Govt to merge agricultural schemes, link funds to state reforms
The schemes that will be brought under Krishi Vikas Yojana are: Krishonnati Yojana to boost farmers' income, National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF), and National Bee and Honey Mission (NBHM).
The proposed umbrella scheme is to be implemented over the next five years during the 16th Finance Commission cycle beginning April 2026 and ending March 2031. In a significant restructuring exercise that could push reforms at the state level, the Union Ministry of Agriculture has proposed to merge three separate ongoing schemes with its flagship Pradhan Mantri-Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY), with an outlay of Rs 1.75 lakh crore over the next five years, The Indian Express has learnt.
According to the proposal, sources told this newspaper, fund allocation will be linked to specific parameters, with maximum weightage given to the newly added assessment of reform initiatives and milestones achieved by states.
The schemes to be merged with PM-RKVY, which was launched to accelerate growth and improve farmers’ income, are Krishonnati Yojana (KY) to boost farmers’ income, National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) and National Bee and Honey Mission (NBHM).
PM-RKVY, KY and NMNF are Centrally sponsored with implementation done by the state governments using funds jointly provided by both, while NBHM is a Central sector scheme that is funded and implemented by the Centre.
According to sources, the Ministry has circulated a note related to the merger for the approval of the Expenditure Finance Committee under the Ministry of Finance before it is presented to the Union Cabinet.
The proposed umbrella scheme is to be implemented over the next five years during the 16th Finance Commission cycle beginning April 2026 and ending March 2031. It will be funded in the Centre-state ratio of 60:40 for most states, 90:10 for the Northeastern and Himalayan states, and 100 per cent for Union Territories.
Sources said the proposed merger is in line with the NITI Aayog’s recommendations. The Aayog had earlier revived the 15th Finance Commission’s idea of providing performance-based financial incentives to states to encourage them to implement agriculture reforms.
Under the proposed merger, the allocation of funds to states will be linked to five key parameters, with maximum weightage (30 per cent) proposed for “assessment based on reform initiative and milestones achieved by the state”. This parameter is not present in the existing guidelines.
According to the PM-RKVY guidelines of 2024, the inter-state allocation of funds was based on criteria such as percentage share of net un-irrigated area in a state to the net un-irrigated area of all states, percentage of small and marginal farmers in a state compared to national number, and percentage of youth population in a state compared to the national count.
The Union Cabinet approved implementation of the PM-RKVY and KY for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26 with an outlay of Rs 1.01 lakh crore in October 2024. The NMNF was approved in November 2024 with an outlay of Rs 2,481 crore till March 2026. The NBHM was approved in September 2023 with an outlay of Rs 370 crore for three financial years till 2025-26.
The Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, as PM-RKVY was initially called, was launched in 2007 as an “umbrella scheme for ensuring holistic development of agriculture and allied sectors by allowing states to choose their own agriculture and allied sector development activities as per the district/ state agriculture plan”.
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