30 Aug 2026

PDMC promotes micro-irrigation, efficient water use, higher productivity, reduced agricultural inputs, improved farmer incomes, groundwater conservation, and sustainable, climate-resilient agriculture across India.

Syllabus Areas:

GS III - Economy

Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) promotes micro-irrigation to enhance water-use efficiency and agricultural productivity. As of July 2026, it covers 115 lakh hectares. DBT and digital implementation improve transparency, while micro-irrigation delivers water savings, higher yields, lower costs, and increased farmers’ incomes. 

Need for Efficient Irrigation in India

  • More than 80% of India's available water resources are used for agricultural irrigation.

  • At the same time, only around 50% of the net sown area has irrigation facilities.

  • This makes improvement in water-use efficiency a major national priority.

  • Micro-irrigation addresses this challenge by delivering water directly to crops while minimising losses.

PDMC under PM-RKVY

  • Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) was launched in 2007–08 for holistic development of agriculture and allied sectors.

  • It was restructured as Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY) in October 2024.

  • PM-RKVY functions as an umbrella scheme merging nine schemes.

  • It covers areas such as:

    • Per Drop More Crop

    • Agricultural mechanisation

    • Soil health management

    • Crop diversification

    • Agri-startup accelerator fund

  • States have flexibility to reallocate funds between components according to their local agricultural requirements.

  • During 2025–26, ₹8,957.72 crore was released/sanctioned for PM-RKVY, including ₹3,226.36 crore for PDMC.

Benefits of Micro-Irrigation

  • Micro-irrigation enables efficient use of water by delivering it directly to the plant root zone, reducing wastage and improving irrigation efficiency. 

  • It lowers the use of water, energy, fertilizers, and labour while supporting better crop growth and higher productivity through the precise application of water and nutrients. 

  • The technology also encourages the cultivation of horticultural crops, improves cropping intensity, and brings marginal lands under productive use. 

  • By reducing input costs and enhancing farm returns, micro-irrigation contributes to sustainable agriculture, strengthens farmers' livelihoods, and promotes long-term food and nutritional security.

New Flexibility for Water Conservation

PDMC has introduced greater flexibility for states and UTs to undertake micro-level water storage and conservation activities.

These include:

  • Diggis — large water storage tanks/farm ponds.

  • Water harvesting systems.

  • Individual as well as community-level water conservation structures.

These interventions aim to ensure reliable and sustainable water availability for micro-irrigation.

Earlier, expenditure on such activities under the "Other Interventions" component was capped at:

  • 20% of allocation for general States/UTs.

  • 40% for North-Eastern States, Himalayan States and the UTs of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

The revised guidelines allow States/UTs to exceed these limits according to their local requirements

Also Read Types of Mico-Irrigation under PDMC