PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana: all 100 districts have action plans
All 100 districts under the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana have prepared District Action Plans, official figures released on 10 October 2026 show, a day before the scheme's first anniversary. The six-year scheme pools 36 Central schemes of 11 Ministries and Departments. Districts are tracked on 121 indicators and ranked every month on a dashboard.
Syllabus: GS3 · Agriculture & Irrigation; Prelims · Economy & Social Development; GS2 · Government Policies
Why it matters
A farmer in a district such as Gadchiroli or Jaisalmer already has access, on paper, to dozens of Central schemes for seeds, irrigation, storage and loans, each run by a different office. Under this scheme the District Collector's committee writes one plan for the district and draws on all of them together, so a new warehouse, a sprinkler system and a crop loan can be planned for the same villages. The monthly ranking tells the State and the Centre which districts are moving and which are stuck. The larger question is whether pooling existing schemes, with no large new fund, can lift the farm districts that lag the most in yields and credit.
Prelims pointers
- Lead department: Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; the scheme was announced in the Union Budget 2025-26.
- District level: District Dhan Dhaanya Krishi Yojana Samiti, headed by the District Collector, prepares and implements the District Action Plan.
- State level: State Dhan Dhaanya Krishi Yojana Samiti, headed by the Chief Secretary, reviews and monitors the district plans.
- National level: the National Executive Committee is headed by the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; the National Monitoring Committee by the Secretary of the lead department.
- Six objectives: productivity; crop diversification and sustainable practices; post-harvest storage; irrigation; short-term and long-term credit; governance and service delivery.
- Aspirational Districts Programme: launched in January 2018, anchored by NITI Aayog; ranks under-developed districts on health and nutrition, education, agriculture, financial inclusion and infrastructure.
- Cropping intensity = gross cropped area divided by net sown area, multiplied by 100; a value of 200% means every field is sown twice a year.
- Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013: qualifying companies spend at least 2% of their average net profit of the three preceding years on CSR.
Practise a UPSC-style question
With reference to the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana, consider the following statements:
1. The Union Cabinet approved the scheme for a period of six years beginning with 2025-26.
2. The scheme covers 112 Aspirational Agricultural Districts spread across the States and Union Territories.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Show the answer
Answer: (a) 1 only
1 is correct: the Union Cabinet approved the scheme on 16 July 2025 for six years beginning with 2025-26. 2 is incorrect: the scheme covers 100 Aspirational Agricultural Districts, not 112, and every State has at least one of them.
Explainers on this topic
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