PM-Kisan Yojana
The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, popularly known as PM-Kisan Scheme was launched on 24th February 2019. It is a central government scheme which provides income support of Rs. 6000 per year to all farmer families in India in three quarterly installments of Rs. 2000 each. The definition of what counts as “family” is very important here. The scheme recognizes a family comprising of husband, wife, and minor children. Beneficiary identification is the responsibility of the state or union territory government. This is a lump-sum income grant scheme where the Government gives lump-sum cash grants directly to the farmer through their bank accounts.
In order to benefit from the scheme, the farmer is required to meet their local revenue office also known as “patwari” or the nodal officer of the state government. The technical infrastructure is provided through common service centers. Farmers can also self-register on the portal (http://www.pmkisan.gov.in/) and check the status of the cash grant through the PM-Kisan portal. There are a number of people belonging to higher economic status who excluded from the scheme, those are institutional landholders, holders of constitutional posts, elected representatives, pensioners drawing above Rs 10,000 per month, and persons who pay income tax. The farmers mandatorily need a bank account and Aadhar card in order to successfully register for the scheme.
In India, there is a notion that many schemes exist but beneficiaries are not aware of them and thus the schemes are notional. In order to increase awareness and transparency, the beneficiary lists are displayed at Panchayats to ensure greater transparency and information. Further, States/UTs notifies the sanction of benefit to the beneficiary through system generated SMS.
Why is liquidity so important?
Lack of liquidity has been a significant reason leading to farmer’s distress in India. Agriculture is a field where farmers require a lot of cash at hand because the revenue only comes once or twice a year after harvest. Before that, they need money for seeds, water, fertilizers, transport, and many more. A shortage of money during this time thus leads to a lot of distress.
Why is this scheme different and better from others?
One of the biggest plusses of the scheme is that the amount is transferred directly to the beneficiary’s bank account in order to check leakages. Since independence, a persistent complaint in the agricultural domain has been the exploitation of farmers by the middlemen. Generally, in past schemes, there existed a lengthy process of registration, the requirement of several documents, and corrupt middlemen who illegally charged from farmers just to make them eligible for government schemes. Direct transfers can thus be called a large scale structural reform. The scope of PM-KISAN goes much beyond in the sense both rural and urban farmers no matter the landholding size can benefit from it. The scheme has utilized technology to resolve liquidity issues and also has a structure to provide knowledge and extension support.
Food for thought:
While PM-Kisan scheme is largely accepted and has become popular in a short span, there are still some concerns on the farmer’s minds: - Do all farmers have access to bank accounts? Do all farmers have Aadhar cards? With the increasing price of diesel continuously since the past few weeks due to an
increase in excise duties, is the government indirectly taking money back from the farmers?
I’d love to hear your views! Kindly share in the comment box. J
Very well explained!
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
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ReplyDeleteI'd like to know on PM-Fasal Bima Yojna particularly in context of its effectiveness & awareness. Well done.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the suggestion :)
DeleteDear Priya first of all hearty congratulations.Very well explained and analysed.Waiting for many more.
ReplyDeleteThank you, striving to be better with every post )
DeleteGreat work Priya, really appreciate such a good research on PM Kisan .
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Will look forward for more.
Thank you! :)
DeleteGood explanation with concise information, especially in correct order along with right questions. Great work!!! Will look forward for more
ReplyDeleteThank you! :)
DeleteGood write up, Priya. Get going with more. I think this scheme does not help the landless labourers. It is a good scheme no doubt but not a sufficient scheme. It can be one among various other schemes. All the earlier schemes targeted the supply side by targeting cut in input prices and this scheme is first of its Kind which targets the demand side by providing liquidity. Non BJP state governments should also be proactive in speeding up the implementation, rising above party politics. The amount seems paltry in the context of rising input cost. Nevertheless, it's a very good beginning by the government..
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. However this raises larger questions. Is this scheme really to help farmers or just popular politics? On one hand the centre is increasing the demand and on the other reducing the farmers to their original plight and worse through indirect taxes?
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ReplyDeletecheck pm kisan status
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