Enrol new beneficiaries: TS

Agri minister says many farmers losing out on PM Kisan beneficiary

The state government on Thursday urged the Centre to add beneficiaries to the PM Kisan Yojana, noting that the list had not been updated since 2019.

Agriculture minister S. Niranjan Reddy claimed that Telangana’s thousands of farmers were losing out on benefits because the PM Kisan Yojana's beneficiary list had not been updated.

While more than 60 lakh farmers annually benefited from the Rythu Bandhu of the state government, only 35.74 lakh farmers received benefits under the PM Kisan Yojana since the Centre did not include new farmers who had purchased land after 2019. He reminded that the state government was updating beneficiaries list every year ahead of kharif and rabi seasons to extend the benefit.

"The PM Kisan Yojana is extended to those farmers who registered their names till February 1, 2019. Lakhs of farmers purchased lands in the last three years but there is no provision in Centre's scheme to include their names. We were informed that new inclusions will be made only after 2024. This is totally unfair," Reddy said.

He demanded the removal of various restrictions, such as the exclusion of the PM Kisan Yojana from those who pay income taxes, receive pensions of `10,000, hold government jobs, are retired from government service, are doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects, chartered accountants, and others who have registered their names with the appropriate associations.

Reddy stated that Telangana government is extending Rythu Bandhu to all farmers without any restrictions and demanded that the Centre do the same for the farming community. While the Telangana government spends `15,000 crore annually on Rythu Bandhu and `1,500 crore annually on Rythu Bima, Telangana farmers only received `2,200 crore annually from the Centre under the PM Kisan Yojana, Reddy noted.