01 Read
What happened
India's Union Budget allocation for the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare grew from ₹27,663 crore in 2013-14 to ₹1,40,528.78 crore in 2026-27, a five-fold increase over thirteen years. This expansion reflects scaled-up flagship schemes including PM-KISAN, PM Fasal Bima Yojana, and the e-NAM platform, alongside enhanced credit flow targets, MSP revisions, and investment in digital and infrastructure support for farmers across allied sectors.
02 Understand
Why it matters
India's agriculture budget trajectory is a window into the government's shifting priorities for the rural economy. The 5x expansion from 2013-14 to 2026-27 is not simply an inflation adjustment — it represents structural additions through new direct-benefit schemes, expanded crop insurance coverage, and digital agriculture infrastructure.
Three pillars drive this increase:
1. Direct Income Support: PM-KISAN (launched 2019) alone disburses ₹6,000 per year to ~11 crore farmers, requiring a recurring annual outlay of roughly ₹60,000 crore.
2. Risk Management: PM Fasal Bima Yojana (2016) replaced older crop insurance schemes with a farmer-premium-capped model (2% for Kharif, 1.5% for Rabi, 5% for horticulture), with the government bearing the actuarial premium balance.
3. Market Reform: e-NAM, the electronic National Agriculture Market, now links over 1,000 mandis across states, improving price discovery for farmers.
Allied sectors — animal husbandry, fisheries, and dairy — received dedicated budget boosts, reflecting the government's push to double non-crop income streams. NABARD's agricultural credit target also scaled in tandem, rising to ₹25 lakh crore for 2025-26.
For exam purposes, the critical skill is distinguishing the scheme names, launch years, implementing ministries, and financial parameters — because examiners blank out exactly those numbers in fill-in-the-blank and statement-matching questions.
Three pillars drive this increase:
1. Direct Income Support: PM-KISAN (launched 2019) alone disburses ₹6,000 per year to ~11 crore farmers, requiring a recurring annual outlay of roughly ₹60,000 crore.
2. Risk Management: PM Fasal Bima Yojana (2016) replaced older crop insurance schemes with a farmer-premium-capped model (2% for Kharif, 1.5% for Rabi, 5% for horticulture), with the government bearing the actuarial premium balance.
3. Market Reform: e-NAM, the electronic National Agriculture Market, now links over 1,000 mandis across states, improving price discovery for farmers.
Allied sectors — animal husbandry, fisheries, and dairy — received dedicated budget boosts, reflecting the government's push to double non-crop income streams. NABARD's agricultural credit target also scaled in tandem, rising to ₹25 lakh crore for 2025-26.
For exam purposes, the critical skill is distinguishing the scheme names, launch years, implementing ministries, and financial parameters — because examiners blank out exactly those numbers in fill-in-the-blank and statement-matching questions.
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