PM Modi releases 12th installment of Rs 16,000 cr to eligible farmers

New Delhi: Ahead of Diwali, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday released the 12th installment of financial benefit worth Rs 16,000 crore to eligible farmers under the flagship PM-KISAN scheme.

With this, the total amount transferred to around 11 crore beneficiaries is expected to cross Rs 2.16 lakh crore.

Under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), eligible farmers are provided with a financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 each every four months.

The income support is directly transferred to bank accounts of the beneficiaries.

The scheme was launched in February 2019 but is being implemented with effect from December 2018.

The prime minister released the 12th installment at two-day event 'PM Kisan Samman Sammelan 2022' being held at the Pusa campus in the national capital.

Addressing the event, Modi said benefits under PM-KISAN reach the accounts of farmers directly without involving any middleman and commission agents.

"Another installment of Rs 16,000 crore has also been released to crores of farmer families as PM Kisan Samman Nidhi," he said while expressing happiness that this installment is reaching farmers just before Diwali.

The money reaching them before rabi sowing begins is necessary, he added.

Since the launch of this scheme, more than Rs 2 lakh crore has been transferred directly to beneficiaries under PM-KISAN, Modi said adding that farmers have told him that the scheme has reduced their burden.

PM-KISAN is a central sector scheme with 100 per cent funding from the Centre. State governments and UT administrations identify the farmer families that are eligible for support as per scheme guidelines.

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Chemicals & Fertilisers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya were also present at the programme.

More than 13,500 farmers from across the country and around 1,500 agri-startups are participating in the event.

Researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders too are attending the event.