Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday will launch the Rs 75,000-crore Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, by transferring the first instalment of Rs 2,000 each to over one crore farmers, a senior agriculture ministry official said.
Another one crore farmers will be covered in the next 2-3 days, the official said. In the interim Budget 2019-20, the central government had announced the PM-KISAN scheme under which Rs 6,000 per year will be given in three instalments to 12 crore small and marginal farmers holding cultivable land up to two hectares.
The Prime Minister in a tweet said, “Tomorrow is a historic day! The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi will be launched from Gorakhpur. This is a scheme that will give wings to the aspirations of crores of hardworking farmers of India who feed our nation.”
He further said that “tomorrow’s launch of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi demonstrates two things: NDA’s unwavering commitment to farmer welfare and speedy decision making -- a scheme announced on 1st February has become a reality in such a short span. This is the new work culture of New India“.
The scheme has been made effective from this fiscal itself and as a result, farmers would get one instalment before March-end. This programme is part of the government’s effort to address farm sector distress, caused by lower sales realisation on bumper production of foodgrains, oilseeds, sugarcane, cotton and horticulture crops.
“To provide an assured income support to the small and marginal farmers, the government is launching the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN),” the Union agriculture ministry said in an official statement on Saturday. The ministry in its statement did not mention the number of farmers who will get their first instalment of Rs 2,000 on Sunday.
However, the senior official said over one crore farmers from 14 states, including UP and Karnataka, will get their first instalment on Sunday and one crore more beneficiaries, spread over 28 states and one UT, would get their instalment in the next 2-3 days. Explaining the modalities of cash dole, the ministry said this income support will be transferred directly into the bank accounts of beneficiary farmers, in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 each.