PM-Kisan: 9.75 crore farmers to get over Rs 19,500 crore under income support scheme

The PM-Kisan scheme, launched in February 2019 (made effective from December 2018) to give income support to farmers, cost the exchequer about Rs 1,241 crore in FY19, Rs 48,714 crore in FY20 and Rs 65,000 crore in (RE) FY21.

The Centre is all set to transfer over Rs 19,500 crore to the bank accounts of more than 9.75 crore land-owning farmers under the income support scheme ‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi’ (PM-Kisan) on Monday. More than Rs 1.38 lakh crore has so far been transferred to farmers’ bank accounts under the scheme since its launch two years ago.

Though the total number of farmers registered under the scheme has crossed 12 crore, the Centre has accepted data of about 10 crore only after weeding out ineligible cultivators and enforcing mandatory Aadhaar authentication.

After releasing the support to 9.75 crore farmers, there could be 25 lakh more growers to whom the Centre might have to release the instalment by November, sources said. The last tranche of the transfer on May 14 saw Rs 20,667 crore being deposited in the bank accounts of over 9.5 crore farmers. As many as 40 lakh farmers have got more than one instalment.

The PM-Kisan scheme, launched in February 2019 (made effective from December 2018) to give income support to farmers, cost the exchequer about Rs 1,241 crore in FY19, Rs 48,714 crore in FY20 and Rs 65,000 crore in (RE) FY21. The finance minister has kept the allocation unchanged at Rs 65,000 crore for FY22.

Under the scheme, each land-owning farmer is entitled to get Rs 6,000 every year in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 each as direct income support.

The current payment to be transferred Monday is for August-November period. States first upload farmers’ data in the public finance management system, a platform that auto verifies bank accounts and authenticate Aadhaar details of beneficiaries, and then returns the data to states for physical signatures.

After winning state assembly poll for third consecutive term, chief minister Mamata Banerjee agreed to join PM-Kisan scheme as West Bengal was the only state that resisted implementation. While about seven lakh farmers in the state received the benefit for the first time in May, getting together two instalments totalling Rs 4,000 each, as many as 28.5 lakh farmers are expected to receive the benefit Monday as registration has increased substantially in past three months.