Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Monday release ₹16,000 crore as the next instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, a direct cash transfer scheme for farmers, an official familiar with the matter said on Saturday.
With the release, the total amount transferred to beneficiaries is expected to cross well over ₹2.16 lakh crore, it said.
During the event on Monday, PM Modi will also inaugurate a two-day agricultural conference titled “PM Kisan Samman Sammelan 2022”, which will host an agricultural start-up conclave at the Delhi-based state-run Indian Agricultural Research Institute.
The PM will also launch 600 PM Kisan Samruddhi Kendras (PM-KSK) of the Union ministry of chemicals and fertilizers, along with an unveiling of Bharat urea bags under the One Nation One Fertilizer Scheme, a programme that will uniformly brand all subsidised fertilisers.
According to the agriculture ministry, the PM will address thousands of farmers, agri start-ups, researchers, policymakers and bankers. “More than one crore (10 million) farmers will virtually join this event, ‘’ the ministry said in a statement.
Under PM-KISAN, the government provides income support of ₹6,000 a year to farmers with a valid enrolment, paid in three equal cash transfers of ₹2,000 -- one every four months. It was launched on 24 February 2019, when the first instalment was paid.
{{/usCountry}}Under PM-KISAN, the government provides income support of ₹6,000 a year to farmers with a valid enrolment, paid in three equal cash transfers of ₹2,000 -- one every four months. It was launched on 24 February 2019, when the first instalment was paid.
{{/usCountry}}The PM-KISAN funds are deposited directly to the beneficiaries’ bank accounts. The last instalment was released by Modi in May 2022, under which cash transfers worth ₹21,000 crore were made to nearly 100 million cultivators.
So far, eligible farmer households have received cash of more than ₹2 lakh crore under PM-KISAN through 11 installments. Of this, ₹1.6 lakh crore was transferred during the Covid-19 pandemic.