All in one, Pg6

Key Highlights:

• PMDDKY aims to converge 36 existing schemes across 11 departments, including PM-KISAN and PMFBY.
• Will be implemented in 100 identified low-productivity districts, starting from Rabi 2025.
• Scheme outlay: ₹24,000 crore per year for six years.
• Emphasises public-private partnerships, district-specific planning, and monthly monitoring on 117 indicators.
• Modelled on NITI Aayog’s Aspirational Districts Programme.
• Aims to ensure crop diversification, soil health, water conservation, and increased agricultural productivity.
• Parliamentary Committee flags declining agriculture spending: from 3.53% (2021-22) to 2.51% (2025-26) of total Central Plan outlay.

Detailed Insights:

• The scheme reflects a push for uniformity across Centre and State schemes through a single platform to reduce duplication and inefficiency.
• District Dhan Dhaanya Samitis will identify relevant State schemes for inclusion under PMDDKY.
• Despite convergence, declining public investment in agriculture may hamper desired outcomes.
• Encouraging private sector participation is part of the model, but the focus must remain on food self-sufficiency, especially in oilseeds and pulses.
• Recent sowing data signals reduced kharif area for pulses and oilseeds, raising concerns for domestic production and food security.
• While the scheme allows district-level tailoring, it must ensure active participation of States, Panchayats, agricultural universities, and farmer bodies for effective localised impact.
• Monitoring and evaluation through key performance indicators can help in course correction, but must not be limited to top-down bureaucratic assessments.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Crop Diversification: Practice of growing a variety of crops to reduce dependence on a single crop and ensure sustainable use of resources.
• Soil Health Management: Techniques aimed at preserving or improving soil fertility, such as organic inputs, reduced tillage, and crop rotation.
• Cropping Intensity: Number of crops grown on a given land during one agricultural year. 

Mains Mock Question:

Q. The Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PMDDKY) seeks to unify existing agricultural schemes for greater impact. Critically evaluate the effectiveness of such convergence in the backdrop of declining public investment in agriculture.