Interim Budget: Rs 6,000 a year income support scheme for farmers announced

Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said the scheme would directly benefit 120 million farmer families

Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday announced a cash transfer scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, to provide income support of Rs 6,000 per year to small and marginal farmers in the Interim Budget 2019. The government has allocated Rs 75,000 crore towards the scheme for financial year 2020.    

The scheme will provide assured income support to small and marginal farmers. Under the scheme, farmers with small landholdings, of up to two hectares, will be provided direct income support of Rs 6,000 per year.  

Goyal said the term of the scheme will start from December 2018 itself and to that effect, the government has set aside Rs 20,000 crore for the scheme in this financial year. 

"There is a need for providing structured income support to poor landholding farmer families in the country," said Goyal, while announcing the scheme. This income support will be transferred directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiary farmers in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 each. This scheme will be funded by the Government of India.   

Goyal said the scheme would directly benefit 120 million farmer families.  

Goyal also announced that farmers severely affected by natural calamities would get two per cent upfront interest subvention on crop loans and an additional three per cent subvention upon timely repayment. 

The announcement for the scheme comes soon after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was voted out in key state elections last year and as Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces growing discontent over depressed farm incomes.