- Why in news
- On 9 May 2026, PIB published a explainer on the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), with progress figures on rainfed area development, micro-irrigation, soil health cards and climate-resilient varieties.
- What it is
- The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) is one of the missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change. It aims to make Indian farming more resilient to climate variability, with a focus on rainfed areas, water-use efficiency and soil health. Its main components are Rainfed Area Development, Per Drop More Crop and Soil Health Management.
- Rainfed Area Development (RAD)
- RAD promotes agro-climatic zone-specific Integrated Farming System models developed by ICAR, combining cropping with horticulture, livestock and fisheries.
- Per Drop More Crop (PDMC)
- PDMC promotes micro-irrigation, mainly drip and sprinkler, through subsidies. It has run since 2015-16 and covered about 109 lakh hectares.
Don’t confuse with NMSA vs NICRA: NMSA is a Government of India mission under NAPCC. NICRA is an ICAR research programme from 2011 that supports it.
Don’t confuse with PDMC vs PMKSY: PDMC is the micro-irrigation component of PMKSY, while NMSA also hosts it as an intervention in this release's framing; the two should not be mixed up.
Schemes: 52 Prelims questions since 2013, 10 in Prelims 2026 alone. They test features, the period and who funds it. In Mains, 33 news-triggered questions, mostly GS3.
Why it matters
- Rainfed farming is nearly 60 percent of net sown area and about 40 percent of food production, so resilience here protects food security.
- Micro-irrigation, balanced nutrients and climate-resilient varieties raise productivity while saving water and fertilizer.
Problems
- Progress is uneven: soil fertility mapping is complete in only 2,023 of 6,954 model villages.
- Meeting the micro-irrigation target needs at least 20 lakh hectares a year.
Way forward
- Speed up village-level soil mapping and link cards to fertilizer advice.
- Scale up climate-resilient villages and varieties through district contingency plans.
Put in your answer
Soil Health Card outcome: A 2025 NITI Aayog evaluation found the scheme helped correct nutrient imbalance, especially excess urea use.
Climate-resilient varieties: 2,996 climate-resilient crop varieties were released during 2014-2025.
- 2026Prelims Q28Objectives of Rainfed Area Development under NMSA, which statements are correct?
- 2019Mains GS3 · Q4Elaborate the impact of National Watershed Project on water-stressed agricultural production.
- 2016Mains GS3 · Q7Define water-use efficiency and describe micro-irrigation's role in increasing it.
- 2016Mains GS1 · Q20How micro-watershed development conserves water in drought-prone semi-arid regions.
- 2017Prelims Q72Which statements about the Soil Health Card Scheme are correct?
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
Prelims practice · Statements
Ours, not from a UPSC paper
Consider the following statements:
- 1.The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture was launched under the framework of the National Action Plan on Climate Change.
- 2.Under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture, village-level soil fertility maps are prepared by the National Rainfed Area Authority.
- 3.The Per Drop More Crop component promotes micro-irrigation, particularly drip and sprinkler irrigation, at the farm level.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
True or false?
1 of 8
Statements the way Prelims prints them. Say first, then see the fact.
1.The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture was launched under the framework of the National Action Plan on Climate Change.
True. NMSA is one of the missions under NAPCC, launched in 2014-15.
2.The Rainfed Area Development component promotes Integrated Farming System models developed by ICAR.
True. RAD uses agro-climatic zone-specific IFS models developed by ICAR.
3.Per Drop More Crop mainly promotes flood irrigation to expand the area under canal command.
False. PDMC promotes micro-irrigation, mainly drip and sprinkler systems.
4.The Soil Health Card Scheme was launched in 2015.
True. The SHC Scheme was launched in 2015.
5.The National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) was launched by ICAR in 2011.
True. ICAR launched NICRA in 2011.
6.Village-level soil fertility maps under the Soil Health Management component are prepared by the National Rainfed Area Authority.
False. The Soil and Land Use Survey of India (SLUSI) prepares them.
7.NMSA supports SDG 2, SDG 6 and SDG 13.
True. It supports Zero Hunger, Clean Water and Sanitation, and Climate Action.
8.From 2022-23, NMSA was made a sub-mission of the Green Revolution-Krishonnati Yojana.
False. It became a sub-mission of Green Revolution-Krishonnati Yojana from 2018-19; from 2022-23 it falls under PM-RKVY.
Written by us from the release, not by UPSC; checked by a second model.
Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.