Union Agriculture Minister, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar announced the launch of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana, a pension scheme for small & marginal farmers. Under this scheme a farmer would get a monthly pension of Rs. 3,000 once he attains the age of 60.
Eligibility of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana
Tomar said that farmers, whose cultivable land is 2 hectares or less, can register for the scheme at the Common Service Centres also known as CSCs in their area. He added that more than 400 farmers have already registered for the scheme today. The Centre is also planning to engage PM-Kisan state nodal offices in registering for the pension scheme at a later date.
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana; Features and Benefits
The scheme is voluntary & contributory in nature. It will be available to cultivators who are in the age group of 18 - 40 years. For this, a farmer may have to make a monthly contribution of Rs. 55 to Rs. 200 and the Centre would pay a matching amount, Tomar told media.
It is important to mention that the pension fund will be managed by LIC.
Important Details
If a farmer dies before the retirement date then in such case, the spouse can contribute in the scheme by paying the remaining contributions till the remaining age of the deceased farmer. But if the spouse is not willing to contribute then the total contribution made by the cultivator along with the interest will be given to the spouse or to the nominee (if there is no spouse).
Tomar further told that if the farmer dies after the retirement date then in such cases, the spouse will get Rs. 1,500, or 50% of the pension, as a family pension.
After the death of farmer and the spouse, the accumulated amount will be credited back to the pension fund.
It must be noted that there is an option for the beneficiaries to opt-out of the yojana after a minimum period of 5 years and the insurance company will return the full contribution with an interest equivalent to prevailing saving bank rates.
Farmers who are the recipient of the PM-Kisan yojana have the choice of getting their pension contribution debited directly from the scheme. Although CSCs will charge Rs. 30 per enrollment, the fee will be paid by the Centre and it will be free for the farmer.
PM-Kisan scheme
Regarding PM-Kisan scheme, the agriculture minister said that 5.89 crore farmers have been given the 1st installment of Rs. 2,000 and another 3.41 crore farmers got their 2nd installment too.
