The Centre so far has transferred Rs 5,215 crore to more than 2.6 crore small & marginal farmers under the PM-Kisan yojana that was announced in interim budget 2019.
Before the general election, the government had announced Rs 75,000-crore Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme or PM-Kisan under which Rs 6,000 / year will be distributed to around 12 crore cultivators who hold cultivable land up to 2 hectares in three instalments.
The NDA government in the interim budget allotted a sum of Rs 20,000 crore, to transfer Rs 2,000 each to the farmers as the 1st instalment by March-end.
The PM-Kisan yojana was formally launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at national level on 24th February at Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh by transferring the 1st instalment to 1.01 crore cultivators, totaling Rs 2,021 crore.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in a tweet on Sunday said, “Under PM Kisan: Benefit of over Rs 5,215 crore has been transferred directly into the bank accounts of over 2.6 crore farmers within 37 days of announcement of the scheme”.
Few days back the Union Agriculture Ministry said that Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat have taken a lead in taking advantage under the PM-Kisan scheme. Till 7th March 2019, as many as 74.71 lakh farmers in Uttar Pradesh got the first installment whereas 32.15 lakh farmers were benefitted in Andhra Pradesh.
Approximately 25.58 lakh farmers in Gujarat, 14.41 lakh farmers in Telangana, 14.01 lakh farmers in Tamil Nadu and 11.55 lakh farmers in Maharashtra have received the first payment. On the other hand, 8.34 lakh farmers in Haryana got the first installment, followed by 8.09 lakh farmers in Assam & 8.07 lakh farmers in Odisha, as per the ministry data.
The Government is transferring the money directly into the bank accounts of eligible cultivators, being identified by states & union territories.