Objective: To provide financial support to small and marginal farmers.
Benefits: Provides an annual income support of ₹6,000 to eligible farmer families in three installments.
Eligibility: Initially for small and marginal farmers, later extended to all land-owning farmers.
Implementation: Launched in February 2019, with the first payment made in December 2018.
Funding:
Initial allocation: ₹75,000 crore for 2019-20 and 2020-21.
Actual disbursement: Varied significantly, reaching a peak of around ₹67,150 crore in 2021-22.
Recent decline: Disbursements have declined in recent years due to a focus on weeding out ineligible beneficiaries.
Beneficiary Coverage:
Initial target: Around 14.5 crore beneficiaries.
Current beneficiaries: Approximately 9.59 crore farmers.
Inclusion of SC/ST farmers: 12% SC, 9% ST.
Women beneficiaries: Slightly over 20% in SC categories, around 29% in ST categories.
Data on OBC beneficiaries is not maintained.
State-level variations: Significant variations in beneficiary numbers and disbursement amounts across states, with some states experiencing substantial declines in recent years.
Calls for improvement:
Increased payout: Farmers are demanding an increase in the annual income support.
Incentivizing efficient farming practices: The government is encouraged to incentivize farmers who efficiently use resources like water and electricity.
Challenges:
Meeting initial targets: The scheme has fallen short of its initial goals in terms of both beneficiary coverage and disbursement amounts.
Weeding out ineligible beneficiaries: While necessary, efforts to remove ineligible beneficiaries have led to a decline in the number of beneficiaries and disbursements.
Data gaps: Lack of data on beneficiaries from Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
Overall:
The PM-KISAN scheme has provided financial support to millions of farmers, but it faces challenges in terms of achieving its full potential. Addressing these challenges and ensuring the scheme effectively reaches all eligible farmers will be crucial for its continued success.
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