Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization
Why in News?
The Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) is in the news because its massive impact on modernising Indian agriculture, noting that central assistance of ₹9,404.47 crore has successfully distributed 21.61 lakh agricultural machines to individual farmers across India since its inception.
Overview
- Launch Year: Formally rolled out during 2014–15.
- Nodal Ministry: Managed entirely by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India.
- Current Framework: It operates as an integral component of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY).
- Core Philosophy: Guided by the objective to "reach the unreached" by pushing mechanical power to remote and low-powered farming pockets.
Primary Objectives
- Expanding Reach: Delivers affordable farm machinery to small and marginal farmers who face low farm power availability.
- Offsetting High Costs: Overcomes high capital investment and small land-holding limitations through community machinery leasing models.
- Promoting High-Tech Hubs: Promotes specialized, high-value technical hubs for high-end agricultural production tools.
- Quality Assurance: Ensures standard safety and output quality via performance testing and certifications across designated national testing centers.
Subsidies and Financial Assistance
- Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT): Subsidies are sent straight to beneficiaries via DBT portals.
- Subsidy Structure:
- 40% financial assistance for general category farmers.
- 50% financial assistance for SC, ST, small/marginal farmers, women, and North-Eastern/Himalayan states.
- Funding Splits: The Union government splits costs 60:40 with general states, 90:10 with North-Eastern/Himalayan states, and provides 100% funding to Union Territories.
- Service Support: Small and marginal farmers receive up to ₹2,000 per hectare for utilizing mechanized drone or hiring services through custom centers.
Delivery Mechanisms
- Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs): Localized platforms that let small scale farmers hire heavy equipment like tractors or combine harvesters for a minimal rental fee.
- Farm Machinery Banks (FMBs): Community-driven or village-level storage spaces meant for cooperative and shared tool usage.
- Dedicated Women Funding: Explicitly earmarks 30% of its operational pool specifically to women farmers to boost inclusion and mitigate manual farm drudgery.
Integration of Drone Technology
- Kisan Drones: Promotes advanced precision farming for exact chemical, nutrient, and fertilizer placement.
- Institutional Grants: Grants 100% financial assistance (up to ₹10 lakh per drone) to ICAR institutes, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), and State Agricultural Universities for trial procurement.
- Commercial Grants: Offers up to 75% grants to Farmer-Producer Organizations (FPOs) and up to ₹6,000 per hectare contingency support to independent service agencies deploying agricultural drones.
