evidence: The first claim is that 12.68 crore Soil Health Cards (SHCs) have been distributed and that this number is equal to the combined population of Germany and Spain. [...] In another response to a question in the Lok Sabha in July 2018, the government stated that, ‘In the 1st Cycle of the scheme (2015-16 to 2016-17), against the target of distributing 10.74 crore soil health cards full target has been achieved. In the 2nd Cycle of Scheme (2017-18 to 2018-19), against the target of distributing 12.20 crore soil health cards, 4.71 crore soil health cards have been distributed to farmers.’ The above numbers imply that a total of 15.45 crore SHCs have been distributed. The Soil Health Card website, as of 18th November 2018, shows that, in the first cycle (2015-16 & 2016-17) 10.73 crore SHCs have been dispatched whereas 6.03 crore SHCs have been dispatched in the second cycle (2017-18 & 2018-19). The total does add up to more than 16 crore SHCs. It has to be noted that this claim was made in May 2018 and hence the current numbers are more than the numbers mentioned in the claim. As per estimates of the United Nations, the combined population of Germany & Spain is 12.8 crore as of 2015.