22-Mar-2022: Soil Health Card scheme

1. Soil Health Card help the farmers in the following ways:
   The report generated through soil health card scheme encourages judicious and balanced use of fertilizers.
2. The report card also suggested use of bio fertilizers, micronutrients and organic manures to increase soil fertility.
3. Farmers training and demonstrations on farmers' fields, under the scheme created awareness among the farmers to increase soil fertility.
4. Indian council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) also imparts training to educate farmers on soil testing and soil health management.

As per Soil Health Card scheme guidelines, the period of time for soil testing has to be completed by states/UTs within three weeks of receipts of soil samples in the lab and soil testing can be repeated after a time gap of two years after first testing, but farmers can get test as per their requirement.

21-Dec-2021: Quality of Soil

The Government is implementing Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme since 2015-16 to ascertain soil health and fertility. Soil Health Card provides nutrient status of the soil along with prescription about balanced and integrated use of inorganic and organic fertilizers to maintain good soil health that results in increase in production. The number of soil health cards issued to farmers in the country is given below:

The Government is organizing farmers trainings, demonstrations on farmers field and farmers melas to educate to farmers from time to time for improvement of soil quality. Since 2015, around 6.04 lakh demonstrations, 93,781 trainings and 7425 farmers melas are organized under Soil Health Card scheme.

The Government of Rajasthan has tested 2.52 lakh farmers soil samples in districts Tonk and 1.45 lakh in Sawai Madhopur since 2015-16.

10-Dec-2021: Implementation of SHC Scheme

The Government is implementing Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme since 2015-16 to ascertain soil health and fertility. Soil Health Card provides nutrient status of the soil along with prescription about balanced and integrated use of inorganic and organic fertilizers to maintain good soil health that results in increase in production.

Increase in agriculture production depends on a number of factors like use of quality seeds, balanced & integrated use of fertilizers, availability of irrigation, etc. National Production Council in their study ‘Soil Testing Infrastructure for Faster Delivery of Soil Health Card in India’ in 2017 reported an overall increase in the yield of crops to the tune of 5-6% by adopting SHC recommendations.

Steps taken by Government to improve agricultural productivity are given below:

1. The Government is implementing National Food Security Mission (NFSM) to enhance production and productivity of food crops. The mission aims at increasing foodgrains/food crop production through area expansion in niche regions and productivity improvement. Under NFSM, support is given for promotion of crops viz., rice, wheat, pulses, nutri cereals (jowar, bajra, ragi& small millets), coarse cereals (maize & barley), commercial crops (cotton, jute & sugarcane) and oilseeds and oil palm.
2. Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) plays a vital role to improve agricultural productivity through various interventions i.e. through introduction of improved varieties, quality seeds and planting materials, protected cultivation, high density plantation, rejuvenation, precision farming and horticultural mechanization.
3. Government is implementing Sub-Mission on Seeds & Planting Materials (SMSP) to promote production and multiplication of quality seeds of agricultural crops, so that the required quantities of seeds could be made available to farmers in the country.
4. Under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) funds are released to the State Governments on the basis of projects in Agriculture & allied sectors to implement the scheme in the States as per their requirement in areas which requires focused attention for increasing production and productivity in the State.
5. “Per drop more crop” initiative under which drip/sprinkler irrigation is being encouraged for optimal utilization of water, reducing cost of inputs and increasing productivity.

30-Nov-2021: Soil Health Card Scheme

National Productivity Council (NPC) carried out a study on ‘Soil Testing Infrastructure for Faster Delivery of Soil Health Card in India’ in 2017.  In the study it was found that application of fertilizer and micronutrients based on Soil Health Card (SHC) recommendations resulted in 8-10% of savings and overall increase in the yield of crops to the tune of 5-6% reported by adopting the SHC recommendations.        

National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad conducted an impact study of Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme (November 2017).  The major findings were that there is some reduction in fertilizer use, especially Nitrogen and increase in bio-fertilizers and other micro-nutrients use.  Overall, paddy farmers reduced use of urea by 9%, Di Ammonium Phosphate (DAP)/ Single Super Phosphate (SSP) by 7%, but increased use of Potassium by 20%.   This is a healthy sign of moving towards balanced use of fertilizers.         

The States have not reported any challenges faced by them while implementing the scheme.

Soil Health Card Scheme has been implemented in all parts of the country including Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.

23-Jul-2021: Setting up of Mobile Labs for Soil Testing

Since 2015,   based on demand from states, 107    mobile labs have been set up   under Soil Health Management programme. In all total 11531 labs have been set up including 491 static labs, 107 mobile labs, 8811 mini labs and 2122 village level labs.

Government has been implementing Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme since 2015 to provide soil test based fertilizer use recommendations periodically to the farmers in the country.  Soil health card provides nutrient status of the soil along with prescription about balanced and integrated use of inorganic and organic fertilizers to maintain good health that results in increase in production.  SHC based fertilizer use advisories are issued to farmers from time to time.  Demonstrations about balanced use of fertilizers based on soil health card recommendations and training to the farmers on proper and integrated use of fertilizers are integral part of the scheme.   State/ district agriculture machinery and panchayats, village level rural development workers like Krishi Sakhis, Pasu Sakhis are involved in educating farmers on right use of fertilizers.  Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) also imparts training, organizes front line demonstrations to educate farmers on this aspect.

17-Mar-2021: Improving Soil Health

Government is implementing Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme since 2015 to provide soil test based fertilizer use recommendations periodically   to the farmers in the country.  Soil health card provides nutrient status of the soil along with prescription about   balanced and integrated use of inorganic and organic fertilizers to maintain good soil health that results in increase in production.

Apart from SHC, Government is also implementing Soil Health Management (SHM) scheme to augment soil samples testing capacity in the country through setting up / strengthening of soil testing laboratories. So far, 11531 new labs (491 static, 107 mobile, 8811 minilabs and 2122 village level labs) and strengthening of 829 labs have been sanctioned to the states.

SHC based fertilizer use advisories are issued to farmers from time to time. Demonstrations about balanced use of fertilizers based on soil health card recommendations and training to the farmers on proper and integrated use of fertilizers are integral part of the scheme. Financial assistance is provided to State Governments for   training of farmers, demonstrations on farmer fields and organizing farmer melas.

Since 2015, around 6.04 lakh demonstrations, 36928 farmer’s trainings and 7425 farmers melas are organized/conducted under the programme. Along with state/ district agriculture machinery and panchayats, village level rural development workers like Krishi Sakhis, Pasu Sakhis are involved in educating farmers on right use of fertilizers. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) also imparts training, organizes front line demonstrations to educate farmers on this aspect.

17-Mar-2021: Issuance of Soil Health Cards

Grid based soil testing methodology i.e. 2.5-hectare grid for irrigated areas and 10-hectare grid for rain fed areas was adopted initially (cycle I: 2015-2017 and cycle II: 2017-2019) to assess the status of 12 soil health parameters viz. primary nutrients (NPK); secondary nutrient (S); micronutrients (B, Zn, Mn, Fe, & Cu); and physical parameters (pH, EC & OC). Farm holding based soil testing was adopted for 6957 model villages (one in each revenue block) during 2019-20. Scientifically sound crop-wise Integrated Nutrient Management recommendations based on General Fertiliser Recommendations(GFR) / Soil Test Crop Response (STCR) are provided to all the farmers in the country through Soil Health Cards to address nutrient deficiencies of the soil.

Soil testing labs are sanctioned as per requirement of state governments proposed in their annual action plan. So far, 11531 new labs (491 static, 107 mobile, 8811 minilabs and 2122 village level labs) and strengthening of 829 labs have been sanctioned to the states.

12-Feb-2021: Implementation of Soil Health Card Scheme

Soil Health Card Scheme have been implemented in 32 States and UTs. The ranking of the States/UTs as per percentage of farmers covered is as follows:

National Productivity Council (NPC) carried out a study on ‘Soil Testing Infrastructure for Faster Delivery of Soil Health Card in India’ (February, 2017). The study was conducted in 76 districts in 19 States covering 170 soil testing labs and 1700 farmers. It was found that: -

1. Application of fertilizer and micronutrients based on Soil Health Card (SHC) recommendations resulted in 8-10 % of savings.
2. Overall increase in the yield of crops to the tune of 5-6% reported by adopting the SHC recommendations.

MANAGE, Hyderabad carried out Impact study on Soil Health Card scheme (November, 2017) covering 3184 farmers in 199 villages of 16 states. It was found that overall, paddy farmers reduced use of urea by 9%, DAP/SSP by 7%, but increased use of Potassium by 20%. This is a healthy sign of moving towards balanced use of fertilizers. It showed a decline in costs per acre by about 4 to 10 percent.

18-Feb-2020: Soil Health Card Day to be Observed Tomorrow

The Soil Health Card Day will be observed tomorrow. It commemorates the day Soil Health Card Scheme was launched by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on February 19, 2015 at Suratgarh, Rajasthan. Coincidentally, the International Year of Soils was celebrated the same year.

The objectives of the Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme are to issue soil health cards to farmers every two years so as to provide a basis to address nutritional deficiencies in fertilization practices. Soil testing is developed to promote soil test based on nutrient management. Soil testing reduces cultivation cost by application of right quantity of fertilizer. It ensures additional income to farmers by increase in yields and it also promotes sustainable farming.

The scheme has been introduced to assist State Governments to issue SHCs to all farmers in the country. SHC provides information to farmers on nutrient status of their soil along with recommendation on appropriate dosage of nutrients to be applied for improving soil health and its fertility.

Deterioration of soil chemical, physical and biological health is considered as one of the reasons for stagnation of agricultural productivity in India.

The challenges are enormous: Indian soils are working with negative nutrient balance to the tune of 12-14 million tons per year and the negative balance is likely to increase in future even after using the full potential of fertilizer industry. The Nutrient deficiency in India is in the order of:  95, 94, 48, 25, 41, 20, 14, 8 and 6% for N, P, K, S, Zn, B, Fe, Mn and Cu respectively. The limiting nutrients do not allow the full expression of other nutrients, lower the fertilizer response and crop productivity.

Improving fertilizer/nutrient use efficiency is important rather than applying more fertilizer in Indian agriculture. Nutrient use efficiency presently is low ranging from 30-50% (Nitrogen), 15-20% (Phosphorus), 60-70% (Potassium), 8-10% (Sulphur) and 1-2% (micronutrients).

The overall strategy for increasing crop yields and sustaining them at a high level must include an integrated approach for managing soil health along with other complementary measures which have a major impact on soil quality, plant growth, crop productivity and agricultural sustainability.

The Government under the component of Soil Health Management of National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) is promoting soil test based balanced and integrated nutrient management in the country through setting up/strengthening of soil testing laboratories, establishment of bio-fertilizer and compost unit, use of micronutrients, trainings and demonstrations on balanced use of fertilizers etc.

SHC scheme was launched during 2015 to evaluate soil fertility of every farm holdings across the country in every two years. During cycle –I (2015-17), 10.74 crore Soil Health Cards and during cycle – II (2017-19), 11.74 crore Soil Health Cards have been distributed to farmers. The Government has spent more than Rs.700 crores on the SHC scheme since its launch five years ago.

So far 429 new static Soil Testing Labs (STLs), 102 new mobile STLs, 8752 mini STLs and 1562 village level STLs have been sanctioned under the scheme since 2014-15. Out of these sanctioned labs, 129 new static Soil Testing Labs (STLs), 86 new mobile STLs, 6498 mini STLs and 179 village level STLs are already established.

The Government is also implementing the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) scheme and promoting customized and fortified fertilizers for balanced use of fertilizers. The recommended subsidy rates (in Rs./Kg) fixed during the year 2019-20 for N, P, K & S are Rs.18.901, 15.216, 11.124 and 3.562 respectively. In order to overcome the deficiency of micronutrients in soil and to encourage their application along with primary nutrients, additional subsidy on Boron and Zinc has also been provided @ Rs.300/- and Rs.500/- per tonne respectively.

So far, 21 fertilizers have been brought under the NBS scheme. Presently, 35 customized and 25 fortified fertilizers notified by the Government are in use.

During 2019-20, a pilot project ‘Development of Model Villages’ has been taken up where soil samples collection has been taken up at individual farm holding with farmer’s participation instead of sample collection at grids.

Under the pilot project, one village per block is adopted for holding based soil testing and organization of larger number of demonstrations up to a maximum number of 50 demonstrations (1 ha each) for each adopted village.

So far 6,954 villages have been identified by the States in which against the target of 26.83 lakh samples / Soil Health Cards, 21.00 lakh samples have been collected, 14.75 lakh samples analysed and 13.59 lakh cards distributed to farmers. Apart from this 2,46,979 demonstrations and 6,951 Farmer Melas approved to States.

During the next five years, it is proposed to cover four lakh villages under individual farm holding soil sampling & testing, organize 2.5 lakh demonstrations, setting up of 250 village level soil testing labs, strengthening 200 soil testing labs with Intensively Coupled Plasma (ICP) spectrophotometer and promotion of micro-nutrients in 2 lakh hectare area.

Given that more than half of India’s 1.27 billion population depends on agriculture for their livelihood, the declining productivity of soil should be a matter of grave concern for all especially the fact that 86% of these farmers are marginal and small category.

Soil is a vital resource for achieving food, nutritional, environmental and livelihood security and thereby managing soil resource and conserving this vital natural resource base for future generations without any deterioration is the major challenge in 21st century.

Soil Health Card provides two sets of fertilizer recommendations for six crops including recommendations of organic manures.  Farmers can also get recommendations for additional crops on demand.  They can also print the card as their own from SHC portal. SHC portal has farmers database of both the cycles and is available in 21 languages for the benefit of the farmers.

Awareness among farmers is being stepped up by coordinated efforts of the Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers Welfare and the Department of Fertilizers, backed by technology and network of Krishi Vigyan Kendras of Indian Council of Agriculture Research. Farmer can track their samples, print their Cards etc at Common Service Centres also at the Farmers Corner of www.soilhealth.gov.in and fulfil the mantra of Swastha Dhara to Khet Hara (if the soil is healthy, the fields will be green).

A 2017 study by the National Productivity Council (NPC) found that the SHC scheme has promoted sustainable farming and led to a decrease of use of chemical fertilizer application in the range of 8-10%. Besides, overall increase in the yield of crops to the tune of 5-6% was reported due to application of fertilizer and micro nutrients as per recommendations available in the Soil Health Cards.

17-Feb-2020: Soil health card Scheme Completes 5 years on 19-2-2020

The International year of soils was celebrated in 2015 the same year India’s unique programme of soil health card was launched on February 19 to assess the nutrient status of every farm holding in the country. The objectives of the Soil Health Card scheme are to issue soil health cards to farmers every 2 years so as to provide a basis to address nutritional deficiencies in fertilization practices. Soil testing is developed to promote soil test based on nutrient management .Soil testing reduces cultivation cost by application of right quantity of fertilizer. It ensures additional income to farmers by increase in yields and it also promotes sustainable farming.

Soil Health Card Scheme was launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 19.02.2015 at Suratgarh, Rajasthan. The scheme has been introduced to assist State Governments to issue soil health cards to all farmers in the country. Soil health card provides information to farmers on nutrient status of their soil along with recommendation on appropriate dosage of nutrients to be applied for improving soil health and its fertility.

From 2015 to 2017, in Cycle 1,10.74 crore soil health cards were distributed to farmers. In Cycle-II (2017-19),11.69 crore soil health cards have been distributed to farmers across the country.

Establishment of Soil Testing Labs:   So far 429 New Static Soil Testing Labs (STLs), 102 New Mobile STLs, 8752 Mini STLs have been provided. Village level soil testing facilities(VLSTLS) by Agri-entrepreneurs have also been promoted and so far 1562 VLSTLs have been sanctioned and strengthening of 800 existing STLs have been sanctioned to States/UTs under the scheme. Thus the soil analyzing capacity has increased from 1.78 to 3.33 crore soil samples per annum in short period of 5 years.

Soil Health Card provides two sets of fertilizer recommendations for six crops including recommendations of organic manures. Farmers can also get recommendations for additional crops on demand. They can also print the card as their own from SHC portal. SHC portal has farmers database of both the cycles and is available in 21 languages for the benefit of the farmers.

Organization of demonstrations, trainings and farmer melas: So far 5.50 lakh demonstrations on SHC recommendation, 8898 farmer’s trainings and 7425 farmer’s melas have been sanctioned to States/UTs under the scheme.

During 2019-20, a pilot project ‘Development of Model Villages’ has been undertaken up where soil samples collection has been done at individual farm holding with farmer’s participation instead of sample collection at grids. Under the pilot project, one village per block is adopted for land holding based soil sampling, testing and organization of larger number of demonstrations up to a maximum number of 50 demonstrations (1 ha each) for each adopted village. This will result in acceptance of Soil Health Card by farmers.

So far 6954 villages have been identified by the States/UTs in which against the target of 26.83 lakh samples, 20.18 lakh samples have been collected, 14.65 lakh samples have been analyzed and 13.54 lakh cards have been distributed to farmers. Apart from this 246968 demonstrations and 6951 farmer melas have been approved for States/UTs.

Awareness among farmers is being stepped up by coordinated efforts of Departments of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, Fertilisers backed by technology and network of Krishi Vigyan Kendras of Indian Council of Agriculture Research. Farmer can track their samples, print their Cards etc. at Common Service Centres also at the Farmers Corner of www.soilhealth.gov.in and fulfil the mantra of Swastha Dhara to Khet Hara (if the soil is healthy, the fields will be green).

7-Feb-2020: Improving Soil Productivity and Fertility

The Government has introduced Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme to assist State Governments to provide soil health cards to all farmers across the country once in a cycle of 2 years. Soil Health Card provides information to farmers on nutrient status of their soil along with recommendations on appropriate dosage of nutrients to be applied for improving soil health and its fertility.

To increase acceptability of SHC by farmers, during 2019-20, a pilot project ‘Development of Model Villages’ has been taken up where soil samples collection has been taken up at individual farm holding with farmer’s participation instead of sample collection at grids being done earlier.

Government is recommending soil test based balanced and integrated nutrient management through conjunctive use of inorganic and organic sources of plant nutrient   to sustain good soil health. In this regard advisories are issued to farmers from time to time.

Under Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme, financial assistance is provided to state governments for the following training of farmers, demonstrations on farmer fields and organizing farmer melas:

1. Training of farmers @ Rs. 24,000/- per training for 2 days with 30 or more participants. So far, 1946 farmer trainings have been sanctioned to states.
2. Organizing field demonstration @ Rs. 2,500/- per ha demonstration. So far, 5.50 lakh demonstrations have been sanctioned to states.
3. Organizing farmer melas / campaigns @ Rs. 1.00 lakh per farmer mela / campaign. So far, 7425 farmer melas / campaigns have been sanctioned to states.

In addition Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) also impart training, organizes front line demonstrations to educate farmers on this aspect.

5-Feb-2020: In second phase 11.69 crore Soil Health Cards distributed to farmers in two years

The Soil Health Card scheme launched by the Modi Government during the financial year 2014-15 with a view to address the decline of soil nutrients, has started reaping fruit. In the second phase of the scheme 11.69 crore Soil Health Cards have been distributed to farmers in the last two years.

Under the guidance of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and directions of the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, the Ministry is issuing the Soil Health Cards. This has enabled the farmers to understand the soil health parameters and improve its productivity by judicious application of soil nutrients.

A study conducted by the National Productivity Council (NPC) says the application of Soil Health Card recommendations has led to a decline of 8-10% in use of chemical fertilizers and also raised productivity by 5-6%.

Under the Central Government’s Soil Health Card Scheme Phase-I (Years 2015 to 2017) 10.74 crore cards were distributed, while under the Phase-II 11.69 crore cards have been give away during the period 2017-19.

In the current financial year a pilot project “Development of Model Villages” is being implemented under which the sampling and testing of cultivable soil is being encouraged in partnership with the farmers. Under the project a Model Village has been selected for aggregation of soil samples and analysis of each agricultural holding. As part of the scheme 13.53 lakh Soil Health Cards have been distributed during the year 2019-20.

For the setting up of Soil Health Laboratories under the scheme the states have been sanctioned 429 static labs, 102 new mobile labs, 8,752 mini labs, 1,562 village-level laboratories and strengthening of 800 existing labs.

The scheme provides for the analysis of soil composition by the State Governments once in every two years so that remedial steps can be taken to improve soil nutrients. Farmers can track their soil samples and also obtain their Soil Health Card report.

While the Soil Health Management Scheme has turned out to be a blessing for the farmers, it is also creating jobs for the agrarian youth. Under the scheme village youth and farmers up to 40 years of age are eligible to set up Soil Health Laboratories and undertake testing. A laboratory costs up to Rupees Five Lakhs, 75% of which can be funded by the Central and State Governments. The same provisions apply to Self Help Groups, Farmers’ Cooperative Societies, Farmers Groups and Agricultural Producing Organisations.

Interested youth farmers and Organisations can submit their proposals either in person to the Deputy Director (Agriculture) / Joint Secretary (Agriculture) or in their offices in respective districts. For details visit websites agricoop.nic.in or soilhealth.dac.gov.in or dial Kisan Call Centre (1800-180-1551).

5-Dec-2018: Distribution of Soil Health Cards (SHC) for optimal utilization of fertilizers

Soil Health Card Scheme has been taken up for the first time in a comprehensive manner across the country. Under the scheme soil health cards are provided to all farmers so as to enable the farmers to apply appropriate recommended dosages of nutrients for crop production and improving soil health and its fertility.

The unique features of SHC scheme are:-

• Collecting soil samples at a grid of 2.5 ha in irrigated area and 10 ha in un-irrigated areas.
• Uniform approach in soil testing adopted for 12 parameters viz. primary nutrients (NPK); secondary nutrient (S); micronutrients (B, Zn, Mn. Fe & Cu); and other (pH, EC & OC) for comprehensiveness.
• GPS enabled soil sampling to create a systematic database and allow monitoring of changes in the soil health over the years.

In the 1st cycle which was implemented in year 2015 to 2017, 2.53 crore soil samples were analysed and 10.73 crore soil health cards distributed to farmers. The 2nd cycle (2017-19) was started from 1st May, 2017 and against target of 2.73 crore soil samples, 1.98 crore samples tested and 6.73 crore cards have been distributed to farmers. The target is to cover 12.04 crore farmers.

To enable quick soil sample testing and distribution of soil health cards, the soil test infrastructure has been upgraded, 9263 soil testing labs have been sanctioned to States. In addition, 1562 village level soil testing projects have been sanctioned to generate employment for rural youth.

21-Aug-2017: PM reviews progress of Soil Health Cards and PMFBY

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi reviewed the progress of two key schemes related to the agriculture sector - Soil Health Cards; and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.

The Prime Minister was informed that 16 States/UTs have completed the first cycle of Soil Health Cards distribution, and the remaining States are likely to complete the same within weeks.

Reviewing the progress, the Prime Minister said that appropriate checks should be undertaken for variation, both within a sampling grid, and across different soil testing labs. This would help ensure quality in the reports.

The Prime Minister also emphasized that soil health cards should be printed in the local dialect of the area, so that the farmers are able to read and understand them easily.

Encouraging the rapid adoption of latest technology, the Prime Minister said that soil testing should eventually be possible through hand-held devices. He urged officials to explore the possibility of involving start-ups and entrepreneurs in this exercise.

On Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, the Prime Minister was informed that in the Kharif season of 2016, and Rabi season of 2016-17, claims of over Rs. 7700 crore have already been paid, and over 90 lakh farmers have been benefited.

Officials also said that latest technology including smartphones, remote sensing, satellite data and drones are being used for speedy data collection with regard to crop insurance claims.

28-Mar-2017: 6 Crore Soil Health Cards Distributed

The Government has introduced Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme with an aim to provide soil health cards to all farm holdings across the country once in a cycle of two years. Uniform norms of 10 hectares for rainfed areas and 2.5 hectare for irrigated areas constitute the grid for soil sample collection. Uniform norms of testing 12 parameters is followed namely major nutrients (N, P, K), secondary nutrients (S), micro-nutrients (Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn & B) and others (pH, EC & OC). The State Government through its Department of Agriculture is nodal agency to issue soil health card to farmers.

So far against the target of 14 crore cards distribution, 6 crore cards have been distributed and remaining cards are under printing. Adequate funds have been released to all States, funds amounting to Rs 23.89 crore, Rs 96.44 crore and Rs 126.47 crore have been released during 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 respectively under the scheme.