PM releases fund of over ₹20k-crore
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said he felt the pain people have endured amid the second wave of Covid-19 even as he released the 8th instalment of over ₹20,000 crore to more than 95 million farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (Pm-kisan) scheme via videoconferencing. This is the first instalment of PM Kisan for the financial year 2021-22.
During the session, the Prime Minister also interacted with six farmer beneficiaries from six states -- Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir, and Maharashtra.
Addressing the session, the PM said, “There is an invisible enemy in front of us. We have lost many of our close ones. I can feel the pain that people have endured for some time now.”
In his 23-minute address, the Prime Minister encouraged organic farming and said, “We are promoting organic farming because the cost of such crops is low, they are beneficial for soil and human health, and they also bring a higher price. Organic farming delivers more profit and is now being practised across the nation by young farmers.”
On the occasion, the Prime Minister lauded the efforts of the farmers who have made record produce in food grains and horticulture amid the difficulties during this pandemic. He said Government is also setting new records in procurement at MSP every year.
Paddy procurement at MSP had set new records and now procurement at MSP is also setting new records. He added that so far this year, about 10% more wheat has been procured at MSP, compared to last year. So far, about ₹58,000 crore for wheat procurement has reached the farmers’ account directly.
Prime Minister Modi stressed that during this Covid-19 pandemic, Kisan Credit Card’s (KCC) deadline has been extended and instalments can now be renewed by 30 June. He said more than 20 million Kisan Credit Cards have been issued in recent years. KCC was introduced to ensure that the credit requirements for farmers in the agriculture, fisheries and animal husbandry sector were being met.
Under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, the government transfers ₹6,000 a year to the accounts of small and marginal farmers. This financial assistance comes in three instalments of ₹2,000 each. Until now, ₹ 1.15 lakh crore has been transferred to farmer families under the scheme, a government release issued on Thursday said.