PM-KISAN: Govt releases 21st instalment for farmers in 3 flood-hit states; check details

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday released the 21st instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme to farmers of three states affected by recent floods and landslides.

During a programme held via video conferencing, Chouhan transferred over ₹540 crore directly to the bank accounts of more than 27 lakh farmers in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand.

The programme was attended by MPs, MLAs, senior officials and farmer representatives from the three states, the agriculture ministry said in a statement.

The special instalment of ₹2,000 per beneficiary is to provide immediate relief to farming families grappling with crop losses and damage to livelihoods following heavy rains, floods and landslides in the hill and border states. Of the beneficiaries, about 2.7 lakh are women farmers.

Chouhan said the government stands firmly with farmers in every situation, adding that the support will help them meet household needs, buy seeds and fertilisers for the next sowing cycle and regain confidence to continue cultivation.

He recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the affected states earlier this month, during which relief packages of ₹1,500 crore for Himachal Pradesh, ₹1,600 crore for Punjab and ₹1,200 crore for Uttarakhand were announced, along with ex-gratia assistance for families of the deceased and injured.

With this release, cumulative disbursement under PM-KISAN in the three states has crossed ₹13,626 crore since the scheme’s launch in February 2019.

According to official data, ₹160.21 crore was transferred to 8.01 lakh farmers in Himachal Pradesh, ₹221.98 crore to 11.09 lakh farmers in Punjab and ₹157.83 crore to 7.89 lakh farmers in Uttarakhand in the latest instalment.

PM-KISAN provides income support of ₹6,000 per year in three equal instalments to eligible farmer families to supplement their financial needs for the procurement of inputs and other expenses.