Cabinet Approves PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana
Why focus: Iron Law 4 (Flagship Scheme). GS3 Agriculture — highly testable numeric targets and convergence mechanism for How-Many-Correct MCQs.
In News
What Happened
Why It Matters
Background
History & Context
What Changed
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Convergence Mechanism: Previously, agricultural schemes operated in silos. Now, PMDDKY creates a saturation-based convergence of 36 central schemes (such as PM-KISAN, PMFBY, and PMKSY) across 11 ministries.
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District Selection Criteria: 100 underperforming districts are now scientifically identified based on three specific parameters: low productivity, low cropping intensity, and below-average credit disbursement.
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Localized Decentralized Planning: Introduced the 'District Dhan-Dhaanya Samiti', which includes local officials and progressive farmers, mandated to prepare a customized District Agriculture and Allied Activities Plan.
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Performance Tracking: A strict monitoring framework has been implemented via a digital dashboard that tracks progress across 117 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) with monthly updates.
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Proportional Representation: District allocation per state is no longer arbitrary but proportional to the state's share of Net Cropped Area and operational agricultural holdings, guaranteeing at least one district per state.
What Did NOT Change
The core entitlements provided by the 36 individual schemes (like the direct benefit transfers under PM-KISAN or crop insurance under PMFBY) remain exactly the same. Furthermore, agriculture remains a State subject, meaning the successful execution of PMDDKY continues to heavily depend on active state-level participation and administrative capacity.
Prelims Angle
NCERT Connection
Common Misconceptions
✗ PMDDKY introduces massive new standalone agricultural funding programs and direct subsidies.
✓ It relies on the saturation-based convergence of 36 existing Central schemes, optimizing resource delivery rather than creating new entitlements.
The stated robust annual outlay of Rs 24,000 crore (totaling Rs 1.44 lakh crore over 6 years) makes it sound like a completely new funding pipeline rather than pooled and directed funds.
✗ The 100 districts are selected uniformly across all states to ensure equal distribution.
✓ The number of districts per state is proportional to its share of Net Cropped Area and operational agricultural holdings, though every state is guaranteed at least one district.
Many federal welfare schemes distribute targets equally among states for political parity, leading to assumptions that PMDDKY would follow suit.
Practice Questions
Q1
How Many CorrectConsider the following statements regarding the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PMDDKY): 1. It draws inspiration from the Aspirational Districts Programme but focuses exclusively on the manufacturing and MSME sectors. 2. The 100 target districts are identified based on three indicators: low productivity, low cropping intensity, and less credit disbursement. 3. A District Agriculture and Allied Activities Plan under the scheme is finalised by the District Dhan-Dhaanya Samiti. How many of the above statements are correct?
Q2
Match the FollowingMatch the PMDDKY feature (List I) with its corresponding detail (List II): List I: A. Digital Dashboard B. District Selection Quota C. Resource Convergence D. District Dhan-Dhaanya Samiti List II: 1. 36 schemes across 11 ministries 2. Tracking of 117 Key Performance Indicators 3. Inclusion of progressive farmers 4. Based on Net Cropped Area and operational holdings
Q3
Assertion & ReasonAssertion (A): The PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana avoids introducing new vertical agricultural entitlements and instead focuses on convergence. Reason (R): Converging existing schemes helps eliminate administrative duplication, optimizes resource utilization, and ensures saturation-based delivery to the last-mile farmer.