Crop Residue Management (CRM) Subsidy Scheme
50% subsidy on stubble-management machinery for an individual farmer, and up to 80% for a panchayat, cooperative society or custom hiring centre.
Run by: Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of Punjab
- Individual farmer
- 50% subsidy
- Panchayat / co-op / CHC
- Up to 80%
- Scheme
- Central Sector CRM, since 2018-19
- Punjab so far
- ~1.38 lakh machines, ~23,792 CHCs
- Kharif 2025
- Farm fires down 53% (10,909 → 5,114)
Overview
Burning paddy straw is not something farmers do casually — it is what happens when the window between paddy harvest and wheat sowing is two to three weeks and clearing the residue any other way costs money the crop has not earned yet. The CRM scheme attacks the cost side: it subsidises the machinery that lets straw be mulched, chopped, sown through or baled instead of set alight. It is a Central Sector Scheme, running since 2018-19 in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi-NCR, and delivered in Punjab through the state Agriculture Department.
The split matters. An individual farmer gets 50% of the machine cost; a group — a Gram Panchayat, a cooperative society, a registered farmer group or FPO, or a Custom Hiring Centre — gets up to 80%, meant for setting up a service that rents the machine out. That 80% tier is the practical route for most smallholders, because a Super Seeder or baler makes no economic sense on a few acres but works well when a CHC buys it and hires it out. Punjab has built up about 1,38,022 CRM machines and 23,792 custom hiring centres since 2018-19, with roughly ₹1,400 crore of subsidy up to 2022-23.
The approved list covers both in-situ machinery — Super SMS fitted to the combine, Happy Seeder, Super Seeder, Surface Seeder, Smart Seeder, zero-till drill, paddy straw chopper/shredder/mulcher and reversible mould-board plough — and ex-situ machinery — the baler and rake, which press loose straw into bales for boilers and biomass plants.
For Kharif 2025 the state ran a ₹500 crore action plan and disbursed ₹395 crore for CRM machinery to 5,358 beneficiaries — 4,181 individual farmers and 1,177 panchayats, custom hiring centres and supply-chain units. Farm-fire counts fell 53%, from 10,909 in 2024 to 5,114 in 2025. The gains are real, but the fire count is still in the thousands and machine access remains uneven between districts.
Applications open on agrimachinerypb.com in a set window ahead of the paddy harvest — for 2026-27 it ran from 1 to 24 April 2026, and the portal is usually reopened closer to the harvest. Where applications exceed the district target, beneficiaries are picked by draw. Buy only the sanctioned machine, from an empanelled manufacturer, after sanction — and the 50% or 80% is transferred once the machine is physically verified.
What you get
The benefit as the state notifies it — nothing here is an estimate.
- 50% of the cost of approved CRM machinery for an individual farmer.
- Up to 80% for a Gram Panchayat, cooperative society, FPO / farmer group or Custom Hiring Centre setting up a hiring service.
- Covers in-situ machinery (mulching and sowing into the residue) and ex-situ (baler and rake for removal).
- The CHC route lets a smallholder hire the machine cheaply rather than buying one a few acres cannot justify.
- Straw baled through the scheme has a market — boilers, biomass power, board mills — so the residue becomes income, not a fire.
Who is eligible
State schemes usually state their criteria as prose rather than a checklist. This is that prose, unpacked — the department’s verification is what decides.
You qualify if
- Farmer cultivating in Punjab, or a registered group / panchayat / cooperative society / FPO / CHC
- Purchasing an approved CRM machine from an empanelled manufacturer
- Applied and sanctioned on agrimachinerypb.com within the application window, before purchase
- Bank account for the subsidy transfer
Not covered
- Machinery bought before sanction, or from a non-empanelled supplier
- Machines outside the approved CRM machinery list
- A second subsidised unit of a machine the applicant already holds (anti-duplication check)
Documents you need
Have these ready before you start — most rejections are a missing paper, not a missing right.
- Aadhaar card
- Land record (jamabandi) or the group / CHC registration
- Bank passbook
- Portal application and sanction letter
- Machine purchase invoice from the empanelled manufacturer
How to apply
Fewer steps than a central scheme, and usually one office rather than a portal.
- 1
Apply on agrimachinerypb.com in the window
Applications open ahead of the paddy harvest — 1-24 April for 2026-27, with a reopening closer to harvest. Pick the machine and apply before buying anything.
- 2
Draw and sanction
Where applications exceed the district target, beneficiaries are picked by draw. A sanction letter follows for those selected.
- 3
Buy from an empanelled manufacturer
Once sanctioned, purchase the approved machine from an empanelled supplier and keep the invoice.
- 4
Verification and subsidy release
The department physically verifies the machine against the sanction, and the 50% or 80% subsidy is transferred to your account.
If something goes wrong
Missing from the list, or payment stuck — here is the channel the department itself publishes for it.
- For an application rejected without reason, a dispute over the draw, or a subsidy not released after verification, take it up with the Block Agriculture Officer and then the district's Chief Agricultural Officer, and above them the Director of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Punjab. The agrimachinerypb.com portal also runs a helpdesk for application and payment issues.
- If it stays unresolved, lodge it on Punjab's Public Grievance Redressal System at connect.punjab.gov.in or the unified state helpline 1100 (also through any Sewa Kendra) — the single window the state runs for all departments under its 2020 grievance policy.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get the 80% rate instead of 50%?
The 80% tier is for groups setting up a hiring service — a Gram Panchayat, cooperative society, registered farmer group / FPO or Custom Hiring Centre. An individual farmer gets 50%.
A Super Seeder is too costly even at 50%. What else can I do?
Hire from a Custom Hiring Centre. CHCs buy the machinery at 80% subsidy specifically so smaller farmers can rent it for a season instead of owning it.
Can I buy the machine first and claim the subsidy after?
No. Apply and get sanction on agrimachinerypb.com within the window, and buy only from an empanelled manufacturer — otherwise the claim fails.
Which machines are covered?
In-situ: Super SMS, Happy Seeder, Super Seeder, Surface Seeder, Smart Seeder, zero-till drill, paddy straw chopper/shredder/mulcher and reversible mould-board plough. Ex-situ: baler and rake.
What is the difference between in-situ and ex-situ?
In-situ machines mix or sow through the straw so it stays in the field and rots down. Ex-situ machines — baler and rake — lift the straw off the field as bales for industry.
Is this a Punjab scheme or a central one?
It is a Central Sector Scheme running since 2018-19 in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi-NCR, delivered in Punjab by the state Agriculture Department.
Has it actually reduced stubble burning?
Farm-fire counts fell 53% in Kharif 2025, to 5,114 from 10,909 the year before, alongside ₹395 crore of machinery subsidy. The trend is down, but the count is still in the thousands.
Facts checked against agrimachinerypb.com on 20 October 2026. editorial policy.