PM-Kisan Scheme

In News-Recently, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) completed two years.

• As of February 2021, benefits of Rs 1.15 lakh crores have been transferred to more than 10.75 crore beneficiaries across the country.

About PM-Kisan scheme

• The PM-KISAN scheme aims to supplement the financial needs of the Small and Marginal Farmers (SMFs )in procuring various inputs to ensure proper crop health and appropriate yields and commensurate with the anticipated farm income at the end of each crop cycle.
• It is a Central Sector Scheme with 100% funding from the Government of India.
• It is being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Provisions –

• Under the PM KISAN Scheme, an amount of 6000 rupees per year is transferred in three instalments of 2000 rupees directly into the bank accounts of the farmers.
• The Scheme initially provided income support to all Small and Marginal Farmers’ families across the country, holding cultivable land up to 2 hectares.
  •  Its ambition was later expanded to cover all farmer families in the country irrespective of the size of their landholdings.
• Special provisions have been made for the North-Eastern States where land ownership rights are community-based, Forest Dwellers and Jharkhand, which does not have updated land records and restrictions on the transfer of land.

•  Exclusion-
  • Affluent farmers have been excluded from the scheme such as Income Taxpayers in the last assessment year, professionals like Doctors, Engineers, Lawyers, Chartered Accountants etc and pensioners drawing at least Rs.10,000/- per month (excluding MTS/Class IV/Group D employees).

Source: HT