Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched two major agricultural schemes including the PM Dhan Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PM-DDKY) and the Dalhan Atmanirbharta Mission, with a combined outlay of ₹35,440 crore. The schemes are aimed at boosting productivity, supporting diversification, and empowering farmers across India.

“On one hand, we must be self-reliant. On the other hand, we also need to produce for the global market. Now, we have to knock on the doors of the world. We must focus on crops that dominate the world’s markets. We have to definitely reduce imports and must not lag behind in increasing exports. The PM Dhan Dhaanya Krishi Yojana and Dalhan Atmanirbharta Mission will play a major role in this,” PM Modi said during his address at the special Krishi programme organised at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi.

Initially approved in July this year, the PM-DDKY has an outlay of ₹24,000 crore. Under the scheme, the Centre will target 100 aspirational districts depending on their agricultural output, cropping intensity, and institutional credit availability. The scheme focuses on crop diversification, sustainable agriculture, post-harvest storage, irrigation improvements, and credit access for farmers.

“The mood in the country today is such that people are not satisfied with just a few achievements. To become a developed nation, we must continually improve and progress in every sector. The PM Dhan Dhaanya Krishi Yojana is a result of this thinking. Its inspiration comes from the success of the Aspirational District Programme,” PM Modi added.

Meanwhile, the Dalhan Atmanirbharta Mission has received an allocation of ₹11,440 crore. The mission intends to boost pulse production, expand cultivation by 35 lakh hectares, and strengthen the pulses value chain (procurement, storage, processing). According to the Centre, the scheme is set to directly benefit over 2 crore pulse farmers aside from securing India’s protein demand.

At the event, he also inaugurated several agriculture-related projects exceeding ₹5,450 crore including those for animal husbandry, fisheries, and food processing sectors, and laid foundation stones for further projects worth ₹815 crore. Some of these projects were artificial insemination centres, milk powder and fish feed plants, IVF labs, agro-processing clusters, integrated cold chains, and smart aquaparks.