New Farm Scheme to Boost 100 Low-Yield Districts

17 Jul 2025 CW Team

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the “Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana”, a six-year agriculture-focused initiative to be launched from 2025–26. The scheme will target 100 districts across India with low productivity, limited crop intensity, and inadequate credit access.

Inspired by NITI Aayog’s Aspirational District Programme, this is the first scheme of its kind to focus solely on agriculture and allied sectors. It aims to boost agricultural output, encourage crop diversification and sustainable practices, expand post-harvest storage at the block and panchayat levels, improve irrigation, and promote access to both long-term and short-term credit.

Implementation will be through the convergence of 36 existing central schemes across 11 departments, in addition to state schemes and partnerships with the private sector. Districts will be selected based on their share of net cropped area and operational holdings, with at least one district from every state/UT included.

Committees will be formed at the national, state, and district levels for planning, implementation, and monitoring. Each district will prepare a dedicated Agriculture and Allied Activities Plan under the District Dhan-Dhaanya Samiti, which will include progressive farmers.

Plans will align with national goals such as crop diversification, soil and water conservation, natural and organic farming, and agricultural self-sufficiency. Progress will be tracked monthly using 117 key performance indicators via a dedicated dashboard, with oversight from Central Nodal Officers and NITI Aayog.

The scheme is expected to raise productivity, boost value addition, enhance livelihoods, and strengthen India’s self-reliance in agriculture. As outcomes improve in these districts, national indicators are also projected to rise steadily.

Infrastructure Urban

17 Sep 2025

DCPC Prepares for Special Campaign 5.0 with Focus on E-Waste

The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals (DCPC), Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, is gearing up for Special Campaign 5.0, to be held from 2nd to 31st October 2025. The initiative will focus on e-waste disposal as per MoEFCC’s E-Waste Management Rules 2022, space optimisation, and enhancing workplace efficiency across field offices.Special Campaign 4.0, conducted between October 2023 and October 2024, delivered notable results in record management, grievance redressal, scrap disposal, and cleanliness drives.Key outcomes of Special Campaign 4.0Records management: 2,443 physical fil..

BlackRock India Leases 1.4 Lakh Sq Ft in Bengaluru

BlackRock Services India, the domestic arm of global asset manager BlackRock, has leased 1.4 lakh sq ft of office space at IndiQube Symphony in Bengaluru, according to Propstack data. The 10-year deal is valued at around Rs 4.10 billion.The lease, among the largest transactions in India’s co-working sector, highlights the growing preference of global institutions for flexible office providers. The agreement, commencing October 1, 2025, covers ground plus five floors in KNG Tower 1 at Ashoknagar, MG Road — one of Bengaluru’s prime commercial hubs.As per the lease document, BlackRock will ..

L&T Bags Rs 25–50 Bn Order for Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Track Works

Larsen & Toubro’s (L&T) Transportation Infrastructure business has secured an order valued between Rs 25 crore and Rs 50 billion from the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor.The contract, Package T1, involves the design, supply, construction, testing, and commissioning of 156 route km of high-speed ballastless track on a Design-Build Lump Sum Price basis. The stretch runs from Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex to Zaroli village in Gujarat and includes 21 km of underground track and 135 km of elevated viaduct.Se..