Bee Keeping Scheme — ₹80–₹58,550 Subsidy for Uttarakhand Farmers — Frequently Asked Questions

It is a grant-based programme run by the Department of Horticulture, Government of Uttarakhand, to encourage beekeeping among the state's farmers. It supplies subsidised bee boxes and bee colonies, pays per-colony assistance to farmers who keep bees in their own orchards, and runs free training. The larger purpose is to raise honey production in Uttarakhand and give farming families a second source of income.

Benefits come in three parts. The subsidy on boxes and colonies is 40% of a maximum unit cost of ₹2,000. Farmers who keep colonies in their own orchards get ₹350 per colony, which reaches ₹17,500 for 50 colonies. Training participants receive a ₹1,050 stipend. Put together, the ceiling for a single beneficiary is ₹58,550, while the smallest individual subsidy starts at ₹80.

Two conditions apply: you must be a resident of Uttarakhand, and you must be a farmer with an interest in beekeeping. Beyond that, the scheme does not lay down sector limits, entity requirements, land minimums or age limits. Both plain-area and hilly-area farmers can apply, though the number of boxes available to them differs.

No. DPIIT startup recognition and MSME or Udyam registration do not feature among the scheme's conditions, and no particular business structure is prescribed. Eligibility rests on being a farmer who lives in Uttarakhand.

The state pays 40% of the cost, and the cost considered for subsidy is capped at ₹2,000 per unit. If a bee box and colony together cost ₹200, the farmer pays ₹120 and the government covers ₹80. A farmer in a plain area can take up to 50 boxes, while one in a hilly area can take up to 25.

It is meant for farmers who keep bee colonies within their own orchards. Each such colony earns the farmer ₹350, so a farmer maintaining 50 colonies in their orchard receives ₹17,500.

The seven-day training is free of cost. Participants who attend the full programme receive ₹1,050 in total, calculated as ₹100 per day plus ₹50 per day, to cover attendance and incidental expenses. The amount is handed over in cash or credited to the farmer's bank account.

There is no fixed deadline. The scheme runs on a rolling, always-open basis, and bee boxes and colonies are allotted on a first-come, first-served basis as long as the budget allows. Applying early therefore matters more than waiting for a notified date.

Applications are made offline at your nearest Horticulture Mobile Team Centre. You need to submit a formal application along with your address, mobile number, Aadhaar card, residence certificate and bank account details. The Centre forwards your papers to the district office or the Jeolikote Centre for review. If approved, you are informed by phone and given an acceptance letter, after which you collect the boxes and colonies from the Jeolikote Centre or the designated district office at the subsidised rate. Training requires a separate application filed at the same Centre.

For bee boxes and colonies, approval follows a first-come, first-served order, subject to budget availability; applications are reviewed at the district or Jeolikote Centre after being forwarded by the Horticulture Mobile Team. For training, the department forms a group of 10-30 interested farmers in a district and then schedules a session, so training dates depend on enough local applicants coming forward.

No. This is a subsidy and grant programme, not an investment, so it does not take equity, ownership or a share in your farm or business. The support comes as a reduced price on bee boxes and colonies, per-colony assistance and a training stipend.

Bee Keeping Scheme — ₹80–₹58,550 Subsidy for Uttarakhand Farmers is offered by Department of Horticulture, Government of Uttarakhand, a government body. It is provided as non-dilutive funding.

Apply directly through the official application link on this page. Review the eligibility criteria and prepare your startup documents before you begin.