India's Agriculture Minister Pushes States to Hit 100% Farm Scheme Targets

Chouhan issued the directive during a national conference at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in Delhi on Saturday, emphasising that the Digital Agriculture Mission and Pulses Self-Reliance Mission require full saturation across all states. He noted that while some state administrations had exceeded their targets through committed implementation, others continued to lag behind schedule.

The minister highlighted the Farmer ID system as a critical transparency mechanism, noting that the direct benefit transfer arrangement ensures payments reach farmers' accounts without intermediaries. He cited Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh as states where the Centre had already allocated funds for Farmer ID generation and awareness camps, but cautioned against diverting resources away from the month-long processing timeline required for ID issuance.

Data presented at the conference revealed that 10.41 crore Farmer IDs have been generated to date. Chouhan urged all state governments to adhere strictly to their committed implementation schedules, emphasising that scheme success must be measured by tangible benefits reaching rural households rather than by completion percentages in official records. He stressed that scheme objectives could only be fulfilled if executed with genuine intent and without administrative bottlenecks.