Understand horticulture subsidies
before you invest

From 21 August 2026 National Horticulture Board assistance is 35% in general areas and 45% in the North Eastern and Himalayan States, Scheduled Areas and specified Union Territories. Cold storage subsidy is capped at ₹2.00 crore, land is no longer an eligible cost, and only one member of a family may ever claim. Fresh applications have been paused since 4 September 2026.

Most machinery under NHM defers to SMAM norms rather than carrying its own figure. The clearest exception is a power tiller up to 8 BHP, costed at ₹1.0 lakh per unit with a maximum of ₹0.40 lakh for general-category farmers.

INM and IPM carry a cost norm of ₹5,000 per hectare at 30%, up to 2 hectares per beneficiary. That 30% is the lowest rate in the scheme. Organic farming has no NHM figure at all; the guidelines send you to PKVY norms.

Rejuvenation of old orchards is supported at 40% in general areas for up to 2 hectares, with removal of dead plants at ₹10,000 per hectare and inputs at ₹40,000 per hectare. Mushroom units are supported separately, with the larger ones credit-linked.

A large nursery of 1 to 2 hectares carries a cost norm up to ₹30 lakh per hectare at 40% for the private sector; a small nursery of 0.4 to 1 hectare carries ₹20 lakh per hectare at 50%. Both come with minimum production and accreditation conditions.

A community water harvesting structure is supported at a higher rate than an individual farm pond, and a tube-well is considered only when integrated with another component. Beekeeping is supported through colonies, hives and equipment sets, with per-beneficiary limits.

NHB takes cold storage projects above 5,000 MT and up to 20,000 MT. Rates fall as capacity rises, from ₹9,120 per MT in civil construction at the smallest band to ₹4,080 per MT at the largest. Assistance is 35% in general areas, credit-linked back-ended, and NCCD guidelines apply.

An open-field commercial horticulture project above 2 hectares is costed at ₹100.00 lakh per project with credit-linked back-ended subsidy at 35% in general areas. A large-scale hi-tech project above 20 hectares in six named crops is costed at ₹200.00 lakh per project at the same 35%.

An integrated mushroom unit above 50 MT and up to 300 MT installed capacity carries 35% credit-linked subsidy in general areas. Refrigerated vehicles of 15 MT and above are costed up to ₹80.00 lakh per project with 35% assistance.

Above 4,000 square metres, protected cultivation becomes an NHB project at 35% of eligible cost with subsidy capped at ₹100 lakh. NHB states its norms per acre: a polyhouse with drip and fogger at ₹40.00 lakh per acre, plus a crop-specific cultivation cost and an overall ceiling.

NHB backs larger, bank-financed commercial projects: open-field horticulture above 2 hectares, protected cultivation above 4,000 square metres, and cold storage from 5,001 to 20,000 MT. NHM handles the smaller end. The size of your project usually decides which one applies.

Most large post-harvest and cold-chain projects are assisted at 35% in general areas as credit-linked back-ended assistance. Cold storage up to 5,000 MT is promoted under NHM; larger capacity moves to the NHB sub-scheme, and subsidy under NHM stops at 5,000 MT.

No single rate applies. Protected cultivation is generally 50%, most field crops 40%, INM and IPM 30%, and most large post-harvest projects 35%. The rate is set component by component, and always with a ceiling attached.

Planting material and cultivation inside a protected structure is a separate component from the structure. High-value vegetables carry ₹150 per square metre, orchid and anthurium ₹700, carnation and gerbera ₹600, and rose, chrysanthemum and lilium ₹450, all at 50%.

MIDH is the umbrella horticulture mission. NHM is the sub-scheme of MIDH that covers most States and Union Territories. SHM is the State-level machinery that implements it. They are not three competing schemes.

Most fruit area-expansion components are assisted at 40% in general areas, up to 2 hectares per beneficiary, against crop-specific cost norms. For several perennial crops the money comes in two instalments of 60:40, with the second subject to 80% plant survival.

Add-ons are separate components with their own norms and their own ceilings: hydroponics at ₹350 per square metre, circulation fans at ₹5,000 per fan for up to 6 fans, mulching at ₹40,000 per hectare, and fencing at ₹300 per running metre up to 1,000 metres.

There is no single polyhouse subsidy. Fan and pad and naturally ventilated structures carry different cost norms, both fall as the area grows, both are assisted at 50%, and both are capped at 4,000 square metres per beneficiary.

A tubular shade net house carries a cost norm of ₹710 per square metre and a bamboo one ₹450, both assisted at 50% up to 4,000 square metres. Tunnels and anti-bird or anti-hail nets are separate components with their own, much lower, norms.

Hybrid vegetables carry ₹60,000 per hectare and open-pollinated ones ₹50,000. Cut flowers carry ₹1.25 lakh, bulbous flowers ₹2.50 lakh and loose flowers ₹50,000. All are assisted at 40% in general areas up to 2 hectares.

A cost norm is the upper limit of cost the guidelines recognise when calculating your subsidy. It is not the market price, and a quotation above the norm does not increase your assistance.