National Beekeeping and Honey Mission
राष्ट्रीय मधुमक्खी पालन एवं शहद मिशन
A Central Sector Scheme funding honey-testing labs, processing units, custom hiring centres and bee-stock centres through the National Bee Board — ₹500 crore over FY2020-21 to FY2025-26 — with every beekeeper, trader and processor registering on the Madhukranti traceability portal.
- Outlay
- ₹500 crore total (FY2020-21 to FY2025-26)
- Running since
- FY2020-21, extended to FY2025-26
- Scheme status
- Active
- Implementing agency
- National Bee Board (NBB)
- Structure
- 3 Mini Missions — MM-I, MM-II, MM-III
- India honey rank
- 2nd-largest exporter globally (FY2023-24)
- Registered on Madhukranti
- 14,859+ beekeepers (as of 14 Oct 2025)
- Register at
- madhukranti.in/NBB portal
Quick Summary
The key points from this page in about two minutes — read it or have it read aloud.
Quick Summary
National Beekeeping and Honey Mission is a central government programme built to turn a village-level tradition into an organised, income-generating industry. Rather than most other farm schemes that hand out a cash benefit to an individual farmer, NBHM mostly funds infrastructure and support systems around beekeeping — testing labs that check honey purity, processing and packaging units, custom hiring centres for equipment, quality bee-stock centres, and demonstration plots planted with bee-friendly flora. The idea is that better infrastructure around a beekeeper, not a direct payment to one, is what actually raises income and export quality.
The mission works through three linked components. One focuses on growing more bee colonies and improving crop pollination, since a healthy bee population raises yields well beyond the honey itself. A second builds the collection, processing, storage and marketing side, so honey does not spoil or get adulterated between the hive and the shelf. A third funds research into region-specific beekeeping practices and disease management, since what works for the hills does not always work for the plains.
A beekeeper's real entry point into the mission is registering on the Madhukranti portal, which issues a traceability certificate and helps prove where a jar of honey actually came from — a growing requirement as India's honey exports have expanded quickly in recent years. Beyond registration, the actual funding for a processing unit, testing lab or nucleus-stock centre goes through a project proposal submitted via the National Bee Board or the State's implementing department, not a simple online form for an individual. Self-Help Groups, cooperatives and Farmer Producer Organisations of beekeepers are especially encouraged, with dedicated support to help form and register such collectives. The page below carries the exact budget, timeline and achievement figures.
Overview
National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) was announced under the Atmanirbhar Bharat package with a total outlay of ₹500 crore for three years, FY2020-21 to FY2022-23, and has since been extended for a further three years, FY2023-24 to FY2025-26, carrying forward ₹370 crore of that original outlay. It is a Central Sector Scheme — fully funded by the Centre, with no state matching share — implemented by the National Bee Board (NBB), a society registered in July 2000 and reconstituted in June 2006 under the chairmanship of the Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, and designated the nodal agency for scientific beekeeping in India.
The mission runs through three Mini Missions. Mini Mission-I funds production and productivity improvement of crops through pollination assisted by scientific beekeeping. Mini Mission-II covers post-harvest management — collection, processing, storage, marketing and value addition of honey and beehive products, along with the infrastructure that supports it: processing plants, cold storage, collection-branding-marketing centres and testing labs. Mini Mission-III funds research and technology generation suited to a region's agro-climatic and socio-economic conditions. Objectives listed in the scheme's guidelines also include building nucleus bee-stock centres, quality-control labs at the regional and district level, blockchain-based traceability, Honey Corridors, and support for agri-entrepreneurs, agri-startups and beekeeper collectives.
A project under any Mini Mission is appraised and approved through a multi-tier structure — a General Council/National Level Steering Committee for policy direction, a Project Approval & Monitoring Committee and Executive Committee at the national level, and a Project Appraisal Committee, State Level Steering Committee and District Level Committee below it — with State Departments, NDDB, NAFED, ICAR, KVIC, TRIFED and SRLM/NRLM bodies acting as implementing agencies. Individual beekeepers, aggregators/traders and processors register separately on the Madhukranti portal (madhukranti.in) for a 5-year traceability certificate; this registration is distinct from, but often a precondition for, benefiting from NBHM-funded infrastructure and market linkages.
Scheme highlights
Three linked Mini Missions
MM-I for pollination and production, MM-II for post-harvest processing and marketing infrastructure, MM-III for research and region-specific technology.
Testing labs and a Centre of Excellence
6 world-class Honey Testing Labs, 47 Mini Honey Testing Labs and 6 Disease Diagnostic Labs sanctioned till March 2025, plus a National Centre of Excellence in Beekeeping at IIT Roorkee.
Processing and marketing infrastructure
26 Honey Processing Units, 18 Collection-Branding & Marketing Units and 10 Packaging/Cold Storage units sanctioned under NBHM till March 2025.
Madhukranti traceability portal
Online registration and a 5-year certificate for individual beekeepers, aggregators/traders and processors, tracing honey and beehive products back to their source.
Collective formation support
A target of 10,000 FPOs of beekeepers and honey producers, with 100 allotted to TRIFED, NAFED and NDDB for formation — 97 registered/formed till March 2025.
Women's empowerment activities
167 activities sanctioned under NBHM to bring women's Self-Help Groups into beekeeping across various states.
What you get
Quality infrastructure
Honey testing labs, disease diagnostic labs and nucleus bee-stock centres, aimed at cutting adulteration and improving colony health.
Post-harvest support
Processing, packaging, cold storage and collection-branding-marketing units close the gap between the hive and the shelf.
Project-based grants, not individual cash
Central funding for a proposed component — a lab, processing unit or Custom Hiring Centre — flows to the approved implementing agency against a project proposal, not as a standard individual application.
Traceability certificate
Madhukranti registration gives a beekeeper, trader or processor a 5-year certificate confirming the source of their honey and beehive products.
Who is eligible
Both lists come from the notified operational guidelines — meeting the left column is not enough if anything in the right column applies to your family.
You qualify if
- Individual beekeepers, beekeeping/honey societies, aggregators, traders and processors — for Madhukranti registration and traceability
- Self-Help Groups, Farmer Producer Organisations, Beekeepers' Cooperatives and Federations of beekeepers — with priority for collective formation and project funding
- State Departments, the National Bee Board, ICAR institutes, NABARD, NAFED, NDDB, KVIC, TRIFED, SRLM/NRLM and MSME bodies acting as the project-implementing agency
- Agri-entrepreneurs and agri-startups proposing a beekeeping or honey value-chain project
Excluded — even with land
- No project proposal or Detailed Project Report routed through the National Bee Board or the State Implementing Agency
- A project outside the scope of the three Mini Missions — production/pollination, post-harvest/marketing, or research
- Not registered on the Madhukranti portal, where the specific benefit sought is tied to that registration
Where this scheme applies
A central scheme with pan-India coverage — open to eligible farmers in every State and Union Territory.
Documents you need
Have these ready before you start — the online form takes ten minutes when nothing is missing.
Project proposal / DPR
Covering the component being proposed — testing lab, processing unit, nucleus-stock centre and so on — its cost, and the Mini Mission it falls under.
KYC documents
Identity and address proof of the applicant, or the authorised signatory for a group entity or implementing agency.
Land or facility proof
Ownership or lease proof for the site where the sanctioned infrastructure will come up.
Bank account details
For release of the project grant against approved milestones.
Madhukranti registration
Required separately for individual beekeepers, traders and processors seeking the traceability certificate.
How to apply, step by step
The same six steps apply whether you register yourself online or sit down at a CSC.
- 1
Register on the Madhukranti portal
Individual beekeepers, aggregators/traders and processors register at madhukranti.in/NBB for a 5-year traceability certificate — the entry point for most beekeepers.
- 2
Identify your Mini Mission component
Match your proposed activity to MM-I (pollination/production), MM-II (post-harvest/marketing infrastructure) or MM-III (research).
- 3
Prepare a project proposal or DPR
With a cost estimate and the eligible-item list for that specific component.
- 4
Route it through NBB or your State Implementing Agency
The State Department or Project Appraisal Committee appraises and recommends the proposal; SHGs, FPOs and Cooperatives of beekeepers can apply collectively.
- 5
Approval by the Project Approval & Monitoring Committee
The national-level PA&MC and Executive Committee examine and approve the project.
- 6
Grant released against milestones
Funds are released as the sanctioned infrastructure is implemented and verified by the relevant committee.
Important dates
Launched
FY2020-21
Announced under the Atmanirbhar Bharat package, initially for FY2020-21 to FY2022-23
Extended
FY2023-24 to FY2025-26
₹370 crore of the ₹500 crore outlay carried into the extended period
National Bee Board reconstituted
June 2006
Registered as a society on 19 July 2000
Facts last checked
2026-09-02
Against the PIB backgrounder (Nov 2025) and Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2415 (21 March 2025) — pib.gov.in, sansad.in
Check your eligibility
Straight from the notified criteria. Nothing you enter leaves your phone.
0 of 5 answered
This checker applies the criteria in the official operational guidelines, but it is guidance — only the state government’s verification against the land records is final.
Downloads
Official documents only — everything below is hosted on the government's own servers.
PIB Backgrounder: National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (Nov 2025)
Detailed background, Mini Mission structure, achievements and export data, from the Press Information Bureau.
Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2415 (21 March 2025)
Official state-wise and year-wise count of NBHM project beneficiaries since inception.
Official links & helpline
Bookmark the portal itself — no third-party site can release, block or speed up a payment.
Frequently asked questions
What is the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission?
A Central Sector Scheme of the Government of India, implemented by the National Bee Board since FY2020-21 with a total outlay of ₹500 crore through FY2025-26, that funds beekeeping infrastructure — testing labs, processing units, nucleus bee-stock centres and research — rather than paying a direct cash benefit to individual farmers.
What are NBHM's three Mini Missions?
Mini Mission-I funds production and pollination-linked productivity improvement; Mini Mission-II funds post-harvest management, processing, storage, marketing and related infrastructure; Mini Mission-III funds research and technology generation suited to different regions.
What is NBHM's budget?
₹500 crore in total — ₹500 crore was approved for the first three years (FY2020-21 to FY2022-23) under the Atmanirbhar Bharat package, and the mission was then extended for a further three years (FY2023-24 to FY2025-26) carrying forward ₹370 crore of that outlay.
How do I register as a beekeeper under NBHM?
Through the Madhukranti portal (madhukranti.in/NBB) — individual beekeepers, aggregators/traders and processors can register there for a traceability certificate valid for 5 years, with the option to renew or add colonies later.
How do I get funding for a honey processing unit or testing lab?
By preparing a project proposal or DPR for the specific Mini Mission-II component and routing it through the National Bee Board or your State Implementing Agency — the proposal is appraised at the state level and approved by the national Project Approval & Monitoring Committee, not through an individual online application.
Who can apply for NBHM project support?
Individual beekeepers and beekeeper collectives (SHGs, FPOs, cooperatives), agri-entrepreneurs and agri-startups, and recognised implementing agencies such as State Departments, ICAR institutes, NABARD, NAFED, NDDB, KVIC and TRIFED.
Does NBHM give cash directly to individual beekeepers?
Mostly no — NBHM is structured as project-based grants for infrastructure (labs, processing units, nucleus-stock centres) routed through implementing agencies, rather than a fixed annual cash transfer to an individual farmer's account.
How is India's honey export performing under NBHM?
India exported around 1.07 lakh metric tonnes of natural honey worth USD 177.52 million in FY2023-24, up from 59,999 MT worth USD 96.77 million in FY2020-21, making India the world's second-largest honey exporter as of marketing year 2024, up from 9th rank in 2020.
What is the Madhukranti portal?
An online registration and traceability system launched under NBHM for individual beekeepers, beekeeping/honey societies, aggregators/traders and processors, meant to certify and trace the source of honey and other beehive products.
Still have questions?
The FAQs above cover the common ones. For anything about your specific application, the ministry helpline undefined is the authoritative answer — and we are happy to point you in the right direction.