1. Conceptual Foundation

Meaning and Purpose

Irrigation is the artificial application of water to agricultural land to supplement rainfall, ensure optimal soil moisture, and maximize crop yields. In India, where monsoon rainfall is spatially uneven and seasonally erratic, irrigation serves as a critical agricultural input that reduces production vulnerability, enables multi-cropping, and improves land productivity. Agricultural Credit refers to the provision of short, medium, and long-term financial resources to farmers through formal (institutional) and informal (non-institutional) channels. It provides the necessary liquidity for purchasing farm inputs (seeds, fertilizers, pesticides), making capital investments in machinery and land development, and sustaining household consumption between crop harvest cycles.

Importance

In competitive civil services examinations (TGPSC / UPSC), Unit 11.3 is a high-frequency, top-yield topic. Exam questions regularly evaluate:

1. Sources and efficiency of irrigation in India (Public Canals vs. Private Tube-wells, Micro-Irrigation efficiency vs. Flood Irrigation losses).
2. Structure, objectives, and 4 core components of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) (AIBP, HKKP, PDMC, IWMP).
3. Specialized irrigation funds managed by NABARD (Long Term Irrigation Fund - LTIF and Micro Irrigation Fund - MIF).
4. Classification of agricultural credit by tenure (Short-term, Medium-term, Long-term) and agency share (Institutional vs. Non-Institutional).
5. Detailed provisions, interest subvention mechanics, and scope expansion of the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme.
6. Apex development and refinancing institutions (NABARD, RIDF, Priority Sector Lending - PSL targets for agriculture).

How Concepts Connect

1. Irrigation Gap to Credit Requirement: Transitioning from rainfed farming to irrigated agriculture requires capital-intensive infrastructure (tube-wells, electric pumpsets, drip/sprinkler systems). Access to formal Agricultural Credit provides the liquidity required to install modern micro-irrigation assets.
2. Water Use Efficiency to PMKSY Design: Conventional flood irrigation consumes over 80% of India's freshwater resources but operates at a low efficiency of 38%. PMKSY bridges this efficiency gap by integrating water source creation ("Har Khet Ko Pani") with precision micro-irrigation ("Per Drop More Crop").
3. Informal Debt Trap to Institutional Credit: Historically, farmers relied on moneylenders charging exorbitant interest rates (26%–50%), leading to chronic indebtedness. Institutional credit initiatives like the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) and Interest Subvention Scheme (ISS) offer concessional short-term loans (effective 4% per annum) to liberate farmers from non-institutional exploitation.
4. Credit Shortfall to Rural Infrastructure (RIDF): When commercial banks fail to achieve their mandatory Priority Sector Lending (PSL) target for agriculture (18% of ANBC), the shortfall is redirected to the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) in NABARD to fund state irrigation and rural connectivity projects.

Key Terms

1. Water Use Efficiency (WUE): The ratio of crop yield produced per unit of water applied. India's agricultural water use efficiency stands at approximately 38%, compared to 50%–60% in developed nations.
2. Micro-Irrigation: Modern precision irrigation techniques (drip and sprinkler systems) that deliver water directly to the plant root zone or as a fine spray, achieving water use efficiency exceeding 90%.
3. Fertigation: The practice of injecting water-soluble fertilizers directly into the crop root zone through a micro-irrigation drip system.
4. PMKSY: Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, launched in 2015 to achieve convergence of irrigation investments, expand cultivable area under assured irrigation, and improve on-farm water efficiency.
5. Kisan Credit Card (KCC): A single-window flexible credit delivery mechanism launched in 1998 to provide farmers with timely, hassle-free short-term crop loans and working capital.
6. Interest Subvention Scheme (ISS): A central interest relief mechanism providing a 2% interest subvention and a 3% prompt repayment incentive on short-term crop loans up to Rs 3 Lakh, reducing the net interest rate to 4% per annum.
7. Priority Sector Lending (PSL): A regulatory mandate issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) requiring commercial banks to allocate 40% of their Net Bank Credit to designated priority sectors, including an 18% allocation to agriculture.
8. NABARD: National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, the apex statutory development financial institution established in 1982 to regulate, plan, and provide refinancing for rural credit.
9. Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF): A fund established in NABARD in 1995–96 financed by commercial bank PSL shortfalls to provide low-cost loans to State Governments for completing rural infrastructure and irrigation projects.
10. Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS): The foundational, village-level tier of the short-term cooperative credit structure in India that provides direct short-term crop loans to member farmers.

Short Timeline of Irrigation & Credit Milestones

1. 1969: Nationalization of 14 Major Commercial Banks and launch of the Lead Bank Scheme to expand rural banking coverage.
2. 1974–75: Launch of the Command Area Development Programme (CADP) to bridge the gap between created irrigation potential and actual utilization.
3. 1975 (October 2): Establishment of the first Regional Rural Bank (RRB) (Prathama Bank) based on the Narasimham Working Group recommendations.
4. 1982 (July 12): Establishment of NABARD under the NABARD Act, 1981 based on the B. Sivaraman Committee report.
5. 1992: Launch of the SHG-Bank Linkage Programme (SBLP) by NABARD, transforming micro-credit delivery in India.
6. 1995–96: Creation of the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) within NABARD.
7. 1996–97: Launch of the Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) to provide financial assistance to states for completing lingering major/medium irrigation projects.
8. 1998 (August): Launch of the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme based on the recommendations of the R.V. Gupta Committee.
9. 2015 (July): Launch of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) integrating AIBP, HKKP, PDMC, and IWMP.
10. 2018–19: Extension of KCC facilities to Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries farmers.

2. Complete Core Notes

A. Irrigation Profile & Water Resources in India

1. Macro Statistics & Dependency

• Irrigated vs. Rainfed Share: Approximately 45% of India's total foodgrain cropped area is covered under assured irrigation, while the remaining 55% relies entirely on rainfed agriculture. Rainfed areas contribute nearly 40% of total agricultural output and support 50% of the rural workforce and 60% of livestock.
• Water Allocation: Agriculture is the single largest consumer of freshwater in India, consuming over 80% of total available water resources and accounting for more than 90% of total groundwater extraction.
• Water Use Efficiency (WUE): Conventional flood/canal irrigation methods operate at a low efficiency of 38% (due to high evaporation, seepage, and deep percolation losses), whereas improved micro-irrigation systems achieve an efficiency exceeding 90%.

2. Sources of Irrigation in India

The total irrigated area in India is distributed across three principal sources:

1. Private Tube-wells & Wells (Groundwater):
   • Tube-wells Share: 45% of total operational holdings.
   • Other Wells Share: 18.5% of total holdings.
   • Combined Share: Groundwater (tube-wells + open wells) constitutes the dominant source of irrigation in India, accounting for over 63.5% of net irrigated area.
2. Public Canals (Surface Water):
   • Share: 26% of total operational holdings.
   • Features: Developed primarily through large public sector capital investments in major and medium dam/river projects.
3. Tanks, Ponds & Others:
   • Share: ~10.5% of total operational holdings.
   • Features: Traditional rainwater harvesting structures, dominant in the hard-rock plateau terrain of Southern India (including Telangana and Tamil Nadu).

B. Micro-Irrigation Technologies: Drip & Sprinkler Systems

1. Drip Irrigation (Trickle Irrigation)

• Mechanism: Delivers water and dissolved nutrients slowly and precisely directly to the root zone of individual plants through a network of plastic pipes, laterals, and drippers/emitters.
• Advantages:
  1. Water savings up to 40%–60% compared to surface flooding.
  2. Enables Fertigation (simultaneous application of water-soluble fertilizers through irrigation pipes), minimizing nutrient leaching.
  3. Significantly reduces weed growth and soil erosion.
  4. Allows cultivation on undulating, water-scarce, or saline lands.

2. Sprinkler Irrigation

• Mechanism: Sprays water into the air under pressure through overhead pipes and nozzles, breaking the stream into small droplets that fall onto the crop canopy like natural rainfall.
• Suitability: Highly suited for closely spaced field crops (wheat, pulses, millets, oilseeds) and sandy or undulating terrains where land levelling is impractical.

C. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY)

1. Framework & Mottoes

• Launched in 2015 as an umbrella Centrally Sponsored Scheme to provide end-to-end solutions in irrigation supply chains—source creation, distribution network, management, and field application.
• Core Mottoes:
  1. "Har Khet Ko Pani": Expanding cultivable area under assured irrigation.
  2. "Per Drop More Crop": Improving on-farm water use efficiency through precision micro-irrigation.

2. Four Core Components of PMKSY

PMKSY integrated four existing national schemes across three Central Ministries:

1. Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP):
   • Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Jal Shakti.
   • Focus: Expediting the faster completion of ongoing incomplete Major and Medium Irrigation Projects, including designated National Projects.
2. Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP):
   • Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Jal Shakti.
   • Focus: Creation of new minor irrigation water sources (both surface and groundwater), repair, restoration, and renovation (RRR) of traditional water bodies, strengthening carrying capacity, and command area development.
3. Per Drop More Crop (PDMC):
   • Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
   • Focus: Promoting precision micro-irrigation technologies (drip, sprinkler, rain guns) and conducting extension activities on efficient water management.
4. Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP):
   • Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Rural Development.
   • Focus: Comprehensive development of rainfed regions and culturable wastelands through runoff water management, soil conservation, check dam construction, and farm ponds.

3. Dedicated Irrigation Funds in NABARD

1. Long Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF):
   • Created in 2016–17 in NABARD with an initial corpus to fund and fast-track identified incomplete major/medium irrigation projects under PMKSY-AIBP.
   • Loans are provided to State Governments at a concessional interest rate of 6% per annum, with the cost differential compensated by the Central Government via Interest Subvention.
2. Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF):
   • Established in NABARD with a corpus of Rs 5,000 Crore under the administrative control of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
   • Helps State Governments mobilize additional resources to expand micro-irrigation coverage beyond standard PMKSY-PDMC allocations.

D. Agricultural Credit Architecture in India

1. Structure of Agricultural Credit by Tenure

1. Short-Term Credit:
   • Tenure: Less than 15 months (up to 1 year).
   • Purpose: Financing seasonal crop cultivation inputs (seeds, fertilizers, pesticides), paying farm labor wages, meeting post-harvest expenses, and servicing household consumption needs.
2. Medium-Term Credit:
   • Tenure: 15 months to 5 years.
   • Purpose: Purchasing livestock, diesel engines, electric pumpsets, and small farm implements.
3. Long-Term Credit:
   • Tenure: 5 years to 20/25 years.
   • Purpose: Purchasing additional agricultural land, constructing tube-wells, sinking wells, installing heavy machinery (tractors), and undertaking permanent land development.

2. Sources of Agricultural Credit: Institutional vs. Non-Institutional

• Institutional Sources (~70%–75%):
  1. Commercial Banks: Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) represent the largest provider of institutional agricultural credit, accounting for 78%–80% of total outstanding farm credit.
  2. Regional Rural Banks (RRBs): Specialized regional banks established under the RRB Act, 1976 to cater to small/marginal farmers, artisans, and agricultural laborers.
  3. Cooperative Credit Institutions:
     • Short-Term 3-Tier Structure: Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) at the village level → District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) at the district level → State Cooperative Banks (StCBs) at the state level.
     • Long-Term 2-Tier Structure: Primary Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (PCARDBs) at the local level → State Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (SCARDBs) at the state level (formerly Land Development / Mortgage Banks).
  4. Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) & Self-Help Groups (SHGs).
• Non-Institutional Sources (~25%–30%): Private moneylenders, commission agents, traders, landlords, relatives. (In 1951, non-institutional sources dominated with a 90% share).

E. Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme & Interest Subvention Scheme (ISS)

1. Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme

• Launch Date: Introduced in August 1998 by the Government of India, RBI, and NABARD based on the recommendations of the R.V. Gupta Committee.
• Objective: Provides adequate, timely, and simplified single-window credit to farmers for their short-term cultivation needs, post-harvest expenses, farm asset maintenance, and consumption requirements.
• Key Features & Rules:
  1. Smart Card Format: KCC accounts are issued as RuPay Smart Card cum Debit Cards, enabling cash withdrawals via ATMs and PoS machines.
  2. Validity: Valid for 3 to 5 years, subject to annual review and performance-linked credit limit increases.
  3. Collateral-Free Loan Limit: No collateral security is required for farm loans up to Rs 1.60 Lakh.
  4. Built-in Insurance: KCC holders receive accidental death and disability insurance coverage, and their crops are automatically covered under crop insurance (PMFBY).
  5. Scope Expansion (2018–19): Scope extended to cover working capital requirements for Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries farmers.

2. Interest Subvention Scheme (ISS)

• Baseline Interest Rate: Normal short-term crop loan interest rate is 7% per annum for loans up to Rs 3 Lakh.
• Subvention Components:
  1. Central Government provides a 2% interest subvention directly to lending institutions.
  2. Central Government provides an additional 3% Prompt Repayment Incentive (PRI) to farmers who repay their loans on or before the due date.
• Net Effective Interest Rate: Farmers who practice timely repayment pay an effective interest rate of only 4% per annum.

F. NABARD & Priority Sector Lending (PSL) Targets

1. NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development)

• Established: July 12, 1982 under the NABARD Act, 1981, based on the recommendations of the B. Sivaraman Committee.
• Ownership: 100% owned by the Government of India (after RBI divested its remaining stake in 2019).
• Core Functions:
  1. Apex development bank for planning, policy, and operations in rural credit.
  2. Acts purely as a Refinancing Agency for Commercial Banks, RRBs, and Cooperatives—it does NOT engage in retail direct lending to individual end-users.
  3. Statutory inspection and supervision of Cooperative Banks and RRBs.
  4. Manages dedicated funds: RIDF, LTIF, MIF, and the SHG-Bank Linkage Project.

2. Priority Sector Lending (PSL) Mandates for Agriculture

• Domestic Commercial Banks & Foreign Banks (>= 20 Branches):
  • Total PSL Target: 40% of Adjusted Net Bank Credit (ANBC).
  • Agriculture Sub-Target: 18% of ANBC, within which a mandatory sub-target of 10% is reserved for Small and Marginal Farmers (SMFs).
• Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) & Small Finance Banks (SFBs):
  • Mandatory total PSL target of 75% of ANBC (SFB total target revised to 60% in recent guidelines).

G. Plain-Text Formulas & Equations

1. Water Use Efficiency (WUE): Water Use Efficiency = Total Crop Yield Produced in Kg / Total Volume of Water Applied in Cubic Metres

2. Net Effective Interest Rate on KCC Crop Loans (Prompt Repayers): Net Effective Interest Rate = Baseline Interest Rate (7%) - Prompt Repayment Incentive (3%) = 4% per annum

3. Short-Term Crop Loan Interest Subvention Breakdown: Subvention Benefit = 2% Central Bank Subvention + 3% Farmer Repayment Incentive = 5% Total Subvention

4. Agricultural Priority Sector Sub-Target: Small & Marginal Farmer Allocation = 10% of ANBC (Out of Total 18% Agriculture PSL Target)

3. Key Concepts & Distinctions

Table 1: Drip Irrigation vs. Sprinkler Irrigation

Table 2: Institutional vs. Non-Institutional Sources of Agricultural Credit

Table 3: Summary Comparison of PMKSY Components

4. Important One-Liners

1. Agriculture consumes over 80% of India's freshwater resources and accounts for 90% of groundwater extraction.
2. Approximately 45% of India's cropped area is irrigated, while 55% is rainfed.
3. Conventional flood/canal irrigation operates at a low efficiency of 38%, whereas micro-irrigation efficiency exceeds 90%.
4. Groundwater (tube-wells + open wells) is the largest source of irrigation in India, accounting for > 63.5% of irrigated holdings.
5. Public canals account for 26% of total irrigated holdings in India.
6. Fertigation is the application of water-soluble fertilizers directly through drip irrigation pipes.
7. PMKSY was launched in 2015 with the mottoes "Har Khet Ko Pani" and "Per Drop More Crop".
8. The Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) is executed by the Ministry of Jal Shakti under PMKSY.
9. Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) is the micro-irrigation component executed by the Ministry of Agriculture.
10. The Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) is executed by the Ministry of Rural Development.
11. The Long Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF) was created in 2016–17 in NABARD to fund AIBP projects.
12. The Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF) was operationalized in NABARD with a corpus of Rs 5,000 Crore.
13. Short-term agricultural credit covers loans for a tenure of less than 15 months.
14. Medium-term agricultural credit covers loans for a tenure ranging from 15 months to 5 years.
15. Long-term agricultural credit covers loans for a tenure of 5 years to 20/25 years.
16. Institutional sources account for ~70%–75% of agricultural credit in India, compared to 10% in 1951.
17. Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) provide 78%–80% of total institutional agricultural credit.
18. The short-term cooperative credit structure operates on a 3-tier model: PACS (Village) → DCCB (District) → StCB (State).
19. The Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme was introduced in August 1998 based on the R.V. Gupta Committee report.
20. KCC short-term crop loans carry a baseline interest rate of 7% per annum up to Rs 3 Lakh.
21. Farmers who repay KCC crop loans promptly receive a 3% Prompt Repayment Incentive, paying a net interest rate of 4%.
22. The collateral-free loan limit for farm loans under KCC is Rs 1.60 Lakh.
23. In 2018–19, KCC coverage was extended to Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries farmers.
24. NABARD was established on July 12, 1982 based on the B. Sivaraman Committee recommendations.
25. NABARD is 100% owned by the Government of India and acts strictly as a refinancing agency (no retail lending).
26. Domestic commercial banks must allocate 18% of ANBC to agriculture under Priority Sector Lending (PSL).
27. Within the 18% agriculture PSL target, 10% of ANBC is specifically reserved for Small and Marginal Farmers (SMFs).
28. Shortfalls in commercial bank PSL targets are deposited into the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) in NABARD.
29. A Standard Person Year in agricultural labor studies represents working 8 hours a day for 273 days in a year.
30. The Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) in Telangana harnesses the floodwaters of the Godavari River.

5. PYQ-Based Bits

• NABARD Date of Establishment & Committee (Librarian 2023 Q2 / TGPSC PYQ):
  • NABARD was established on July 12, 1982 under an Act of Parliament based on the recommendations of the B. Sivaraman Committee.
• KCC Launch Year & Recommending Committee (UPSC PYQ / State PSCs):
  • The Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme was launched in August 1998 based on the recommendations of the R.V. Gupta Committee.
• Public Investment in Agriculture vs. Input Subsidies (UPSC 2020 Q26):
  • Computerization of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), social capital development, and building cold storage facilities constitute Public Investment in Agriculture. Waiving farm loans, providing free electricity, and offering interest subventions are subsidies/transfers, NOT public investment.
• Direct Credit Assistance to Rural Households (UPSC 2013 / State PSCs):
  • Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) grant direct credit assistance to rural households. NABARD provides indirect credit (refinance) and does NOT lend directly to retail borrowers.
• Fertigation Benefits in Drip Irrigation (UPSC 2020 Q29):
  • Fertigation allows controlling soil alkalinity, increasing nutrient availability to plants, and reducing chemical leaching into groundwater.
• PSL Shortfall Deposit Fund (UPSC PYQ / State PSCs):
  • When commercial banks fail to achieve their Priority Sector Lending (PSL) targets, the shortfall amount is deposited in the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) maintained by NABARD.

6. Exam Analysis

• Priority: HIGH (Unit 11.3 is a core, top-tier conceptual, institutional, and scheme-oriented subtopic evaluated continuously across civil services papers).
• Frequently Tested Subtopics:
  1. Kisan Credit Card (KCC): 1998 launch, R.V. Gupta Committee, 4% net interest rate, Rs 1.6L collateral-free limit, extension to animal husbandry/fisheries.
  2. NABARD: July 12, 1982 date, B. Sivaraman Committee, 100% GoI ownership, refinancing role (no direct retail lending), RIDF management.
  3. PMKSY: 2015 launch, mottoes ("Har Khet Ko Pani", "Per Drop More Crop"), 4 components (AIBP, HKKP, PDMC, IWMP) and their nodal ministries.
  4. Irrigation Metrics: Groundwater share (> 63.5%), flood irrigation efficiency (38%) vs. micro-irrigation efficiency (> 90%), fertigation benefits.
  5. PSL Norms for Agriculture: 18% total target, 10% sub-target for small/marginal farmers, RIDF shortfall penalty.
• Common Question Patterns: Statement-verification on KCC interest subvention rates, identifying which institutions provide direct vs. indirect (refinance) credit, component-to-ministry matching under PMKSY, and distinguishing capital investment from subsidies.
• Factual / Conceptual / Numerical / Statement Tendency: Heavily Statement-Based Conceptual combined with Exact Numerical Percentages & Dates (July 12, 1982, August 1998, 4% net interest, 18% PSL target, 10% SMF sub-target).
• Simple Frequency Terms: KCC Scheme & Interest Subvention (Very Frequent); NABARD & Refinancing Framework (Very Frequent); PMKSY Components (Frequent); Irrigation Sources & Efficiency (Frequent).

7. Exam Traps

• Confusion: Believing that NABARD provides direct retail loans to farmers and rural households. → Correct understanding: NABARD is strictly an Apex Refinancing Institution. It provides refinance support to Commercial Banks, RRBs, and Cooperatives, but does NOT engage in direct retail lending to end-users.

• Confusion: Assuming that Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) under PMKSY is implemented by the Ministry of Jal Shakti. → Correct understanding: PDMC (focusing on micro-irrigation) is implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. AIBP and HKKP are implemented by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, and IWMP by the Ministry of Rural Development.

• Confusion: Believing that the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme is restricted solely to crop cultivation. → Correct understanding: KCC covers short-term crop cultivation, post-harvest expenses, household consumption needs, farm asset maintenance, and was expanded in 2018–19 to cover Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries.

• Confusion: Assuming that waiving agricultural loans or providing interest subvention constitutes "Public Investment in Agriculture". → Correct understanding: Loan waivers and interest subventions are financial subsidies and income transfers. Public investment in agriculture refers strictly to capital formation creating durable infrastructure (e.g., PACS computerization, canal construction, cold storage facilities).

• Confusion: Believing that the net interest rate paid by prompt repayers under KCC is 7%. → Correct understanding: The baseline interest rate is 7%, but prompt repayers receive a 3% Prompt Repayment Incentive (PRI), resulting in a net effective interest rate of 4% per annum.

8. Rapid Revision

1. Irrigated Cropped Area: 45% of total foodgrain area (55% remains rainfed).
2. Agricultural Water Usage: Agriculture accounts for > 80% of India's total freshwater draft.
3. Dominant Irrigation Source: Groundwater (Tube-wells 45% + Open Wells 18.5% = > 63.5%).
4. Canal Irrigation Share: 26% of operational landholdings.
5. Water Use Efficiency: Flood irrigation = 38%; Micro-irrigation = > 90%.
6. Fertigation: Injecting water-soluble fertilizers through drip irrigation systems.
7. PMKSY Launch: 2015 ("Har Khet Ko Pani" and "Per Drop More Crop").
8. AIBP Component: Ministry of Jal Shakti (fast-tracks major/medium dams).
9. PDMC Component: Ministry of Agriculture & FW (micro-irrigation devices).
10. IWMP Component: Ministry of Rural Development (watershed development).
11. Long Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF): Managed by NABARD (created 2016–17 for AIBP).
12. Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF): Rs 5,000 Crore corpus in NABARD under Ministry of Agriculture.
13. Short-Term Farm Credit Tenure: Less than 15 months (up to 1 year).
14. Institutional Credit Share: ~70%–75% of total farm credit (SCBs account for 78%–80% of formal credit).
15. Short-Term Cooperative 3-Tier Structure: PACS (Village) → DCCB (District) → StCB (State).
16. KCC Launch Date & Committee: August 1998; recommended by R.V. Gupta Committee.
17. KCC Baseline Interest Rate: 7% per annum for short-term crop loans up to Rs 3 Lakh.
18. Prompt Repayment Incentive (PRI): 3% additional subvention, bringing net interest rate down to 4%.
19. KCC Collateral-Free Limit: Rs 1.60 Lakh.
20. KCC Scope Expansion: Extended to Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries in 2018–19.
21. NABARD Establishment Date: July 12, 1982 (recommended by B. Sivaraman Committee).
22. NABARD Ownership & Role: 100% Government of India owned; apex refinancing agency (no direct retail lending).
23. Agriculture PSL Target: 18% of ANBC for commercial banks.
24. Small & Marginal Farmer PSL Sub-Target: 10% of ANBC.
25. RIDF Purpose: Accepts commercial bank PSL shortfall funds to finance state rural infrastructure projects.