Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PMDDKY)

The Centre has announced the development of 100 Aspirational Agriculture Districts under the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PMDDKY) across 29 states and Union Territories (UTs). This initiative aims to enhance agricultural productivity and promote sustainable practices.

Key Features

• 100 districts have been selected based on criteria such as low productivity, moderate crop intensity, and below-average access to credit.
• No separate budgetary allocation; implementation through convergence of various existing schemes.
• 36 schemes from 11 departments will be integrated, with a focus on agriculture and farmers' welfare.
• An estimated work worth ₹24,000 crore will be executed annually.

District Allocation

• Uttar Pradesh: 12 districts, including Mahoba, Sonbhadra, and Hamirpur.
• Maharashtra: 9 districts, including Palghar and Yavatmal.
• Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan: 8 districts each.
• Bihar: 7 districts, such as Madhubani and Darbhanga.
• Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, West Bengal: 4 districts each.
• Assam, Chhattisgarh, Kerala: 3 districts each.
• J&K, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand: 2 districts each.
• 11 other states: 1 district each (e.g., Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Haryana).

Objectives

• Enhancing agricultural productivity.
• Adopting crop diversification and sustainable agriculture practices.
• Augmenting post-harvest storage at the panchayat and block level.
• Improving irrigation facilities.
• Facilitating long-term and short-term credit.

Implementation

• 100 Central Nodal Officers (CNOs) appointed, mainly joint secretaries, for monitoring.
• A district agriculture development plan will be prepared for each district.