India's Comprehensive Soil Health Management Initiatives
India recognizes soil as a strategic national resource supporting agricultural productivity, food security, and rural livelihoods, with 59% of the country's 306.65 million hectares total reported area under agriculture and over 46% of the workforce employed in agriculture and allied activities. The government has implemented multiple initiatives to promote scientific soil management through testing, balanced nutrient use, and climate-resilient farming practices.
Key National Programs and Achievements
The Soil Health Card Scheme, launched in 2015, has generated over 25.89 crore cards providing crop-specific recommendations to farmers as of 13 March 2026. The program has conducted approximately 7.17 lakh demonstrations through Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) to promote balanced fertilizer use, and trained 70,002 Krishi Sakhis for grassroots dissemination of soil health advisories. The School Soil Health Programme registered 4,430 schools and 1,29,167 students in 2025-26.
The National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF), launched in 2024, has expanded significantly to 18,786 clusters covering 8.80 lakh hectares with over 18.19 lakh farmers enrolled as of March 2026. The mission is supported by 33,676 trained Community Resource Persons and a network of Bio-input Resource Centres (BRCs) that supply natural farming inputs like Beejamrit and Jeevamrit.
The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), launched in 2014-15 as part of the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), has released Rs. 2,119.84 crore under Rainfed Area Development since inception, covering 8.50 lakh hectares and benefiting 14.35 lakh farmers through Integrated Farming System.
Climate Action and Carbon Sequestration
Soil plays a critical role in climate change mitigation by acting as a natural carbon sink. The National Mission for a Green India aims to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5-3.0 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent by 2030, with 2.29 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent already created between 2005 and 2021 according to the India State of Forest Report 2023. The Carbon Credit Trading Scheme adopted in 2023 enables farmers to earn tradable carbon credit certificates through voluntary carbon markets using verification standards like Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and Gold Standard.
Fertilizer Management Reforms
The Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) scheme provides subsidies on 28 grades of Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) fertilizers, including Diammonium Phosphate (DAP), with separate rates for Kharif (1 April to 30 September) and Rabi (1 October to 31 March) seasons. Fertilizer subsidy disbursements totaled Rs. 6.77 lakh crore between 2022-23 and July 2025. The government has mandated 100% neem coating on all domestically produced urea to improve nutrient-use efficiency and reduce diversion for non-agricultural purposes.
Digital Transformation and Technology Integration
The Nationwide Soil Resource Mapping project by Soil and Land Use Survey of India (SLUSI) has mapped 29 million hectares of agricultural land as of September 2024, with a target of 142 million hectares. Rs. 1,076 crore was provided to six States (Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh) to accelerate this effort.
The Digital Agriculture Mission has generated over 7.63 crore Farmer IDs as of 27 November 2025, with 23.5 crore crop plots surveyed during Rabi 2024-25. AI-based platforms like Krishi Decision Support System (KDSS) integrate soil, weather, and crop data to generate location-specific advisories for precision farming, including site-specific application of water and fertilizers.
Awareness and Outreach Campaigns
The Khet Bachao Abhiyan, conducted during June 1-30, 2026, involved the entire National Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Systems (NAREES) and organized 99,489 interaction meetings, 25,178 awareness camps, 6,721 training programs, and 96,227 field demonstrations on green manuring and bio-fertilisers. The campaign engaged approximately 1.07 crore farmers and stakeholders directly, and about 4.5 crore citizens through social media, along with 4,916 Janpratinidhi Sammelans including fertilizer and input dealers.