Mahindra EPC Irrigation is a four-decade-old pioneer that puts precision water delivery directly into the hands of Indian farmers - fundamentally, it designs and installs drip and sprinkler systems that replace flood irrigation, saving water and raising crop yields. It began operations in 1986 with French technology and became part of the Mahindra Group in 2011, inheriting a brand that farmers trust and a network that reaches across rural India. The recurring approach that explains everything else is a deliberate shift from relying on slow-paying government subsidy schemes toward building a direct, non-subsidy business where farmers pay the full price - a move that has reshaped its customer mix, its cash flows, and its growth ambitions.
Business segments
Three engines at different stages - a micro-irrigation core that is weaning itself off government subsidies, a community-scale project business riding new infrastructure policy, and a protected-cultivation bet being rebuilt after a joint venture was wound down - all anchored by the Mahindra brand and a shared manufacturing backbone.
1. Micro-irrigation systems: the core engine, shifting from subsidy to direct farmer sales
The company designs and installs custom drip and sprinkler systems for individual farmers, and is deliberately growing the share of business where farmers pay full price rather than relying on government reimbursements.
- Custom solution, not a standard product - every farmer gets a system designed for their specific plot, crop, and water source, and the company insists on proper installation as part of the offering, something management says most competitors do not provide as a matter of policy.
- Two channels, one subsidy problem - in the subsidy channel, state governments set the price and are often slow to pay, tying up working capital; in the non-subsidy channel, farmers or institutions pay directly, giving the company better pricing power and faster cash collection.
- The non-subsidy shift is structural - the non-subsidy share of revenue has climbed from roughly 2-3% in FY20 to 35% in FY26, the highest ever, driven by institutional sales, community projects, exports, and retail demand.
- A pan-India network with a Mahindra badge - over 1,000 channel partners and a direct sales force carry the brand into fields across the country, and the company runs demo plots, farmer meetings, van campaigns, and a digital app to keep the sales pipeline disciplined and transparent.
- Manufacturing close to the customer - the main plant is in Nashik, but satellite facilities across India put production nearer to the point of consumption, cutting freight costs and improving asset utilisation, while manufacturing rejections stay below 2%, well under the industry average.
2. Community irrigation projects: the infrastructure-scale opportunity
The company designs and builds shared irrigation networks that connect large government water infrastructure to clusters of farms, turning a policy shift into a project pipeline.
- Bridging the canal and the crop - these projects sit at the intersection of major irrigation schemes and on-farm micro-irrigation, taking pressurised piped water from the canal gate and distributing it across a community of farmers through drip and sprinkler networks.
- Policy is creating demand - the government’s Command Area Development & Water Management sub-scheme now explicitly incorporates micro-irrigation systems and pressurised pipelines into project plans, which drives demand for community-scale solutions and reduces the seasonal lumpiness of orders.
- Smaller projects, managed risk - the company deliberately executes multiple small and medium irrigation projects rather than chasing a few large ones, keeping the working capital impact manageable while building a healthy unrecognised work order pipeline.
3. Protected cultivation: a greenhouse bet being rebuilt in-house
The company offers greenhouse and polyhouse solutions to small and marginal farmers, and is now developing the business on its own after winding down an underperforming joint venture with an Israeli partner.
- Bought, then brought home - the business was originally run through a 60:40 joint venture with TOP Greenhouses Limited of Israel, formed in FY19, but the JV was discontinued in April 2024 due to financial unviability and the company impaired its stake, stating it would explore the segment independently going forward.
Group structure and partners
Mahindra EPC Irrigation is a listed subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra, which owns just over half the shares and places the company inside its Farm Equipment Sector to share customers, data, and distribution with the group’s tractor, seed, and agrochemical businesses.
- Mahindra & Mahindra held 54.20% of the paid-up share capital as of March 2026, and the company’s business was moved under the Farm Equipment Sector to leverage synergies with the tractor and broader agri-business ecosystem.
- The company is part of the Mahindra Agriculture Business alongside fellow subsidiaries that sell seeds, agrochemicals, and logistics services, and joint campaigns tap a common farmer database from the group’s seed and agrochemical customers.
- The former joint venture, Mahindra Top Greenhouses Private Limited, was a 60:40 partnership with Israel’s TOP Greenhouses Limited; it discontinued business operations in April 2024 and the company now has no subsidiary companies.