The instalment is expected to benefit 9.3 crore farmers and entails distribution of around Rs 20,000 crore.
Launched in 2019, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme offers eligible farmers an annual financial assistance of ?6,000. This amount is distributed in three equal instalments of ?2,000 every four months, directly deposited into the beneficiaries' bank accounts.
"Ours is a Government fully committed to Kisan Kalyan. It is therefore fitting that the first file signed on taking charge is related to farmer welfare. We want to keep working even more for the farmers and the agriculture sector in the times to come," Modi said in a statement.
The scheme was launched in February 2019, but was made effective from December 2018.
The PM-KISAN scheme is a central sector scheme to provide income support to all landholding farmers' families in the country to supplement their financial needs for procuring various inputs related to agriculture and allied activities as well as domestic needs.
The government has allocated Rs 1.27 lakh crore budget for the Ministry of Agriculture for 2024-25, marginally higher than the current fiscal, as per Interim Budget documents. Full budget will likely be announced in July 2024.
Source: The Economic Times