55 Lakh Farmers To Receive Rs 2000 Tomorrow

New Delhi: Over 26 million farmers have registered for the PM-Kisan scheme, assured income support of Rs 6000 annually for the farm community. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to launch it on Sunday from Gorakhpur.

1. About 5.5 million farmers are expected to receive the first installment of Rs 2000 tomorrow (direct cash transfer being the hallmark of the scheme), Economic Times has reported. Odisha government has extended its support to the scheme and a list of the intended beneficiaries has been sent to the Central government.

2. As per some assessments, Odisha will receive Rs 2714 crore of the total outlay of Rs 75,000 crore under the scheme. 

3. Around two million applications have been rejected in the first round of verification because of wrong land records and non-linking of bank account. These farmers can apply afresh after correcting their inputs.

4. Effective implementation remains a key challenge for the government:

According to some observers, poor records of land holding in the country may cost the PM-Kisan scheme dear. The average size of operational holding in India has been falling over the years. Such a scheme could have the potential to allure medium and large farmers to further sub-divide their land (at least on paper) so as to qualify for the scheme in the future, which may result in a moral hazard.

5. The majority of the 24 million farmers, whose verified details are available on the PM KISAN website, are from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu.

6. The data uploaded on the PM KISAN portal till 24 February 2018 will be considered for transfer of the first instalment at the launch event, as per a government official.

7. “Our estimate is that about 100 million farmers across the country should get the first installment of Rs 2,000 by March-end, as the number of beneficiaries is going up daily,” a senior agriculture ministry official told Business Standard.

8. Reports also suggested that the second installment of Rs 2000 will be deposited in the farmer’s bank account before the commencement of the general elections.

9. The PM-Kisan scheme was announced in the interim budget this year targetted at marginal farmers who owe up to two hectares of land. Political pundits have linked Modi government’s return to power to the outcome of the scheme. However, some studies have indicated that it may not influence the farming community much, not to the point of swinging the elections in favour of the BJP-led government.

10. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has regretted that the scheme leaves out the landless cultivators and sharecroppers whose numbers are more than then land holding farmers. Comparing it with the state government’s Kalia initiative, he has demanded that the income support is matched with Kalia’s assured Rs 10,000 per annum.