Soil Health Card Scheme

What is the Soil Health Card Scheme?

Soil Health Card Scheme is a Government of India programme launched on 19 February 2015 that gives every farmer a printed report on the nutrient status of their own soil, along with a recommendation on how much fertiliser and soil amendment to apply for the crops they grow. The scheme's slogan is Swasth Dharaa, Khet Haraa, healthy earth, green fields.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the Soil Health Card portal generates cards in a uniform, standardised format across the country, in all major Indian languages and five dialects. From 2022-23 the scheme has been merged into Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana as its Soil Health and Fertility component, so state funding now flows through RKVY.

Soil Health Card Scheme exists because Indian farmers commonly apply nitrogen far in excess of phosphorus and potash, and skip micronutrients entirely. A soil test replaces guesswork with a number: how much urea, DAP, MOP, gypsum or zinc sulphate a specific field actually needs.

Key objectives

• Issue a soil health report to every farm holding on a repeating cycle.
• Promote balanced use of fertiliser and cut input cost per acre.
• Build a national soil fertility database from GPS-tagged samples.
• Create village level soil testing capacity and rural employment alongside it.

Main features

• The card is free: sampling, testing and printing are paid for by the government.
• Each card reports 12 soil parameters and gives crop-wise fertiliser recommendations.
• Samples are GPS-tagged, so results are tied to a mapped location.
• More than 25 crore cards have been issued; 24.74 crore were generated as of February 2025, backed by Rs 1,706.18 crore released to states and union territories.
• A Soil Health Card mobile app lets farmers register and download the card.
• 665 village level soil testing labs across 17 states had been set up as of February 2025.

What are the 12 parameters on a Soil Health Card?

Soil Health Card reports the soil against twelve measurements, grouped as follows:

Against each parameter the card shows the measured value, whether it is low, medium or high, and what to do about it. The second half of the card carries the fertiliser dose for the crops the farmer has declared.

Who is eligible for a Soil Health Card?

You can apply if:

• You are a farmer holding agricultural land anywhere in India, whatever the size of the holding.
• You can produce a land record, khata, khatauni, khasra or the state equivalent, for the plot you want sampled.
• You have an Aadhaar number and a mobile number for portal registration and OTP verification.

There is no income limit, no landholding ceiling and no caste restriction for a Soil Health Card. Small, marginal, medium and large farmers are all covered.

You cannot apply if:

• You do not hold or cultivate agricultural land — there is no benefit to claim, and non-farmers are not eligible.
• You are looking for a cash subsidy. The scheme provides a test and a report, not money; anyone expecting a direct transfer is not eligible under this scheme.
• You cannot show any land record for the plot. A tenant or sharecropper without a recorded right may not be able to register on the portal on their own and must go through the village agriculture extension officer.

For the village level soil testing lab assistance, you cannot apply if you are below 18 or above 27 years of age, or if you have not passed Class 10 with a science background.

What documents are required for a Soil Health Card?

How to apply for a Soil Health Card online

1. Open soilhealth.dac.gov.in or install the Soil Health Card mobile app from the Google Play Store.
2. Go to the Farmers Corner and choose the option to register or apply for a Soil Health Card.
3. Enter your Aadhaar number, mobile number and, if you have one, your PM-KISAN ID.
4. Fill in your name, address, district, block and village, and the land record details; survey or khasra number and area; along with the crops you grow.
5. Upload documents; Aadhaar and the land record (khata khatauni).
6. Verify with the OTP sent to your mobile number and submit the request.
7. Wait for sample collection. Agriculture department staff or a soil testing lab worker visits the field, draws a GPS-tagged sample and sends it to the notified laboratory.
8. Download the card from the portal or app once you receive the SMS, or collect the printed card from the agriculture office.

How to apply for a Soil Health Card offline

1. Visit your district or block agriculture office, the nearest Krishi Vigyan Kendra, a Common Service Centre, or meet the village agriculture extension officer.
2. Give your Aadhaar number, mobile number and land record, and ask to be registered for soil testing.
3. Allow the sample to be collected from your field during the sampling round for your village.
4. Collect the printed Soil Health Card from the same office, or download it later from soilhealth.dac.gov.in.

How to check your Soil Health Card status

1. Open soilhealth.dac.gov.in or the mobile app.
2. Select the option to view or print the Soil Health Card.
3. Enter your registered mobile number or Aadhaar number, or search by state, district, block and village.
4. Open the card to see the 12 parameter values and the crop-wise fertiliser recommendation, and download the PDF.

If no card appears, the sample for your plot may not have been collected or the lab result may not yet be uploaded. The district agriculture office can tell you which sampling round covers your village.

How much benefit does the Soil Health Card Scheme provide?

The Soil Health Card itself is provided free of cost. The financial benefit to the farmer is indirect but real: a balanced fertiliser dose based on the test usually reduces the amount of urea and DAP applied per acre and improves yield response, which lowers cost per quintal.

For rural youth and village institutions, the scheme provides one-time assistance of Rs 1.5 lakh to establish a village level soil testing lab. Eligible applicants include youth aged 18 to 27 years with a minimum Class 10 pass in a science stream and basic computer knowledge, self-help groups, Krishi Sakhis, PACS, students of government schools and agriculture graduates from state agricultural universities.

Common problems farmers face with Soil Health Cards

• Sample never collected because the village was not covered in the current sampling round.
• Card not visible on the portal as the laboratory result has not been uploaded yet.
• Wrong survey number entered at registration, so the card maps to another plot.
• Recommendations not read; many farmers collect the card but continue with the old fertiliser habit, which defeats the purpose.
• Land record mismatch, particularly where the holding is jointly owned or the mutation is pending.

Help and grievance redressal

• Soil Health Card portal: soilhealth.dac.gov.in and soilhealth2.dac.gov.in
• Kisan Call Centre: 1800-180-1551, available in Indian languages
• District or block agriculture officer, for sampling rounds and printed cards
• Krishi Vigyan Kendra in your district, for help reading the recommendations

The Soil Health Card is free. No agent, dealer or laboratory can charge a farmer for a card issued under this scheme, and a fertiliser shop's advice is not a substitute for a tested recommendation.