New Delhi, May 17 -- Chemical fertilizers in India are heavily subsidized and import-dependent. Their use, over the years, has led to significant deterioration in soil health. To promote soil testing, provide farmers with crop-specific nutrient recommendations, improve soil fertility and optimize fertilizer use, the government launched the Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme in 2015. During its first cycle (2015-17), around 25.4 million soil samples were tested, followed by 27.4 million soil samples in the 2017-19 cycle.

In 2025-26, around 9.3 million samples were analysed. The results are alarming. Nearly 82% of them recorded soil organic carbon (SOC) levels below the desirable range of 1-1.5%.

Nitrogen deficiency is particularly severe. Onl...