Why PM-Kisan could be a bankable project

The scheme has covered almost 60 per cent of small farmers who registered for it but the election model code of conduct delays an extended roll-out

In February this year, barely hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the headline-attracting Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana  (PM-KISAN) direct income support scheme , which promised to deposit Rs 6,000 a year into the bank account of small and marginal farmers, some cultivators in Maharashtra’s Nasik and Nanded districts faced a peculiar problem. 
 

Within hours of being credited, the first instalment of Rs 2,000 was debited from their accounts.Several of them subsequently complained to local agriculture officials who assured them that the reversal was a procedural hitch and the funds would be re-credited soon, which is what happened