Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release the 21st installment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme on November 19th. Under this scheme, eligible farmers are provided financial assistance of ₹6,000 annually, which is transferred directly to their bank accounts in three equal installments. According to PTI, this scheme, implemented since 2019, has supported millions of farmers.
Assistance of more than Rs 3.70 lakh crore
This flagship Central Sector Scheme of the Central Government was launched on February 24, 2019. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, over 11 crore farmer families have been provided assistance in 20 installments to date, totaling over ₹3.70 lakh crore, with the next installment scheduled for release on November 19, 2025. This funding has proven to be a significant relief for farmers, enabling them to purchase agricultural inputs, meet family obligations such as children’s education, medical expenses, and marriage.
Benefits are available only after land and Aadhaar verification
PM-KISAN benefits are available only to those farmers whose land information is registered on the PM-KISAN portal and whose bank accounts are linked to Aadhaar. From time to time, the government is running special campaigns at the village level to include all farmers who own cultivable land but were not yet covered under the scheme.
International study lauds PM-KISAN’s impact
A 2019 study by the International Food and Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) confirmed the positive impacts of PM-KISAN.
- This scheme became a catalyst for the rural economy.
- Debt-related problems of farmers reduced
- Increased investment in agricultural inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and equipment
New farmer registry to ensure ‘last-mile delivery’ to farmers
The Ministry of Agriculture stated that ensuring last-mile delivery of the scheme is its top priority. To address this, the Ministry has launched a new initiative to create a farmer registry. This new, systematic, and authenticated database will relieve farmers of the lengthy and complex processes required to access benefits from various government welfare schemes and will record their identities in a unified manner.
