<p>Legumes productivity is greatly influenced by nodulation and the subsequent fixation of nitrogen. Combining rhizobial inoculation with plant growth promoting (PGP) bacteria can maximize the beneficial effects of nodulation and plant growth. The aim of present study was to assess fertilization and multifunctional PGP inoculant on growth promotion of lentil. In the present investigation, 71 bacterial strains were sorted out from rhizospheric and root nodule region of lentil and screened for various PGP attributes. The efficient strains were selected and identified as N₂ fixer (<i>Rhizobium lentis</i> EU-LRN-45) and P solubilizer (<i>Acinetobacter junii</i> EU-LRN-68) employing by molecular technique of 16S rRNA gene sequencing and BLASTn analysis. Both strains were evaluated as single inoculum and in combination on lentil crop under controlled and natural conditions. The co-inoculation of N₂ fixer and P solubilizer were found to be greater ability to improve the growth of lentil. To best of our knowledge, the present study is the first report on co-inoculation of <i>Rhizobium lentis</i> EU-LRN-45 and <i>Acinetobacter junii</i> EU-LRN-68 for growth enhancement of lentil. The findings reveal that, co-inoculation of these strains were more efficient and could be useful tool for agricultural crops growing in alpine, subalpine, high altitude and under low conditions.</p>