The Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) promotes farm mechanization across the country, with special focus on small and marginal farmers, women farmers, socially disadvantaged groups, and the North-Eastern Region (NER), as well as other areas where mechanization levels remain low. Launched in 2014-15, SMAM is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY). RKVY itself was launched in 2007 to encourage states to increase public investment in agriculture and allied sectors, and was restructured in 2017-18 as RKVY-RAFTAAR.

From 2014-15 to 2025-26, SMAM has extended ₹9,404.47 crore in central assistance, enabling 21.61 lakh agricultural machines to reach farmers nationwide. The scheme has also supported over 40,928 drone demonstrations across 40,918 hectares, backed by ₹52.5 crore in assistance, helping popularise modern farm technology. To widen access to machinery, SMAM has helped establish 27,554 Custom Hiring Centres (CHC), 646 Hi-Tech Hubs, and 25,608 Farm Machinery Banks (FMB), which let farmers hire equipment instead of purchasing it outright.

For individual ownership, SMAM provides Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) subsidies of 40% of machine cost for general-category farmers and up to 50% for SC/ST, small and marginal farmers, and NER beneficiaries. Small and marginal farmers also get ₹2,000 per hectare for drone-based mechanized services through CHCs, SHGs or FPOs. CHC projects up to ₹250 lakh receive up to 40% assistance, while FMB projects up to ₹30 lakh receive up to 80%; in the NER, subsidies go up to 100% for small machines and 95% for FMBs. The number of individual-ownership beneficiaries rose from 2.07 lakh in 2020-21 to 2.32 lakh in 2024-25, reflecting SMAM's growing role in inclusive and efficient agricultural mechanization.