SYLLABUS
GS-3: Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers.
Context: Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) completes six years in September 2026, with the fisheries sector witnessing significant gains in production, exports, infrastructure, technology adoption and livelihoods.
About Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY)
• Launch & Outlay: Launched in 2020–21, PMMSY is the flagship scheme for the holistic and sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture, with a total outlay of ₹20,750 crore.
• Objectives: Enhance fish production and productivity, improve fisher incomes and employment, strengthen post-harvest management and value chains, boost exports and promote sustainable fisheries management.
• Coverage: Encompasses marine and inland fisheries, aquaculture, mariculture, seaweed and ornamental fisheries, besides fisheries infrastructure and welfare interventions.
• Value-Chain Approach: Covers the chain from production and technology to harvesting, transportation, cold chains, processing, marketing, quality and traceability.
• Implementation: PMMSY comprises Central Sector and Centrally Sponsored components, implemented through States/UTs and other agencies, with beneficiary-oriented interventions for fishers, fish farmers and fisheries enterprises.
Six Years of PMMSY: Key Achievements
• Investment: As of August 2026, fisheries and aquaculture projects worth ₹21,394.88 crore, including a Central share of ₹9,510.89 crore, had been approved for 2020–21 to 2025–26. PMMSY has been continued in its existing form up to September 2026, with ₹2,500 crore allocated in BE 2026–27.
• Production & Exports: Fish production increased from 141.64 lakh tonnes (2019–20) to a record 197.75 lakh tonnes (2024–25), while fisheries exports rose from ₹46,663 crore to ₹73,890 crore (2025–26).
• Employment: PMMSY has generated direct and indirect employment opportunities for about 58 lakh persons in fisheries and aquaculture-related activities.
• Infrastructure & Markets: ₹3,741.89 crore was approved for fishing harbours, fish-landing centres and dredging, while another ₹2,797 crore supported cold-chain and marketing infrastructure, strengthening the post-harvest value chain.
• Collective & Digital Transformation: ₹544.86 crore has supported 2,195 FFPOs, while the National Fisheries Digital Platform (NFDP) crossed 37.23 lakh registrations by September 2026, facilitating formalisation and access to credit, insurance and traceability.
Implementation Challenges and Emerging Gaps
• Uneven implementation: Parliamentary scrutiny found that development of freshwater/brackishwater aquaculture and waterlogged areas achieved only 2,050 hectares against the 10,000-hectare target in 2025–26. The Department attributed this partly to limited approval of new beneficiary-oriented activities during the final phase of the scheme.
• Credit access: Of 6.83 lakh KCC applications received from fisheries beneficiaries, 6.77 lakh were accepted but only 4.82 lakh sanctioned, indicating scope for improving conversion into actual credit access.
• Post-harvest capacity: Continued investment in transportation, cold storage, ice plants, markets and value-added enterprises highlights the need to further reduce post-harvest losses and improve value realisation.
• Technology & sustainability: Expansion of intensive aquaculture requires adequate technical capacity, disease surveillance, biosecurity and environmental safeguards, alongside responsible management of capture fisheries.
PMMSY and India’s Blue Economy
• Fisheries sustain nearly 3 crore livelihoods, particularly among coastal and marginalised communities, while supporting food and nutritional security, employment and exports. India is the world’s second-largest fish-producing nation, accounting for around 8% of global output.
• PMMSY is broadening the sector beyond traditional production through modern aquaculture, seaweed, fishing infrastructure, cold chains, processing, digital formalisation and producer organisations.
• Technologies such as RAS, Biofloc and cage culture, along with sustainable fisheries management, align fisheries development with SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and the wider objective of sustainable use of aquatic resources.
• Thus, the sector’s Blue Economy potential lies in combining higher productivity and value addition with sustainable utilisation of aquatic resources.
Way Forward
• Focus on outcomes: Shift monitoring from project approvals to measurable gains in productivity, fisher incomes, post-harvest loss reduction and value addition.
• Deepen financial inclusion: Improve conversion of KCC applications into sanctioned credit and use NFDP to strengthen formalisation, insurance and access to finance.
• Complete the value chain: Prioritise cold chains, hygienic landing facilities, processing, quality standards, traceability and market linkages.
• Scale technology responsibly: Expand modern aquaculture with technical training, disease surveillance, biosecurity and environmental safeguards.
• Empower collectives: Strengthen FFPOs and cooperatives to improve access to inputs, technology, finance and remunerative markets.