Soil health is central to India's food security. Discuss the effectiveness of the Soil Health Card Scheme and National Mission on Natural Farming in addressing soil degradation.

Q. Soil health is central to India's food security. Discuss the effectiveness of the Soil Health Card Scheme and National Mission on Natural Farming in addressing soil degradation. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

Soil is now treated as a strategic national resource, since falling organic carbon and skewed nutrient use directly threaten yield stability [1]. The Soil Health Card (SHC, 2015) and the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF, 2024) attack degradation from two ends — diagnosis and prevention — with impressive reach but uneven depth.

SHC: diagnosis at scale - Provides farm-specific status on 12 parameters (macro/micro-nutrients, pH, EC, organic carbon) with crop-wise fertiliser doses [2]. - Over 25.89 crore cards generated since inception, making it the world's largest soil-testing exercise [1]. - Corrects NPK imbalance, lowering input costs and indirectly the fertiliser subsidy burden [2]. - Now being upgraded through geospatial mapping and AI-based advisories, plus 70,002 Krishi Sakhis for last-mile dissemination [1]. - Reinforced by Khet Bachao Abhiyan (June 2026): 25,178 awareness camps and 96,227 demonstrations on green manuring and bio-fertilisers [3].

NMNF: prevention through chemical-free farming - A standalone Centrally Sponsored Scheme (Nov 2024) with ₹2,481 crore outlay targeting 15,000 clusters, 7.5 lakh hectares, 1 crore farmers [4]. - Already extended to 18,786 clusters over 8.80 lakh hectares, exceeding the original cluster target [1]. - ₹4,000/acre incentive, 10,000 Bio-input Resource Centres and cluster-based peer learning (≈50 ha, 125 farmers) build local input self-reliance [4].

Limits on effectiveness - Coverage remains a small fraction of net sown area; scale, not intent, is the constraint. - Card issuance ≠ adoption — the three-year cycle and laboratory capacity dilute farm-level precision [2]. - Both are executive schemes, dependent on state cost-sharing and extension quality rather than statutory backing [4]. - Transition-phase yield anxiety deters smallholders from full chemical-free adoption.

Together, the two schemes have shifted policy from yield-maximisation to soil-stewardship, but effectiveness now hinges on converting awareness into practice — linking fertiliser subsidy to soil-test data, expanding testing infrastructure and monitoring outcomes such as organic carbon rather than cards issued. Anchored in this evidence-led approach, soil renewal can secure both farm incomes and India's long-term food security under SDG 2 and SDG 15.

(~330 words)

Sources: 1. PIB Backgrounder — Saving Soil, Securing Farms (2026) — 25.89 crore SHCs, 18,786 clusters/8.80 lakh ha, geospatial-AI advisories, 70,002 Krishi Sakhis, soil as strategic resource 2. Soil Health Card Scheme helped India achieve surplus capacity in foodgrain production, PIB — 12 soil parameters, crop-wise nutrient recommendations, three-year cycle, nutrient-imbalance correction 3. Khet Bachao Abhiyan reaches farmers nationwide, PIB — awareness camps and field demonstrations on green manuring and bio-fertilisers 4. Implementation of National Mission on Natural Farming, PIB — Nov 2024 launch, ₹2,481 crore outlay, 15,000 clusters/7.5 lakh ha/1 crore farmers, ₹4,000 per acre incentive, Bio-input Resource Centres, Centre–State share