Micro Irrigation Subsidy (Tamil Nadu)
Drip and sprinkler systems at 100% subsidy for small and marginal farmers, 75% for everyone else, on up to 5 hectares.
Run by: Department of Horticulture & Plantation Crops, Government of Tamil Nadu
- Small & marginal
- 100% subsidy
- Other farmers
- 75% subsidy
- Maximum area
- 5 hectares
- Lateral renewal
- After 7 years
Overview
Micro irrigation is delivered through the central PMKSY framework, but the subsidy rate is a state decision — and Tamil Nadu is the only state in the country that has kept paying 100 per cent to small and marginal farmers. Everyone else gets 75 per cent. That gap is why this belongs on a state-schemes page rather than a central one.
The subsidy is not only for the drip lines. The scheme also assists the things that make a drip system work at all: a ground-level water storage structure (₹40,000), a borewell (₹25,000), conveyance pipes to get water to the field (₹10,000) and an electric motor or diesel pumpset (₹15,000). A farmer who has already benefited can claim again to replace laterals after seven years, which matters because laterals are the part that actually wears out.
What you get
The benefit as the state notifies it — nothing here is an estimate.
- 100% subsidy on a drip or sprinkler system for small and marginal farmers — the only state still doing this.
- 75% subsidy for all other farmers, on holdings up to 5 hectares.
- Add-on assistance: ₹40,000 for a ground-level water storage structure, ₹25,000 for a borewell, ₹10,000 for conveyance pipes, ₹15,000 for an electric motor or diesel pumpset.
- Laterals can be renewed with subsidy after seven years, so the system does not die when the drip lines do.
- A subsidy calculator on the horticulture portal works out your entitlement by crop spacing before you apply.
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 with agricultural land in Tamil Nadu
- Land in your own name, or leased with a minimum lease period of ten years for project-based components
- Area claimed within the 5-hectare ceiling per beneficiary
- Small and marginal status established for the 100% rate
Not covered
- Area beyond the 5-hectare ceiling
- Leases shorter than the minimum period for project-based components
- Systems installed before sanction
Documents you need
Have these ready before you start — most rejections are a missing paper, not a missing right.
- Chitta and Adangal (original)
- Aadhaar card
- Application form with passport-size photograph
- Ration card
- Bank passbook
How to apply
Fewer steps than a central scheme, and usually one office rather than a portal.
- 1
Work out the subsidy first
The MIMIS subsidy calculator on the horticulture portal computes your entitlement from crop spacing, so you know the number before committing.
- 2
Apply on the Uzhavan app or the horticulture portal
Three routes: the Uzhavan app with documents uploaded, the TN Horticulture web portal, or papers handed to the Assistant Director of Horticulture.
- 3
Sanction, installation, verification
The system is installed after sanction through an approved supplier, then inspected before the subsidy is settled.
Frequently asked questions
Is 100% subsidy real, or is there a hidden share?
It is real for small and marginal farmers, within the notified cost norms and up to 5 hectares. Costs above the notified norm for your crop spacing are yours — which is what the subsidy calculator is for.
I already got a drip system years ago. Can I claim again?
Yes, for renewal of laterals after seven years. That is the component the scheme expects to wear out and be replaced.
I farm on leased land. Do I qualify?
Yes, but for project-based components and PMKSY the lease has to run a minimum of ten years — a one-season lease is not enough to sanction a fixed installation against.
Facts checked against tnhorticulture.tn.gov.in on 24 July 2026. editorial policy.