Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar yesterday reviewed progress on the database being created to quickly identify eligible farmers for the PM-KISAN and other schemes. During the virtual meeting with state agriculture ministers, Tomar urged them to finish the work of data verification and updating as soon as possible so that no eligible farmer is denied the benefits of the schemes.
The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme provides eligible farmer families with a financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per year, payable in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000.
"A database is being created for quick identification of eligible farmers for PM-KISAN and other schemes and farmer welfare schemes that will be launched in the future," according to an official statement. All of the farmers' information, including Aadhaar, bank accounts, and land records, will be linked to their records. The states' land records will have to be digitally converted in order to create the database, it added.
Since its inception in February 2019, the PM-KISAN has distributed 11 instalments. This scheme has transferred more than Rs 2 lakh crore to approximately 11.37 crore eligible farmers, according to the report.
The benefit of PM-KISAN is only available to farmers who own land. The meeting was attended by agriculture ministers from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Bihar.
The meeting was also attended by Union Agriculture Secretary Manoj Ahuja and Additional Secretary Abhilaksh Likhi.
On September 2, Tomar will inaugurate the Gujarat State Center of Coconut Board at Bahumali Bhavan in Junagadh, as part of an event commemorating the 24th World Coconut Day. The minister will also announce the winners of the National Awards and the Export Excellence Awards given by the Board.
