Govt tracking farmers ineligible for PM-Kisan aid via data analytics, AI

The scheme, which is meant for poor and marginal farmers, and excludes cultivators paying income tax, began in December 2018.

New Delhi: The government is using data analytics and artificial intelligence to identify ineligible farmers who pay income tax but also get ₹6,000 in annual financial assistance under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, and ask them to return the sum received since December 2018, when the welfare scheme began, people aware of the development said.

PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, fully funded by the central government, became operational from December 1, 2018 (ANI)

The scheme is meant for poor and marginal farmers, and excludes cultivators paying income tax. Both physical verifications and technology-driven exercises at various levels have been undertaken to eliminate ineligible beneficiaries from the list and appropriate actions are being taken, at least four people said, requesting anonymity.

Recovery notices have been issued to ineligible farmers, one person said. HT reviewed copies of notices issued to at least a dozen beneficiaries in the Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh.

“Income-tax payees are not eligible for the farmer’s scheme, but despite filing income-tax you have concealed the fact to avail the benefit,” the notice read in Hindi. It said the government of India has stopped the release of the next instalment to the concerned person, and directed him to refund the money already given to him.

The recovery notices have been sent to such cultivators who pay goods and services Tax (GST) on farm-related commercial activities, such as floriculture on a small patch of land, one farmer from Meerut district said on condition of anonymity.

“It is quite confusing as we never applied for the scheme,” the cultivator said. “We had provided details to the administration as a routine exercise and the money started coming automatically.”

Union ministries of finance and agriculture, and the Uttar Pradesh government did not respond to queries on the matter.

The government has completed random verifications of about 6.45 million beneficiaries in 2021-22 and found that less than 5% of them were ineligible, said one of the government officials cited earlier.

“Although the magnitude is not enormous, the government is using data from Aadhaar, income tax, mobile number, pension record, etc., to eliminate ineligible people from the list of beneficiaries,” he said. It appears that some people have joined the scheme even as they were not eligible because initially eligibility of farmers was based on their self-declaration, he added.

While there could be some unscrupulous people, honest mistakes in joining the scheme cannot be ruled out, the official said.

Even so, the total money paid to ineligible beneficiaries is not insignificant.

“An amount of more than ₹4,352.49 crore, which is 2% of the total amount transferred to all the beneficiaries, has been reported to have been transferred to ineligible beneficiaries,” agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in response to a query in the Lok Sabha on March 22.

Over 11.78 crore beneficiaries have availed ₹1.82 lakh crore direct financial benefit under the scheme as on February 8, official data show.

“An SOP (standard operating procedure) has been devised and circulated to states for getting refund from ineligible beneficiaries and return of funds to government,” Tomar had said in Parliament.

The government has created an online facility that can be used by ineligible farmers to refund the money. The government has so far recovered ₹296.67 crore.