Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana

The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana (PM-Kisan Yojana) is a government of India-initiated scheme that aims to provide minimum income support of up to Rs. 6000 to all small and marginal farmers per year.

PM-KISAN Yojana scheme provides a financial benefit of Rs. 6000 per annum to all landholding farmers’ families. This sum is payable in three equal instalments of Rs. 2000 each every four months.

Objective of PM Kisan Yojana

Agriculture constitutes a crucial part of India’s economy, and farmers are one of the key sections of society. However, due to socio-economic disparities prevalent between urban and rural regions in the country, farming communities have often struggled with financial prosperity. This issue has plagued the more significant part of India’s population since independence. 

The Central and state governments have relentlessly strived to address this social and economic concern through several initiatives, meant to elevate such communities. PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana was launched by the Government of India in 2018 to help these communities.

The Government of India released the sixth instalment under this scheme on 9th August 2020, reaching nearly 8.5 crore farmers. As per its objectives, this initiative aims to benefit approximately 125 million farmers in India, particularly those of marginal or small stature.

History of PM-KISAN Scheme

In 2018, the Government of Telangana initiated the Ryuthu Bandhu scheme. Under this initiative, this state government disbursed a certain sum twice a year to buttress a farmer’s investment in agriculture. This initiative was widely recognised and appreciated for its direct benefits to farmers. 

Following suit, the Indian Government launched a similar Farmer’s Investment Support Scheme to offer financial assistance to farmers nationwide. The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana came into effect on 1st December 2018. As per the Government’s initial announcement, this scheme will be allocated Rs.75000 crore per annum. 

Features of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana

Some of the key features of this scheme have been discussed in the below-mentioned pointers:

• Income Support

The primary feature of this Yojana is the minimum income support it provides to farmers. Each eligible farmer family is entitled to receive Rs.6000 per annum across India. However, the amount is not disbursed at once. 

Instead, it’s divided into three equal instalments and meted out four months apart. Each farmer, thus, receives Rs.2000 every 4 months. Beneficiaries can use this amount for numerous purposes. Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana’s guidelines do not categorically define any usage restriction. 

• Funding

PMKSNY is an Indian government-sponsored farmer support scheme. Therefore, the entirety of its funding comes from the Government of India. Initially, it announced a reserve of Rs.75000 crore a year to be spent on this initiative. 

It disbursed Rs.17,000 crore in the latest instalment on 9th August 2020 to the scheme’s beneficiaries’ bank accounts via Direct Benefit Transfer or DBT. 

• Identification Responsibility

While the responsibility of funding lies with GOI, the identification of beneficiaries is not under its purview. Instead, it’s the responsibility of the State and Union Territory governments. 

These governments shall identify which farmer families will benefit from the scheme. Here, it is crucial to note that per PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana definition, a farmer's family shall comprise a husband, wife, and minor child or children. 

PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Eligibility Criteria

One of the most crucial features of this government scheme is its eligibility criteria. Farmer families that qualify these criteria can benefit from this Yojana: 

• Small and marginal farmers are eligible for PMKSNY. 
• Farmer families that hold cultivable land can apply for the benefits of this plan.
• A beneficiary should be an Indian citizen.

Alongside these, farmers from both rural and urban regions can be enlisted under the Pradhanmantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana. However, its guidelines also exclude certain categories of individuals from its beneficiary list.

Who is Excluded from PMKSNY? 

Not all farmers can avail of monetary assistance under the PM Kisan scheme. These categories of people have been mentioned below – 

1. Any institutional landholder is ineligible for this initiative. 

2. Farmer families with one or more of its members satisfying the following criteria shall not be eligible either:

• Individuals who hold or have held a constitutional post.
• Individuals who continue to serve or did serve as employees and/or officers in any government ministry, department or office and its field unit.
• Persons who served as an officer or employee in any Central or State Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) and Autonomous bodies under the Government.
• Regular employees of local governmental bodies.
• Present and former Ministers of both Central and State governments. 
• Present and former members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. 
• Present and former members of State Legislative Assembly and State Legislative Councils.
• Any present or former Chairperson of District Panchayat.
• Present and Former Mayor of any Municipal Corporation.

3. Any individual who filed income tax in the previous Assessment Year (AY) or his/her family is not eligible to receive Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana.

4. A person and his/her family who has retired or superannuated and receives a pension of Rs.10,000 or more every month are excluded from this scheme. However, it does not apply if such a pensioner belongs to a multi-tasking staff, Class IV or Group D employees.

5. Families with professionals like a doctor, engineers, chartered accountants, lawyers, and architects who are professionally involved in their respective fields are also ineligible for this scheme. 

How to Register for the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana

Individuals who qualify for this scheme as per the criteria mentioned above can register themselves as a beneficiary. Here is the process for PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana 2024 registration-

• Each State government is supposed to nominate PMKSNY nodal officers. Individuals can approach them to register for this scheme. 
• Eligible farmers can also approach local patwaris or revenue officers to register. 
• It is also possible to enrol in this scheme via the Common Service Centres (CSCs) by paying a fee. 

Apart from these, individuals can also enlist themselves online for the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana online through its dedicated portal. One would need to first visit PMKSNY’s official website and click on “New Farmer Registration” within the Farmer’s Corner section. 

Farmers who self-register and enrol via a CSC can check their PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana status by clicking on the “Status of Self-registered/CSC farmers” option under Farmer’s Corner.

Documents Required to Register for PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana

When applying as a beneficiary for this scheme, individuals would need to submit the following documents:

• Aadhaar Card
• Proof of citizenship
• Documents substantiating ownership of land
• Details of bank account

Individuals will need to provide scanned copies of such documents if they are registering online.

Note - The farmers must have an Aadhaar Card to get the PM-Kisan scheme's benefits. The farmers cannot register/enrol as beneficiaries under this scheme if they do own an Aadhaar card.

How to Check the Beneficiary Status of PM Kisan Scheme

As mentioned previously, GOI disburses the minimum income support amount of Rs.6000 a year in three instalments. In case an enlisted farmer did not receive the amount as per schedule, they can check such PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana status online. 

Here are the steps to do so – 

• Step 1 – Visit PMKSNY official website.
• Step 2 – Click on “Beneficiary Status” under Farmer’s Corner.
• Step 3 – Enter the Aadhaar number, registered mobile number, or account number.

Upon providing any of those aforementioned numbers, individuals can view the status of their receipt.
Individuals can also check whether they are included in their village’s Beneficiary List for this scheme online, as well, via its portal. For that, one needs to follow these steps – 

Step 1 – Click on the tab marked list of beneficiaries under Farmer’s Corner.

Step 2 – Select State, District and Sub-district, Block and Village, and click on Get Report.

One can then view the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana list for a particular village. These are all that one needs to know about the scheme’s status. Individuals who haven’t yet enlisted can do so to receive the next instalment of Rs. 2000.