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The Central government of India, as promised says that it has transferred Rs 5,125 crore under the flagship direct income aid initiatives PM-Kisan since the coronavirus relief package was announced, while the goal is to pay the April-July installment of Rs 2,000 each to nearly 9 crore farmers instantly, the front-loading release of the money which was otherwise to be transferred by mid-April latest.
Rs 1.7 lakh crore were said to be donated for the poor and vulnerable sections of the society. Under the PM Kisan scheme, all the beneficiary farmers are authorised to receive Rs 6,000 annually in three equal installments as direct income aid.
More than Rs 58,300 crore has been shared in the bank accounts of 9.07 crore, 8.13 crore, 6.7 crore and 5.25 crore farmers (not mutually exclusive sets) as first, second, third and fourth installments of PM-Kisan, respectively since the scheme was initiated in 2019. In the beginning, the scheme was meant to reach out to only small and marginal farmers, but was then spread to all land-owning farmers with a few exclusion criteria.
Nearly 11 crore farmers are estimated to be helped till FY21 ends. Until now, the government has approved data of approx. 9.4 crore farmers. West Bengal, with predicted more than 70 lakh farmers, is the only area beyond the ambit of PM-Kisan as it has disagreed to share and authenticate farmers’ data.
While the Budget estimate for the scheme for FY20 was Rs 75,000 crore, the revised estimate is Rs 54,370 crore. The outlay for FY21 is once more Rs 75,000 crore.
Many of the land-owning migrant workers who have come back to their villages post the lockdown will also require this PM-Kisan facility. The government should fix a goal and transfer the amount within a week, said Pushpendra Singh, president of Kisan Shakti Sangh.
