Assessing Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman
- Agriculture Situation in India
- 77(12), Mar, 2021: p.25-32
In this study, we look at certain aspects of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, a cash transfer scheme for farmers. Since its inception in 2019, the number of beneficiaries, who get Rs 6,000 per year in three installments, has increased to about 11.5 crore farmers. We explore the past trends in disbursement of installments, allocation in the union budget and implementation of the scheme. For this, the primary source of data is the scheme portal. Looking at the past trends, seven cash installments have been paid. While a majority of beneficiaries have been paid 4 installments, 33 percent and 46 percent beneficiaries did not receive the 5th and 6th installment, respectively. Based on the experience of previous years, in 2021-22, the budget allocation for the scheme has been reduced to Rs 65,000 crore from Rs 75,000 crore previously. It is also observed that the previous years’ budget allocations were not fully utilized. As per the scheme, all landowning farmers are eligible and the data on landholdings in the Agriculture Census shows that 78 percent have registered so far. Some states like Bihar and Kerala have shown low rates of registration. We believe the definition of a farmer is highly important for such cash transfer schemes hence, a comparison is done on how various surveys and commissions have defined a farmer. The paper also looks at the challenges in implementation of the scheme. Fake beneficiary registration was observed in some states and the poor quality of land records in some states makes it even more difficult to identify correct beneficiaries. Through these aspects, we aim to understand the scheme and its impact better. – Reproduced
PM KISAN, Agriculture, Cash transfer, Direct benefit transfer