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A PIB Backgrounder issued on 29 August 2026 records that the Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) scheme has brought more than 115 lakh hectares under micro irrigation as of July 2026 — about 8.11% of India's net sown area.
Central assistance of ₹8,123.24 crore has been released under PDMC over the last three years. During 2025-26, ₹8,957.72 crore was released or sanctioned for PM-RKVY, of which ₹3,226.36 crore was dedicated to PDMC.
Assistance covers up to five hectares per beneficiary — 55% for small and marginal farmers and 45% for other farmers — and the same land becomes eligible again after seven years.
In 2025-26 the scheme benefited 12.30 lakh farmers, around 20% of them women; Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Rajasthan recorded the largest covered areas.
Revised guidelines remove the earlier ceiling on spending for water storage and conservation works such as diggis and farm ponds under the scheme's 'Other Interventions' component.
Raise water use efficiency at farm level through drip and sprinkler systems, precision water management, fertigation and priority to water-scarce and groundwater-stressed areas.
Key: Centrally sponsored; assistance up to five hectares per beneficiary at 55% (small and marginal farmers) or 45% (others), delivered through direct benefit transfer; also supports integration of micro irrigation with tube wells, river-lift irrigation and solar-powered irrigation.
Umbrella scheme for sustainable agriculture, formed by restructuring the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana in October 2024 and merging nine schemes.
Key: Hosts PDMC along with agricultural mechanisation, soil health management, crop diversification and an accelerator fund for agri-startups; gives states flexibility to re-allocate funds between components as per local need.
Holistic development of agriculture and allied sectors through state-led planning.
Key: Launched in 2007-08; restructured as PM-RKVY in October 2024.
Expand assured irrigation ('Har Khet Ko Pani') and improve water use efficiency ('More Crop Per Drop').
Key: Launched on 1 July 2015. PDMC was its core component from 2015-16 to 2021-22. Its Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) and Har Khet Ko Pani components are implemented by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, while the Watershed Development Component is with the Ministry of Rural Development.
Help states mobilise additional resources to expand micro irrigation coverage beyond what PDMC provides.
Key: Announced in 2018-19 and operationalised with NABARD in 2019-20 with an initial corpus of ₹5,000 crore; the Union Cabinet approved doubling the corpus to ₹10,000 crore on 3 October 2024.
Make Indian agriculture more resilient to climate change through sustainable practices and water-use efficiency.
Key: One of the eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (2008). In FY 2014-15 micro irrigation was folded into NMSA as its 'On Farm Water Management' (OFWM) component.
Community-led sustainable groundwater management in water-stressed areas — the supply-side counterpart to PDMC's demand-side water saving.
Key: Launched on 25 December 2019 under the Ministry of Jal Shakti with an outlay of ₹6,000 crore, funded 50:50 by the World Bank and the Government of India, covering 8,774 gram panchayats in Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
Bridge the gap between irrigation potential created and potential actually utilised in major and medium irrigation projects.
Key: Runs as a sub-component of PMKSY's Har Khet Ko Pani under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, alongside Surface Minor Irrigation, Repair-Renovation-Restoration of water bodies and ground water development.
Launched as the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Micro Irrigation.
Upgraded to the National Mission on Micro Irrigation (NMMI).
Absorbed into the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture as its 'On Farm Water Management' component.
Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana launched with the twin mottos 'Har Khet Ko Pani' and 'More Crop Per Drop'.
Named Per Drop More Crop and run as a core component of PMKSY.
Micro Irrigation Fund operationalised with NABARD with an initial corpus of ₹5,000 crore.
NITI Aayog evaluation reports income gains of 10-69% and water use efficiency improvement of 30-70%.
PDMC implemented under the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana.
RKVY restructured as PM-RKVY, merging nine schemes; the Cabinet also approves doubling the Micro Irrigation Fund corpus to ₹10,000 crore.
Cumulative coverage crosses 115 lakh hectares.
Micro irrigation delivers water in small, controlled quantities directly to the root zone of a plant rather than flooding the whole field, cutting conveyance and evaporation losses and raising water use efficiency. Fertigation is the application of fertilisers along with irrigation water, so nutrients reach the zone where most of the plant's roots develop — this raises nutrient use efficiency and is a core practice promoted under PDMC. Micro irrigation also lowers energy, labour and fertiliser use, raises cropping intensity, and makes horticulture viable on marginal land.
Simple Analogy: Flood irrigation is like watering a plant by filling the whole room; drip irrigation is like feeding it through a straw placed at its roots — and fertigation is adding the plant's food to that same straw.
| Aspect | Drip Irrigation | Sprinkler Irrigation |
|---|---|---|
| How water is delivered | Slowly through emitters fitted on or inserted into lateral tubes, directly at the root zone | Discharged under pressure through nozzles on a pipe network, simulating rainfall |
| Best suited for | Widely spaced row and orchard crops needing plant-by-plant application | Densely planted crops — cereals, pulses, seeds, spices and field crops |
| Main sub-types | On-line drip (drippers placed wherever a plant stands, suiting uneven spacing) and in-line drip (emitters built into the pipe at fixed intervals, giving even supply) | Portable sprinklers, micro sprinklers, mini sprinklers, semi-permanent sprinklers and large volume sprinklers (rain-guns) |
| Typical specialised use | Fertigation — nutrients delivered with water at the root zone | Micro sprinklers for leafy vegetables, nurseries and seedling hardening; mini sprinklers for groundnut, potato, onion, ginger and for frost protection |
| Coverage scale | Plant-level precision | Rain-guns cover large areas quickly, discharging 10,000-32,000 litres per hour with a 24-36 m throw radius |
Maintains the Micro Irrigation Fund, refinancing state efforts to expand micro irrigation beyond PDMC provisions. Established on 12 July 1982 under the NABARD Act, 1981, on the recommendation of the CRAFICARD (B. Sivaraman) Committee.
Provides strategic direction, guidance and planning for PM-RKVY at the national level — the apex tier of the framework PDMC operates within.
Approves state plans under PM-RKVY; the top tier of the three-tier state structure.
Coordinates planning and implementation across departments at the state level.
Oversees execution and inter-departmental coordination at the district level.
Evaluated PDMC during 2020-21, reporting income gains of 10-69%, water use efficiency improvement of 30-70% and employment generation.
Conducted a 2023 study of PDMC implementation across six states, finding that farmers adopt micro irrigation mainly because of declining groundwater levels and crop-specific requirements.
Micro irrigation ran under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture, one of the eight NAPCC missions, linking farm water efficiency to India's climate adaptation architecture.
The IIMA study (2023) found declining groundwater levels to be the leading reason farmers adopt micro irrigation — which is also why Atal Bhujal Yojana operates in largely the same water-stressed states.
PDMC assistance is routed through DBT, part of the wider shift of agricultural subsidies from in-kind delivery to bank-account transfers.
PDMC supports integrating micro irrigation with solar-powered pumps, connecting it to India's solar pump programmes and the energy-water-food nexus.
The evaluations measure PDMC's contribution in income terms (10-69% gains), placing it in the income-enhancement rather than the production-target family of schemes.
GS Paper 3 > Agriculture > Irrigation Systems, Water Resources and Government Schemes
General Awareness > Government Schemes
General Awareness > Agriculture Finance and Priority Sector Lending
General Awareness > Current Affairs and Schemes
Irrigation schemes and PMKSY components are recurring UPSC Prelims material; micro irrigation coverage figures appear regularly in Parliament replies and Economic Survey chapters.
Application of fertilisers along with irrigation water directly into the plant's root zone, raising nutrient use efficiency.
Drippers placed along the pipe wherever a plant stands, suited to crops with uneven spacing.
Emitters built into the pipe at fixed intervals, giving all plants an even supply.
A large volume sprinkler discharging 10,000-32,000 litres per hour with a throw radius of 24-36 m, used to irrigate large areas quickly.
A large on-farm water storage tank or pond; now fundable without a ceiling under PDMC's 'Other Interventions' component.
The total area sown with crops at least once in an agricultural year; PDMC coverage equals about 8.11% of it.
A scheme funded jointly by the Centre and the states and implemented by state governments — the category PDMC belongs to.