PM-Kisan Yojana: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday released the 21st installment of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM Kisan) to over 9 crore farmers across the country. The PM released around Rs 18,000 crore as the 2025’s third tranche of PM Kisan benefits from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, while addressing thousands of farmers. An amount of Rs 2,000 has been digitally credited to eligible beneficiaries’ bank accounts across the country.
PM Modi also inaugurated the South India Natural Farming Summit 2025 in Coimbatore. The Prime Minister is on a day-long visit to Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
What is PM-Kisan scheme?
The PM Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Yojana is a central government scheme launched on February 24, 2019. Under the scheme, the centre provides annual financial assistance of Rs 6,000 each to farmers across the country. So far, more than Rs 3.70 lakh crore have been disbursed to over 11 crore farmer families in the country through 20 instalments.
Who is eligible for PM-Kisan benefit?
The benefits of the scheme are being provided to those farmers whose land details are seeded in PM-Kisan portal, have bank accounts seeded with Aadhaar and eKYC is completed. This scheme stands out as one of the largest Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) initiative globally, underscoring its monumental impact on facilitating financial support directly to the beneficiaries. With a commitment to inclusivity, it dedicates over 25% of its benefits to women beneficiaries.
Govt launches PM-Kisan Mobile App
PM-Kisan Mobile App has been launched to provide direct services to the beneficiaries. Further, the ‘facial authentication’ feature via Aadhaar is used for eKYC verification of the farmers. This helps a farmer complete his and other fellow farmers’ eKYC via facial authentication just by sitting at home.
Aadhaar-based e-KYC of beneficiaries
Aadhaar is an important pillar in PM-KISAN for establishing the identity of the beneficiaries by completing their e-KYC. Now farmers can complete their e-KYC by using any following options: OTP based e-KYC, biometric-based e-KYC, and face authentication-based e-KYC.
PM-Kisan: How the benefit works
Under the yojana, the central government provides Rs 6,000 per year to eligible farmers. The amount is transferred in three instalments of Rs 2,000 every four months. The scheme was launched on February 24, 2019.
In the previous instalment (April–July FY26), 97.14 million farmers received the money. During the December–March 2024-25 period, funds were transferred to 10.68 million farmers.
Why are there 7 million fewer beneficiaries this time?
The number of farmers eligible for the 21st instalment has reduced by nearly 7 million. This is due to the government’s intensified drive to identify ineligible beneficiaries under the scheme.
Lakhs of registrations have been placed on hold as the ministry suspects many do not meet the eligibility norms. Meanwhile, a nationwide ‘saturation drive’ is underway to ensure every eligible farmer is brought under PM-Kisan.
A notice issued on the PM-Kisan portal states that the Agriculture Department has “identified certain suspected cases that may fall under the exclusion criteria outlined in the PM-KISAN scheme guidelines,” advising farmers to check their status on the official website.
Who is not eligible for PM-Kisan benefits?
As per PM-Kisan guidelines, state governments identify the beneficiaries. Any land-owning farmer family can enrol, provided they do not fall under the exclusion categories.
The exclusion criteria include:
-Not falling within the income limit
-Farmers who pay income tax
-Government employees
-Elected public representatives
-People receiving a monthly pension of Rs 10,000 or more
How to check your PM-Kisan payment status
Farmers can easily check whether the 21st instalment has been credited by following these steps:
-Visit the PM-Kisan official website.
-Click on ‘Know Your Status’ or ‘Beneficiary Status’.
-Enter your Aadhaar number, mobile number, or registration number.
-Submit the details to view payment status, eligibility, and eKYC updates.
Farmers who find their names missing from the list or see “on hold” status are advised to update eKYC and verify land records with local authorities.
