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A PIB Backgrounder released on 19 August 2026 sets out the status of India's makhana (fox nut) sector, which is anchored by the National Makhana Board announced in the Union Budget 2025-26 and formally launched in Bihar on 15 September 2025.
A Central Sector Scheme for the Development of Makhana carries an outlay of Rs 476.03 crore for 2025-26 to 2030-31, with Rs 30 crore approved for 2025-26 and Rs 90 crore for 2026-27.
India's makhana output is placed at 63,910 MT in 2024-25 (final estimate) and 80,590 MT in 2025-26 (Second Advance Estimates); Bihar alone produced 60,000 MT in 2025-26.
Bihar accounts for nearly three-fourths of Indian production and about 80-85 per cent of global supply, concentrated in the Kosi basin districts of Supaul, Saharsa and Madhepura.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade created a separate HSN code for popped makhana in 2025; India exported 7,264.89 MT worth Rs 19,296.08 lakh in 2025-26.
Strengthen and modernise the makhana value chain from cultivation through processing to exports
Key: Announced in the Union Budget 2025-26 and formally launched in Bihar on 15 September 2025; headquartered at Purnea, Bihar
Promote research and innovation, improve quality seed availability, build farmer skills, upgrade harvesting and post-harvest practices, and support value addition, branding, marketing, exports and quality control
Key: Outlay Rs 476.03 crore for 2025-26 to 2030-31, with Rs 30 crore approved for 2025-26 and Rs 90 crore for 2026-27; being a Central Sector Scheme, it is funded fully by the Union Government
Protect the identity of makhana grown in the Mithila region and secure better price realisation for its growers
Key: Registered in 2022 under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999; Bihar's other GI products include Bhagalpur's Jardalu mango, Katarni rice, Magahi paan of Nawada and Muzaffarpur's Shahi litchi
Identify, brand and promote at least one product from every district and convert districts into export hubs
Key: An initiative (not a scheme) of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, merged with the Department of Commerce's Districts as Export Hubs initiative; 1,244 products have been identified across 773 districts, and products with export potential were identified from all 765 districts
Formalise and upgrade micro food processing units in the unorganised segment
Key: Launched in June 2020 under the Atmanirbhar Bharat package by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries; the makhana popping and value-addition segment is exactly the micro-enterprise base it targets
Apex body for developing the makhana value chain — cultivation, processing, branding and exports
Research and capacity building for the crop: high-yield makhana and thornless water chestnut varieties, water-efficient and integrated farming systems, makhana-cum-fish farming, and machinery such as the seed washer, seed grader, primary roasting machine, popping machine and popped makhana grader, licensed to manufacturers. It has distributed 15,824.1 kg of high-yielding seed, trained more than 3,000 farmers between 2012 and 2023 and given technical support to 24 enterprises
Publishes the official area and production estimates for horticultural crops, including the final and advance estimates for makhana quoted in the release
Export promotion body for agricultural and processed food products, including makhana market studies and buyer-seller linkages
Administers India's foreign trade policy; it introduced a separate HSN code for popped makhana and other makhana products in 2025, which is what made product-specific export data possible for the first time
HSN is the internationally standardised numbering system used to classify traded goods; customs duties, export incentives and trade statistics all hang off it. Before 2025, makhana had no code of its own and was bundled under general HSN headings, so India could not measure how much makhana it was actually exporting, to whom, or at what price. The DGFT's creation of a dedicated code for popped makhana in 2025 is what produced the 2025-26 figure of 7,264.89 MT and the country-wise price realisations. The policy lesson is that a commodity that cannot be measured cannot be targeted for export promotion.
Simple Analogy: It is the difference between a shop that rings up every purchase as 'grocery' and one that scans a barcode for each item — only the second can tell you what is actually selling and at what margin.
| Market | Share of India's makhana exports | Average unit realisation |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 40 per cent | USD 19.5 per kg |
| Canada | 20 per cent | USD 15.8 per kg |
| United Arab Emirates | 17 per cent | USD 13.3 per kg |
| United Kingdom | 10 per cent | USD 20 per kg |
| Germany | 1-5 per cent | USD 26.0 per kg |
| Nepal | 1-5 per cent | USD 21.6 per kg |
| Australia | 1-5 per cent | USD 21.0 per kg |
Cultivation is concentrated in north Bihar, above all in the Kosi basin districts of Supaul, Saharsa and Madhepura, and in the adjoining Mithila and Seemanchal regions. The Kosi is a Himalayan tributary of the Ganga notorious for shifting its course and leaving behind the shallow waterlogged depressions locally called chaurs — precisely the habitat the crop needs, which is why the region's flood geography and its dominant crop are the same story. West Bengal and Assam are the other producing states named in the release. Purnea, in the Seemanchal belt, hosts the National Makhana Board; Darbhanga, in Mithila, hosts the ICAR National Research Centre for Makhana.
Mithila Makhana's 2022 GI registration under the 1999 Act sits alongside Bihar's Jardalu mango, Katarni rice, Magahi paan and Shahi litchi — a standard list for questions on state-wise GI products
The crop's core districts are the Kosi's flood-prone chaur lands; the same geography that makes the region agriculturally difficult makes it the world's makhana hub
The release credits FPOs and value-added startups with much of the sector's expansion, linking makhana to the wider FPO promotion agenda in agriculture
Three destinations take 77 per cent of exports at below-average unit prices while small European and Oceania markets pay a premium — a textbook case for the 'diversify markets to raise realisation' argument in trade policy
NRCM's makhana-cum-fish farming and water-efficient systems connect the crop to integrated farming systems and wetland productivity questions
GS Paper 3 > Agriculture > Cropping Patterns, Food Processing and Related Industries; GS Paper 1 > Geography of India
General Awareness > Static and Current Affairs > Schemes and GI Products
General Awareness > Agriculture and Rural Economy
General Awareness > Indian Economy and Agriculture
Makhana has recurred in exam-relevant news since the 2022 GI tag, the 2025-26 Budget announcement of the Board and its September 2025 launch
The botanical name of makhana or fox nut, an aquatic crop grown in shallow ponds, lakes and wetlands whose seed is roasted and popped for consumption
The shallow, seasonally waterlogged depressions of north Bihar's flood plains, the traditional habitat for makhana cultivation
An extension method in which improved production technology is demonstrated on farmers' fields by a research institution; 89 were conducted for makhana in 2025-26
A scheme financed entirely by the Union Government and implemented by a central agency, as distinct from a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, whose cost is shared with the states
An interim official production estimate released during the crop year, later replaced by the final estimate; makhana output for 2025-26 was placed at 80,590 MT at this stage