ZT WEB DESK
Srinagar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today electronically transferred ₹ 17,100 crores to the bank accounts of over 8.5 crore farmers as part of the PM-KISAN scheme, aimed at providing direct support of ₹ 6,000 annually to them.
As of now it is not clear how many farmers from Jammu & Kashmir were covered under this scheme and how many have received this installment of Rs 6000 this year.
Jammu & Kashmir Chief Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam in early February 2019 had said that farmers in J&K state will get the first the installment of Rs 2,000 under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) in March that year.
Information available with Ziraat Times indicates that although some farmers have received the Rs 2000 instalment in some districts in J&K, the exact number of such farmers in whole J&K is not available as of now. Ziraat Times is the process of seeking this information from the relevant administration officials in J&K, and the data is still awaited.
The amount was part of the sixth installment of the scheme launched in 2018. The government claims to have provided a direct cash benefit of over ₹ 90,000 crore to more than 10 crore farmers as part of the scheme.
“Rs 17,000 crores of PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi have been deposited into bank accounts of 8.5 crore farmers with a single click. No middlemen or commission, it went straight to farmers. I am satisfied because the objective of the scheme is being fulfilled,” PM Modi said during the launch of a financing facility for farmers.
The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund — with a capital of Rs 1 lakh crore — was launched by the Prime Minister through a video conference which was attended by lakhs of farmers, cooperatives, and citizens across the country. The Fund aims to catalyze the creation of post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets such as cold storage, collection centres, processing units, etc. These assets will enable farmers to get greater value for their produce, as they will be able to store and sell at higher prices, reduce wastage, and increase processing and value addition, the government said.
The first sanction of over Rs 1000 crore was made to over 2,280 farmers under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund today, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement today.
Under the PM-KISAN scheme, each farmer receives up to ₹ 6,000 per year as minimum income support and the scheme is totally funded by the central government.
The funds are being directly transferred into the Aadhaar authenticated beneficiaries’ bank account to prevent leakage and increase convenience for farmers.