Operation Greens (TOP to TOTAL)
ऑपरेशन ग्रीन्स (टॉप से टोटल)
A central scheme that steadies the price of perishable crops — a 50% subsidy to move or store a glut of fruit and vegetables so farmers are not forced into distress sales, plus grant-in-aid for FPOs, cooperatives and companies to build the cold chains, pack-houses and processing units that prevent gluts.
- Launched
- Union Budget 2018-19 (implemented Nov 2018)
- Initial outlay
- ₹500 crore
- Short-term subsidy
- 50% of transport & storage cost
- Long-term grant (general / FPO & special)
- 35% / 50% of project cost
- Maximum long-term grant
- ₹15 crore (value chain) / ₹10 crore (standalone)
- Crops covered
- Tomato, onion, potato + 22 perishables (long-term); all fruits & veg (short-term)
- Who can apply
- FPOs, cooperatives, SHGs, companies, SPVs (not individual farmers)
- Apply at
- sampada-mofpi.gov.in (via Expression of Interest)
Quick Summary
The key points from this page in about two minutes — read it or have it read aloud.
Quick Summary
Operation Greens is the Government's answer to a problem every vegetable and fruit grower knows: a bumper crop can crash the price so low that it costs more to harvest and carry the produce to the mandi than it fetches there, while a few months later the same crop sells dear in another city. It began in 2018 focused on the three crops where this hurts most — Tomato, Onion and Potato, the "TOP" crops — and later widened to all fruits and vegetables. It is run by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, with the short-term relief part now handled by the Department of Agriculture.
The scheme works in two ways, and it is important to know which one reaches a farmer. The short-term part pays a 50% subsidy on the cost of transporting the crop from a surplus area to a deficit market and on hiring storage for it, so a glut can be moved or held back instead of dumped — this protects growers from distress sales when prices crash. The long-term part gives grant-in-aid to build the lasting value-chain infrastructure — pack-houses, cold stores, processing lines, collection centres — that stops the glut happening in the first place. An ordinary farmer almost never applies directly; the real route is through an FPO, cooperative or company that takes up a project, or by supplying produce to one. For those applicants the grant is 35% of project cost in general areas and 50% for FPOs, SHGs, SC/ST promoters and difficult areas. The page ahead explains both parts, who can apply and how.
Overview
Operation Greens was announced in the Union Budget 2018-19 and has been implemented since November 2018, with an initial outlay of ₹500 crore. Its name comes from its first focus — Tomato, Onion and Potato, the "TOP" crops whose prices swing most violently between a glut and a shortage. The aim is to protect growers from distress sales when prices crash, cut the post-harvest losses that come from having nowhere to store or move a surplus, and raise the share of the final price that reaches the farmer.
The scheme has two distinct arms. The short-term Price Stabilisation arm gives a 50% subsidy on two costs — transporting eligible crops from a surplus production cluster to a deficit consumption market, and hiring suitable storage to hold the crop back from a flooded market (for a limited period). On 15 May 2020, as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat package, this short-term relief was widened from the three TOP crops to all fruits and vegetables ("TOP to TOTAL"). This arm moved to the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare in 2023-24. The long-term arm funds Integrated Value Chain Development Projects and standalone post-harvest infrastructure — pack-houses, pre-cooling and cold storage, ripening chambers, processing lines, farm-gate collection centres and e-marketing platforms — so that gluts can be stored, processed or moved in future instead of being dumped. In the Union Budget 2021-22 the long-term projects were extended from the 3 TOP crops to 22 perishable crops.
The long-term grant-in-aid is 35% of eligible project cost in general areas, and 50% for Farmer Producer Organisations, Self-Help Groups, SC/ST promoters and projects in difficult areas, subject to a maximum grant of ₹15 crore for an Integrated Value Chain Development Project and ₹10 crore for a standalone post-harvest infrastructure project. It is important to understand this is not a per-farmer cash scheme: an individual farmer benefits by being part of the FPO or cooperative that promotes a project, or by supplying a funded facility, not by applying alone. Long-term proposals are invited through an Expression of Interest and submitted on the SAMPADA portal (sampada-mofpi.gov.in). Operation Greens is one of the component schemes under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana umbrella.
Scheme highlights
Move a glut instead of dumping it
When a crop floods one market and is scarce in another, the short-term arm pays 50% of the cost of trucking it from the surplus area to the deficit market — turning a price crash into a sale.
Hold the crop back from a flooded market
The same 50% subsidy covers hiring storage to keep eligible produce off the market for a short period, so growers are not forced to sell everything at the bottom of the price.
Build the cold chain that prevents gluts
The long-term arm funds pack-houses, pre-cooling, cold storage, ripening chambers and processing lines, so a surplus can be stored or processed in future rather than left to rot.
A higher grant for FPOs and weaker sections
The long-term grant rises from 35% in general areas to 50% for Farmer Producer Organisations, Self-Help Groups, SC/ST promoters and difficult areas — reducing the capital a producer group must raise.
From 3 TOP crops to all fruits and vegetables
Short-term relief now covers every fruit and vegetable, and long-term projects cover 22 perishable crops — so the scheme is no longer limited to tomato, onion and potato.
What you get
Protection from distress sales
When prices crash at harvest, subsidised transport and storage let a farmer group move or hold the crop instead of selling at a loss just to clear the field.
Less waste of perishables
Pack-houses, cold stores and processing capacity mean a glut of tomato, onion, potato or any funded crop is stored or processed rather than dumped when the mandi cannot absorb it.
A bigger share of the final price
By grading, storing, processing and selling closer to the consumer, a producer group captures margin that vanishes when raw produce is sold at the farm gate during a glut.
Access to steadier, larger markets
Funded collection centres, e-marketing platforms and processing links connect growers to buyers beyond the local mandi, smoothing out both price and demand.
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
- Farmer Producer Organisations, farmer producer companies and their federations taking up a value-chain or post-harvest infrastructure project
- Cooperatives, cooperative federations and Self-Help Groups in the fruit and vegetable value chain
- State agencies and State-government undertakings, partnership and proprietary firms, and private and public limited companies
- Special Purpose Vehicles formed by producer groups or entrepreneurs to build the funded infrastructure
Excluded — even with land
- An individual farmer expecting a direct cash transfer — Operation Greens funds projects and interventions, not per-farmer income support
- Produce or a crop outside the eligible list (the 22 perishable crops for long-term projects; the notified fruits and vegetables for short-term relief)
- A proposal submitted outside the SAMPADA portal or outside an open Expression of Interest window
- A project with no defined value-chain or post-harvest infrastructure output, or no backward linkage to farmers
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.
Detailed Project Report
For a long-term project — setting out the crop and cluster, the infrastructure, project cost, means of finance and the tie-up with farmers or the FPO supplying produce.
Entity registration
Registration certificate of the FPO, cooperative, company, firm or SPV, with the board resolution authorising the application.
Means of finance
Bank term-loan sanction letter or proof of promoter equity and other finance making up the balance beyond the grant.
Land, licences and clearances
Site land title or lease and applicable licences such as FSSAI registration and pollution-control consent for a processing or storage facility.
How to apply, step by step
The same six steps apply whether you register yourself online or sit down at a CSC.
- 1
Identify which arm fits
A short-term need (moving or storing a current glut) and a long-term project (building infrastructure) are applied for differently. Decide which the situation calls for.
- 2
Watch for the Expression of Interest
MoFPI invites long-term project proposals through an Expression of Interest on the SAMPADA portal. Prepare within that window.
- 3
Prepare the project report and finance
Draw up the Detailed Project Report with the farmer/FPO linkage, and get the bank term loan sanctioned or firm up the means of finance.
- 4
Apply online on the SAMPADA portal
Submit the application and DPR at sampada-mofpi.gov.in against the open Expression of Interest.
- 5
Appraisal, approval and release in instalments
MoFPI appraises the proposal and an approval committee sanctions the grant; it is released against milestones and a final claim after the facility is operational.
Important dates
Scheme announced
Union Budget 2018-19
Implemented from November 2018 with a ₹500 crore outlay
Expanded TOP to TOTAL
15 May 2020
Short-term relief widened from tomato/onion/potato to all fruits and vegetables under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat package
Long-term crops widened
Union Budget 2021-22
Integrated Value Chain Development Projects extended from 3 TOP crops to 22 perishable crops
Facts last checked
8 October 2026
Against the MoFPI Operation Greens scheme pages (mofpi.gov.in) — "About", "Pattern of Assistance" — and a March 2025 Rajya Sabha reply reporting 44 approved projects with ₹545.11 crore of grant
Check your eligibility
Straight from the notified criteria. Nothing you enter leaves your phone.
0 of 3 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.
Official links & helpline
Bookmark the portal itself — no third-party site can release, block or speed up a payment.
- Ministry of Food Processing Industries — Operation Greensmofpi.gov.in — the scheme page with objective, components and pattern of assistance
- SAMPADA portalsampada-mofpi.gov.in — submit and track long-term project proposals and grant claims
- Operation Greens — pattern of assistancemofpi.gov.in — the grant-in-aid rates and project caps for long-term projects
Frequently asked questions
Can an individual farmer get money directly from Operation Greens?
No. The scheme funds price-stabilisation interventions and value-chain projects taken up by FPOs, cooperatives, SHGs, companies and State agencies. A farmer benefits by being part of the FPO or cooperative that promotes a project, or by supplying produce to a funded facility — not by applying alone for cash.
What is the difference between the short-term and long-term parts?
The short-term Price Stabilisation arm pays a 50% subsidy on transporting a glut from a surplus area to a deficit market and on hiring storage to hold it back — immediate relief when prices crash. The long-term arm gives grant-in-aid to build lasting infrastructure (pack-houses, cold stores, processing lines) so gluts can be stored, processed or moved in future.
How much is the long-term grant?
Grant-in-aid is 35% of eligible project cost in general areas and 50% for Farmer Producer Organisations, Self-Help Groups, SC/ST promoters and projects in difficult areas, subject to a maximum of ₹15 crore for an Integrated Value Chain Development Project and ₹10 crore for a standalone post-harvest infrastructure project.
Which crops are covered?
The scheme began with the three TOP crops — tomato, onion and potato. Short-term relief now covers all fruits and vegetables (since 15 May 2020), and long-term projects cover 22 perishable crops (since the Union Budget 2021-22). The current notified list is on the MoFPI Operation Greens page.
Which ministry runs it?
The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) runs the long-term value-chain component. The short-term price-stabilisation component moved to the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare in 2023-24.
How does an FPO apply?
Watch for an Expression of Interest on the SAMPADA portal, prepare a Detailed Project Report including the farmer/FPO raw-material linkage, arrange the bank term loan or means of finance, and submit online at sampada-mofpi.gov.in. The proposal is appraised by MoFPI and sanctioned by an approval committee, with the grant released in instalments.
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.