Rama Krishna Sangem
One of the largest Direct Benefit Transfer programmes in the world, PM KISAN has crossed a new milestone. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi releasing the 16th instalment from Yavatmal in Maharashtra the scheme has benefitted more than 11 crore eligible farmer families with Rs 3 lakh crores disbursed till date. Of this, Rs 1.75 lakh Crores was transferred to eligible farmers during the COVID period alone, when they needed direct cash benefits the most.
Considering the need for positive supplementary income support for the farmer families in the country and to promote a productive, competitive, diversified, inclusive and sustainable agriculture sector, the Government of India launched an ambitious scheme for farmers’ welfare – the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) on 2nd February 2019.
Under the scheme, the eligible farmer families are provided a benefit of Rs. 6000/- per year in three equal instalments of Rs. 2000/- each, every four months. The benefit is transferred directly to the bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer mode, using modern digital technology.
90 lakh new beneficiaries added
Recently, as part of the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, undertaken to ensure saturation of Government’s welfare schemes across more than 2.60 lakh Gram Panchayats, 90 lakh eligible farmers were added to the PM KISAN Scheme. In the last five years, the scheme has crossed many milestones and has received accolades from various organizations, including the World Bank, for its sheer vision, scale, and the seamless transfer of funds directly to the accounts of eligible farmers.
A study conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) on farmers of Uttar Pradesh indicates that the benefits under the PM-Kisan reached the majority of farmers, and they received the full amount without any leakages. As per the same study, the farmers receiving cash transfers under PM-KISAN were more likely to invest in buying agricultural equipment, seeds, fertilizer, and pesticides.
