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A PIB Backgrounder released on 23 August 2026 sets out how central schemes are pushing Indian farming towards regenerative practices - natural farming, agroforestry, micro-irrigation, integrated farming systems and scientific soil management.
Natural farming clusters covered 8.80 lakh hectares with 18.19 lakh farmers enrolled, and 18,786 clusters had been formed as of 5 March 2026 under the National Mission on Natural Farming.
Per Drop More Crop had covered about 109 lakh hectares as of May 2026 with Rs 26,325 crore of central assistance released, and 25.89 crore Soil Health Cards had been generated as of 13 March 2026.
The document distinguishes regenerative agriculture from sustainable agriculture: sustainable farming aims to maintain existing conditions, regenerative farming aims to actively improve soil health, biodiversity and ecosystem resilience.
Agriculture and allied sectors recorded decadal growth of 4.45 per cent during FY16-FY25, the highest of any recent decade, but the Backgrounder argues that sustaining it depends on rebuilding soil health.
A holistic farming approach that seeks to rebuild soil organic matter and biodiversity rather than merely conserve them. The PIB Backgrounder draws the line sharply: sustainable farming primarily aims to maintain existing conditions, while regenerative farming goes a step further and actively improves soil health, biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. Its six operating principles are minimising soil disturbance, protecting living roots of perennial crops, maintaining soil cover, integrating livestock, limiting chemical inputs and enhancing biodiversity. In practice it is an umbrella for natural farming, agroforestry, micro-irrigation, integrated farming systems, green manuring, cover cropping, mulching and nitrogen-use-efficiency measures such as deep placement of super-granular urea and leaf colour charts.
Simple Analogy: Sustainable farming is servicing a vehicle so it does not get worse; regenerative farming is rebuilding the engine so it runs better than before.
Launched in 2024 as a standalone Centrally Sponsored Scheme under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, with a total outlay of Rs 2,481 crore, to move farmers in mission mode to chemical-free natural farming based on on-farm biological inputs.
Key: Output-based incentive of Rs 4,000 per acre per year for two years, capped at one acre per farmer; 10,000 need-based Bio-input Resource Centres for inputs such as Jeevamrit and Beejamrit; cluster model with two Community Resource Persons per cluster. Status as of 5 March 2026: 18,786 clusters, 8.80 lakh hectares, 18.19 lakh farmers, 33,676 CRPs trained.
Launched in 2015 as a component of Soil Health Management under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture, to promote cluster-based organic farming with certification and market linkage.
Key: Rs 31,500 per hectare of assistance over three years; organised in clusters of about 20 hectares; certification through the Participatory Guarantee System for India (PGS-India). Coverage since inception: 16.90 lakh hectares as of 31 October 2025.
Implemented since 2015-16 to raise on-farm water-use efficiency through micro-irrigation - drip systems that deliver water to the root zone through pipes and emitters, and sprinkler systems that spray water through pipes and nozzles.
Key: Central assistance of 55 per cent for small and marginal farmers and 45 per cent for other farmers, with some states adding top-up subsidies. About 109 lakh hectares covered as of May 2026 and Rs 26,325 crore of central assistance released. PDMC began as a component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, which rests on the twin visions 'Har Khet Ko Pani' and 'Per Drop More Crop'.
Implemented since 2014-15 to promote Integrated Farming Systems in rainfed areas through an area-based cluster approach combining crops with horticulture, livestock, fisheries and apiculture.
Key: Clusters of about 20 hectares within one or more adjoining villages; Rs 30,000 per family for adopting IFS plus Rs 10,000 per cluster for training. Since inception: Rs 2,251.98 crore released, 9.53 lakh hectares, 15.73 lakh farmers (as of December 2025). Allocation of Rs 343.86 crore to States/UTs in FY 2025-26.
The Sub-Mission on Agroforestry, launched in 2016-17 under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture with the motto 'Har Medh Par Ped', was restructured as the Agroforestry Component under the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana from 2023-24. It supports nurseries that supply Quality Planting Material to farmers.
Key: 100 per cent assistance to government agencies and 50 per cent back-ended credit-linked assistance to private beneficiaries; covers new nurseries, tissue culture units, skill development, R&D and project formulation for the voluntary carbon market in agriculture. During 2025-26 (as on 31 October 2025): Rs 78.31 crore sanctioned to 27 States/UTs, 135 new nurseries, 176.59 lakh saplings.
Launched on 19 February 2015 from Suratgarh, Rajasthan, under the slogan 'Swasth Dhara, Khet Hara', to give farmers plot-wise soil test reports with crop-specific nutrient recommendations.
Key: Assesses soil on 12 parameters covering macronutrients (N, P, K, S), micronutrients (Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, B) and properties such as pH, electrical conductivity and organic carbon; card issued every two years. As of 13 March 2026, 25.89 crore cards generated, 7.17 lakh demonstrations conducted and 70,002 Krishi Sakhis trained for grassroots advisory.
| Aspect | National Mission on Natural Farming | Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana |
|---|---|---|
| Launched | 2024, standalone Centrally Sponsored Scheme | 2015, component of Soil Health Management under NMSA |
| Approach | Chemical-free farming using on-farm biological inputs (Jeevamrut, Beejamrut, Ghanjeevamrut, Neemastra, Dashparni) | Organic farming with certification and market linkage |
| Financial support | Rs 4,000 per acre per year for two years (output-based incentive) | Rs 31,500 per hectare over three years |
| Delivery unit | Natural farming clusters with two Community Resource Persons each | Clusters of about 20 hectares |
| Certification | Bio-input Resource Centres support input supply; the mission focuses on practice adoption | Participatory Guarantee System for India (PGS-India) |
| Coverage reported | 8.80 lakh ha, 18.19 lakh farmers (5 March 2026) | 16.90 lakh ha since inception (31 October 2025) |
Apex body for coordinating agricultural research and education; the Krishi Vigyan Kendra network functions under it. Established on 16 July 1929 as a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, following the report of the Royal Commission on Agriculture.
District-level frontline agricultural extension centres that run demonstrations and farmer training. The first KVK was set up on a pilot basis in 1974 at Puducherry under Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. Per the Backgrounder, KVKs conducted 4,416 IFS demonstrations and trained 96,013 farmers in 2024-25, and trained 33,676 Community Resource Persons for natural farming.
District-level extension mechanism through which soil health advisories and balanced fertiliser demonstrations are delivered, alongside KVKs, as stated in the Backgrounder.
Nodal department for NMNF, PKVY, PDMC, RAD, the agroforestry component and the Soil Health Card Scheme.
India became the first country in the world to adopt a comprehensive national agroforestry policy, released in February 2014 during the World Congress on Agroforestry held in Delhi. The Sub-Mission on Agroforestry ('Har Medh Par Ped') followed in 2016-17 as its implementation arm.
The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture is one of the eight missions under NAPCC, which is why soil health and rainfed farming schemes are simultaneously climate-adaptation instruments.
The Backgrounder maps regenerative practices to Target 13.1 - strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters.
Nitrogen fertiliser management - right product, right timing, right dose, deep placement of super-granular urea, leaf colour charts, cyanobacteria and legume intercropping - is presented as an emission-reduction measure, linking fertiliser policy to India's climate commitments.
The agroforestry component explicitly funds formulation of projects for the voluntary carbon market in the agriculture sector, connecting farm policy to the carbon credit trading debate.
GS Paper 3 > Agriculture > Cropping Patterns, Irrigation Systems, e-technology and Farm Subsidies
General Awareness > Government Schemes
General Awareness > Agriculture and Priority Sector Schemes
General Awareness > Current Affairs and Schemes
Consider the following statements: The nation-wide 'Soil Health Card Scheme' aims at 1. expanding the cultivable area under irrigation. 2. enabling the banks to assess the quantum of loans to be granted to farmers on the basis of soil quality. 3. checking the overuse of fertilizers in farmlands. Which of the above statements is/are correct?
Answer: 3 only
Consider the following statements: 1. The Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme was launched during 1996-97 to provide loan assistance to poor farmers. 2. The Command Area Development Programme was launched in 1974-75 for the development of water-use efficiency. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: 2 only
Consider the following statements: 1. The quantity of imported edible oils is more than the domestic production of edible oils in the last five years. 2. The Government does not impose any customs duty on all the imported edible oils as a special case. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: 1 only
Which of the following activities constitute real sector in the economy? 1. Farmers harvesting their crops 2. Textile mills converting raw cotton into fabrics 3. A commercial bank lending money to a trading company 4. A corporate body issuing Rupee Denominated Bonds overseas Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Answer: 1 and 2 only
Which Five-Year Plan was based on the "Harrod-Domar Model"?
Answer: First Five-Year Plan
Agricultural schemes and soil health appear in UPSC Prelims almost every year and are staple SSC/Railway General Awareness material.
On-farm microbial inoculants prepared from native livestock inputs, used as soil and seed treatments in natural farming; supplied through Bio-input Resource Centres under NMNF.
A peer-review based organic certification system used under PKVY, built on mutual trust among producers rather than third-party certification.
Certified, genetically true and disease-free saplings supplied through agroforestry nurseries under the PM-RKVY agroforestry component.
Combining crops with livestock, fisheries, horticulture, agroforestry and apiculture in one unit so that the waste of one enterprise becomes the input of another; promoted through the Rainfed Area Development programme.
Growing a crop specifically to plough it back into the soil to add organic matter and nutrients, improving fertility, structure and carbon sequestration.
A low-cost strip used to judge the nitrogen status of a standing crop from leaf greenness, so that urea is applied only when needed.