Low cropping intensity and poor credit access keep some Indian districts agriculturally backward. Evaluate recent policy responses.

Many rain-fed districts sow only one crop a year, so their cropping intensity is low. Formal credit is thin, so farmers cannot buy inputs or irrigation. This keeps them in a cycle of low investment and low yields. The main recent response is the PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PMDDKY). Its design targets these exact gaps, but its financing is weaker.

Strengths of recent responses

• Precise targeting: it covers 100 districts chosen for low productivity, low cropping intensity and low credit disbursement, for six years from 2025-26 [1].
• Convergence: it combines 36 schemes from 11 Departments with State schemes and private partners, worth about ₹24,000 crore a year [1][3].
• Local planning: District Dhan-Dhaanya Samitis, which include progressive farmers, write plans suited to the district's soil, rainfall and water [2][3].
• Competitive federalism: districts are ranked every month on 121 indicators. Gaya, Nagaur and Umaria led in Year 1 [2].
• Complementary capital: the RKVY (₹8,550 crore in 2026-27) funds rain-fed area development, which is needed to add a second crop [4].

Limitations

• Little new money for credit: the Modified Interest Subvention Scheme, which makes KCC loans cheaper, stayed at ₹22,600 crore in 2026-27 [4]. Any extra lending must come from the same pool.
• Weak record in agriculture: UNDP's appraisal of the Aspirational Districts Programme, PMDDKY's model, found that agriculture and water improved least [5]. NITI Aayog's assessment named agriculture and financial inclusion as problem areas [6].
• Activity vs outcomes: yields change only once a season, so monthly rankings may reward camps and uploads. The minister called Year 1 a year of "foundations" [2].
• Not purely need-based: each State's share of districts depends on its Net Cropped Area and operational holdings, with at least one per State [1]. This helps cooperative federalism but weakens targeting.
• Structural causes remain: dependence on rain, fragmented holdings and low mechanisation [4] need investment beyond any one district's control.

Overall, recent policy diagnoses the problem correctly and gives districts clear ownership of convergence. However, it does too little to fund credit and irrigation. In Year 2, the government should publish what each scheme spends in the 100 districts and set district lending targets with banks. It should also weight seasonal outcomes over process counts in the rankings, and order an independent baseline review. With these changes, PMDDKY can advance SDG 2 and inclusive growth by turning lagging districts into new sources of growth.