The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana, a landmark initiative aimed at accelerating development in agriculture and allied sectors across 100 districts in India. The scheme will be implemented over a six-year period beginning 2025–26 and is the first of its kind to focus exclusively on agriculture and allied activities, drawing strategic inspiration from NITI Aayog’s Aspirational District Programme.
The scheme is designed to enhance agricultural productivity, promote crop diversification and sustainable farming practices, strengthen post-harvest storage infrastructure at the panchayat and block levels, improve irrigation facilities and facilitate access to both long-term and short-term agricultural credit. It was announced in the Union Budget for 2025–26 and will be executed through convergence of 36 existing schemes across 11 central departments, supplemented by state-level schemes and private sector partnerships.
Districts will be selected based on three core indicators: low agricultural productivity, low cropping intensity and limited credit disbursement. The number of districts chosen from each state or union territory will be proportionate to their share of Net Cropped Area and operational holdings, with a minimum of one district selected from every state.
To ensure effective planning and implementation, committees will be constituted at the district, state and national levels. Each district will prepare a District Agriculture and Allied Activities Plan under the guidance of the District Dhan Dhaanya Samiti, which will include progressive farmers as members. These plans will align with national objectives such as crop diversification, water and soil conservation, self-sufficiency in agriculture and allied sectors, and expansion of natural and organic farming.
The scheme’s progress will be tracked monthly using a dashboard that monitors 117 key performance indicators. NITI Aayog will review and guide district plans, while Central Nodal Officers appointed for each district will conduct regular evaluations.
As targeted outcomes improve in these 100 districts, national averages across key agricultural indicators are expected to rise. The scheme is projected to deliver higher productivity, increased value addition in agriculture and allied sectors, local livelihood generation and enhanced domestic production, thereby contributing to the goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat. The Cabinet’s approval marks a decisive step toward inclusive and sustainable agricultural transformation.
