Agricultural Schemes and Programmes for Farmers

The agricultural sector in India is supported by a set of central schemes that aim to ensure income stability, price support, crop insurance, digital access, and region-specific development for farmers. These programmes are mainly implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, with periodic budget updates and policy refinements.

Institutional Framework and Budgetary Allocations

• Ministry leadership: Shivraj Singh Chouhan serves as the Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development.
• Overall allocation: In the 2026–27 Union Budget, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare was allocated ₹1,40,529 crore.
• Year-on-year rise: This marked a 5.4% increase over the 2025–26 revised estimates of ₹1,33,370 crore.
• Department-wise breakup: The Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare received ₹1,30,561 crore, while the Department of Agricultural Research and Education was allocated ₹9,967 crore.

Income Support through PM-KISAN

• Scheme nature: Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) is a Central Sector Scheme that provides direct income support of ₹6,000 per year to eligible landholding farmer families.
• Payment structure: The amount is transferred in three equal instalments of ₹2,000 every four months directly into beneficiaries’ bank accounts.
• Long-term extension: The Union Cabinet approved a ₹3.15 lakh crore financial outlay to extend the scheme from 2026–27 to 2030–31.
• Recent disbursal: On June 20, 2026, over ₹18,880 crore was transferred to more than 9.44 crore eligible farmers as the 23rd instalment.

Targeted Regional Development via PM-DDKY

• Full form: PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PM-DDKY).
• Coverage: It is a six-year convergence scheme from 2025–26 to 2030–31.
• Focus area: The scheme targets integrated agricultural development in 100 low-performing districts.
• Financial design: It operates with an annual budget of ₹24,000 crore.
• Convergence model: PM-DDKY does not have a separate standalone budget line; it coordinates 36 existing Central schemes across 11 Departments.
• Expected reach: The convergence framework is meant to benefit about 1.7 crore farmers.
• Monitoring: The average monitoring score of the 100 districts rose to 38.85 in July 2026 from a baseline of 22.54 in April 2026.

Price Support and Crop Insurance Framework

• PM-AASHA: The Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan integrates the Price Support Scheme (PSS), Price Stabilization Fund (PSF), Price Deficit Payment Scheme (PDPS), and Market Intervention Scheme (MIS).
• Budget support: PM-AASHA was allocated ₹7,200 crore in the 2026–27 Union Budget.
• Pulse procurement: The scheme allows 100% procurement of Tur, Urad, and Masur pulses at Minimum Support Prices from pre-registered farmers.
• Objective: The arrangement is meant to prevent distress sales and strengthen price security for growers.
• Crop insurance schemes: Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and the Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) were allocated ₹12,200 crore for 2026–27.
• Premium caps: Farmer premium rates are capped at 2% for Kharif crops, 1.5% for Rabi crops, and 5% for commercial or horticultural crops.
• Cost sharing: The remaining premium is shared by the Centre and the States.

Digital Agriculture and Environmental Initiatives

• Bharat-VISTAAR: Phase-1 of Bharat-VISTAAR (Virtually Integrated System to Access Agricultural Resources) was launched on February 17, 2026.
• Allocation: The platform received ₹150 crore in the 2026–27 Union Budget.
• Function: It is an AI-powered, multilingual, voice-first Digital Public Infrastructure platform.
• Services: The platform provides location-specific agricultural advisories, weather updates, and market intelligence to farmers.
• PM-PRANAM: The PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth was approved in June 2023.
• Purpose: It incentivises States to reduce chemical fertiliser use and adopt alternative nutrients.
• Status: No incentive grants had been disbursed to any State under PM-PRANAM as of February 2026 due to operational delays in compliance and savings verification.

Key Prelims Takeaways

• PM-KISAN: Provides ₹6,000 annually in three DBT instalments of ₹2,000 each.
• PM-KISAN extension: A ₹3.15 lakh crore outlay was approved for 2026–27 to 2030–31.
• PM-DDKY: A six-year convergence scheme covering 100 low-performing districts and 36 Central schemes.
• PM-DDKY budget: The annual allocation is ₹24,000 crore.
• PM-AASHA: Combines PSS, PSF, PDPS, and MIS for price stabilisation.
• Pulse procurement: 100% MSP procurement applies to Tur, Urad, and Masur for pre-registered farmers.
• Crop insurance: PMFBY and RWBCIS received ₹12,200 crore, with premium caps of 2%, 1.5%, and 5% for Kharif, Rabi, and commercial/horticultural crops.