Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana: Per Drop More Crop (PDMC)

What is Per Drop More Crop under PMKSY?

Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) is a component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), the Government of India's umbrella irrigation programme launched on 1 July 2015 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. While PMKSY as a whole aims to bring "har khet ko paani" (water to every field), the Per Drop More Crop component focuses specifically on improving water-use efficiency at the farm level through micro-irrigation.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, PDMC promotes drip and sprinkler irrigation, which deliver water directly to the crop's root zone instead of flooding the field. This saves water, reduces fertiliser run-off when used with fertigation, and can raise yields: hence "more crop per drop". The scheme is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, implemented by state governments through their agriculture and horticulture departments.

Key features

• Financial assistance for installing micro-irrigation (drip and sprinkler) systems.
• 55 percent subsidy for small and marginal farmers and 45 percent for other farmers under central norms.
• Many states add a top-up from their own funds, lowering the farmer's share further.
• Subsidy is paid by Direct Benefit Transfer after installation is verified.

How much subsidy does Per Drop More Crop give?

Under the central pattern of assistance, the subsidy on the approved cost of a micro-irrigation system is:

Several states supplement this with an additional top-up subsidy, so the net amount a farmer pays out of pocket can be well below the 45–55 percent balance. Because the top-up and the ceiling per hectare are set by each state, the exact figure depends on where you farm. The subsidy is calculated on the state-approved cost of the system, not on any price a vendor quotes, which is why the department must approve the estimate first.

Who is eligible for Per Drop More Crop?

You can apply if:

• You are a farmer who owns or has secured cultivable land to be irrigated.
• You want to install an approved drip or sprinkler micro-irrigation system.
• You use an empanelled vendor and a state-approved system and cost.

You cannot get the subsidy if:

• You do not own or hold cultivable land for the plot in question.
• You install a system outside the state-approved component list or through a non-empanelled vendor.
• You try to claim subsidy twice for the same plot within the fixed cycle (states set a minimum gap before the same land can be subsidised again).

Small and marginal farmers, and in many states SC/ST farmers — are prioritised and receive the higher subsidy share.

What documents are required for Per Drop More Crop?

How to apply for Per Drop More Crop

1. Contact your state agriculture or horticulture department, or open the state's micro-irrigation portal if it has one (many states run PDMC online).
2. Submit an application with your land records, Aadhaar and bank details, and a quotation from an empanelled micro-irrigation vendor.
3. The department approves the system and cost, and sanctions the subsidy for your plot.
4. Install the drip or sprinkler system through the empanelled vendor.
5. The department inspects and verifies the installation on the ground.
6. The subsidy is credited by DBT into your bank account, and you pay only your remaining share to the vendor.

The exact portal, forms and timelines differ from state to state, so the first step, reaching your district agriculture or horticulture office; is what determines the process you follow.

Why micro-irrigation is worth it

Beyond the subsidy, drip and sprinkler systems cut water and power use, reduce weed growth between rows, and let farmers apply fertiliser precisely through fertigation. In water-stressed districts this can be the difference between one crop and two in a year. Because the government funds roughly half the cost, PDMC is aimed at making that switch affordable for farmers who could not otherwise pay for a micro-irrigation setup upfront.

Help and grievance redressal

• PMKSY portal: pmksy.gov.in for scheme guidelines and state links
• State agriculture / horticulture department: the actual implementing and grievance authority for your subsidy claim
• Kisan Call Centre: 1800-180-1551 for general farmer queries

There is no fee to apply for the Per Drop More Crop subsidy. The subsidy is paid directly to your bank account after installation; no vendor or agent should ask for a cut of it.

How to check your application status

Per Drop More Crop has no single central status portal, because the subsidy is sanctioned and paid by the state agriculture or horticulture department, not by pmksy.gov.in directly. Once you have submitted your application with land records, Aadhaar, bank details and a vendor quotation, use whichever of these matches your state's process:

1. Log in to your state's micro-irrigation or DBT agriculture portal, if the state runs one (most major states, including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Haryana, have a dedicated micro-irrigation subsidy portal). Your application number or Aadhaar-linked login will show the current stage: submitted, field-verified, sanctioned, installation-verified, or subsidy disbursed.
2. Visit or call the district agriculture or horticulture office where you filed the application if there is no online tracker, or if the portal status has not moved for several weeks. They hold the physical file and can tell you whether it is awaiting field verification, awaiting your installation, or awaiting the DBT release.
3. Check your bank account and its DBT/Aadhaar-seeding status directly, since the final stage of the process is a Direct Benefit Transfer into your account. If the department confirms the subsidy has been sanctioned and released but the money has not arrived, the likely cause is an account that is not Aadhaar-seeded, and the bank branch, not the agriculture office, can fix that.
4. Call the Kisan Call Centre on 1800-180-1551 for general guidance on the PDMC process and where to escalate, though this helpline cannot look up your individual state file; it can only redirect you to the right state contact.
5. Ask for a written acknowledgement or receipt at the time of application if the office does not issue one automatically. An acknowledgement with a date and reference number is the single most useful thing to have when following up later, because it proves when you applied and lets the office locate your file quickly.

Because implementation is state-run, response times vary widely: some districts verify and sanction within a few weeks of a complete application, while others take a full season, especially during peak sowing periods when field staff are stretched across many crop-related duties. If your status has not changed for more than a month after you submitted a complete application, a follow-up visit or call to the district office is reasonable rather than waiting indefinitely.

Common reasons for rejection

Land record not in the applicant's name. The Per Drop More Crop subsidy is tied to a specific plot, and the khasra/khatauni or equivalent land record must show the applicant as the owner or the person holding secured cultivation rights. A record still in a deceased parent's name, or one that has not been updated after a sale or partition, is a frequent cause of rejection. Fix: complete the mutation or succession update in the state land-record system before applying, or apply using the name currently on record.

Quotation from a non-empanelled vendor. States approve a fixed list of micro-irrigation companies for PDMC, and a quotation from a dealer outside that list is not accepted, even if the equipment itself is genuine and the price is competitive. Fix: get the quotation from a vendor on your state's current empanelled list before submitting the application, not after.

Claim exceeds the area or ceiling limits. Micro-irrigation assistance is generally capped per beneficiary (commonly around 5 hectares under the applicable central and state guidelines), and applying for a larger area than the ceiling allows results in the excess being trimmed or the whole claim being sent back for correction. Fix: scale the application to the area within your state's ceiling and plan any remaining land for a later application cycle.

No verified water source on the plot. Field verification checks that the plot has an actual source, such as a bore well, canal outlet or pond, that can feed the drip or sprinkler system. A plot without a demonstrable water source fails this inspection regardless of how complete the paperwork is. Fix: ensure the water source details are documented and functioning before the field visit, since the installation itself depends on it.

Bank account not linked for Direct Benefit Transfer. Even after an application is sanctioned, the subsidy cannot be credited if the applicant's bank account is not seeded with Aadhaar or if the account details on file do not match the applicant's name. Fix: get Aadhaar seeding confirmed at the bank branch and cross-check that the account number and name submitted with the application match the bank's own records exactly.

Repeat claim on a plot that was already subsidised. States enforce a minimum cooling-off period before the same plot can receive micro-irrigation assistance again, so a fresh application on land that already received a PDMC subsidy within that window is rejected. Fix: wait until the cooling-off period set by your state has passed, or apply for a different eligible plot in the meantime.

Installation does not match the sanctioned system. The subsidy is calculated against the specific drip or sprinkler configuration and cost that the department approved before installation. Installing a different system, a different area coverage, or additional unapproved components changes the claim and can lead to the verification team rejecting the disbursement. Fix: install exactly what was sanctioned, and if genuine changes are needed, get the department's approval for the revised estimate before proceeding rather than after installation.