Rainfed Area Development
वर्षा-आधारित क्षेत्र विकास (RAD)
A component of PM-RKVY that pays rainfed-land farmers to build a mixed crop-tree-livestock system instead of depending on one crop and the monsoon — a flat ₹30,000 per family, inside a State-selected cluster of at least 20 hectares.
- Assistance per family
- ₹30,000 (flat, any land size)
- Cluster size
- Minimum 20 hectares
- Capacity-building support
- ₹10,000 per cluster
- Component of
- PM-RKVY (Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana)
- Selection model
- State-selected cluster, not individual apply
- Millets requirement
- At least 25% of cluster area
- Knowledge partner
- National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA)
- Funding pattern
- 60:40 Centre:State (90:10 NE/hill, 100% UT)
Quick Summary
The key points from this page in about two minutes — read it or have it read aloud.
Quick Summary
Rainfed Area Development (RAD) is the PM-RKVY component built for farmers whose land depends on rainfall alone, with no assured irrigation. Instead of subsidising one crop input, it pays a State-selected cluster of at least 20 hectares to turn plain cropping into a mixed farming system — crops combined with trees (horticulture or agroforestry) and livestock, plus at least two more of fishery, apiculture, silage-making or vermicomposting. The idea is to spread risk: if the monsoon fails a crop in one bad year, income from an animal, an orchard or a fish pond keeps a household afloat. Every enrolled farming family gets the same flat ₹30,000, whether their plot is half a hectare or five, and the cluster gets a further ₹10,000 for training and field support. There is no individual online application — a village only gets covered once the State Agriculture Department has actually chosen it under that year’s RKVY Annual Action Plan, with priority going to blocks that are mostly rainfed, sit inside an older watershed project, or are already a Natural Farming or NITI Aayog Aspirational Block. A farmer’s real entry point is asking the district Agriculture office or a local Krishi Vigyan Kendra whether a RAD cluster is active nearby, not filling out a form on a portal.
Overview
Rainfed Area Development (RAD) was made operational in 2014-15 as a component of the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture, moved to Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) from 2022-23, and continues today as one of PM-RKVY’s components after the Cabinet’s October 2024 restructuring of the umbrella scheme. Its target is India’s rainfed cropped area — land with no assured canal, tube-well or micro-irrigation source — where a single failed monsoon can wipe out a season’s income.
Rather than paying for one input, RAD funds Integrated Farming System (IFS) models developed by ICAR: a farmer’s existing crops (often millets, pulses or oilseeds suited to dry conditions) are combined with trees for horticulture or agroforestry income and a small livestock unit, and at least two further activities are added from fishery, apiculture, silage-making or vermicompost/organic-input production — whichever combination fits the local rainfall, soil and market. The design deliberately sits on top of other programmes: it is built as a "watershed plus" layer, meant to add farming-system activities onto water-harvesting and land-treatment assets already created under MGNREGS or PMKSY-Watershed Development, rather than duplicate them.
RAD works through a cluster, not a lone applicant. A village or a group of adjoining villages totalling at least 20 hectares — with a minimum 25% of that area under millets — is notified as a cluster once the State Agriculture Department includes it in that year’s RKVY Annual Action Plan. Priority goes to Gram Panchayats or blocks with more than 60% rainfed area, existing Natural Farming Clusters, sites covered by a watershed project in the last 20 years, NRLM focus villages, NITI Aayog’s Aspirational Blocks, and districts already selected under NFSM for pulses, oilseeds or millets. The National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA), an attached office of the Department set up in 2006, acts as knowledge partner — identifying clusters, writing the operational manual, and running the monitoring system.
Scheme highlights
One integrated farming system, not one crop
A cluster combines crops with trees (horticulture or agroforestry) and livestock, plus at least two more of fishery, apiculture, silage-making or vermicomposting — chosen for what a given rainfed patch can actually support.
A flat ₹30,000, not a percentage subsidy
Every farming family taken up under RAD gets the same ₹30,000, whether they hold half a hectare or five — the assistance funds the new activity, not a share of the land it sits on.
Built around a cluster, not a single field
A village or group of adjoining villages totalling at least 20 hectares is developed together, so shared assets — water structures, fodder or grain banks — reach more than one farmer at a time.
States pick the village, not the farmer
RAD reaches a Gram Panchayat only when the State Agriculture Department has included it in that year’s Annual Action Plan — priority goes to over-60%-rainfed blocks, Natural Farming clusters, older watershed sites and NITI Aayog’s Aspirational Blocks.
NRAA is the technical backbone
The National Rainfed Area Authority identifies clusters, writes the operational manuals, runs the monitoring system, and helps train the field staff who support farmers on the ground.
Built to sit on top of other schemes
RAD is deliberately a "watershed plus" layer — meant to add farming-system activities onto water-harvesting and land-treatment assets already built under MGNREGS or PMKSY-Watershed Development, not duplicate them.
What you get
Same benefit whatever your holding size
The ₹30,000 assistance is uniform for every RAD-covered farming family, so a small or marginal farmer gets exactly the same support as a larger landholder in the same cluster.
Field-level help built into the design
₹10,000 per cluster funds Community Resource Persons, Self-Help Group members or Champion Farmers to train and hand-hold beneficiaries — RAD is not a one-time payment with no follow-up.
Room for farmer groups to lead
Farmer Producer Companies/Organisations, registered Farmer Societies and Cooperatives can develop a cluster themselves, not only individual applicants going through the State department.
Convergence does the heavy lifting
Where MGNREGS or a watershed project has already built ponds, bunds or water-harvesting structures, RAD funds the farming-system layer on top — a farmer is not paying to rebuild what already exists.
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
- Your village or Gram Panchayat has actually been included in a RAD cluster under your State’s current RKVY Annual Action Plan
- Your land depends mainly on rainfall rather than assured canal, tube-well or micro-irrigation supply
- You are willing to add at least one or two allied activities — livestock, horticulture/agroforestry, fishery, apiculture, silage-making or vermicomposting — to your existing cropping system, not continue cropping alone
Excluded — even with land
- Wanting support for your cropping activity alone with no allied component added — RAD specifically funds a diversified farming system, not a standalone crop-input subsidy
- Living in a Gram Panchayat or block your State has not selected for RAD that year — coverage depends entirely on the State’s approved plan, not an individual online application
- Expecting the ₹30,000 to scale with landholding size — the assistance is a fixed amount per farming family regardless of the area owned
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.
Aadhaar card
Used for beneficiary identification and Direct Benefit Transfer once your cluster is approved and you are enrolled.
Land record
Khasra/khatauni or Record of Rights for the plot you are bringing into the cluster’s farming-system plan.
Bank passbook
Needed for the ₹30,000 assistance to reach your account by Direct Benefit Transfer; collected by the Agriculture Department or a Community Resource Person during cluster enrolment, not uploaded online by the farmer.
How to apply, step by step
The same six steps apply whether you register yourself online or sit down at a CSC.
- 1
State identifies priority rainfed blocks
Preference goes to Gram Panchayats/blocks with over 60% rainfed area, Natural Farming clusters, sites with an older watershed project, NRLM focus villages, NITI Aayog Aspirational Blocks, and NFSM pulses/oilseeds/millets districts.
- 2
NRAA helps identify the cluster
The National Rainfed Area Authority, as knowledge partner, helps pinpoint project clusters and supplies the operational manual the State follows.
- 3
State forms a cluster and files its Annual Action Plan
A village or adjoining villages totalling at least 20 hectares — with at least a quarter of that under millets — is notified as a cluster and included in the State’s RKVY Annual Action Plan.
- 4
Farmers enrol and choose their activities
Within the approved cluster, a farmer signs up through the district Agriculture Department or a Community Resource Person and picks which allied activities — livestock, horticulture, fishery, apiculture, silage-making or vermicomposting — to add to their existing crops.
- 5
Assistance is released
₹30,000 per enrolled farming family for the farming-system package, and ₹10,000 per cluster for CRP-led training, are released against the approved plan.
- 6
Progress is geo-tagged and reported
Every land-based intervention is geo-tagged, and the State uploads physical and financial progress on the RAD MIS portal every month.
Important dates
RAD made operational
2014-15
As a component of the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA)
Folded into RKVY
2022-23
Administration moved from NMSA to a component of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)
PM-RKVY restructuring
3 October 2024
RAD continued as a component when the Cabinet rationalised RKVY into Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana alongside Krishonnati Yojana
Cluster & Annual Action Plan timing
Set by each State
A cluster opens in a village only once that State’s current RKVY Annual Action Plan includes it — check with your district Agriculture office
Facts last checked
30 August 2026
Against the RAD Operational Guidelines (RKVY component) hosted on agriwelfare.gov.in and PIB coverage of RAD funding and area-coverage figures; the guidelines document does not itself carry a printed issue date
Check your eligibility
Straight from the notified criteria. Nothing you enter leaves your phone.
0 of 4 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.
- Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare — Rainfed Farming Systems DivisionThe nodal division administering RAD; publishes State-wise allocations and guidelines
- National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA)RAD’s knowledge partner — cluster identification, technical manuals and monitoring support
- Official RKVY / PM-RKVY portalrkvy.da.gov.in — State Annual Action Plans and component guidelines, including RAD
- Kisan Call CentreToll-free 1800-180-1551 — for RAD and other farm-scheme queries
Helpline
24×7 IVRS and help desk, run by the ministry — the call is the fastest way to check a stuck payment.
Frequently asked questions
What is RAD?
Rainfed Area Development (RAD) is a component of PM-RKVY (Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana) that pays a State-selected cluster of rainfed farmers to turn plain cropping into an integrated farming system — adding livestock, horticulture/agroforestry, fishery, apiculture or similar allied activities — through a flat ₹30,000-per-family assistance.
What is the full form of RAD?
Rainfed Area Development.
How much financial assistance does RAD give?
₹30,000 per farming family for taking up an Integrated Farming System, uniform regardless of land-holding size, plus ₹10,000 per cluster for Community Resource Person-led capacity building.
How does a farmer apply for RAD?
There is no individual online application. RAD only reaches a village once the State Agriculture Department has included it in that year’s RKVY Annual Action Plan; a farmer inside the selected cluster then enrols through the district Agriculture Department or a Community Resource Person.
What is the minimum cluster size under RAD?
At least 20 hectares — contiguous, or spread across a village and its adjoining villages where the terrain is difficult — with a minimum 25% of the cluster area under millets cultivation.
Which activities does RAD support?
Crops combined with trees (horticulture or agroforestry) and livestock, plus at least two of fishery, apiculture, silage-making, or vermicompost/organic-input production — chosen to fit the cluster’s specific agro-climatic conditions.
Is RAD available in every State?
RAD is a pan-India RKVY component, but — like other RKVY components — a village is only covered where the State has actually chosen to fund a cluster there in its current Annual Action Plan.
Can a farmer group apply instead of an individual?
Yes. Farmer Producer Companies/Organisations, registered Farmer Societies and Cooperatives can develop a cluster, not only individual farmers going through the State department.
What is the difference between RAD and PM-RKVY?
PM-RKVY is the umbrella scheme; RAD is one specific component under it — the one that funds integrated farming systems on rainfed land, alongside other components like PDMC (micro-irrigation) or PKVY (organic farming).
Does RAD fund irrigation infrastructure?
Not directly. RAD is meant to converge with water-harvesting assets already built under MGNREGS or PMKSY-Watershed Development, adding the farming-system layer on top rather than funding new irrigation works itself.
Still have questions?
The FAQs above cover the common ones. For anything about your specific application, the ministry helpline 1800-180-1551 is the authoritative answer — and we are happy to point you in the right direction.