Farmers Corner
- Financing Facility Under Agriculture Infrastructure
- Campaign for Saturation of all PM KISAN beneficiaries with Kisan Credit Cards (KCC)
- Interaction with Farmers and Release of PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi by Hon’ble Prime Ministry of India Shri Narendra Modi on 9th August 2021 12:30 PM IST
- Interaction with Farmers and Release of PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi on 14th May 2021 11:00 AM IST
- Webcast of Hon’ble Prime Minister’s event on the occasion of the ” One Year Completion of the PM-Kisan and Distribution of Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) “
On February 24, 2025, in Bhagalpur, Bihar, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi unveiled the 19th installment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) program. During the event over 9.8 crore farmers including 2.41 crore female farmers across the country will be benefitted through the 19th instalment release, receiving direct financial assistance exceeding ₹22,000 crore through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) without involvement of any middlemen, reinforcing the Government’s commitment to farmer welfare and agricultural prosperity. With this installment, the scheme will be supporting farmers nationwide and further reaffirming the government’s commitment to rural development and agricultural prosperity.
The 18th installment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) program was previously announced by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on October 5, 2024, in Washim, Maharashtra. Over 9.4 million farmers nationwide received direct financial benefits totaling more than 20,000 crore as a result of this significant event.
The PM-KISAN scheme is a central sector scheme launched in February 2019 by the Hon’ble 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 instalments, into the Aadhaar seeded bank accounts of farmers through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode.
The benefits of the program have been made available to all farmers across the country through a digital infrastructure that is focused on farmers. As of February 2025, the Government of India has disbursed more than Rs 3.46 lakh crore in 18 installments since its inception, maintaining absolute transparency in the registration and verification of beneficiaries.
Objectives
With a view to augment the income of the Small and Marginal Farmers (SMFs), the PM-KISAN scheme aims to:
In order to meet the anticipated farm income at the conclusion of each crop cycle and ensure proper crop health and yields, various inputs should be purchased to meet the SMFs’ financial needs. This would also protect them from falling in the clutches of moneylenders for meeting such expenses and ensure their continuance in the farming activities.
Technological Advancements
With an objective to make the scheme more efficient, effective, and transparent, continuous improvements in a farmer-centric digital infrastructure have been made to ensure the benefits of the scheme reach all the farmers across the country without any middleman involvement.
On February 24, 2020, the PM-KISAN mobile application was made available. In order to reach a larger number of farmers, this has been developed with an emphasis on increased transparency. A straightforward and effective addition to the PM-KISAN web portal is the PM-KISAN mobile app. 6] In 2023, the app was launched with an additional “Face Authentication Feature”. Remote farmers were able to perform e-KYC by scanning their faces without an OTP or fingerprint thanks to this.
The portal and mobile app offer services like self-registration, benefit status tracking, and facial authentication-based e-KYC. Farmers in remote areas can complete e-KYC via face scans, with provisions to assist neighbours.
Over 5 lakh Common Service Centres (CSCs) have been onboarded to facilitate registrations and meet mandatory requirements. In addition, a robust grievance redressal system was established on the portal, and an artificial intelligence chatbot named Kisan-eMitra, which debuted in September 2023, provides instantaneous response to inquiries regarding registration, eligibility, payments, and other topics in local languages. Farmers can also assist 100 other farmers in their neighbourhood to complete e-KYC at their doorstep. Additionally, the Indian government has granted State Government officials access to the e-KYC facility for farmers, allowing each official to complete e-KYC for 500 farmers.
PM-KISAN AI CHATBOT
The PM-KISAN AI chatbot, which became the first AI chatbot integrated with a major flagship scheme of the Union government, was launched in 2023. The AI Chatbot provides farmers with prompt, clear, and accurate responses to their queries. With the assistance of the EKstep foundation and Bhashini, it was developed and improved. The PM-KISAN grievance management system’s introduction of an AI chatbot aims to provide farmers with a platform that is easy to use and accessible.
Bhashini is integrated with the AI Chatbot, which can be accessed through the PM KISAN mobile app. Bhashini provides support in multiple languages to meet the linguistic and regional diversity of PM KISAN beneficiaries. The goal of “Digital India BHASHINI” is to facilitate the creation of content in Indian languages and facilitate easy access to the internet and digital services in Indian languages, including voice-based access. 9] This integration of cutting-edge technology will not only increase transparency but also give farmers the ability to make decisions based on accurate information.
Additionally, the Department of Posts offers the facility of linking/updating mobile number with Aadhaar for farmers benefiting from PM KISAN scheme. This is to complete e-KYC, through India Post Payment Bank.
Mandatory information required to enroll in scheme:
- Name of the spouse or farmer
- Date of birth of spouse or farmer
- Account number in a bank MICR/IFSC Code
- Phone Number
- Aadhaar Number
- Other customer information as available in the passbook which is required for mandate registration
Impact and Achievements
- Since its inception, the Government of India has disbursed over Rs 3.46 lakh Cr. in 18 installments.
- A significant saturation drive launched in November 2023 under the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra added over 1 crore eligible farmers to the scheme.
- In the first 100 days of the new government in place in June 2024, 25 lakh more farmers were included. As a result, an additional 9.59 crore beneficiaries received the 18th installment.
- The scheme has a wide reach across various states. For instance, Uttar Pradesh had the most beneficiaries during the 18th installment, which ran from August 2024 to November 2024, with 2,25,78,654, followed by Bihar with 75,81,009 beneficiaries.
A promising journey
In 2019, an independent study by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) found that PM-KISAN funds increased agricultural input investments, eased farmers’ credit constraints, and boosted rural economic growth. Also, the program has made farmers more willing to take risks, which has led them to make investments that are riskier but more profitable. The funds received by recipients under PM-KISAN are not only helping them with their agricultural needs, but it is also catering to their other expenses such as education, medical, marriage, etc. These are indicators of the scheme’s positive impact on the nation’s farmers. For the nation’s farming community, PM KISAN has truly changed the game.
Conclusion
The PM-KISAN Scheme has developed into a revolutionary program for the farming community over the past five years, achieving significant milestones in financial inclusion and rural empowerment. Its plan to assist millions of farmers directly and promptly has been carried out with remarkable efficiency. The scheme’s seamless digital infrastructure, which enables direct transfers to beneficiaries’ accounts, has set a benchmark for transparency and effective governance. It is evidence of the government’s commitment to bolstering the agricultural sector and enhancing the livelihoods of India’s farmers as PM-KISAN continues to expand its reach.
