PM-KISAN scheme: Kharge claims no. of beneficiaries decreasing with every instalment

The funds are directly transferred to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.It is a central sector scheme with 100 per cent funding from the Centre.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday attacked the Modi government over the PM-KISAN scheme, alleging that the number of beneficiary farmers has gone down with every instalment.

Kharge also posted a graph on Twitter elucidating his point.

The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, however, said over 10 crore farmers have received benefits under the scheme since its launch in 2019, up from 3.16 crore in the first instalment period -- an increase of over three times in more than three years.

''It is the policy of the Modi government to take away the rights of farmers who provide food! There was big talk about benefiting 14.5 crore farmers from the much talked about PM-KISAN scheme,'' Kharge said in a tweet in Hindi.

The truth is that instalment after instalment, the number of beneficiary farmers went on decreasing, he claimed.

''Mr Modi, by taking away the rights of the farmers, who are you benefitting,'' the Congress president asked.

In a statement issued later in the day, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare said the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme has successfully provided assistance of more than Rs 2 lakh crore to crores of needy farmers in a span of over three years.

Of this amount, more than Rs 1.6 crore has been transferred since the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it said.

''The release of benefits for any instalment period under PM KISAN has now crossed 10 crore farmers from 3.16 crore for the first instalment period – more than 3 times increase in over 3 years,'' it added.

Under the PM-KISAN scheme, eligible farmers are provided with a financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 each every four months. The funds are directly transferred to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.

It is a central sector scheme with 100 per cent funding from the Centre. State governments and union territory administrations identify the farmer families that are eligible for support as per the scheme guidelines.