PM-KISAN: Rs 20,657 Cr Disbursed to 9.58 Cr Farmers

New Delhi, Dec 6 (PTI) The government has disbursed Rs 20,657 crore to over 9.58 crore farmers in the latest 18th installment under the PM-KISAN scheme.

In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Agriculture Ram Nath Thakur informed that 9,58,97,635 farmers received Rs 20,657.36 crore under the PM-KISAN's 18th installment for August-November 2024 period.

"The PM-KISAN scheme is a central sector scheme launched in February 2019 by the Prime Minister to supplement the financial needs of land-holding farmers.

"Under the scheme, a financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per year is transferred in three equal installments, into the Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts of farmers through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode," he said.

A farmer-centric digital infrastructure has ensured the benefits of the scheme reach all the farmers across the country without the involvement of any middlemen, he added.

"Maintaining absolute transparency in registering and verifying beneficiaries, the Government of India has disbursed over Rs 3.46 lakh crore in 18 installments since inception. During the release of the 18th installment of PMKisan, over 9.58 cr beneficiaries received the benefit of the scheme," Thakur said.

Answering a separate question, he informed that the recoveries from ineligible farmers marked due to income tax payee, higher income groups, government employees etc. have been initiated by the concerned state governments.

"A total of Rs 335 crore has been recovered from the ineligible beneficiaries so far across the country," the minister said.

In reply to another query, Thakur said, "Presently, there is no proposal under consideration to expand the scheme to tenant farmers".