(THE GIST OF PIB) Soil Health Card Scheme

(FEBRUARY-2025)

The soil health card scheme was launched in 2015 to assist State Governments to issue soil health cards to all farmers.
It provides information to farmers on nutrient status of their soil along with recommendation on appropriate dosage of nutrients to be applied for improving soil health and its fertility.

It contains status of the soil with respect to 12 parameters, namely N, P, K, S (Macro-nutrients); Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, Bo (Micro - nutrients); and pH (Acidity or Basicity), EC (Electrical Conductivity) and OC (Organic Carbon).
Soil samples are taken generally two times in a year, after harvesting of Rabi and Kharif Crop respectively or when there is no standing crop in the field.
A farmer will get the soil card once in every 3 years.
Village Level Soil Testing Labs can be set up to provide test results by individual entrepreneurs i.e. rural youth and community based entrepreneurs, including Self Help Groups (SHGs), Schools, Agriculture Universities etc.
Soil Health Card scheme has been merged in Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) scheme as one of its components under the name ‘Soil Health & Fertility’ from the year 2022-23.
Technological Advancements: To streamline the implementation/monitoring of the scheme and to provide easy access to Soil Health Card to the farmers, SHC Mobile App has been built with additional features.

The scheme monitors the soil of the farmers well and gives them a formatted report. So, they can decide well which crops they should cultivate and which ones they should skip.
The authorities monitor the soil on a regular basis. One in every 3 years, they provide a report to farmers. So farmers need not worry if the nature of the soil changes due to certain factors. Also, they always have updated data about their soil.
Nodal Agency: Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in (DA&FW).