Why in the News?

• The 10th Soil Health Card Day was celebrated on 19 February, 2025 in India .

Key Points:

Soil Health Card Scheme:

=> This scheme was launched by the Prime Minister on 19 February 2015 in Suratgarh, Rajasthan.

=> The theme of this scheme is: Healthy Earth, Green Fields.

Objective:

=> Distributing soil health cards to farmers at an interval of every 2 years.

=> Providing necessary guidance to farmers for improving soil health and its fertility

=> Providing information to farmers about the nutrient status of soil along with proper quantity of nutrients

=> Strengthening of Soil Testing Laboratories (STL)

=> To solve the problem of soil fertility in the states

=> To provide corrective measures

Portal:

=> Soil Health Card Portal provides a facility to generate Soil Health Cards for the benefit of farmers in a uniform and standardized format in all major languages and 5 dialects across the country.

=> Soil health card contains the status of soil with respect to 12 parameters, such as

• Macro nutrients: Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K)
• Secondary Nutrients : Sulfur (S)
• Micronutrients: Zinc (Zn), Iron (Fe), Copper (Cu), Manganese (Mn), Boron (B)
• Physical Parameters: pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Organic Carbon (OC)

=> Based on this, the card also gives the fertilizer recommendations and soil amendments required for the farm.

=> Soil samples are generally taken twice a year, after harvesting of Rabi and Kharif crops respectively or when there is no standing crop in the field.