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This study revealed cultivable diazotrophs in arid and semi-arid regions of Haryana, India, harboring multiple plant growth promoting (PGP) traits, i.e. nitrogenase activity (18.84-337.26 nmol ethylene mg(-1) protein h(-1)), indole-3-acetic acid production (42.4-1162.7 mu g mL(-1)), ammonia excretion (0.013-2.561 mu g mL(-1)), phosphate solubilization (55.8 %), and siderophore production (20.58 %). High diversity among diazotrophic bacterial isolates was deciphered by using amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis with MspI and HaeIII. All the isolates positively influenced the growth and yield of Bt-cotton and pearl millet plants under pot house conditions. On the basis of their plant growth promoting potential, 10 efficient bacterial strains were selected. Sequence analysis of these strains revealed two phyla of bacteria in the 16S rRNA library, which consisted of alpha and gamma subclasses of the Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. The dominant group was Firmicutes (80 % of the total isolates), and the most dominant genus was Bacillus. Overall, our study reported bacterial strains with biofertilizer potential and could be considered as an excellent addition to existing beneficial microbes’ consortium for growth promotion of Bt-cotton and pearl millet plants in arid and semi-arid regions.