Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization

SMAM is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, running since 2014-15 and now delivered under the Krishonnati Yojana umbrella, that gives farmers subsidy to buy their own farm machinery, and gives individuals, FPOs, cooperatives and Self-Help Groups subsidy to set up Custom Hiring Centres and Farm Machinery Banks that rent machinery to farmers nearby.

Generally 40% of the machine's cost for most farmers, and 50% if you are SC, ST, small or marginal, a woman farmer, or from a North Eastern State. The exact rupee ceiling is set separately for each machine model on the SMAM price/cost-norms list, not as one flat figure for all machines.

A CHC is a local point — run by an individual, rural entrepreneur, agriculture graduate, FPO or cooperative — that rents out tractors, harvesters and other machinery to farmers who cannot afford to buy it themselves. An individual setting up a CHC gets 40% of the project cost as subsidy (up to a ₹60 lakh project); a registered group gets 80% (up to a ₹10 lakh project, 95% in North Eastern States).

An FMB is a village-level cluster of smaller implements — rotavators, seed drills, sprayers and similar tools — that small and marginal farmers can hire for the days they need them, instead of buying equipment that would sit idle most of the year.

Yes. Kisan Drones are their own machine category. An individual farmer gets 50% of the drone's cost up to ₹5 lakh if from a priority category, or 40% up to ₹4 lakh otherwise. A Custom Hiring Centre for drone services set up by an agriculture graduate gets 50% up to ₹5 lakh per drone; one set up by a cooperative, FPO or rural entrepreneur gets 40% up to ₹4 lakh.

Register and apply online at agrimachinery.nic.in, choosing whether you are an individual farmer or applying for a CHC/FMB. Upload your documents, wait for approval, buy the tested-and-approved machine from an empanelled dealer, and the subsidy is credited by DBT after the department verifies your purchase.

No — only machine models that have cleared performance testing at a Farm Machinery Training & Testing Institute (FMTTI), a designated State Agricultural University, or an ICAR institution are eligible. Check the current tested-and-approved list on agrimachinery.nic.in before you buy; a model not on that list gets no subsidy even if it is a well-known brand.

Aadhaar card linked to your bank account, a land record showing you are a cultivating farmer, your bank passbook, a caste certificate if you are claiming the SC/ST rate, and a quotation or tax invoice from an empanelled dealer for the machine you want.

The Centre and State share the cost 60:40 in most States, 90:10 in North Eastern and Himalayan States, and the Centre funds it fully in Union Territories — which is also why some States can process more applications in a given year than others, depending on their budget allocation.

The scheme does not treat every machine you own as a one-time lifetime limit — you can claim subsidy on a different category of machine. What is barred is claiming a repeat subsidy on the same machine category within the guidelines' cooling-off period; check the current rule on agrimachinery.nic.in or with your district agriculture office before applying again.

Since its launch in 2014-15, SMAM has disbursed roughly ₹9,404.47 crore in financial assistance and helped more than 21.6 lakh farmers acquire agricultural machinery, per the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.

Yes, SMAM is a pan-India Centrally Sponsored Scheme. The funding share the Centre and each State carry differs (60:40 generally, 90:10 for North Eastern and Himalayan States, fully Centre-funded in Union Territories), but the scheme itself runs everywhere, subject to each State's annual allocation and its own implementing rules.

No dedicated toll-free number is listed on the current SMAM portal. For queries, write to the portal helpdesk at [email protected], or contact your district agriculture office / Krishi Vigyan Kendra directly.