Implementation of Soil Health Card Scheme

Implementation of Soil Health Card Scheme , 34.47 Lakh Soil Health Card Distributed to Farmers.As on 15.11.2016, 212.96 lakh samples collected, 127.95 lakh samples tested and 344.70 lakh Soil Health Cards distributed to farmers in cycle 2015-16 to 2016-17. State / UT-wise detail is given below in table. The Government has introduced Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme with the aim to provide Soil Health

Cards to all 14 crore land holdings across the country once in a cycle of 2 years.    Soil Health Cards provide farmers with recommendations on appropriate dosage of nutrients to be applied for cultivation of various crops along with soil amendments.  Nationally agreed norms / standards of 10 hectares for rainfed areas and 2.5 hectare for irrigated areas will be the grid for soil sample collection.  A total of around 2.53 crore samples will be collected and tested to generate 14 crore soil health cards to individual farm land holdings.

There are 1414 Soil Testing Labs available with an analyzing annual capacity of 195.27 lakh samples in the country. State / UT-wise detail is given below. For further augmentation of these soil testing labs, setting up of 460 new soil testing labs (380 static + 80 mobile) have been sanctioned under Soil Health Management Scheme during 2014-15 to 2016-17 (as on 16.11.2016). Apart from this 2296 mini soil testing labs are also sanctioned under the scheme during 2016-17.