Large Cardamom Certified Nursery Unit Assistance (Spices Board)

What is the Large Cardamom Certified Nursery Unit assistance?

The Large Cardamom Certified Nursery Unit assistance is a component of the Spices Board's development programme for spices, run under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It falls within the Board's integrated scheme for export promotion and quality improvement in spices, and specifically supports the export-oriented production of large cardamom by improving the supply of quality planting material.

Large cardamom is a high-value spice grown mainly in the eastern Himalayan belt. Good, disease-free planting material is the single biggest constraint on raising productivity, so the Spices Board subsidises growers who set up certified nurseries to multiply healthy suckers and seedlings. According to the scheme listing on the myScheme portal, the assistance is delivered as a per-seedling subsidy, capped by the size of the nursery unit.

Key features

• Subsidy for raising certified large cardamom planting material.
• 33.33% of production cost, up to Rs 3 per seedling, for general growers.
• 75% of production cost, at Rs 6.75 per seedling, for SC/ST growers.
• Nursery unit in multiples of 500, from 1,000 to 5,000 seedlings per beneficiary.
• Paid through Direct Benefit Transfer in the year after planting, on satisfactory production.

How much assistance does the scheme give?

According to the myScheme listing, the assistance is calculated per seedling and depends on the grower's category:

The nursery unit size must be in multiples of 500, with a minimum of 1,000 and a maximum of 5,000 seedlings per beneficiary. This caps the total subsidy a single grower can claim and spreads the benefit across many small nurseries rather than a few large ones.

The subsidy is not paid up front. It is released in the year following the planting of the mother suckers or seeds, and only after the Spices Board's field staff verify satisfactory production of suckers or seedlings in the nursery. Payment is then made through Direct Benefit Transfer into the grower's bank account.

Who is eligible for the large cardamom nursery assistance?

You can apply if:

• You are a large cardamom grower in one of the notified areas, Sikkim, the Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal, or the other North-Eastern states.
• You raise a certified nursery of large cardamom of 1,000 to 5,000 seedlings, in multiples of 500.
• You hold the land and can produce records of the suckers/seeds planted and seedlings raised for verification.

You cannot apply if:

• You are outside the notified growing areas. The component is limited to Sikkim, the Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal, and the North-Eastern states.
• Your nursery is below the 1,000-seedling minimum or above the 5,000-seedling ceiling per beneficiary.
• You cannot show that the nursery produced certified, satisfactory planting material at field verification.

The higher 75% rate at Rs 6.75 per seedling is reserved for SC/ST growers, who must produce a valid caste certificate to claim it. General growers receive the 33.33% rate capped at Rs 3 per seedling.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the large cardamom nursery assistance

1. Approach your nearest Spices Board regional or field office in the large cardamom growing area and register as a grower.
2. Confirm the norms for a certified nursery — unit size in multiples of 500 between 1,000 and 5,000 seedlings, and the current cost-of-production basis.
3. Raise the nursery of large cardamom by multiplying mother suckers or sowing seeds, following the Board's planting and plant-protection guidelines.
4. Execute the agreement on a Rs 200 stamp paper where required for farmer groups.
5. Allow the Board's field staff to verify production of the suckers or seedlings.
6. Claim the subsidy after verification; it is released the following year through Direct Benefit Transfer into your bank account.

Help and contact

• Spices Board: indianspices.com; see the Development Programmes and Contact sections
• Regional and field offices in the large cardamom belt, including Gangtok (Sikkim) and Kalimpong (West Bengal), handle registration, verification and payment.

This is a grower subsidy, not an individual welfare benefit. The exact cost-of-production basis and unit norms are set by the Spices Board and can change between years, so confirm the current terms with the field office before raising a nursery to claim the assistance.