Subsidy matrix
The Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) operates through five delivery channels: individual farmers, Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs), Farm Machinery Banks (FMBs at village level), High-Tech Hubs (HTH), and FPO/cooperative ownership. Revised guidelines (May 2025) consolidated the rate structure:
- Individual farmer machinery: 40 % (general), 50 % (SC, ST, Small & Marginal Farmers, women, NE states).
- Custom Hiring Centre (CHC) — typically an SHG, FPO or village entrepreneur leasing machinery on hourly/daily rates: 40 % subsidy on project up to ₹250 lakh.
- Farm Machinery Bank (FMB) — village level: 80 % (general) / 95 % (NE) up to ₹30 lakh project cost.
- High-Tech Hub (HTH) for combine harvesters, rice transplanters, balers, drones: 40 % subsidy.
Eligible machinery
Tractors (up to 35 HP individual cap), rotavators, seed-cum-fertilizer drills, paddy transplanters, reapers, combine harvesters, balers, multi-crop threshers, power sprayers, plant protection equipment, residue management (Happy Seeder, Super Seeder, Mulcher, Rotary Slasher, Reversible MB Plough), drones, and irrigation pump-sets where convergent with PM-KUSUM.
How to apply
- Register on agrimachinery.nic.in with Aadhaar + land record + bank account.
- Browse empanelled vendor catalogue; select model and quotation.
- State DBT cell processes OTP-based sanction; subsidy credited to vendor against beneficiary share.
- Mandatory geo-tagging of machinery + 3-yr CMC.
Convergence with CRM
In Punjab, Haryana, UP and Rajasthan, SMAM converges with the Crop Residue Management (CRM) sub-mission to subsidise stubble-management equipment at 50 % (individual) and 80 % (CHC) — see the Punjab Stubble Management page for state-level details.
Latest changes (2024 — 2026)
- February 2024: MoA&FW notified inclusion of paddy direct-seeded rice (DSR) drills, super seeders and reversible MB ploughs under CRM convergence with priority procurement.
- November 2024: Drone Didi convergence with SMAM formalised — SHG-owned drones eligible for both Namo Drone Didi grant and SMAM operator-training cost.
- May 2025: SMAM guidelines consolidated — individual ceiling structured at 40 % (general) / 50 % (SC/ST/SMF/women/NE); HTH cap revised; FMB-95 % ceiling for NE confirmed.
- October 2025: Agrimachinery.nic.in portal upgraded with vendor blacklist tracking, OTP geo-tag verification and three-year CMC enforcement.
- 2025-26 Budget: SMAM outlay maintained at around ₹1,000 crore; additional convergence with the AgriStack Farmer ID for applicant pre-qualification.
Application step-by-step
- Visit agrimachinery.nic.in and register using Aadhaar OTP; complete one-time farmer profile with land record (RoR/Khasra) and category certificate (SC/ST/SMF/Women).
- Browse the state-empanelled vendor and model catalogue; the “Approved Make & Model” list defines maximum permissible price and subsidy for each implement.
- Submit application against an open subsidy window; most states open quarterly tranches in March, June, September, December.
- On allotment, the DBT cell generates an OTP-based sanction order; the applicant pays the beneficiary share to the vendor.
- Vendor delivers the machine, files geo-tagged photographs, and uploads serial number; subsidy is released to vendor and credited to beneficiary loan account (if KCC-financed).
- Three-year CMC begins; missed CMC service triggers vendor penalty.
Common rejection reasons
- Subsidy window closed: state tranches exhaust quickly for popular implements (tractors, paddy transplanters); apply early in the tranche.
- Beneficiary already availed: same farmer cannot avail subsidy on the same category of implement more than once in 7 years.
- Vendor not empanelled: only state- empanelled vendors qualify.
- Aadhaar — bank seeding failure: beneficiary-share refund and subsidy credit both depend on NPCI seeding.
- Geo-tag mismatch: vendor uploads geo-coordinates that fall outside the beneficiary's recorded village — system flags fraud risk and freezes payout.
- Tractor HP above 35 for individual subsidy: the cap is enforced; CHC/FMB route allows higher HP.
Grievance escalation lies with the State Agricultural Engineering Department (Director / Joint Director, Agri-Engg). agrimachinery.nic.in has a public grievance tab linked to CPGRAMS; the Kisan Call Centre (1800-180-1551) handles general queries.
Coverage statistics
Per MoA&FW data tabled in Lok Sabha, cumulative SMAM subsidy releases since 2014-15 exceed ₹6,500 crore covering more than 15 lakh machinery units. CHCs and FMBs collectively cross 25,000+ across states, with Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana leading uptake. State-wise live dashboards on agrimachinery.nic.in track sanctioned and released units quarterly.
How SMAM stacks with other schemes
SMAM is the capital-subsidy backbone for farm mechanisation; it converges with AIF (3 % interest subvention on the residual loan for CHC/FMB), with Namo Drone Didi (SHG-owned drones), and with the Crop Residue Management sub-mission for stubble-management equipment in Punjab/Haryana/UP. KCC short-term credit can fund the beneficiary share. For FPO-owned CHCs, the 10,000 FPOs scheme provides equity grant and credit guarantee. PM-KUSUM Component B solar pumps qualify under both SMAM (pump-set subsidy) and PM-KUSUM (solar-PV subsidy) but a beneficiary cannot double-dip on the same unit.