For a fisherman on Uttar Pradesh’s rivers and ponds, a boat is not a luxury — it is the difference between fishing the shallow edge and reaching the water where the catch actually is. The state government’s Nishadraj Boat Subsidy Yojana pays 40% of the cost of a new wooden or FRP boat, fishing net, life jacket and ice box — but read this first: the scheme is in its final year, and the 2026–27 online application window has already closed. This guide gives you the exact amounts, who qualifies, and what to do next so you are ready if the window reopens.
Nishadraj Boat Subsidy at a glance
| Detail | What it is |
|---|---|
| Scheme | Nishadraj Boat Subsidy Yojana (निषादराज बोट सब्सिडी योजना) |
| Run by | Matsya Vibhag (Fisheries Department), Government of Uttar Pradesh |
| Government Order | Dated Friday, 31 March 2023 |
| Scheme period | Five years, FY 2022–23 to FY 2026–27 — the current year is the last one |
| Subsidy | 40% of the cost of a wooden or FRP boat (15–18 feet), fishing net, life jacket and ice box |
| Maximum subsidy | ₹26,800 on the original ₹67,000 unit cost; about ₹32,160 on the escalated 2026–27 unit cost (see the table below — confirm the current figure on the portal) |
| Your share | 60% of the cost, from your own money or a bank loan |
| Annual target | 3,000 beneficiaries a year; 15,000 over five years |
| Total budget | ₹44.425 crore over five years |
| How the money comes | Back-ended: you buy first, then the 40% is paid in one instalment by DBT to your bank account after verification |
| Where to apply | Online at fisheries.up.gov.in, or offline at your District Matsya Office |
⚠️ Read this first: the 2026–27 window has closed
Honesty matters more than a headline, so here is the position as it stands on 14 November 2026:
- The UP Fisheries Department opened online applications for the state’s fisheries schemes for 2026–27 on Friday, 31 July 2026, initially till Wednesday, 5 August 2026.
- The department then extended the last date to Monday, 10 August 2026, and the Nishadraj Boat Subsidy Scheme was explicitly among the schemes covered, according to The Times of India (Varanasi), quoting Rajendra Kumar, CEO of the Fish Farmers Development Agency.
- That window is now closed. The scheme’s government order itself sets no closing date — applications open only when the department invites them each year — so there is no published date for a fresh round.
What to do now: get your documents ready (listed below), keep checking the official portal at fisheries.up.gov.in, and ask your District Matsya Office or the Assistant Director (Matsya) at your district Collectorate whether any fresh window or offline route is open. Applying is free — never pay anyone who promises to get your application through.
What exactly do you get?
The subsidy covers one complete fishing kit — a boat plus the three items that make it usable and safe:
| Item | Unit cost (FY 2022–23) | Government pays (40%) | You pay (60%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wooden fishing boat or FRP boat, 15–18 feet | ₹50,000 | ₹20,000 | ₹30,000 |
| Fishing net, life jacket and ice box | ₹17,000 | ₹6,800 | ₹10,200 |
| Total kit | ₹67,000 | ₹26,800 | ₹40,200 |
The unit cost is not frozen. The government order raises it by 5% a year from FY 2023–24 — 20% in total by FY 2026–27. On that escalation the 2026–27 unit cost works out to about ₹80,400 (₹67,000 × 1.20) and the 40% subsidy to about ₹32,160. Two honest caveats: the order prints no rupee figure for 2026–27, and the widely quoted ₹26,800 is the 2022–23 figure. So treat ₹32,160 as the figure the escalation points to, and confirm the current year’s unit cost on the portal or at the district office before you count on it. Anything above the approved unit cost is paid by you.
Who can apply?
Three groups are covered:
- Fish farmers who hold a lease of a fish pond of 0.4 hectares or more;
- Private pond owners engaged in fish farming; and
- People of the fishing community engaged in fishing and boating in rivers, lakes and water bodies, as defined under the Revenue Code 2016.
Two conditions disqualify you outright: you must not already own a boat, and you must not have received a boat subsidy under any other government scheme.
Who gets picked first?
Selection is by priority, and the order is fixed in the government order. First preference goes to members of the 12 traditional fishermen communities — Kewat, Mallah, Nishad, Bind, Dheemar, Kashyap, Batham, Raikwar, Manjhi, Godiya, Kahar and Turaiya (Turaha) — in this order:
- Members of the 12 communities who hold an Antyodaya ration card;
- Members of the 12 communities who do not have a pucca house;
- Other members of the 12 communities; and
- Other persons traditionally engaged in fish farming, as defined under the Revenue Code 2016.
The scheme is named after Nishadraj, the boatman of the Ramayana, and it was promised in the BJP’s 2022 assembly election manifesto, with an initial provision of ₹2 crore in the UP Budget 2022–23 for the scheme.
How selection and payment work
This is a back-ended subsidy — the government does not pay the boat seller. You buy first, and the money comes to you afterwards. The steps, as laid down in the government order:
- Apply online on fisheries.up.gov.in, or at your District Matsya Office, which uploads offline forms. Register with your Aadhaar number and mobile number and complete OTP verification.
- Selection: a District Level Committee chaired by the Chief Development Officer (CDO) prepares four separate priority lists, randomises each one, and combines them into a final list that is uploaded to the portal. The Director of the Matsya Vibhag then fixes how many beneficiaries each district gets, based on the available budget, the number of applications and the district’s fisheries potential.
- Buy the kit yourself — boat, net, life jacket and ice box — from your own money or a bank loan. The order does not name empanelled vendors, so keep the purchase bills.
- Submit the bills: after purchase, give the certified bills and vouchers, with photographs, to the District Matsya Office.
- Verification and payment: the district officer verifies the bills and photographs, and the 40% subsidy is then transferred in one instalment by Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) straight to your bank account.
Documents you will need
- Passport-size photograph
- Identity proof — Aadhaar card, PAN card or voter ID
- Bank account details — passbook copy or bank statement
- Self-sworn affidavit (Shapath Patra)
- Land records proving a pond lease of 0.4 hectares or more, or pond ownership — for fish farmers
- Permission certificate for fishing or boating, signed and countersigned by a Village Panchayat member, Gram Pradhan, Area Panchayat member, District Panchayat member, Councillor, MLA or MP — for fishermen working rivers and water bodies
After selection and purchase, the certified bills and vouchers for the boat, net, life jacket and ice box, with photographs, are needed for the subsidy to be released.
Nishadraj vs PMMSY: which one fits you?
Uttar Pradesh fishers often qualify for both this state scheme and the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY). They are different tools:
| Particular | Nishadraj Boat Subsidy | PMMSY |
|---|---|---|
| Launched by | Government of Uttar Pradesh | Government of India |
| Focus | Boat and fishing equipment only | Broad fisheries infrastructure, equipment and livelihood support |
| Subsidy | 40% on boat, net, life jacket, ice box | 40% to 60% depending on category and activity |
| Maximum benefit | ₹26,800 on the base unit cost (about ₹32,160 on the 2026–27 escalated cost) | Varies by project and category |
| Coverage | Uttar Pradesh only | Pan-India |
| Portal | fisheries.up.gov.in | pmmsy.dof.gov.in |
The scheme documents do not say whether the Nishadraj subsidy can be combined with another scheme for the same boat. Do not count on both — ask the implementing office first. And remember: if you have already taken a boat subsidy under any other scheme, you are not eligible for Nishadraj at all.
Why this scheme matters — and why the clock matters too
Uttar Pradesh is a landlocked state, but its rivers — the Ganga, Yamuna, Ghaghra, Gomti and their tributaries — and its thousands of ponds support a large inland fishing community. For a pond leaseholder or a river fisherman, a 15–18 foot boat with a net is the basic work tool: it decides how much water you can cover, how much fish you can land, and whether you can fish safely with a life jacket and keep the catch fresh in an ice box.
The scheme’s design is deliberately modest — ₹67,000 a kit at launch prices — because it is aimed at the poorest end of the community: Antyodaya card holders first, then families without a pucca house. The 3,000-a-year target and the ₹44.425 crore five-year budget show the scale the state had in mind: 15,000 kits across the state over five years.
The clock matters because the scheme ends with FY 2026–27 on 31 March 2027. The 2026–27 window has already closed, so anyone who missed it should not wait for a newspaper advertisement — check the portal and the district office now, keep the documents listed above ready, and be in a position to apply the moment a fresh window is announced. The same department runs other state-sector schemes on the same portal, including the Mukhyamantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, aeration-system support and pearl culture, so one visit to fisheries.up.gov.in covers several options.
Related schemes and support worth knowing
- Odisha’s fishers get up to ₹6 lakh for a boat kit — a much bigger boat-plus-engine package under the Mukhyamantri Matsyajibi Kalyan Yojana, with applications preferably by December 2026.
- Gujarat pays 50% of a new fishing net, up to ₹4 lakh — for trawler, dolnetter and gillnetter owners, with approval needed before purchase.
- PMMSY gives fish farmers 60% subsidy in 2026 — the Centre’s flagship scheme, now extended, with subsidy rates of 40% for general category and 60% for SC/ST and women.
- Coimbatore fishers got ₹30,000 off a bike with an insulated fish box — how PMMSY’s two-wheeler-with-ice-box component works on the ground.
Frequently asked questions
Can I apply for the Nishadraj Boat Subsidy right now?
Not online — the 2026–27 window ran 31 July to 10 August 2026 and is closed. Keep your documents ready, watch fisheries.up.gov.in, and ask your District Matsya Office about any fresh window.
How much money will I actually get?
40% of the approved unit cost. On the original ₹67,000 unit cost that is ₹26,800. The government order’s 5%-a-year escalation points to about ₹80,400 unit cost and about ₹32,160 subsidy in 2026–27, but the order prints no rupee figure for this year — confirm the current figure before you buy.
Do I have to pay for the boat first?
Yes. The subsidy is back-ended: you buy the boat, net, life jacket and ice box with your own money or a bank loan, submit the bills with photographs, and the 40% comes to your bank account by DBT after verification.
I already own a small boat. Can I apply for a better one?
No. Not owning a boat is a condition of the scheme, and anyone who has already received a boat subsidy under any other scheme is also excluded.
Is there an application fee?
No. Applying is free, online or offline. Never pay an agent or middleman who claims to guarantee selection — selection is by a district committee from randomised priority lists.
Can I take this subsidy and a PMMSY boat subsidy together?
The documents do not say, and taking a boat subsidy under any other scheme makes you ineligible for Nishadraj. Ask the District Matsya Office before you count on combining benefits.
Fact-check note (14 November 2026)
Every figure in this post was checked on 14 November 2026 against the UP Nishadraj Boat Subsidy Scheme Government Order dated 31 March 2023, as quoted clause by clause from the order, and against The Times of India (Varanasi) report on the 2026–27 application window. The GO confirms: 40% subsidy; ₹67,000 base unit cost (boat ₹50,000; net, life jacket and ice box ₹17,000); 5% annual escalation, 20% in total by 2026–27; five-year scheme period 2022–23 to 2026–27; 0.4-hectare pond-lease threshold; the 12 priority communities and their priority order; district-committee selection chaired by the CDO; and back-ended DBT payment after bill verification. The 2026–27 window dates (31 July–5 August, extended to 10 August 2026) and the inclusion of the Nishadraj scheme come from The Times of India report quoting the Fish Farmers Development Agency CEO. The ₹32,160 figure for 2026–27 is our own arithmetic on the GO’s escalation (₹67,000 × 1.20 = ₹80,400; 40% = ₹32,160) and is labelled as such, because the GO prints no rupee figure for this year. The 3,000-a-year target, 15,000 five-year target and ₹44.425 crore budget are as listed in the scheme’s published highlights. No closing date for any future window is claimed, because none is published. Official links: UP Fisheries Department portal — fisheries.up.gov.in; PMMSY portal — pmmsy.dof.gov.in.
Images in this post are illustrations.