180 bn deposit via one click

Using the mobile app, farmers can register themselves and know the status of their registration and payments:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, through video conference, has released the 7th instalment of financial benefits under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi. The Prime Minister said `180 billion have been deposited directly in the bank accounts of more than 90 million farmer families in the country at the click of a button. Ever since this scheme started, more than `1.10 trillion have reached the accounts of farmers, ensuring good governance is used through technology. No commission, no cuts, no rigging. The scheme has also ensured that there is no leakage.

The state has to certify the beneficiary based on a self-declaration. A Project Monitoring Unit (PMUs) is set up as a registered society, called the National Farmers’ Welfare Data Management Society. A high-level committee, comprising the Finance Minister, Agriculture Minister and Land Resources Minister makes necessary modifications in the scheme.

Many measures are being taken up by the government to reach the benefits to all the eligible beneficiaries under the scheme. To broaden the reach further, the PM-KISAN mobile app, designed and developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC), has been launched by the government. Using the mobile app, farmers can register themselves, know the status about their registrations and payments, correct names as per Aadhaar, know about the scheme and dial helpline numbers.

If a beneficiary of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme has not received the amount in his bank account, but the account is showing Fund Transfer Order, one need not worry. This means that the information provided by the beneficiary has been verified by the government and money will be credited into the account soon. When RFT (Request Fund Transfer) message is displaying on the bank account, it means that the information one has sent has been checked by the government and it has been sent for further processing, thus implying that money will be credited into the account.

T h e Pr i me Mini s t e r said the government has added more than a thousand agricultural mandis of the country online. Among them, these mandis have traded more than `1 trillion. The farmers have started selling online. The government worked towards forming groups of small farmers so that they can work as a collective force in their region. Today, a campaign is underway to form more than 10,000 Farmers Producer Organizations (FPOs) in the country, and these are being given financial help.

INTEGRATION WITH BANKS

The DBT process under the PM-KISAN scheme is being done through the Public Finance Management System (PFMS), a web-based payment platform, and the MIS IT application of the Government of India administered by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), Ministry of Finance. The DBT process through PFMS ensures digitally authenticated payments, without any manual inter vention, directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries in a transparent manner and without any delay. The integration of PFMS with about 273 banks enables validation of bank account details of beneficiaries before making payments directly into their bank accounts. All DBT payments are being done through PFMS.

PENSION FOR FARMERS

Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maandhan Yojana is a government scheme meant for old age protection and social security of small and marginal farmers and all small and marginal farmers having cultivable landholding of up to 2 hectares, falling in the age group of 18-40 years and whose names appear in the land records of states/ UTs as on 1 August 2019 are eligible to get the benefits under the scheme. He/ she should possess Aadhaar card and savings bank account / PM- KISAN account.

Under this scheme, the farmers would receive a minimum assured pension of `3000 per month after attaining the age of 60 years and if the farmer dies, the spouse shall be entitled to receive 50% of the pension as family pension.

On the maturity of the scheme, an individual is entitled to obtain a monthly pension of `3000. The pension amount helps pension holders to meet their financial requirements. The applicants in the age group of 18 - 40 years have to make monthly contributions ranging between `55 and `200 per month till they attain the age of 60. Once the applicant attains the age of 60, he/she can claim the pension amount. Every month a fixed pension amount gets deposited in the pension account of the respective individual.

Some 21,08,444 farmers have already enrolled under the scheme as of 27 December 2020.