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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 379
TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 21ST JULY, 2026
PREPAREDNESS FOR EL NINO
379. SHRI SRIBHARAT MATHUKUMILLI:
Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृिष एवं (cid:7408)कसान क(cid:7016)याण
मं(cid:7074)ी be pleased to state:
(a) the expenditure incurred during the last five years on crop insurance under the
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), drought relief assistance and
investments in drought-risk reduction measures such as irrigation, watershed
development, groundwater recharge and climate-resilient agriculture;
(b) whether the Government has assessed the investment in drought preparedness
measures to reduce farmers' dependence on crop insurance and drought relief
assistance and in view of the projected El Nino conditions and the increasing
frequency of erratic monsoons, if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Government has prepared district-specific drought preparedness plans
for the 315 monsoon-vulnerable districts, particularly the 111 districts identified as
having poor irrigation facilities, including those in Andhra Pradesh and if so, the details
thereof; and
(d) the details of investments made in Andhra Pradesh under drought-risk reduction
measures during the last five years, along with the physical progress achieved, district-
wise?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
कृिष एवं (cid:7408)कसान क(cid:7016)याण रा(cid:6996)य म(cid:7074)ं ी (SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR)
(a): Details of expenditure made during last five years under Pradhan Mantri Fasal
Bima Yojana is given below:
Year Actual Release/Expenditure
(Rs. in crore)
2021-22 13,549.70
2022-23 10,296.03
2023-24 12,948.50
2024-25 14,772.86
2025-26 10,702.61The total expenditure/ release of central share of funds under State Disaster
Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) during 2020-
21 to 2024-25 is as under:
Figures in Rs. Cr
Centre's share of Release from NDRF
Year Total
SDRF released (for all calamities)
2020-21 17,825.63 8,257.09 26,082.72
2021-22 17,747.20 7,342.30 25,089.50
2022-23 16,392.80 1,524.86 17,917.66
2023-24 19,419.60 869.14 20,288.74
2024-25 19,830.40 5,160.77 24,991.17
Total 91,215.63 23,154.16 1,14,369.79
Further, 16th Finance Commission has recommended a total allocation of
Rs.1,63,521 crore under SDRF to the States for the period 2026-27 to 2030-31, of
which Central Govt. share is Rs.1,24,732.65 crore.
For watershed development, under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana
(PMKSY), during the period 2021–22 to 2025–26, a total of ₹ 6,260.86 crore has been
released. Further, the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare is implementing
Centrally Sponsored Scheme, namely Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) in the country
from 2015-16 including Andhra Pradesh. During the year 2015-16 to 2021-22, the
PDMC was implemented as a component of PMKSY and from 2022-23, it is being
implemented under the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY).
PDMC focuses on enhancing water use efficiency at farm level through Micro Irrigation
namely Drip and Sprinkler Irrigation Systems. During last five years (2021-22 to 2025-
26), 4.31 lakh ha area has been covered under Micro Irrigation through PDMC scheme
in Andhra Pradesh with release of Central Assistance of Rs. 1162.93 crore.
In addition, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is implementing
Rainfed Area Development (RAD) scheme since 2014-15 which focuses on Integrated
Farming System (IFS) for enhancing productivity and minimising risks associated with
climatic variability, mitigating impacts of drought, flood or other extreme weather
events. Since its inception, a total of Rs. 2,251.98 Cr has been released under RAD
and 9.53 lakh hectares have been brought under IFS, benefitting around 15.7 lakh
farmers.
State Government of Andhra Pradesh has also informed that an amount of Rs.
790.73 crores was spent in the last five years on drought relief assistance towards
input subsidy to affected farmers.(b) & (c): The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is continuously monitoring
the evolving monsoon situation and the possible impact of El Niño conditions on
agriculture in close coordination with the India Meteorological Department (IMD),
various Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) institutions, ICAR- Central
Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), Central Water Commission
(CWC), Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast
Centre (MNCFC), the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), the
Department of Fertilisers (DoF) and State Governments.
In this regard, District Agriculture Contingency Plans (DACPs) have been
updated for 14 States including Andhra Pradesh, covering 342 districts which are likely
to receive below normal rainfall by the ICAR’s Central Research Institute for Dryland
Agriculture (ICAR-CRIDA).
Weekly meeting of the Crop Weather Watch Group (CWWG) is being held with
the representatives of India Meteorological Department (IMD), Central Water
Commission (CWC), Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), Mahalanobis National
Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC), Indian Council of Agriculture Research - Central
Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (ICAR - CRIDA), Department of Fertilizers,
Department of Food & Public Distribution and the State Governments to review rainfall
situation, reservoir storage, groundwater levels, crop sowing, input availability, market
situation and pest/ disease incidence for timely intervention.
Adequate availability of seeds has been ensured for the ensuing season.
Against the demand of 172.80 lakh quintals from the States, availability of 192.25 lakh
quintals of Kharif crop seeds has been assessed. States have maintained 1% seeds
i.e. 1.73 lakh quintals as National Seed Reserve.
Special emphasis has been laid on promoting crop diversification, promotion of
short-duration and drought-tolerant crop varieties, balanced use of fertilizers, water
conservation practices, micro-irrigation, mulching, inter-cropping and practices of
other climate-resilient technologies.
Further, a nationwide Khet Bachao Abhiyaan was organised by Government of
India during 1st – 30th June, 2026 in which 80,67,300 farmers participated in 1,14,567
programmes which were organised to promote water conservation, introduce efficient
irrigation and climate-resilient farming practices. Simultaneously, an intensive Kisan
Credit Card (KCC) saturation drive and awareness campaign under Pradhan Mantri
Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) is being implemented in the vulnerable districts.
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is implementing a project-
National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) that studies the
challenges posed by climate change on agriculture and conducts district level risk &
vulnerability assessment due to climate change.For enhancing the resilience and adaptive capacity of farmers to climate
variability, location-specific climate resilient technologies such as system of rice
intensification, aerobic rice, direct seeding of rice, cultivation of climate resilient
varieties tolerant to extreme weather conditions such as drought and heat etc. have
been demonstrated under the project through KVKs in 151 districts covering 448
Climate Resilient Villages. Capacity building for establishing village level seed banks
and community nurseries is undertaken under NICRA to enable availability of seed in
the adopted villages.
Drought and flood tolerant climate-resilient varieties of rice, wheat, soybean,
mustard, chickpea, sorghum, gram, and foxtail millet were demonstrated in several
NICRA villages. Besides, training programmes are conducted under Agricultural
Technology Management Agency (ATMA) on various issues of agricultural practices.
Under NICRA, technical assistance for small and marginal farmers is extended to
additional vulnerable districts beyond the 151 currently covered districts, to promote
adoption of climate-resilient practices.
During 2014-25 a total of 341 drought tolerant varieties have been released by
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) out of which 200 are of Cereals, 25 are
of Oilseeds, 43 are of Pulses, 18 are of Fibre, 16 are of Forage crops, 36 are of
Sugarcane, 3 are of other crops. During the same period a total of 59 heat stress
tolerant varieties have been released out of which 43 are of Cereals, 7 are of Oilseeds,
7 are of Pulses, 2 of Mung bean and 2 are Fibre crops.
State Government of Andhra Pradesh has informed that in view of the likely El
Niño conditions and increasing monsoon variability, the State Government has
reviewed drought preparedness measures, including promotion of Pre-Monsoon Dry
Sowings (PMDS), climate-resilient cropping systems, soil moisture conservation, and
increased green cover to reduce long-term drought vulnerability.
The Central Water Commission and State Governments have been advised to
undertake advance planning for optimum utilization of reservoir water and promote
efficient irrigation practices. Assistance to farmers is available through ongoing
schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana: Per Drop More Crop
(PDMC) with a focus on enhancing water-use efficiency at the farm level through
installation of Micro-Irrigation systems. Department of Rural Development is utilising
Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB G Ram G)
funds for rejuvenating water structures – such as farm ponds, check dams, canal
desilting, and bori bandhans – to trap every drop of early or residual rainfall.
(d): State Government has also informed that District-level drought contingency
plans have been prepared for vulnerable districts in Andhra Pradesh, covering crop
contingency measures, seed reserves, irrigation management, and crop advisories.
The State is also giving special focus to Kurnool, Anantapur, and Sri Sathya Sai
districts.The State of Andhra Pradesh has invested Rs. 67.47 crore towards supply of
contingency seed under drought-risk reduction measures during last five years i.e.
2021-22 to 2025-26. Further, for the monsoon-vulnerable districts identified as having
poor irrigation facilities in Andhra Pradesh, i.e. Anantapur, Sri Sathya Sai, Kurnool, the
state agriculture and water resources departments have prioritized the following
localized interventions:
(a) Pivoting Crop Choices: Enforcing a structural shift away from water-intensive
paddy toward low-water millets (Shree Anna), pulses, and oilseeds.
(b) Groundwater & Tank Management: Accelerated desilting of local minor irrigation
tanks and the optimization of agricultural pump usage.
(c) The "Jaladhara–Jala Harathi" mission flagship water conservation and climate
resilience program launched by the Government. The program was initiated as a
100-day time-bound mission (April 6 to July 14, 2026) to systematically address
summer drought, protect minor irrigation infrastructures, and boost the rural
economy.
(d) Check Dams and Percolation Tanks: Constructed to slow down rainwater runoff,
giving it time to sink into the ground and recharge local bore wells.
(e) Beyond local farm planning, the state relies on Lift Irrigation Schemes and River
Interlinking.
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