R ARIVANANTHAM
NEW DELHI, JUNE 10
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the true follower of Saint Thiruvalluvar’s ‘Thirukkural’ which says that
“They only live who live by the plough.
The rest must stoop and trail behind.”
“Farmers are the linchpin of the world.
For they support all others who cannot till.”
With this avowed aim to help the farmers, taking charge as Prime Minister in his third term, Narendra Modi on Monday signed his first file authorising the release of the 17th installment of the PM Kisan Nidhi funds amounting to nearly Rs 20,000 crore, which will benefit around 9.3 crore farmers.
After signing on to the release of funds, Modi said, “Ours is a government fully committed to ‘kisan kalyan’ (farmers’ welfare). It is, therefore, fitting that the first file signed on taking charge is related to it. We want to keep working even more for farmers and the agriculture sector in the times to come.”
The decision signifies the government’s commitment to farmers’ welfare following the ruling NDA’s poll win, albeit with some setback, especially in parts of rural India.
Launched in 2019, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme offers eligible farmers an annual financial assistance of ₹6,000. This amount is distributed in three equal instalments of ₹2,000 every four months, directly deposited into the beneficiaries’ bank accounts.
The PM-KISAN scheme is a central sector scheme to provide income support to all landholding farmers’ families in the country to supplement their financial needs for procuring various inputs related to agriculture and allied activities as well as domestic needs.
The government has allocated Rs 1.27 lakh crore budget for the Ministry of Agriculture for 2024-25, marginally higher than the current fiscal, as per Interim Budget documents. Full budget will likely be announced in July 2024.
