The Centre has selected Darjeeling as one of the 100 districts in the country for benefits under the Prime Minister Dhan Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PMDDKY) for an initial period of six years.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union minister of agriculture & farmers’ welfare and rural development, in a letter to Darjeeling MP Raju Bista, has stated that the government has identified 100 agriculture aspirational districts based on three parameters.
“..100 agriculture aspirational districts have been identified based on three key indicators of low crop productivity, low cropping intensity and less short term credit disbursement. I am happy to share that the district Darjeeling has been selected under your Lok Sabha constituency in the state of West Bengal,” said Chouhan in the letter dated September 24, 2025.
The scheme, which was approved during this year’s annual budget, looks to consolidate 36 existing agricultural schemes across 11 ministries, including PM-KISAN (cash transfers), PMFBY (crop insurance), PMKSY (irrigation), and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), into a unified programme to streamline efforts and maximise impact.
With an annual budget of ₹24,000 crore for six years (2025-26 to 2030-31), totalling ₹1.44 lakh crore, the scheme aims to support 1.7 crore farmers, particularly small and marginal farmers owning less than two hectares of land, who constitute 86 per cent of India’s farming population.
Committees will be formed at the district, state and national levels for effective planning, implementation and monitoring.
“The District Committee under the District Collector is the key, as it will prepare the district action plan in consultation with stakeholders and implementation of the scheme. The performance of the scheme in the district will be monitored through a dashboard with defined Key Performance Indicators (KPI),” the minister said in
his letter.
Bista said that he was hopeful that “we will be able to holistically plan and promote sustainable agriculture and farming and enhance the livelihood and economic status of the farmers” from the region.
Many old-time farmers said the younger generation lacked interest in taking up farming.