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Government updates Parliament on rural livelihoods, crop losses from natural calamities and housing construction under PMAY-Gramin
Jharkhand reports mobilisation of over 35 lakh rural households into self-help groups under DAY-NRLM
Accreditation of Sikkim’s organic certification agency suspended over lapses in certification processes
Ministries outline progress on digital agriculture systems and health coverage under Ayushman Bharat in Uttar Pradesh
Data on the area of crops affected or lost (in acres) due to drought, floods, hailstorms, unseasonal rainfall and other natural calamities is not maintained centrally, Ramnath Thakur, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare told the Rajya Sabha. However, based on reports from states and Union Territories, a total cropped area of 13,12,157 hectares was affected by hydro-meteorological disasters during 2024-25.
He added that the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) provides comprehensive risk insurance against crop damage from pre-sowing to post-harvest stages for crops and areas notified by the respective state governments.
The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) has mobilised 100.5 million rural poor households into 9.09 million self-help groups (SHG) across the country, Minister of State for Rural Development Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani told the Rajya Sabha. In Jharkhand, 3.59 million rural poor households have been mobilised into 292,000 SHGs.
The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) during 2024-25 to 2028-29, including the construction of an additional 20 million rural houses, Pemmasani told the Rajya Sabha.
As of December 31, 2025, a cumulative target of 41.5 million houses had been allotted to states and Union Territories, of which 38.6 million houses were sanctioned and 29.3 million houses completed. In Odisha, a total target of 2,849,889 houses was allotted, of which 2,807,459 were sanctioned and more than 2,504,574 houses completed.
The accreditation of the Sikkim State Organic Certification Agency (SSOCA) as a certification body under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) has been suspended by the National Accreditation Body (NAB), Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada told the Rajya Sabha.
The suspension was due to inadequate oversight by SSOCA over its certified operations, with major lapses observed in its certification processes. These lapses adversely affected the integrity of organic products certified by the agency.
Under the National e-Governance Plan in Agriculture (NeGPA), the government is developing a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for agriculture, including AgriStack, the Krishi Decision Support System, a comprehensive soil fertility and profile map, and other IT initiatives by the central and state governments, to create a robust digital agriculture ecosystem, Thakur told the Rajya Sabha.
This, in turn, is expected to drive innovative, farmer-centric digital solutions and enhance their reliability. Crop-related information is made available to all farmers in a timely manner.
The AgriStack DPI consists of three foundational registries — geo-referenced village maps, the crop sown registry, and the farmers’ registry — all created and maintained by state governments and Union Territories. The state farmers’ registry under the Digital Agriculture Mission covers all landholding farmers, including women farmers, and also provides for the onboarding of tenant and lessee farmers, subject to state policy.
As of February 4, 2026, more than 84.8 million Farmer IDs had been generated. Further, during Kharif 2025, the Digital Crop Survey (DCS) was conducted in 604 districts, covering more than 285 million plots.
Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) provides health coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to 120 million families, covering the bottom 40 per cent of India’s population, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav informed the Lok Sabha.
In March 2024, eligibility under the scheme was expanded to include 3.7 million families of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA), Anganwadi workers and Anganwadi helpers. In October 2024, the scheme was further expanded to cover 60 million senior citizens aged 70 years and above from 45 million families, irrespective of socio-economic status.
As of December 31, 2025, 54.8 million Ayushman cards had been created in Uttar Pradesh, and 8.37 million hospital admissions amounting to Rs 13,756.18 crore had been authorised under the scheme.