The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, a flagship initiative to provide financial support to land-holding farmers, has been disbursed to over Rs 3.69 lakh crore in 19 installments since its inception in February 2019. The latest installment, the 19th, released on February 24, 2025, benefited more than 10 crore farmers with an amount exceeding Rs 23,000 crore.
The information was provided today by the Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Ramnath Thakur, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
Under the central sector scheme, eligible cultivable land-holding farmers receive a financial benefit of Rs 6,000 annually, transferred in three equal installments directly into their Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode. Eligibility is primarily based on cultivable landholding, with certain exclusions for higher-income individuals, the Ministry stated.
To ensure comprehensive coverage, the central government has consistently undertaken saturation drives in coordination with state governments.
A significant nationwide drive, the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra (VBSY), commenced on November 15, 2023, and successfully brought over 1 crore new farmers under the PM-KISAN umbrella. Further expanding the scheme’s reach, an additional 25 lakh eligible farmers were added as part of the new government’s 100-day initiative.
Moreover, a special drive initiated in September 2024 aimed at clearing pending self-registration cases. As a result, State and Union Territory administrations have approved over 30 lakh such cases to date. These concerted efforts have directly contributed to the over 10 crore farmers receiving the benefits of the 19th installment.
The PM-KISAN portal features a dedicated ‘Farmers Corner’ providing various facilities, including options for farmers to check their beneficiary status and installment payment details. A specific ‘Know Your Status’ functionality further assists farmers in verifying their eligibility and payment status. Farmers can also access these details through their local Common Service Centers.
Recognizing the vast beneficiary base, the scheme has a robust grievance redressal mechanism. A dedicated grievance module on the PM-KISAN Portal allows farmers to raise issues, including non-receipt of funds, which are addressed by State and District-level officials in a time-bound manner. Additionally, farmers can register their grievances through the Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) Portal.
In a move to enhance accessibility and user-friendliness, a voice-based PM-KISAN AI Chatbot, “Kisan e-Mitra,” has been developed. This chatbot provides quick, accurate, and clear responses to farmers’ queries round the clock in their native languages. Accessible across web and mobile platforms, the Kisan e-Mitra Chatbot currently supports 11 languages: English, Hindi, Odia, Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kannada, Telugu, and Marathi.
