Centre transfers over ₹540 cr to 2.7 mn farmers in three flood-hit states

The government on Friday released over Rs 540 crore under the 21st instalment of the PM-KISAN scheme to more than 27 lakh farmers of three food-affected states - Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Uttarakhand.

The PM-KISAN scheme is a central sector scheme launched in February 2019 by the Prime Minister to supplement the financial needs of land-holding farmers.

Under the scheme, a financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per year is transferred in three equal instalments into the Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts of farmers through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode.

According to an official statement, "the release of the 21st instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme was declared by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, through video conferencing."  This instalment has been specially prioritised for the farmers of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Uttarakhand which have been severely affected by recent floods and landslides.

"A total of more than Rs 540 crore has been directly transferred into the bank accounts of over 27 lakh farmers, including around 2.7 lakh women farmers, across the three states. This support aims to provide timely relief to farmers as they work to recover from the recent calamities," the statement said.

The Centre transferred Rs 160.21 crore to 8,01,045 farmers in Himachal Pradesh. As many as 11,09,895 farmers in Punjab received Rs 221.98 crore, while 7,89,128 farmers in Uttarakhand got Rs 157.83 crore.

With this release, the cumulative disbursement under PM-KISAN to the three states has crossed Rs 13,626 crore since the launch of the scheme on February 24, 2019.

Chouhan asserted that the government is committed to standing by farmers in every situation.

He highlighted that the instalment of Rs 2,000 will help farmers meet immediate household needs, procure seeds and fertilisers for the next sowing cycle, and restore their confidence to resume cultivation.