Discuss the need and importance of Soil Health Card. Evaluate the progress done by government in Soil Health Card scheme so far.

Hint: Soil deterioration due to mindless use of chemical fertilizers, unwise distortion of NPK ratio due to many reasons including subsidy regime; low use of organic matter and non-replacement of depleted micro and secondary nutrients in the soil and consequent nutrient deficiencies and decrease in soil fertility necessitate the soil health card.
The scheme was launched by UPA and was given a major boost by NDA Government. Some 14 crore Soil Health Cards are envisaged to be issued over the next 3 years. The card will furnish comprehensive information about type of soil, nutrient content, fertilizer required, crop suitability to ambient temperature and rainfall condition.

Topics: GS-III: E-Technology in the Aid of Farmers