Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) for Custom Hiring Centres / Big Farmers - Uttarakhand

What is SMAM for Custom Hiring Centres and big farmers in Uttarakhand?

Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) has a second, larger track that sits alongside the individual-machine subsidy. Instead of paying a farmer part of the cost of one implement, this track funds a package of machines held in common and hired out, a Custom Hiring Centre (CHC), a hi-tech hub of high value machines, or a village level Farm Machinery Bank (FMB). The Department of Agriculture, Government of Uttarakhand, implements it on a 90 percent central and 10 percent state share, the same funding pattern as the rest of SMAM.

The logic is specific to Uttarakhand. According to the Department of Agriculture, farm power in the state's hill districts is about 0.5 kilowatt per hectare against roughly 3 kilowatt per hectare in the plains, and holdings there are small, scattered and terraced, so large modern machinery cannot be used on an individual holding at all. The department therefore concentrates on Farm Machinery Banks in hilly areas and Custom Hiring Centres in plain areas, so that a farmer who could never justify buying a power tiller, reaper or thresher can still hire one at low cost close to home.

Who this track is designed for

• Rural entrepreneurs, which the Ministry defines to include rural youth and a farmer acting as an entrepreneur, the "big farmer" route.
• Cooperative societies of farmers and registered farmer societies.
• Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs).
• Self-help groups.
• Panchayats.

How much assistance does a Custom Hiring Centre get?

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the pattern is:

The percentage is applied to the approved project cost, not to whatever the promoter chooses to spend. The balance is the promoter's own contribution, and in practice many groups raise it as a term loan, sometimes alongside the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, which the Uttarakhand Department of Agriculture also lists among its schemes.

Prices used for the calculation are capped at the rate the manufacturer has published for that model on agrimachinery.nic.in, which cannot be changed for a year. Directorate of Agriculture letter number 7808 dated 10 February 2026 directs the district Chief Agriculture Officer to act if a dealer charges more than the portal rate.

Who is eligible for CHC and FMB assistance in Uttarakhand?

You can apply if:

• You are a rural entrepreneur in Uttarakhand — including rural youth or a farmer setting up the centre as a business.
• You are a cooperative society of farmers, a registered farmer society, an FPO, a self-help group or a panchayat in the state. The 80 percent Farm Machinery Bank rate is restricted to these collective bodies.
• Your district still has an unfilled CHC or FMB target for the current financial year, since targets are distributed district-wise and block-wise after the centre allocates them to the state.
• Every machine in your package is a listed and registered make and model bought from that manufacturer's authorised dealer.

You cannot apply, or the project will not be sanctioned, if:

• You are an individual small farmer seeking a personal machine. That is the separate individual-ownership track of SMAM, not this one; a person cannot claim CHC assistance for a machine meant only for their own field.
• Your body is unregistered. An informal group of farmers is not eligible for the collective rates until it is registered as a society, FPO, SHG or cooperative.
• The project cost for a Farm Machinery Bank exceeds Rs 30 lakh, in which case the 80 percent rate does not apply.
• You bought the machines before sanction, or from unlisted brands or unauthorised sellers.
• You are relying on a waitlisted application from the previous financial year, which lapses and needs a fresh application.

What documents are required?

How to apply for a Custom Hiring Centre under SMAM in Uttarakhand

1. Confirm with the district Agriculture and Soil Conservation Officer that your district has a CHC or FMB target available for the current financial year, and which package of implements the state has approved for it.
2. Register on the DBT Agri Machinery portal at agrimachinery.nic.in, using Registration → Societies/SHG/FPO for a collective body, or Registration → Entrepreneur if you are applying as a rural entrepreneur or large farmer.
3. Prepare and upload a detailed project report listing every machine, its listed model, the authorised dealer, the cost and the total project cost.
4. Submit the application against the district target and wait for sanction. Do not purchase before sanction.
5. After sanction, buy each machine from the authorised dealer of the listed model and have the dealer upload the bills on the dealer portal.
6. Present the full package for physical verification by the team constituted by the district Agriculture and Soil Conservation Officer, who uploads a joint photograph and verification report.
7. On approval, the assistance is released to the entity's bank account up to the ceilings fixed under the SMAM guideline.
8. Once operating, list the centre so farmers can find it, the Ministry's multilingual CHC Farm Machinery mobile app connects farmers to hiring centres in their area.

How to apply offline

1. Visit the district agriculture office or your block Assistant Agriculture Officer. The Uttarakhand Department of Agriculture's stated route for SMAM is to visit the nearest agriculture office.
2. Ask for the year's CHC and FMB targets, the approved implement package and the application format.
3. Submit the registration papers of your society or FPO along with the project report, and collect an acknowledgement.
4. Complete the online steps with the office's help, since sanction, bill upload and payment all run through agrimachinery.nic.in.

How to check the status of a CHC application

1. Sign in at agrimachinery.nic.in with the registered mobile number.
2. Open Tracking → Track Application for the sanction stage.
3. Use Track Implement to confirm that each machine's serial and model recorded by the dealer matches what was delivered.
4. For the verification and payment stage, follow up with the district Agriculture and Soil Conservation Officer, who holds that file.

Why CHC and FMB projects get rejected

• Unregistered applicant body claiming a collective rate.
• Project cost above Rs 30 lakh claimed at the 80 percent Farm Machinery Bank rate.
• Purchases made before sanction, or from unlisted models and unauthorised dealers.
• Prices above the portal rate, which cannot be reimbursed.
• Package incomplete at verification. The centre must actually hold the machines it was sanctioned for.
• Waitlisted application from a previous financial year, which lapses.

Key dates and how the cycle works

SMAM runs on an annual action plan. The state applies for the financial year's action plan, the centre allocates targets, and only then are district and block level CHC and FMB targets distributed and the portal opened. The DBT Agri Machinery portal states that a waitlisted application from one financial year is not considered in the next and the applicant must apply afresh. Uttarakhand publishes its year-wise mechanization circulars on the Department of Agriculture website under Agriculture Mechanization; the 2025-26 set of six directorate letters was issued on 10 February 2026.

Help and grievance redressal

• Kisaan helpline (Department of Agriculture, Uttarakhand): 18001801551
• CM helpline: 1905
• Directorate of Agriculture, Uttarakhand: Krishi Bhawan, Nanda-Ki-Chowki, Premnagar, Dehradun 248007; 0135-2972421 or 0135-2972422
• DBT Agri Machinery helpdesk: support-agrimech[at]gov[dot]in

There is no fee to register a society or entrepreneur on the DBT Agri Machinery portal, and assistance is credited only to the applicant entity's own bank account after physical verification of the machines.