Soil Health Card Scheme: All you need to know

SOIL HEALTH CARD(SHC): Soil Health Card Scheme is a scheme launched by the Government of India on 19^th February 2015. Under the Soil Health Card Scheme, the government strategies to issue soil cards to farmers which will carry crop-wise recommendations of nutrients and fertilisers essential for the distinct farms to help farmers to increase productivity through wise use of inputs.

All soil samples are to be tested in various soil testing labs across the nation. Subsequently the experts will analyse the strength and weaknesses (micro-nutrients deficiency) of the soil and propose measures to deal with it. The result and suggestion will be exhibited in the cards.

In this article, we will discuss in details about the Soil Health Card Scheme that is an important scheme for the upcoming exams like Lekhpal and other UP exams.

Soil Health Card (SHC): Key Features

This Soil Health Card Scheme was approved during 12th Five Years Plan and implemented in 2015 with an outlay of 54 crores.
Under this Soil Health Card Scheme, the states will be provided funds for the strengthening of the soil testing labs. analysis of soil samples and distribution of the Soil Health Card. This would be continuous and dynamic exercise to be carried out periodically.
The Soil Health Card (SHC) is to be provided to all farmers in the country at an interval of three years so as to enable them to apply appropriate recommended dosages of nutrients for crop production and improving soil health and its fertility.
The quality of soil testing and fertilizer recommendation depends upon soil sampling; therefore, following uniform norms are prescribed for sampling: in the irrigated areas, samples will be drawn in a grid of 2.5 ha; in unirrigated areas, sampling will be done in a 10 ha grid.
After the collection of soil samples, testing will be done for 12 parameters –

pH value
Electrical conductivity

Organic compounds

Primary nutrients – Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potash
Secondary Nutrient – Sulphur
Micro-nutrients Zinc, Iron, Copper, Manganese and Boron

After testing, Soil Health Card (SHC) will be generated and provided to every farmer. Application software for the online generation of SHC’s and fertilizer recommendations have been developed and rolled out.

Soil Health Card (SHC): FAQs

Q. Is soil health card issued once in every three years?
Ans. It will be made available once in a cycle of 3 years.

Q. On which date the Soil Health Card Day is being observed in India?
Ans. 19 February

Q. When was the Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme launched?
Ans. 19^th February 2015

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