1 crore more added, PM-Kisan beneficiary count now 9 crore

Neeraj Mohan

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New Delhi, March 1

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, nearly one crore more farmers across the country have joined the list of beneficiaries of PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme as PM Narendra Modi released Rs 21,000 crore for direct benefit transfer (DBT) into the accounts of over nine crore farmers.

Rs 3 lakh cr released so far

• With the 16th instalment, the total amount disbursed under the scheme to the farmers has reached Rs 3 lakh crore
• World’s biggest direct benefit transfer scheme was launched right before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections
• Eligible farmer families are provided a benefit of Rs 6,000 per year in three instalments of Rs 2,000 each every four months

As per the government, with the release of the 16th instalment, the total amount disbursed under the scheme to the farmers had reached Rs 3 lakh crore. The world’s biggest DBT scheme was launched before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Eligible farmer families are provided a benefit of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal installments of Rs 2,000 each every four months.

The number of beneficiaries of the 15th installment was 8 crore, when Rs 18,000 crore was released. The number was 8.70 crore on January 31 this year. The government did not give any reason behind the sudden jump in the number of beneficiaries.

An official release stated as part of the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, 90 lakh farmers were added to the scheme. Sources said the number jumped as e-KYC was being updated on a regular basis.

The number of beneficiaries keeps fluctuating since the scheme was introduced, with the first instalment was released to nearly 12 crore small and marginal farmers. A few months later, the number reported a steep decline to 3.16 crore in December-March 2019, after the government imposed certain conditions.

Lakhs of farmers, who got the first few instalments, were declared ineligible and told to return the amount. Later, with the release of every installment, the number of beneficiaries started swelling. UP has the highest 1.89 crore beneficiaries as per validated data, while Haryana has 14.72 lakh eligible farmers against 6.42 lakh of Punjab.