Relevance: prelims/mains: G.S paper II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN)
Objective
- With a view to augment the income of the Small and Marginal Farmers (SMFs), the Government has launched a new Central Sector Scheme, namely, “Pradhan Mantri KIsan SAmman Nidhi (PM-KISAN)” in the current financial year.
- The PM-KISAN scheme aims to supplement the financial needs of the SMFs in procuring various inputs to ensure proper crop health and appropriate yields, commensurate with the anticipated farm income at the end of the each crop cycle.
- This would also protect them from falling in the clutches of moneylenders for meeting such expenses and ensure their continuance in the farming activities.
Definition of Families
The SMFs landholder farmer family is defined as “a family comprising of husband, wife and minor children who collectively own cultivable land upto 2 hectare as per land records of the concerned State/UT”.
Basis for Identification
- The number of eligible SMFs under the scheme has been estimated on the basis of projection of Agricultural Census 2015-16 data for 2018-19.
- The projected number of holding of SMFs landholder farmer families for FY 2018-19 is 13.15 crore.
- Due to likely exclusion of certain categories of beneficiaries of higher economic strata, the total number of eligible beneficiaries has been taken as 12.50 crore.
- The existing land-ownership system will be used for identification of beneficiaries for calculation of financial benefit under the scheme.
Scheme Contours and Financial Outlay
- The Scheme to be implemented as Central Sector Scheme with 100% financial support by Government of India (GoI).
- For financial year 2018-19, a budget provision of Rs. 20,000 crore has been kept for disbursal of financial benefit to the eligible landholding SMFs families.
- Similarly, a budgetary provision of Rs. 75,000 crore has been kept in the financial year 2019-20 for disbursal of financial benefits to eligible landholding SMFs families.
Benefit to eligible SMFs
- Under the Scheme, a direct payment of Rs. 6000 per year will be transferred in three equal installments of Rs. 2000 each every four months into the Aadhar ceded bank accounts of eligible landholding SMFs families.
- The first instalment for the period 01.12.2018 to 31.03.2019, under the scheme will be transferred to the eligible beneficiaries in the current financial year (2018-19) itself. First Installment shall be transferred immediately on identification of the beneficiaries.
Aadhar Capturing
- For availing benefits under the scheme, Aadhaar is mandatory. However, in cases, where the beneficiaries at present are not having Aadhar or Aadhar Enrolment number, alternate prescribed documents can be collected for identity verification and transfer of benefit to such farmer families for transfer of 1st instalment in 2018-19.
- All such beneficiaries not having Aadhaar card shall have to be compulsorily enrolled under Aadhaar, since transfer of subsequent instalments will be done only on basis of Aadhaar seeded data base.
- States/UTs to ensure that there is no duplication of the payment transferred to eligible families. Speedy reconciliation in case of wrong/incomplete bank details of the beneficiary to be ensured.
Positive aspects of the scheme:
- This support is over and above all the existing schemes for the farming sector.
- Pan India coverage; approximately 12 crore farming families to benefit
- Assured income support to the farming class will provide sense of confidence.
- Family is taken as a unit, hence in large joint families the accrued benefit may be larger.
Negative aspects of the scheme:
- Support of Rs 500 per family is not enough to alleviate farm income
- Tenant farmers and landless agricultural labourers will not this benefit.
- The cash transfer is not linked to the size of the farmer’s land, unlike
- Telangana’s Rythu Bandhu scheme, under which farmers receive ₹8,000 per annum for every acre owned.
- Telangana’s RYTHU BANDHU scheme and Odisha’s KALIA scheme offer more than PM-KISAN.
- It would be recurring expenditure as it is hard to roll back. Also, it would add to fiscal deficit.
Monitoring of the Scheme
- For effective review and monitoring of the scheme, a Project Monitoring Unit (PMU) at Central level will be set up in DAC&FW.
- The PMU headed by Chief Executive Officer (CEO), shall also undertake publicity campaign (Information, Education and Communication-IEC).
- A stratified review/monitoring mechanism at National, State and District Level.
- At the National level, there will be a Monitoring Committee headed by Cabinet Secretary. State Govt. shall also notify the Monitoring Committees at the State & the District Level.
Exclusion
- There will be exclusion of certain categories of beneficiaries of higher economic strata which will be separately notified by the Government in due course.