01 March 2024, New Delhi: The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM KISAN), one of the world’s largest Direct Benefit Transfer programs, has achieved a significant milestone. Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, from Yavatmal in Maharashtra, released the 16th installment, taking the total disbursed amount to over Rs 3 lakh crores, benefitting more than 11 crore eligible farmer families. Notably, during the COVID-19 period, Rs 1.75 lakh crores were transferred, providing crucial direct cash assistance to farmers when they needed it the most.
Launched on February 2, 2019, by the Government of India, PM KISAN aims to provide positive supplementary income support to farmer families and foster a productive, competitive, diversified, inclusive, and sustainable agriculture sector. Under the scheme, eligible farmer families receive an annual benefit of Rs 6,000, disbursed in three equal installments of Rs 2,000 every four months. The benefits are directly transferred to the beneficiaries’ bank accounts through the Direct Benefit Transfer mode, utilizing modern digital technology.
Addition of 90 Lakh New Beneficiaries
As part of the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, an initiative to ensure the saturation of government welfare schemes across more than 2.60 lakh Gram Panchayats, 90 lakh eligible farmers were recently added to the PM KISAN scheme.
Over the past five years, the scheme has achieved several milestones and has garnered recognition from organizations such as the World Bank for its vision, scale, and seamless fund transfer directly to eligible farmers’ accounts.
A study conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) on farmers in Uttar Pradesh revealed that PM-Kisan benefits reached the majority of farmers, who received the full amount without any leakages. The study also indicated that farmers receiving cash transfers under PM-KISAN were more likely to invest in agricultural equipment, seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides.
Technological Advancements for Transparency
Continuous improvements have been made to the farmer-centric digital infrastructure to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of the scheme. These efforts ensure that the benefits of PM KISAN reach farmers across the country without intermediaries. The PM-KISAN portal has been integrated with the portals of UIDAI, PFMS, NPCI, and the Income Tax department. States/UTs and other stakeholders are also onboarded on the PM-KISAN platform to provide prompt services to farmers.
To facilitate quick and effective resolutions, farmers can register their grievances on the PM-KISAN portal and access a 24×7 call facility. Additionally, the Government of India has developed ‘Kisan e-Mitra,’ a voice-based AI chatbot that allows farmers to raise queries and receive real-time resolutions in their preferred language. Kisan e-Mitra is now available in 10 languages, including English, Hindi, Odia, Tamil, Bangla, Malayalam, Gujarati, Punjabi, Telugu, and Marathi.
Cooperative Federalism and Inclusive Approach
The PM-KISAN scheme exemplifies cooperative federalism, with states responsible for registering and verifying the eligibility of farmers, while the Government of India provides 100% funding. The inclusive nature of the scheme is evident in the fact that at least one out of four beneficiaries is a woman farmer, and more than 85% of small and marginal farmers are beneficiaries under the scheme.
