New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today electronically transferred Rs 17,100 crores to the bank accounts of over 8.5 crore farmers as part of the PM-KISAN scheme, aimed at providing direct support of ₹ 6,000 annually to them.

The amount was part of the sixth installment of the scheme launched in 2018. The government claims to have provided a direct cash benefit of over Rs 90,000 crore to more than 10 crore farmers as part of the scheme.

“Rs 17,000 crores of PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi have been deposited into bank accounts of 8.5 crore farmers with a single click. No middlemen or commission, it went straight to farmers. I am satisfied because the objective of the scheme is being fulfilled,” PM Modi said during the launch of a financing facility for farmers.

The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund — with a capital of Rs 1 lakh crore — was launched by the Prime Minister through a video conference which was attended by lakhs of farmers, cooperatives, and citizens across the country. The Fund aims to catalyze the creation of post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets such as cold storage, collection centres and processing units. These assets will enable farmers to get greater value for their produce, as they will be able to store and sell at higher prices, reduce wastage, and increase processing and value addition, the government said.

The first sanction of over Rs 1,000 crore was made to over 2,280 farmers under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund today, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

Under the PM-KISAN scheme, each farmer receives up to ₹ 6,000 per year as minimum income support and the scheme is totally funded by the central government.

The funds are being directly transferred into the Aadhaar authenticated beneficiaries’ bank account to prevent leakage and increase convenience for farmers.

The scheme has also been instrumental in supporting farmers during the Covid-19 pandemic, through the release of nearly Rs 22,000 Crore to aid the farmers during the lockdown period, the government said.

Over 9 crore farmers have registered themselves under the scheme between December 2018 and November 2019, it said. Of these, 7.62 crore or 84 per cent of farmers have received the first installment.

The money through the second installment was given to nearly 6.5 crore farmers and the amount under the third installment was given to 3.85 crore beneficiaries, according to the data received in response to an RTI query.

The data of beneficiaries so uploaded by them undergoes a multi-level verification, including by banks, and only then the amount is released to the beneficiary, it said, adding that www.pmkisan.gov.in website can be accessed to get more details on the operational guidelines of the scheme.