Clean Plant Programme (CPP), 2024: From Healthy Roots To A Prosperous Future

Policy Update
Gowri Kudali

Introduction

Healthy planting material is a major determinant of the productivity of various agricultural crops including horticultural crops. Fruit crops take a considerable period (2-3 years or more) to bear fruit, and viruses can be systemic and affect fruit quality and yield. Orchards, therefore, need to be strengthened with healthy planting materials. Responding to the challenges faced by the fruit production sector and the need to enhance India’s horticultural competitiveness, the Union Cabinet, on 9 August, 2024, approved the ‘Clean Plant Programme (CPP)’ with an outlay of Rs. 1,765.67 crore under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH). The Programme aims to provide quality planting materials and strengthen the fruit and horticulture production of the country (Press Information Bureau [PIB], 2024a).

To achieve the targeted objectives of the Programme, the Ministry has adopted an integrated approach comprising production, safe transportation, maintenance and certification of clean plants along with creation and strengthening of infrastructure. To implement the Programme, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has involved the National Horticulture Board (NHB) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) (PIB, 2025b).

Background

Along with vegetables, floriculture and other plantation crops, fruit crops help achieve agricultural diversification. The production of high value crops has become a source of income for farmers. While there are several factors that affect the productivity of fruit crops, the health of the original planting material cannot be ignored. Sometimes viral infections are difficult to identify during early stages of plant development. Thus, preventive measures for plant health become very necessary. Managing the established infected plants in an orchard is usually expensive and may not improve the productivity to the original level (PIB, 2025b).

The programme received cabinet approval in August 2024, after it was announced in the union budget of February 2023. This programme, along with the Integrated Mission for the Development of Horticulture (MIDH), supports interventions related to quality planting material, horticulture and allied infrastructure and adoption of modern technologies. The CPP focuses on establishing specialised facilities and certification arrangements for pathogen-free planting materials as well as modern nursery infrastructure (NHB-National Housing Bank, 2025; PIB, 2024a).

The impact of the intervention is important from the point of view of farmers’ investment. Fruit orchards are long-term agricultural assets and the productivity of these orchards depend on the quality of planting material used. There is uncertainty among farmers about which planting material to purchase from nurseries. Setting up a reliable certification system will help eliminate this uncertainty. Establishing the system requires coordination of research and testing institutes, nurseries and state level horticulture departments.

Functioning

The Clean Plant Programme is funded under the Central Sector as a project of the National Horticulture Board (NHB). The NHB is already implementing several programmes to develop and certify Clean Plant Material. The 2025 Operational Guidelines of the NHB provide for the establishment of Clean Plant Centres (CPCs) across different agro-climatic zones, to help in the production, updation and distribution of pathogen-free planting materials using advanced diagnostics and therapeutics (NHB, 2025). The key element of this programme is the establishment of nine CPCs for the development of pathogen-free planting materials of commercially important fruit crops, i.e., grapes, citrus, apples, pomegranates, mangoes and guavas, as well as other subtropical and tropical fruits (PIB, 2024a).

This programme will ensure quality and availability of pathogen-free planting material for horticulture crops through CPCs. Research and development (R&D) institutions, having adequate testing and disease-free mother plants, and located within the institutional network of the programme will play a pivotal role. The programme will cover the cost of propagation, multiplication, testing, development of infection-free planting materials and mother plants and certification. Accredited nurseries will be encouraged to multiply the certified planting materials for further distribution to farmers (PIB, 2025a). The programme will support the establishment of modern nurseries, and provide capital investment grants to large and medium nurseries. Achieving an annual production of eight crore disease-free seedlings was proposed as an ambitious goal. These represent planned supports and production capacity rather than verified annual distribution (PIB, 2025a).

Performance

The realization of this programme should be evaluated by completion of diagnostic systems, testing protocols, establishment of Clean Plant Centers, and availability of certified planting material. Implementation remains largely in the institutional development stage (PIB, 2025b). As of September 2025, various components of the programme were at different levels of completion. For example, testing for hazard analysis was completed for grapes, while for apples and citrus it was at the sampling stage. Preparatory work for hazard analysis for citrus began during the year. As of September 2025, the government reported nursery assessments in Maharashtra and J&K in 2024, followed by lab visits by representatives of ICAR, NHB, and the Asian Development Bank in January 2025. The assessments examined the current diagnostic capabilities, including utilization of high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics for detection of plant pathogens. In addition, the first Clean Plant Center was still in the design and bidding stage, as of September 2025 (PIB, 2025b). These developments show preparatory steps forward, but do not prove that the nine centers are fully operational or that the required quantities of disease-free planting material have reached the farmers. An assessment of the program will require evidence of commissioned centers, accredited nurseries, certified plants, and their distribution to farmers.

Impact

The Clean Plant Programme is expected to enhance horticultural productivity by giving farmers access to healthy planting material that has been evaluated by scientific means. Planting healthy material may lessen the risk of introducing systemic pathogens to the orchard thus supporting better establishment of the crop, fruit quality and productivity. Improved fruit quality and productivity is especially important for perennial crops because replacing infected plants may be very costly and time consuming (PIB, 2024a; PIB, 2025b).

The programme is expected to benefit the local nursery industry by creating an enabling environment to strengthen their practices and raise accountability in production and sale of planting materials (NHB, 2025).

The programme may improve horticultural exports. Consistent quality and improved health of plants may help in producing marketable fruits and support the buyers confidence. On the other hand, the use of disease-free planting materials does not automatically make a country’s horticultural exports competitive (PIB, 2024a).

The programme’s potential impact on farmers’ income and horticulture productivity is yet to be established. The impact will be measured if certified planting material is provided to farmers at affordable costs and performs well under different agro-climatic conditions.

Key Challenges

Establishment of Technical Infrastructure: Clean Plant Centers require specialized laboratory equipment and personnel. Design, procurement and/or construction delays of diagnostic laboratories may impact the availability of the certified material. The Update of September 2025 indicates that laboratory assessments and development of the Clean Plant Centres were still in progress (PIB, 2025b).

Nursery Certification and Compliance: Uniform certification standards ensure the quality of the planting material. Certification may be difficult for smaller nurseries to achieve due to lack of adequate resources. If available, technical assistance may be of great benefit to small and marginal farmers to access verified planting material.

Affordability and Equitable Access: The program aims to benefit all farmers including small and marginal farmers. Even though certified planting material may increase yield and income, small and marginal farmers may find it difficult to procure due to high costs.

Crop-specific Disease Management: The lack of scientific experts and personnel to conduct diagnosis and research on various crops may impact the propagation of planting material. Different crops may require different methods for pathogen identification, diagnostics and propagation.

Monitoring and Accountability: The number of Centers, Assessed Laboratories and proposed Nurseries does not indicate the impact of the program. Meaningful monitoring of program performance is subject to the availability of information on diagnosis and detection of pathogens, production of certified planting material and farmers’ adoption.

Way Forward

1. Establish transparent implementation reporting: The National Horticulture Board should regularly report the status of Clean Plant Centres, laboratories, accredited nurseries, and certified planting material production and distribution. Operational results should be reported separately from planned results.

2. Strengthen nursery participation: Tailored and simplified certification processes, training and capacity building should be provided to small nurseries. Monitoring processes should ensure the credibility of certification while allowing as many local planting material suppliers as possible.

3. Prioritize region-specific diagnostic services: Research and development institutions should develop, update and disseminate testing and treatment protocols for regionally important fruit crops. Regional laboratories and state horticulture authorities should strengthen the capacity to identify locally prevalent pathogens.

4. Improve access for small and marginal farmers: Farmer awareness and training programs should be scaled up and integrated with planting demonstrations and the provision of certified planting material at the nursery level.

5. Evaluate long-term orchard outcomes: Independent assessments should monitor plant survival, incidence of disease, and productivity of fruit over time and capture farmer expenditures. This would show if the program improves orchard performance and financial returns in the long-term from the infrastructure investments.

Conclusion

The Clean Plant Program aims to enhance the quality and health of planting material of horticultural crops to bolster the horticulture sector of India. It has an approved outlay of Rs. 1765.67 crore, and aims to set up Clean Plant Centres, improve nurseries and create a system for certification and traceability of fruit plants (PIB, 2024a; NHB, 2025).

As of September 2025, some progress has been made in relation to hazard analysis and assessment and preparation of institutions. However, the main contribution of the program will depend on creating adequate operational facilities to ensure consistent certification of planting material and availing of planting material to farmers at an affordable price (PIB, 2025b). As such, the program will be successful not only in setting up centres and spending money, but also in achieving improvement in the health of plants, productivity of orchards, reliability and safety of the Indian horticultural planting material system.

References

National Horticulture Board. (2025). MIDH operational guidelines 2025. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India. https://nhb.gov.in/writereaddata/082825102800MIDH%20Guideline%202025.pdf

Press Information Bureau. (2024a, August 9). Cabinet approves the Clean Plant Programme under Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2043922

Press Information Bureau. (2024b, September 18). Union Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan addresses a press conference to mark the important decisions and achievements taken by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare in the first 100 days. Government of India. https://www.pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=2056695

Press Information Bureau. (2025a, August 3). Key initiatives under Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH). Government of India. https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2025/aug/doc2025831625101.pdf

Press Information Bureau. (2025b, September 21). Seeds of the future: Clean Plant Programme gaining momentum. Government of India. https://www.pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=2169147

About the Author

Gowri Kodali is a Research and Editorial Intern at the Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI). She is pursuing a Master’s degree in Economics. Her academic and research interests include public policy, governance, economic development, agricultural policy and socio-economic development.

Acknowledgement

I sincerely thank the Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI) for providing me with the opportunity to research and write this Policy Update. Reviewed by Aditya Chavan and Mahenoor. I am grateful to the IMPRI team for their valuable guidance, encouragement and support in strengthening my understanding of public policy research and analysis.