New Delhi, Feb 29: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi releasing the 16th instalment of the direct cash instalment to small farmers under the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme from Yavatmal in Maharashtra, more than 11 crore eligible farmer families have benefited with Rs 3 lakh crore flowing directly into their bank accounts, the Ministry for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare said on Thursday.

Recently, as part of the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, undertaken to ensure saturation of government’s welfare schemes across more than 2.6 lakh Gram Panchayats, another 90 lakh eligible farmers were added to the PM-KISAN Scheme, the ministry said.

The scheme also reflects a strong cooperative federalism as the states register and verify the eligibility of farmers while the Centre provides 100 per cent funding for the scheme. The inclusive nature of the scheme is reflected in the fact that at least one out of four beneficiaries is a woman farmer, besides more than 85 per cent of small and marginal farmers being the beneficiaries under the scheme.

Under the scheme, the eligible farmer families are provided a benefit of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 each, every four months. The benefit is transferred directly to the bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer mode, using modern digital technology.

In the last five years, the scheme has crossed many milestones and has received accolades from various organisations, including the World Bank, for its sheer vision, scale, and the seamless transfer of funds directly to the accounts of eligible farmers.

A study conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) on farmers of Uttar Pradesh indicates that the benefits under the PM-KISAN reached the majority of farmers, and they received the full amount without any leakages. As per the same study, the farmers receiving cash transfers under PM-KISAN were more likely to invest in buying agricultural equipment, seeds, fertiliser, and pesticides.

(IANS)

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