Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 29 will celebrate one year of implementation of the government's ambitious PM-Kisan scheme in Chitrakoot district of Uttar Pradesh, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Monday.
Just before the general elections, Modi had launched the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) on February 24, 2019 in Gorakhpur. Under the scheme, the central government aims to provide Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments to 14 crore farmers.
At present, all states except West Bengal are implementing the scheme. So far, 9.74 crore farmers are registered under the scheme, of which 8.45 crore farmers have received the payment so far after the data verification by state governments, according to the official data.
"The one year completion of the implementation of the PM-Kisan will be celebrated at Chitrakoot in Uttar Pradesh on February 29. The Prime Minister on the occasion will distribute Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) to the beneficiaries of the PM-Kisan, Tomar said at the launch of a mobile app on PM-Kisan.
Banks at district level will distribute the credit cards to PM-Kisan beneficiaries on that day, he said, adding that farmers can avail short term loan using these cards.
The Prime Minister will also unveil setting up of 10,000 farmers producers companies (FPOs) announced in the budget. The Centre will provide fund of Rs 15 lakh to each FPO, he added.
The minister said the government has taken several steps for achieving the target of doubling farmers income by 2022. The launch of PM-Kisan, ensuring credit and empowering farmers to pool together to form a company for better realisation all these are step towards increasing farmers income.