Diesel Anudan Yojana
A diesel subsidy so a farmer can run the pump and save a standing crop when the monsoon fails — ₹750 an acre per irrigation (Kharif 2025).
Run by: Department of Agriculture, Government of Bihar
- Rate (Kharif 2025)
- ₹750 / acre / irrigation
- Paddy & jute
- Up to 2 irrigations
- Other Kharif crops
- Up to 3 irrigations
- Maximum area
- 8 acres per farmer
- First notified
- Kharif 2022 (drought)
Overview
When the rain does not come, a Bihar farmer with a diesel pump faces a bleak sum: the diesel to save the crop can cost more than the crop will fetch, so the field is left to die. This scheme removes that calculation by subsidising the diesel itself, and it opens in the seasons when the monsoon actually fails rather than running all year.
For Kharif 2025 the rate was ₹75 per litre of diesel, working out to ₹750 per acre per irrigation. What you can claim depends on the crop: up to two irrigations for paddy and jute (₹1,500 an acre), and up to three for other Kharif crops (₹2,250 an acre). The cap is 8 acres per farmer. These rates are re-notified season by season — treat the figures here as Kharif 2025 and check the current notification before budgeting.
The scheme traces to Kharif 2022, when scanty monsoon rain left large parts of Bihar staring at a drought. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's cabinet approved a diesel subsidy that July so farmers could keep pump-irrigating rather than lose the standing crop, and Agriculture Minister Amrendra Pratap Singh announced it that month. The first round ran from 29 July to 30 October 2022 at ₹60 a litre (₹600 an acre), with about ₹29.95 crore set aside for it that financial year. Since then, the state has renotified and raised the rate almost every season — it stood at ₹75 a litre by Kharif 2025 — rather than treating 2022 as a one-off drought response.
What you get
The benefit as the state notifies it — nothing here is an estimate.
- ₹750 an acre per irrigation, based on a ₹75-per-litre diesel subsidy (Kharif 2025 rate).
- Up to ₹1,500 an acre for paddy and jute (two irrigations) and ₹2,250 an acre for other Kharif crops (three).
- Claimable on up to 8 acres per farmer, so it covers a real holding, not a token plot.
- Paid by DBT into the Aadhaar-linked account, with the application online on DBT Agriculture.
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 Bihar, raiyat or non-raiyat
- Irrigating a standing crop with a diesel pump during a notified season
- Registered on the DBT Agriculture portal with a farmer registration number
- Aadhaar-linked bank account for the transfer
Not covered
- Claims made outside the notified application window for the season
- Area beyond the 8-acre ceiling
Documents you need
Have these ready before you start — most rejections are a missing paper, not a missing right.
- Bihar farmer registration number (DBT Agriculture)
- Aadhaar card
- Diesel purchase receipt with the registration number written on it
- Land record, or the self-declaration for a non-raiyat farmer
- Bank passbook, Aadhaar-seeded
How to apply
Fewer steps than a central scheme, and usually one office rather than a portal.
- 1
Register on DBT Agriculture first
A farmer registration number on dbtagriculture.bihar.gov.in is the prerequisite — get it before the season, not during it.
- 2
Keep the diesel receipts
The claim is made against actual diesel purchase receipts, which must carry your farmer registration number.
- 3
Apply within the season window
Apply online during the notified window for that season. Verification is by the agriculture coordinator, then DBT payment.
If something goes wrong
Missing from the list, or payment stuck — here is the channel the department itself publishes for it.
- For a registration issue, a rejected diesel receipt, or a delayed DBT payment, first contact the Agriculture Department's DBT helpline at 0612-2233555, or raise it with your local agriculture coordinator, who verifies claims for this scheme.
- If unresolved, escalate through Bihar Lok Shikayat, the state's public grievance redressal system — file online at lokshikayat.bihar.gov.in or call the toll-free 1800-345-6284. Complaints must legally be resolved within 60 working days, with a two-level appeal if not.
Frequently asked questions
Is ₹750 an acre the current rate?
That is the Kharif 2025 rate, from a ₹75-per-litre diesel subsidy. The rate is re-notified season by season — check the current notification before relying on it.
How many irrigations can I claim?
Up to two for paddy and jute, and up to three for other Kharif crops, on a maximum of 8 acres per farmer.
Do I need the diesel bill?
Yes. The claim is against actual purchase receipts, and the receipt has to carry your farmer registration number — so write it on at the pump.
Why does the rate keep changing every season?
The scheme began in Kharif 2022 as a drought response at ₹60 a litre and has been renotified — usually at a higher rate — almost every season since, most recently ₹75 a litre for Kharif 2025. There is no single fixed rate; each season's notification sets its own.
Does the subsidy apply to Rabi crops too?
The scheme is renotified separately for each season, and Rabi notifications have covered irrigation for wheat and other Rabi crops in past years. Check the current season's notification on dbtagriculture.bihar.gov.in, since the rate and covered crops can differ from Kharif.
Facts checked against dbtagriculture.bihar.gov.in on 20 October 2026. editorial policy.