Over 40 lakh PM-Kisan beneficiaries added in two months under Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra

Over 40.5 lakh beneficiaries were added to the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) scheme in two months under the Centre’s flagship Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra initiative aimed at raising awareness around its programmes, government data showed. The data corresponds to the period between November 15, 2023, the day the VBSY was launched, and January 14, 2024.

According to The Indian Express, a total of 40,50,375 beneficiaries were added between the said dates under the PM-Kisan scheme. Of these, 10,61,278 were women, 29,87,884 men and 1,213 others.

Uttar Pradesh topped the list in terms of adding the most number of women beneficiaries under the PM-Kisan scheme with 1.69 lakh fresh additions. UP is followed by Rajasthan with 1.56 lakh new beneficiaries, Manipur at 1.05 lakh, Jharkhand at 90,949 and Kerala at 66,887, the data showed, according to IE.

Launched on February 24, 2019, just ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the PM-Kisan scheme entitles eligible farmer families to receive Rs 6,000 per annum in three equated instalments through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) every four months.

The addition of women beneficiaries to the scheme exceeded men in Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram. Women beneficiaries accounted for 68.96 per cent new additions in Meghalaya, 56.57 per cent in Manipur, 54.97 per cent in Nagaland and 50.26 per cent in Mizoram.

As per Agriculture ministry data, the proportion of women among new beneficiaries was higher than the overall figure during the launch of the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra. As of November 15, 2023, the overall figure of PM-Kisan beneficiaries stood at 8.12 crore, of which 6.27 crore or 77.33 per cent were men and 1.83 crore or 22.64 per cent were women.

At 22.92 lakh, Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of women PM-Kisan beneficiaries. UP is followed by Bihar (22.48 lakh), Maharashtra (15.62 lakh), Madhya Pradesh (14.84 lakh) and Rajasthan (14.75 lakh).

In terms of the proportion of women beneficiaries, Meghalaya topped the list with 70.33 per cent, followed by by Nagaland (55.84 per cent), Arunachal Pradesh (52.63 per cent) and Manipur (51.85 per cent). Punjab scored the lowest in terms of the proportion of woemn beneficiaries at 0.26 per cent or 1,279 women. According to the 2011 Agriculture Census, 30.3 per cent of the 11.87 crore cultivators were women.

Since the launch of the PM-Kisan scheme, the beneficiaries rise from 3.03 crore in December-March 2018-19 to 10,47 crore in April-July, 2022. The numbers dropped to 8.12 crore during August-November 2023, prompting the Centre to launch the VBSY. The initiative, scheduled to continue till January 26, 2024, aims to ensure that all eligible beneficiaries are covered under the several flagship schemes of the central government.