PM Modi to interact with farmers from six states tomorrow, release Rs 18,000 crore under PM-Kisan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with farmers from six different states on Friday (December 25), the birth anniversary of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He will hold discussions with farmers at 12 noon through video conferencing. The Prime Minister will also release the next instalment of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN). “With the push of a button, the Prime Minister will enable the transfer of more than Rs 18,000 crores to more than 9 crores beneficiary farmer families,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

Under the PM-KISAN Scheme which was launched in February 2019, a financial benefit of Rs 6000 per year is provided to the marginal farmers, payable in three equal four-monthly instalments of Rs 2000 each. The fund is transferred directly to the bank accounts of the farmers. During the interaction with the Prime Minister tomorrow, the farmers will share their experiences with PM-KISAN scheme and also on various other initiatives taken by the Centre for the welfare of farmers. Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar will also be present on the occasion.

Prime Minister Modi’s interaction with farmers is part of a mega outreach programme launched by the Centre amid protests by a section of farmers — mainly from Punjab and Haryana — against the three Farm Laws. The Prime Minister has so far interacted with the farmers of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh during the last week.

Thousands of farmers have been protesting against the three farm laws and demanding their complete rollback. The Centre, however, has made it clear that it will not take back laws but is open to make some amendments. The agriculture minister has held five rounds of talks with farmers but no breakthrough has been achieved so far.