AGR-50 Scheme - Assistance to Purchase Tractors

What is the AGR-50 tractor assistance scheme?

AGR-50 is a Gujarat state scheme that gives farmers a capital subsidy on the purchase of a new tractor. The Department of Agriculture, Farmers Welfare & Co-operation, Government of Gujarat started AGR-50 in 2011-12 to raise farm mechanisation and farm power availability across the state, and it is 100% state sponsored, no central share is involved.

According to the scheme description published on the government's scheme directory, AGR-50 was designed around a practical problem: the price of the same tractor differed widely across Gujarat, and small farmers with no bargaining power ended up paying more than large buyers. From 2014-15 the department began empanelling tractor company models through a price-discovery exercise, so that a farmer in any district could buy at a competitive, comparable price. Assistance under AGR-50 is therefore tied to that empanelment list.

A tractor is the base machine for farm mechanisation, most power-operated implements need one, so AGR-50 sits at the front of Gujarat's mechanisation schemes, with implement-specific components (including AGR-3 and AGR-4 for ST and SC farmers) following behind it.

How much assistance does AGR-50 give?

AGR-50 assistance is a percentage of the actual expense, subject to a cash cap that depends on the tractor's PTO horsepower.

Two things follow from this table. First, the 25% rate is not open-ended, on a Rs 6,00,000 tractor in the 40-60 PTO HP band, 25% would be Rs 1,50,000, but the farmer receives Rs 60,000 because the cap binds. Second, the published slabs stop at 60 PTO HP; a larger tractor does not attract a larger benefit under this scheme.

Assistance is paid into the beneficiary's bank account through Direct Benefit Transfer after the purchase is completed and verified against the pre-approval order.

Who is eligible for AGR-50, and who is not eligible?

You can get AGR-50 assistance if:

• You are a permanent resident of Gujarat.
• You are a farmer — AGR-50 is open to any farmer of Gujarat state, without a caste-category restriction.
• You buy an empanelled tractor model from the authorised dealer of that empanelled manufacturer. The empanelment list is announced by the Agriculture Department from time to time.
• You apply before the purchase and buy only after receiving the pre-approval order.

You are not eligible if:

• You are not a permanent resident of Gujarat.
• You buy a tractor model that is not on the empanelment list, or buy from a dealer who is not the empanelled manufacturer's authorised dealer.
• You bought the tractor before applying and before pre-approval was issued.
• You purchase outside the time limit set in the pre-approval order.
• You apply outside the notified application window on the iKhedut portal.
• Your application is saved but never confirmed on the portal; unconfirmed applications are not considered.

Institutions, dealers and traders are not the intended beneficiaries; the scheme is framed for individual farmers of the state.

How to apply for AGR-50 on the iKhedut portal

1. Open the iKhedut portal at https://ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in/ and go to the public scheme details page for Farming Schemes, then click "Click here for details".
2. Find the AGR-50 component corresponding to "Tractor - empanelled vendors" and read the instructions on that page carefully.
3. Answer "Are you a registered applicant?" with Yes or No, then click "Click to proceed". Registered users log in; new users register first.
4. Click "Click to Apply Newly" and fill the application; personal details, land details, bank account and the tractor model you intend to buy.
5. Use "Click to Update Application" to correct anything before you finalise. After confirmation the application can no longer be edited.
6. Click "Click to confirm the application" and confirm. Saving alone is not enough; only confirmed applications are considered.
7. Take a printout of the confirmed application, sign it, and keep it. The print option becomes available only after confirmation.
8. Submit the signed printout with the documents to the District Agriculture Officer of your district. Contact details for every district are on the iKhedut contacts page.
9. Wait for the pre-approval order, then buy the tractor from the authorised dealer within the time limit stated in that order.
10. File the assistance proposal with the invoice and every supporting document named in the pre-approval order, together with a signed copy of the application.

What documents does AGR-50 need?

The document list on the government scheme directory for AGR-50 is: a government-approved photo ID such as the Aadhaar card; evidence of land where applicable; a caste certificate issued by the competent authority where applicable; a disability certificate from the competent authority for applicants with a disability; the ration card; bank account details; and the beneficiary's undertaking or consent form. After purchase, the tractor invoice and the documents listed in the pre-approval order are added to the file.

Scanned uploads on iKhedut must be legible and complete. The portal's own note is unambiguous: if wrong or incomplete documents are uploaded, the application is not inwarded, and the beneficiary must submit the remaining or corrected documents to the concerned office within seven days of the application.

How do I check my AGR-50 application status?

iKhedut provides an application-status lookup on the public side of the portal using the application number printed on your confirmed application. Beyond that, the District Agriculture Officer of your district is the scheme officer for AGR-50 and holds the physical file; the iKhedut contacts page lists the office and phone details district by district. Payment status can be confirmed from the bank account statement once DBT is released.

Why do AGR-50 applications fail?

• Application saved but not confirmed. The single most common failure on iKhedut. Confirm, then print.
• Purchase before pre-approval. Assistance is pre-approval based; a receipt dated before the order is not accepted.
• Non-empanelled model or unauthorised dealer. Check the current empanelment list before booking.
• Wrong or incomplete uploads. Fix these at the concerned office within seven days or the application is not inwarded.
• Applying after the window closed. iKhedut opens components for defined periods each financial year; there is no rolling intake.
• Bank details mismatch. DBT fails if the account name does not match the applicant.
• Duplicate benefit. A farmer who has already drawn tractor assistance under a state or central mechanisation scheme within the prescribed cooling period will be filtered out at verification.

What are the key dates and the grievance route?

AGR-50 has no permanent open window. Components on iKhedut are opened for specific periods in each financial year, and the portal's note says plainly that the online application must be submitted "during the prescribed time". Check the iKhedut home page at the start of the kharif and rabi seasons, when Gujarat usually opens agriculture components.

For grievances, a pre-approval not issued, a rejected file, or DBT not credited: approach the District Agriculture Officer first, using the contact details on the iKhedut contacts page. The next level is the Director of Agriculture under the Department of Agriculture, Farmers Welfare & Co-operation, Government of Gujarat. Keep the confirmed application printout and the acknowledgement from the district office; both are needed for any follow-up.