NEW DELHI, Sept. 19 -- The central government is expanding a key agricultural mechanization scheme to specifically target small and marginal women farmers in India's hilly regions, offering subsidies on lightweight, ergonomic tools to boost productivity and reduce the physical burden of farm work.

The move comes as the government aims to address a long-standing issue in states like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, where men often migrate for work, leaving women as the primary agricultural workers on difficult, fragmented terrain.

"The government is expanding the ambit of the 'Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM)' scheme to include modern, efficient, and region-specific machinery," said a spokesperson in t...