Beneficiaries of PM Kisan plan drop 63% in Punjab in 3 years

Ruchika M Khanna

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Chandigarh, August 6

In just over three years, the number of farmers in Punjab, getting financial aid under the PM Kisan scheme, has come down by a whopping 63 per cent.

According to figures available with The Tribune, the number of beneficiaries getting the financial aid under the scheme has reduced from 23,01,313 in the December 2019-March 2020 to just 8,53,960 in April-July 2023, reportedly because they have been found to not comply with the laid down norms for availing the assistance under the scheme by the Government of India, or they were unable to electronically complete their KYC.

Initially, by early 2022, 5,41,512 farmers had been removed as beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana. The farmers had been rejected by the Government of India for availing the Rs 6,000 per annum assistance because they could not verify their credentials as per the norms laid down in the scheme.

Farmers illiterate, couldn’t upload details

It is possible that computer illiterate farmers have not been able to upload their credentials online and have lost the cards. But they need this assistance. That is why we say that the Central Government believes only in helping corporates, whose loans are written off, but small and marginal farmers get no assistance. —Balbir Singh Rajewal, Farmer leader

Farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said this was a huge cut in the number of beneficiaries. “It is quite possible that rather computer illiterate farmers have not been able to upload their credentials online and have been rejected. But they are in extreme need of this assistance. That is why we say that the Central Government believes only in helping corporates, whose loans are written off, but small and marginal farmers get no assistance,” he rued.

The Tribune has learnt that 17.59 lakh beneficiaries under this scheme, popularly called PM Kisan, have received up to 12 instalments of Rs 2,000 each. The instalments are given thrice a year. However, before the 13th and the 14th instalment was to be distributed, many of the registered beneficiaries were found to be either ineligible or removed for failing to upload their KYC. Though the number of beneficiaries have been reducing since August 2021, the first big cut in the number of beneficiaries was observed when the instalment for December 2021- March 2022 was to be distributed.

Punjab Director, Agriculture, Gurvinder Singh told The Tribune that the cut in the number of beneficiaries was mainly because of the farmers not being able to complete their e-KYC online or link their Aadhar with their bank accounts. “Some could also have been deleted from the list of beneficiaries because of being large farmers. But the department is making all-out efforts to help the genuine farmer beneficiaries by collecting data and helping them upload it,” he said.

The reason

Farmers had been rejected by the Government of India for availing of the Rs 6,000 per annum assistance because they could not verify their credentials in accordance with the norms laid under the scheme