National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM)

What is the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission?

The National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare for the promotion of scientific beekeeping and the production of quality honey and other beehive products. NBHM is implemented by the National Bee Board (NBB), and was announced under Atmanirbhar Bharat with the goal of a "Sweet Revolution".

According to the Press Information Bureau backgrounder on the mission, NBHM has a total budget outlay of Rs 500 crore, was originally sanctioned for FY 2020-21 to 2022-23 and was extended for FY 2023-24 to 2025-26 with a remaining budget of Rs 370 crore from the original allocation.

The three Mini Missions

• Mini Mission-I; production and productivity improvement of crops through pollination assisted by scientific beekeeping.
• Mini Mission-II, post-harvest management of beekeeping and beehive products, covering collection, processing, storage, marketing and value addition, and the infrastructure for all of these.
• Mini Mission-III: research and technology generation for different regions, states and agro-climatic and socio-economic conditions.

What NBHM sets out to do

• Build infrastructure for quality nucleus stock of honeybees, stock multiplication by bee breeders, and post-harvest and marketing facilities.
• Set up quality control labs for testing honey and other beehive products at regional level, with mini and satellite labs in major honey districts.
• Build a blockchain and traceability system for the source of honey, including online registration.
• Develop honey corridors, promote agri-startups in beekeeping, empower women through beekeeping, and organise beekeepers into SHGs, FPOs, cooperatives and federations.

Who is eligible for NBHM?

You can apply if:

• You are an individual beekeeper, society, firm or company; assistance is 50% in states outside the NE and Himalayan region.
• You are an SHG, JLG, farmers' or beekeepers' interest group, cooperative, FPO, FPC or a Member Beekeepers' Federation registered with NBB; assistance rises to 75%.
• You are in the North Eastern Region or a Himalayan state: assistance is 90% for all individuals, institutions, organisations, societies, cooperatives, SHGs, JLGs, FIGs, firms, companies, FPOs and FPCs.
• You are a national or state level government organisation, including NBB, ICAR, State Agricultural Universities and Central Agricultural Universities — assistance is 100%.
• You are an experienced member society, firm or company of NBB applying for specialist components such as nucleus stock development or bee breeder development.

You cannot apply if:

• You are looking for a direct cash transfer for being a beekeeper. NBHM is a project-based scheme; money follows an approved proposal for a defined component, not a personal application.
• Your proposal does not use the prescribed appendix proforma for the component. Each NBHM component: nucleus stock centre, bee breeder, IBDC, testing lab, equipment, training; has its own format.
• You are applying for a honey testing lab without going through FSSAI. Agencies with two to three years of food quality testing experience must route proposals to NBB through FSSAI, which verifies credentials and recommends eligible proposals.
• You have not registered on the Madhukranti portal. NBB asks all beekeepers and entrepreneurs dealing in honey production, processing, packaging, marketing and export to register there.

What documents are required for NBHM?

How to apply for NBHM

1. Register as a beekeeper, society, firm or company on the Madhukranti portal at madhukranti.in, which NBB uses for registration and honey traceability.
2. Identify the NBHM component you want support for, nucleus stock centre, bee breeder development, an Integrated Beekeeping Development Centre, a honey testing lab, specialised equipment for high-value beehive products, bee friendly flora plantation, or a training programme.
3. Download the matching appendix proforma from the NBHM guidelines and fill in organisation details, past training or production record, bank account details and full project details with item-wise costs.
4. For a honey or beehive product testing lab, route the proposal to NBB through FSSAI, which scrutinises credentials and recommends eligible proposals.
5. Submit the proposal with supporting documents to the National Bee Board, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, New Delhi. Individual beekeepers who are not applying for an institutional component should approach the state agriculture or horticulture department, KVK, SHG or NBB member society acting as an implementing agency in their district.
6. The proposal is examined by the Project Appraisal Committee and approved by the Executive Committee or the Project Approval and Monitoring Committee, with state-level clearance by the State Level Steering Committee.
7. Receive assistance in phased instalments tied to physical progress and documents submitted to NBB, for example, 50%, 25% and 25% across three years for a nucleus stock development centre.

How much benefit does NBHM provide?

Pattern of assistance

Component ceilings

• Quality Nucleus Stock Development Centre: estimated cost Rs 30 lakh, with 100% up to Rs 30 lakh per project for public sector research organisations and 50% of eligible cost up to Rs 30 lakh for expert member societies, firms and companies of NBB. The centre must produce 2,000 quality nucleus stock or queen bees over three years to 600, 700 and 700 in the first, second and third years.
• Development of bee breeders: estimated cost Rs 12.50 lakh, with maximum assistance of Rs 5 lakh per project. A bee breeder is expected to produce a minimum of 2,000 quality bee colonies a year for three continuous years.
• Integrated Beekeeping Development Centre or Centre of Excellence: maximum assistance up to Rs 750 lakh per IBDC, set up at district level to bring production, processing, capacity building and skill development under one roof.
• Regional honey testing lab: estimated cost Rs 2,000 lakh per lab, with assistance up to Rs 800 lakh per lab for setting up or strengthening.
• Mini or satellite honey testing labs: 100 district-level satellite labs planned under the mission.

What has NBHM achieved so far?

According to the PIB backgrounder, by March 2025 the mission had sanctioned 6 world-class honey testing labs, 47 mini honey testing labs, 6 disease diagnostic labs, 8 custom hiring centres, 26 honey processing units, 12 beekeeping equipment units, 18 collection, branding and marketing units and 10 packaging and cold storage units. Sanctioned projects covered 424 hectares of technology demonstration on beekeeping and 288 hectares of bee-friendly flora plantation, and 167 activities were sanctioned for women's empowerment through SHGs. A National Centre of Excellence in Beekeeping has been sanctioned at IIT Roorkee, and 97 of 100 allotted FPOs of beekeepers and honey producers had been registered or formed by March 2025.

On the market side, India produced about 1.4 lakh MT of natural honey in marketing year 2024 and exported around 1.07 lakh MT worth USD 177.52 million in FY 2023-24, making it the second-largest honey exporter globally after China. The main producing states are Uttar Pradesh (17%), West Bengal (16%), Punjab (14%), Bihar (12%) and Rajasthan (9%).

Help and grievance redressal for NBHM

• National Bee Board: 011-23325265 and 011-23719025, "B" Wing, second floor, Janpath Bhawan, Janpath, New Delhi-110001.
• Email: nbb-nbhm@gov.in
• Madhukranti portal: madhukranti.in for beekeeper registration and honey traceability.

If you are an individual beekeeper looking for bee boxes or colonies rather than an institutional project, start with your state horticulture or agriculture department and the nearest KVK, they, not the National Bee Board, are the bodies that implement field-level NBHM activity in your district.