PM releases Rs 17,000 cr for 85 mn farmers under PM-KISAN scheme

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday transferred Rs 17,000 crore directly into the bank accounts of 85 million farmers under the PM-KISAN scheme.

He said the scheme has been successful in its objective to provide financial support to farmers without any involvement of middlemen.

The Centre provides Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme that was launched in December 2018.

The prime minister "released the 6th installment under the PM-KISAN scheme of Rs 17,000 crore to nearly 85 million farmers. The cash benefit was transferred directly to their Aadhaar verified bank accounts with the press of a button", an official statement said.

The amount was transferred to farmers at a function organised through video conference to launch financial facility of Rs 1 trillion under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund.

"No middlemen, no commisison. The amount was transferred directly to farmers," Modi said.

The scheme has been succesful in its objective to provide direct help to farmers and when needed, he added.

Modi said the government has transferred Rs 75,000 crore to farmers under this scheme in the last one-and-a-half years, of which Rs 22,000 crore was remitted during the lockdown period.

The PM-KISAN scheme was launched to provide income support by way of a cash benefit to all landholding farmers (subject to certain exclusion criteria) to enable them to fulfill their agricultural requirements and support their families.

With this transfer, the scheme has provided over Rs 90,000 crore in the hands of more than 100 million farmers since its launch on December 2018, the statement said.