Why do some subsidies go to a lottery while others are first come first served?

The deciding factor is demand versus budget. When far more farmers apply for an item than the scheme has money for, the department uses a computerised random lottery to pick beneficiaries fairly, this is common for high value items like tractors, where thousands apply for a few hundred sanctioned units. When an item is low cost or the budget comfortably covers expected demand, it is given first come first served, so applying early on the day the window opens genuinely helps. To plan around it: for lottery items, get all your documents and NPCI seeding ready well in advance and apply in every window until your name is drawn, since being unselected does not blacklist you, it simply rolls into the next round. For first come items, apply in the first few hours of the window opening, because the quota can fill the same day. Priority categories like small, marginal, SC, ST and women sometimes have reserved quotas within the draw, which improves their odds. Confirm whether your specific item is lottery or first come, and the window dates, on your state portal.