GOA
- Only 50% farmers to benefit from PM-KISAN Scheme
- Nearly 50 per cent of registered farmers in the state will benefit from the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme launched in Budget 2019, under which Rs 6,000 per year is paid as minimum income support to farmers.
- According to the agriculture department, the state has 35,000 registered farmers, which puts the percentage of farmers suitable under PM-KISAN at 47 per cent.
- Although the average land holding of farmers in the state is less than 1.5 hectares, according to Census 2011, Kelkar said that the scheme’s eligibility criteria of excluding farmers with multiple land holdings (within a family) has made several farmers ineligible. The scheme also excludes tax-paying and pension receiving farmers and those who are government servants, MLAs, panchayat sarpanch, etc.
- The PM-KISAN Scheme was launched on February 1 2019. Under the scheme, small and marginal farmers will receive Rs 6,000 per year in three installments of Rs 2,000. The scheme came into effect from December 2018 and farmers in some state have already received the first installment of Rs 2,000 in their bank account.
- The PM-KISAN Scheme aims to supplement the financial needs of the small and marginal farmers in procuring various inputs to ensure proper crop health and appropriate yields, commensurate with the anticipated farm income at the end of each crop cycle. This would also protect them from falling in the clutches of moneylenders for meeting cultivation expenses and ensure their continuance in the farming activities.