The Maharashtra government has made drip irrigation mandatory for sugarcane crops in all the irrigated command areas across the state. More than half the land in Maharashtra is drought-prone and this decision is considered a formidable step towards water conservation. The government install drip irrigation system in the fields of total 3.7 lakh hectares in a phased manner within the next two years. The state provides a loan with an interest rate of only 2%. The amount of loan will be Rs 85,400 per hectare.