Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Sunday launched the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) in Tamil Nadu, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the scheme in Uttar Pradesh.
Mr. Palaniswami handed over the first instalment of ₹2,000 to a few farmers at Kalaivanar Arangam to launch the scheme, in the presence of Union Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal.
The CM said that within half an hour of the PM launching the scheme, a farmer from Theni had already received the first instalment. Snapshots of farmers having received the amount in their bank accounts were shared on social media in the afternoon.
Mr. Palaniswami said the details of about 22 lakh farmers who will benefit from the scheme had been shared with the Centre so far. “This scheme is a welcome step and is a boon to the farmers of the State,” he said, and detailed a number of steps taken or proposed to be taken by the State government for the farmers.
Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam said it was welcome that the scheme was 100% funded by the Centre, not placing any portion of the financial burden on the States. “This is a welcome and refreshing approach and should be adopted for more schemes of national importance,” he said. Full Central funding will also ensure that the State governments can then use their funds to extend similar benefits to other segments of the poor, including agricultural labourers, rural artisans and urban unorganised labourers — precisely what Tamil Nadu had done, he said.
Mr. Goyal said, “This scheme is not a favour we are doing to the farmers. It’s a mark of respect the people of India are giving to our brothers and sisters, the farmers, who are giving us foodgrains and making India self-sufficient.” He said the scheme would benefit over 60 lakh farmers in Tamil Nadu.