Central Government today (9th October 2019) extended Aadhaar seeding date till 30th November to avail Rs 6,000 benefit under the PM-Kisan scheme to help farmers purchase farm inputs before the rabi sowing season.
The decision in this regard was taken in the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) meeting chaired by PM Narendra Modi.
Under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, the Centre is providing Rs 6,000 annually in three equal instalments to around 14 crore farmers. The amount will directly be transferred into the bank accounts of the farmers through direct benefit transfer (DBT) mode.
To recall, Aadhaar seeding was made compulsory to avail the instalment after 1st August 2019. But, it was exempted for farmers of Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and Meghalaya till March 2020.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said, "The compulsory requirement of Aadhaar seeding was taking time & therefore we have relaxed the norm till 30th November". He said this will enable instant release of benefit to a number of farmer’s, who are not able to avail the same because of the mandatory requirement. Javadekar said that the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi is a unique scheme of the government as nearly 14 crore farmers will get Rs 87,000 crore.
He added that "The only 2 states who have not joined the scheme are West Bengal and Delhi". The minister said the extension of the date will help cultivators buy crop inputs for the upcoming rabi sowing season.
As the growers are still gearing up for the winter sowing season, they very much need money to take care of various farming activities such as procurement of seeds, preparation of soil & other activities like irrigation, maintenance & mobilization of machinery & tools.
An official statement said, “Non-seeding of beneficiaries' details with Aadhaar card number will delay the release of further instalments & will cause annoyance among the farmers. Hence, the mandatory requirement of Aadhaar seeding has been relaxed"
Centre said that the mandatory requirement will remain applicable for release of benefits with effect from 1st December 2019 onwards. Proper measures will be taken to validate the data before payment is done.
