productivity, low cropping intensity, and inadequate credit disbursement. The number of districts per state or union territory will be determined by their share of net cropped area and operational holdings, with a minimum of one district selected from each state.
To ensure comprehensive execution and monitoring, the scheme envisages the creation of committees at the district, state, and national levels. A dedicated District Dhan-Dhaanya Samiti—which will include progressive farmers—will be responsible for drafting the District Agriculture and Allied Activities Plan. These plans will align with national goals such as crop diversification, water and soil conservation, organic farming expansion, and self-sufficiency in agriculture.
The progress of each Dhan-Dhaanya district will be evaluated against 117 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) through a dedicated digital dashboard, reviewed monthly. Additionally, NITI Aayog will play a guiding role by reviewing district-level plans, and Central Nodal Officers will be appointed for continuous assessment.
The government stated that as performance improves across the selected districts, national agricultural indicators will also show significant improvement. “The scheme will result in higher productivity, value addition, local livelihood generation, and increased domestic output—paving the way for an Atmanirbhar Bharat,” the Cabinet release noted.
