Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana

Also called: PMKSY, Har Khet Ko Pani · Topic: Water Resources of India: Availability, Use and Conservation · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 3 "Water Resources"; Class 12, Ch 4 "Water Resources"

Meaning

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) is a central government scheme, started in 2015-16, that aims to give every farm at least some protective irrigation (enough water to save a crop during a dry spell) and to get more harvest from each drop of water. It matters because agriculture uses about nine-tenths of India's water. PMKSY tries to spread irrigation to more farms and also cut the water each farm wastes.

Explanation

Why the scheme was needed

• Rain in India is uneven:
• Spatial variability means some places get heavy rain and others get very little.
• Temporal variability means most rain falls in about four monsoon months (June–September).

• So rabi and zaid crops (the winter and short summer crops) need water from other sources.

• Drought-prone areas:

• The north-west (Rajasthan and parts of Gujarat and Haryana) and the Deccan Plateau get little rain, and it often fails.

• Even wet states like West Bengal and Bihar have breaks in the monsoon (dry gaps during the rainy season).

• Old irrigation wastes water:

• In flood irrigation, water spreads over the whole field.
• Much of it evaporates or sinks below the roots.

• In canal areas this causes waterlogging and salinity (salt build-up in the soil).

• Demand is near the limit:

• The NCIWRD (1999) said water demand could reach about 1,180 cubic km by 2050 in its high-demand scenario.
• India's utilisable water resource (the water that can actually be captured and used) is about 1,122 cubic km.
• So more irrigation has to come from using water better, not only from new supply.

Aims of PMKSY

• Har Khet Ko Pani ("water to every field"): bring more farmland under assured irrigation.
• Join up source, distribution and use: link the dam or well, the channels and the field into one chain, so less water is lost on the way.
• Per Drop More Crop: get more harvest from each unit of water.
• Sustainable practices: bring in methods that save water.
• Develop rain-fed areas through watersheds:
• A watershed is the area that drains into one stream.
• It is treated by checking runoff, raising soil moisture and recharging groundwater.

The four components

Component	What it does	Supply or efficiency?
Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP)	Pays for the quick completion of big and medium irrigation projects	More supply
Har Khet Ko Pani	Creates new water sources, repairs and restores water bodies, builds field channels	More supply and better delivery
Per Drop More Crop (PDMC)	Improves water-use efficiency on the farm through micro-irrigation	Efficiency (less water needed)
Watershed Development	Soil and water conservation in rain-fed areas	Conservation

• The core idea: PMKSY puts supply-side work (AIBP, Har Khet Ko Pani) and demand-side work (PDMC) in one scheme.

Per Drop More Crop and micro-irrigation

• Micro-irrigation means giving water in small, controlled amounts close to the plant's roots instead of flooding the field. It saves about 30-50% of water.
• Drip (trickle) irrigation:
• Pipes with small emitters drip water straight onto the roots.
• It saves 40-70% of water and fertiliser.
• It suits orchards, vegetables, sugarcane and cotton.

• It allows fertigation (mixing fertiliser into the drip water).

• Sprinkler irrigation:

• Water under pressure sprays through nozzles and falls like rain.
• It suits uneven land and sandy soils, for example in Rajasthan and Haryana.

• The land does not need to be levelled.

• How PDMC has changed:

• PDMC ran as a PMKSY component from 2015-16 to 2021-22. Since 2022-23 it has been carried out under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) [4].
• The subsidy is 55% of project cost for small and marginal farmers and 45% for other farmers [2].
• From FY16 to December 2024, ₹21,968.75 crore was released and 95.58 lakh hectares came under micro-irrigation. That is about 104.67% more than before PDMC [2].
• The Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF), set up with NABARD in 2018, gives states a 2% interest subvention (a cut in the interest rate) on their loans [2].

Where it occurs

• Coverage: PMKSY is a central scheme that runs across India. It started in 2015-16.
• Who carries it out: the central government works with the states. The PDMC part has been run under RKVY since 2022-23 [4]. NABARD manages the Micro Irrigation Fund (2018) [2].
• Leading micro-irrigation states: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
• Sprinkler belt: sandy and uneven land in Rajasthan and Haryana.
• Where the watershed component matters most: rain-fed, drought-prone land in the north-west (Rajasthan and parts of Gujarat and Haryana) and the Deccan Plateau.
• Where water efficiency is needed most:
• Punjab and Haryana: wells and tubewells water 76.1% and 51.3% of their net irrigated area, and water tables are falling fast.

• India's stage of groundwater extraction (water taken out ÷ water that can safely be taken out) is 60.47% [3].

• Results across India (Economic Survey 2024-25):

• Irrigated area rose from 49.3% to 55% of gross cropped area between FY16 and FY21 [2].
• Irrigation intensity (gross irrigated area ÷ net irrigated area × 100) rose from 144.2% to 154.5% in the same period [2].

Don't confuse with

• AIBP vs PMKSY: AIBP is only one component of PMKSY. It pays to finish big and medium irrigation projects. PMKSY is the full scheme with four parts.
• Per Drop More Crop vs Har Khet Ko Pani: Har Khet Ko Pani brings water to more fields (new sources, field channels). Per Drop More Crop makes each field use less water (micro-irrigation). Since 2022-23, PDMC has been run under RKVY [4].
• Jal Jeevan Mission (2019): this brings drinking water to households. PMKSY (2015-16) is about irrigation for farms.
• Protective irrigation vs assured (full) irrigation: protective irrigation gives just enough water to save a crop in a dry spell. It does not mean a full water supply for every crop all year.

Prelims Hooks

• PMKSY started in 2015-16. Its four components are AIBP, Har Khet Ko Pani, Per Drop More Crop and Watershed Development.
• Trap: PDMC has been carried out under RKVY since 2022-23. It is no longer a direct PMKSY component [4].
• PDMC subsidy: 55% for small and marginal farmers and 45% for others [2].
• NABARD's Micro Irrigation Fund (2018) gives states a 2% interest subvention [2].
• Micro-irrigation covered 95.58 lakh ha from FY16 to December 2024 [2]. Leading states: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat.
• Drip saves 40-70% of water and suits sugarcane, cotton and orchards. Sprinkler suits uneven, sandy land (Rajasthan, Haryana).

Mains Points

• Supply plus efficiency in one scheme (GS-III):
• AIBP and Har Khet Ko Pani add irrigation supply.
• PDMC cuts water use on the farm, saving about 30-50% through micro-irrigation.

• This matters because agriculture uses 89% of surface water and 92% of groundwater, and the NCIWRD's 2050 demand estimate (about 1,180 cubic km) is close to the utilisable limit.

• Results and gaps (GS-III):

• Irrigated area rose from 49.3% to 55% of gross cropped area (FY16–FY21), and micro-irrigation reached 95.58 lakh ha by December 2024 [2].
• For more growth, the subsidy needs to reach more small farmers, states need to use MIF loans, and solar pumps need to spread.

• Watershed work matters most for rain-fed land in the north-west and the Deccan.

• Groundwater stress in the Green Revolution belt (GS-I/III):

• Tubewell use in Punjab and Haryana has caused over-exploited blocks and falling water tables.
• PMKSY's Per Drop More Crop approach works best alongside crop diversification (moving from paddy to pulses, maize or oilseeds) and pricing that reflects the value of water.

Related concepts

• Sectoral water use
• Need for irrigation in India
• Drip irrigation
• Sprinkler irrigation
• Micro-irrigation
• Virtual water

Read more

• Water demand: sectoral use, irrigation need and efficient irrigation