No Time To Waste: Government To Disburse Payments Under PM-KISAN Scheme To Ten Crore Farmers From February

Under the income support scheme for small farmers announced in the 2019 budget, the government will start making payments from February onwards itself as beneficiary data was already available, reports Press Trust of India (PTI).

“It has been decided to implement the scheme with effect from 1 December 2018. The allocation of Rs 20,000 crore, required for the current fiscal, has been made in the Budget. Land record data is available. We have all the information about small and marginal farmers,” said Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, the government will transfer Rs 6,000 in three instalments of Rs 2,000 each to the bank accounts of approximately ten crore small farmers who own less than two hectares of land. They constitute 86.21 per cent of all the farmers in India and collectively own 47.34 per cent of the land.

“They (Agriculture Department) expect to make disbursements of substantial amounts in the month of February itself. That is the expectation and confidence of the (Agri) department. Supplementaries would be presented in the current session to seek Parliament’s nod for spending an additional Rs 20,000 crore for the scheme,” he added.

First Instalment Could Be Messy

Union minister of state for agriculture Gajendra Shekhawat told Economic Times that the first payment could encounter technical challenges but subsequent transfers would be smooth. “Distribution of the second part would be easier as all the beneficiaries will have their bank accounts linked with Aadhaar to make the process swift,” he said.

Also Read: Why The Direct Income Support For Farmers Is A Much Needed Correction