New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday transferred about Rs 19,500 crore to over 9.75 crore beneficiary farmers under the flagship scheme PM-KISAN and said the government is taking several steps to double the income of the farming community.
Under Pradhan MantriKisanSammanNidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, the Centre provides an annual financial benefit of Rs 6,000 to eligible beneficiary farmers in three equal four-monthly installments of Rs 2,000 each.
The scheme was announced by the government in February 2019 in the Budget. The first installment was released for December 2018-March 2019 period. The fund is transferred directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.
On Monday, the prime minister virtually released the ninth installment for the beneficiaries. With this, the government has so far transferred around Rs 1.57 lakh crore to farmer families.
Addressing the virtual event, Modi said the government has transferred over Rs 19,500 crore directly to nearly 10 crore farmers and this amount will be useful for them.
"Nearly Rs 1.6 lakh crore have been transferred so far under PM-KISAN scheme, of which around Rs 1 lakh crore has been released during the pandemic," he added.
Out of this, Rs 1 lakh crore was transferred to small farmers during the pandemic, he said.This amount will be useful for small farmers at a time when the sowing of kharif crops is at its peak in the current monsoon season, he added.
Asserting that the government is committed to providing all resources to farmers to boost their income, Modi highlighted the benefits being reaped by farmers taking advantage of several schemes including Rs 1 lakh crore agri-infra fund that completed one year on Monday.
Modi said farmers are benefitting from the Honey Bee Mission, which has led to huge export of honey resulting in extra income for farmers.
For the benefit of saffron growers, he said the government has decided to sell saffron produced in Jammu and Kashmir through retail stores of cooperative firm Nafed.
Referring to the upcoming 75th Independence Day, he said apart from being an occasion of pride, it is also an opportunity for new resolutions.
"We have to take this opportunity to decide where we want to see India in the coming 25 years. ...Our agriculture and our farmers have a big role in determining the condition of India in 2047, when the country completes 100 years of independence," he said.
It is time to give direction to India's agriculture to face new challenges and take advantage of new opportunities, he said, and called for changes in the Indian agriculture according to the demands of changing times.
Observing that there have been many changes during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said there has been change in eating habits which resulted in rise in demand for coarse cereals, fruits, vegetables, spices and organic products.
He hoped that farmers would respond to the changes.
Applauding farmers for achieving record foodgrains production (in 2020-21) despite the pandemic, Modi said the government made all efforts to provide all agri-inputs and access to markets to farmers, thereby reducing the hardships of farmers during the difficult period.
Urea was available throughout and it was ensured that prices of Di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) do not rise despite a surge in global prices, he said.
That apart, the government made a record procurement of paddy worth Rs 1.7 lakh crore and wheat valuing Rs 85,000 crore and these amounts have been transferred directly to farmers' bank accounts.