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PM Modi to address farmers, release Rs 18,000 crore under PM-Kisan scheme on Friday
Many Union ministers, MPs, MLAs and BJP office bearers are expected to be present in various parts of the country to listen to the Prime Minister’s address with the people.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Friday virtually interact with farmers from six different states on the birth anniversary of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
He will also release Rs 18,000 crore as next instalment under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme to 80 million farmers. The money transfer will be done through the push of a button.
“Tomorrow’s day is very important for the country’s annadatas. Will get the opportunity to release the next installment of PM-Kisan for more than 9 crores farmer families through video conferencing at 12 pm. Will also interact with farmers of many states on this occasion,” PM Modi tweeted in Hindi on Thursday.
Many Union ministers, MPs, MLAs and BJP office bearers are expected to be present in various parts of the country to listen to the Prime Minister’s address with the people.
While home minister Amit Shah and defence minister Rajnath Singh will listen to PM Modi’s speech in Delhi, road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari will be in Assam, according to news agency PTI.
Union minister of consumer affairs, food and public distribution Piyush Goyal will be in Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur, textiles minister Smriti Irani will be in her constituency Amethi while Union minister for petroleum, natural gas and steel Dharmendra Pradhan will be in Jagatsinghpur in Odisha, PTI further reported.
PM Modi released the first tranche of cash-transfer scheme under PM-Kisan in 2019. This year, he is doing so at a time when thousands of farmers, largely from Punjab, are protesting three agricultural laws they say will hurt their livelihoods. The government says the reforms will give farmers more market access and boost investment in the farm sector.
Under PM-Kisan, the government provides income support of Rs 6,000 a year to farmers with a valid enrolment, paid in three equal cash transfers of Rs 2,000 - one every four months. It was launched on February 24, 2019.
Durign his interaction with farmers, the Prime Minister will most likely ask them impromptu questions on how they have benefited from the scheme and “take a briefing from them on what they are growing and what else they want to see done for them ahead of the budget”, an official said, requesting anonymity.
The is the part of government outreach in the wake of ongoing farmer protest near national capital Delhi. PM Modi has been frequently explaining the benefits of farm reforms and often assured farmers that the existing government support mechanism, including minimum support price and agriculture mandis, will continue.
