As of May 2021, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana (PM-KISAN) has provided financial assistance to over 11.9 crore farmers in India. The scheme was launched in February 2019 with the aim of providing income support to small and marginal farmers, who own less than two hectares of land. Through the scheme, Rs 6,000 per year is provided to eligible farmers in three equal installments.
The scheme has been successful in reaching out to a large number of farmers across the country. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the scheme has disbursed over Rs 1.15 lakh crore to farmers since its inception. The scheme has particularly benefited farmers in states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.
The government has also taken various steps to ensure the efficient implementation of the scheme. In August 2019, the government launched a web portal for the PM-KISAN scheme to enable farmers to directly enroll and check their payment status. The portal has also been integrated with the Aadhaar database to avoid duplication of beneficiaries. The government has also conducted extensive outreach programs to raise awareness about the scheme among eligible farmers.
Despite its success, the scheme has faced criticism from some quarters. Critics have argued that the scheme only provides a small amount of financial assistance to farmers and is not enough to address the deeper issues faced by the farming community. Others have pointed out that many farmers have been excluded from the scheme due to problems with Aadhaar verification or other technical issues.
In response to these criticisms, the government has announced that it will increase the annual budget for the scheme from Rs 75,000 crore to Rs 1.25 lakh crore. The government has also launched other schemes like the PM-Kisan Maandhan Yojana to provide a pension to small and marginal farmers and the Kisan Credit Card scheme to provide affordable credit to farmers.
Overall, the PM-KISAN scheme has been a positive step towards providing financial support to India’s farmers. While more needs to be done to address the challenges faced by the farming community, the scheme has played an important role in providing some immediate relief to small and marginal farmers.