PM Kisan Yojana: Farmers To Get Rs 4,000 In Their Accounts Soon

The Centre plans to transfer Rs 4,000 to small and marginal farmers under the PM-Kisan scheme by the first week of April, well before the Lok Sabha polls start. The transfer of Rs 2,000 to the bank accounts of farmers will commence from February 24 under the income support scheme and preparations are on to cover as high as 1 crore farmers on the first day of the launch, official sources said. The second instalment of the same amount may be transferred in the first week of April, they added.

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“Though the enrollment on the PM-Kisan portal is yet to start, data are currently verified by the states and we expect to transfer the first instalment smoothly,” a government official said. Whatever data will be verified by February 20 will be considered for the direct transfer scheme on February 24, he said. Farmers, who will be getting the first instalment will also be eligible to receive the second tranche due for April-July period, he added.

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Though the Aadhaar number is not mandatory in the first instalment, in the subsequent transfer of the Central aid, all farmers have to submit the bank account-linked Aadhaar number, officials said. To make the transfer of money less cumbersome and to ensure it reaches the farmers, the Centre has asked the states to keep documents with themselves. The state governments will also carry out the verification process.

Finance minister Piyush Goyal had announced in the Interim Budget the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) – under which Rs 6,000 per year will be given in three equal instalments directly to bank accounts of 12 crore small and marginal farmers. The scheme was made effective from December 1, 2018, so that by March 31, the first instalment is completed, making farmers eligible for the second tranche from April.

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Transfer of the second instalment during the poll process will not be affected as the scheme was rolled out this fiscal. The model code of conduct may kick in from next month once the Election Commission announces the poll schedule. The Lok Sabha elections are due in April-May.