More than 80% of India's available water resources are used for agricultural irrigation. However, only about 50% of the net sown area has irrigation facilities. Improving water use efficiency has therefore become a national priority.

Micro irrigation is an important solution for improving water use efficiency in agriculture. This is because it delivers water directly to crops with minimum losses.

The government is implementing the Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) scheme to promote efficient water use at the farm level. It is a centrally sponsored scheme. It supports micro-irrigation systems: drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation.

Under this scheme, the government provides financial assistance of up to five hectares per beneficiary to install micro irrigation systems. Small and marginal farmers receive 55%, and other farmers receive 45% financial assistance.

Central assistance of ₹8,123.24 crore has been released in the last three years. Some state governments also provide additional subsidies from their own budgets. Farmers can receive assistance again for the same land after seven years.

The initiative originally began in January 2006 as the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Micro Irrigation. It was later upgraded to the National Mission on Micro Irrigation (NMMI) in 2010-11. During FY 2014-15, it became part of the National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) under the

"On Farm Water Management" (OFWM) component. From FY 2015-16 to FY 2021-22, it was officially named Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) and implemented as a core component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY). Since 2022-23, PDMC has been implemented under the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY).Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY)

Strategic Focus Areas of PDMC

The PDMC scheme promotes precision water management to enhance crop productivity and increase farmers' incomes. The scheme also promotes fertigation to improve nutrient application efficiency and prioritizes water-scarce and groundwater-stressed regions.

Fertigation is the process of applying fertilizers with irrigation water directly to the region where most of the plant’s roots develop.Further, PDMC supports the integration of micro irrigation with tube wells, river-lift irrigation, and solar-powered irrigation systems.

It encourages convergence with other government programmes to maximize the utilization of water resources. The scheme also promotes scientific advancements in micro-irrigation for agriculture and horticulture.