Disbursals under PM-KISAN will reach Rs 50,000 crore by the end of March 2020, yet lakhs of farmers across Indian states are still waiting for their first installment under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet scheme. Farmer disbursal will reach Rs 50,000 crore by the end of this fiscal and the same will benefit about 10 crore agrarian families in the country, CNBC TV-18 cited sources as saying. However, lakhs of farmers are yet to receive even the first tranche of the total Rs 6,000 which was intended for each farmer family, according to the government dashboard PM-KISAN.
Of about 8.11 crore farmers identified as the beneficiaries under the scheme, only 7.5 crore farmers have received the first tranche and the same has dropped subsequently in the second and third tranches. Just a little over 6.3 crore farmers got the second tranche and 3.7 crore farmers got the third tranche credited, according to the latest data from PM-KISAN dashboard.
Earlier, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had expressed concern over the slow disbursal of grants the PM-KISAN scheme and had directed the Central government to boost rural cash flows and speed up flow to eligible farmers. At the time in September 2019, 13 out of the 34 states and Union Territories had received their third installment of the grant. The Finance Minister had also asked the officials to find out the cause for the same. “We have asked the Agriculture Secretary to look into this, and provide us status in slow-moving states and expedite payments,” The Indian Express reported in September. The disbursal duration for the second installment ends on 30 November.
Under the PM-KISAN scheme, the government aims to aid Small and Marginal Farmers (SMFs) income by disbursing Rs 6,000 a year to eligible beneficiaries. “This would protect them from falling into the clutches of moneylenders … and ensure their continuance in the farming activities,” according to the government.