PM-KISAN SCHEME EXTENDED: BENEFITS, CHALLENGES, AND IMPACT

Why In News?

The Union Cabinet approved the continuation of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme for another five years from 2026-27 to 2030-31. 

About PM-KISAN

Scheme Launch: Launched in February 2019 as a Central Sector Scheme to provide assured income support to eligible landholding farmer families and supplement farm income.

Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT): Financial assistance is transferred through Aadhaar-enabled DBT (AeDBT) directly into beneficiaries' bank accounts, ensuring transparency, reducing leakages and eliminating intermediaries.

Primary Objective: Supports farmers in meeting agricultural input costs and reducing dependence on informal credit, with impact evaluations by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and NITI Aayog reporting improved farm income and investment.

Agricultural Investment: Timely instalments help farmers purchase seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and other inputs before each crop season, strengthening productivity and liquidity.

Income Security: Complements the government's broader objective of doubling farmers' income by providing predictable income support alongside other agricultural reforms.

Key Features of the Extended Scheme

Extended Duration: Extended for five years (2026–27 to 2030–31) to ensure continued income support.  

Financial Outlay: Total allocation of ₹3.15 lakh crore for the extension period.

Financial Assistance: Eligible landholding farmer families receive ₹6,000 annually.

Instalment Pattern: Assistance is paid in three equal installments of ₹2,000 through DBT.

Universal Coverage: Covers all eligible landholding farmer families, irrespective of landholding size, subject to exclusion criteria.

Technology-Driven Delivery: Uses Aadhaar authentication, digitised land records, e-KYC and DBT, improving targeting and transparency.

Digital Governance: Farmers can verify eligibility and payment status through the PM-KISAN Portal, Mobile App and Kisan eMitra chatbot.

Key Achievements of PM-KISAN

Massive Direct Transfers: Over ₹4.47 lakh crore has been transferred directly to farmers through 23 installments since 2019.

Unprecedented Reach: The 23rd instalment benefited more than 9.49 crore farmers, with direct transfer of about ₹18,984 crore.

Women Empowerment: Women farmers have received over ₹1.06 lakh crore, accounting for around one-fourth of total beneficiaries, strengthening financial inclusion.

Global Scale: PM-KISAN is recognised as one of the world's largest Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) programmes.

Evidence-Based Impact: IFPRI and NITI Aayog evaluations indicate that PM-KISAN has enhanced farmers' income, encouraged timely investment in agriculture and reduced reliance on informal borrowing.

Financial Inclusion: The scheme has accelerated Aadhaar seeding, e-KYC compliance and digitisation of land records, improving efficiency and transparency in welfare delivery.

Challenges in the Implementation of the PM-KISAN

Exclusion Errors: Genuine farmers are excluded due to Aadhaar, e-KYC, bank account or land record mismatches. The PM-KISAN portal mandates e-KYC, and payments are withheld until verification is completed.

Outdated Land Records: Incomplete or non-digitised land records result in rejection of eligible beneficiaries, particularly where ownership records are disputed.

Exclusion of Tenant Farmers: PM-KISAN primarily covers landholding farmers, leaving many tenant farmers, sharecroppers and oral lessees outside the scheme despite being actual cultivators.

Regional Disparities: States with weak digital infrastructure and community-owned land systems (especially in the North-East) face greater challenges in beneficiary identification and DBT implementation.

Declining Real Value of Assistance: The ₹6,000 annual assistance has remained unchanged since 2019, while inflation and rising costs of fertilisers, seeds, diesel and labour have reduced its real purchasing power.

Limited Convergence: Weak integration with PMFBY, KCC, Soil Health Card and e-NAM limits the creation of a comprehensive support ecosystem for farmers.

Digital Literacy Gap: Many small and elderly farmers continue to face difficulties in e-KYC, online registration and portal-based grievance redressal, affecting timely benefit delivery.

Way Forward

Digitise & Modernise Land Records: Accelerate digitisation through SVAMITVA, Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP) and State Land Record Reforms to minimise exclusion errors.

Scale up AgriStack: Expand Farmer ID coverage and integrate it with PM-KISAN, PMFBY, MSP procurement, KCC and disaster relief. More than 9.2 crore Farmer IDs have already been generated (Source: PIB)

Strengthen Digital Agriculture: Link PM-KISAN with Krishi Decision Support System (KDSS), Digital Crop Survey and AI-based advisory services for personalised support.

Improve Scheme Convergence: Integrate PM-KISAN with PMFBY, Kisan Credit Card (KCC), Soil Health Card, e-NAM and FPO initiatives to provide comprehensive financial and risk protection.

Index Assistance to Inflation: Periodically revise the ₹6,000 annual benefit in line with agricultural input inflation to preserve its real value.

Include Actual Cultivators: Develop a legal framework to recognise tenant farmers, sharecroppers and oral lessees, ensuring support reaches actual cultivators.

Strengthen Last-Mile Delivery: Expand Common Service Centres (CSCs), Krishi Sakhis, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and village-level facilitation camps to improve enrolment and grievance redressal.

Promote Financial Inclusion & Awareness: Conduct targeted awareness campaigns on e-KYC, Farmer ID registration and DBT, especially in tribal, remote and digitally underserved regions.

Data-Driven Monitoring: Use AI, satellite imagery and geo-referenced crop data under the Digital Agriculture Mission to improve beneficiary verification, reduce duplication and enhance transparency.

Conclusion

Extending the PM-KISAN scheme until 2030-31 guarantees a basic income floor, boosts agricultural investments, and secures the livelihoods of India's food producers.

Source: THEHINDU