Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday released the 24th instalment of the PM-KISAN scheme from Banaskantha in Gujarat, transferring more than Rs 18,680 crore directly into the bank accounts of over 9.34 crore farmers across the country. The release marks another round of income support under one of the central government’s flagship welfare programmes, and it comes as many cultivators prepare for the next stage of the agricultural season.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, eligible farmer families receive Rs 6,000 a year, paid in three instalments of Rs 2,000 each. The money is transferred directly to beneficiaries’ bank accounts, a design intended to cut out middlemen and ensure that the full amount reaches the intended recipient. Since the scheme began, it has become one of the largest direct benefit transfer programmes in the world, touching farming households in almost every district of the country.
The choice of Banaskantha as the venue for the release is significant. Gujarat’s northern districts are a major agricultural belt, and the event brought together farmers from across the region alongside officials and elected representatives. Such release events have become a regular feature of the PM-KISAN calendar, combining the administrative act of transferring funds with a public interaction between the Prime Minister and the farming community.
For recipient families, the Rs 2,000 instalment may appear modest beside the costs of seeds, fertiliser, diesel and labour, but it is timed to help with precisely those expenses. Farming income is seasonal and uncertain, and a predictable transfer arriving ahead of sowing or harvesting can make a real difference to a household’s cash flow. Over the course of a year, the three instalments together add up to a meaningful supplement, particularly for small and marginal farmers who form the bulk of the scheme’s beneficiaries.
The scale of the transfer is itself a measure of the programme’s reach. More than 9.34 crore farmers receiving money reflects an enrolment base spanning states, languages and cropping patterns, from paddy growers in the east to cotton farmers in the west and horticulturists in the hills. Maintaining accurate beneficiary records at that scale is a substantial undertaking for the states and the Centre.
Direct benefit transfer has also changed the relationship between the state and the farmer. Earlier generations of agricultural support often travelled through layers of administration, with delays and leakages along the way. Under PM-KISAN, the money moves from the central exchequer to the farmer’s account, and beneficiaries can check the status of their payment through official portals and helplines. That transparency has become a central part of the scheme’s appeal.
The release also carries a political message. Agriculture remains the largest source of employment in India, and farmer welfare is a subject on which every government is judged. By releasing the instalment personally and from a farming district, the Prime Minister underlined the priority his government attaches to rural incomes. Opposition parties, meanwhile, continue to argue that income support must be matched by better prices for crops, cheaper inputs and stronger procurement.
As the money reaches bank accounts over the coming days, attention will turn to whether every eligible farmer has received it. Beneficiaries who have not received the instalment are advised to check their status on the official PM-KISAN portal and ensure that their bank details and land records are up to date. For the millions of families who depend on the scheme, the 24th instalment is a reminder that the programme, now several years old, remains a regular and expected part of the agricultural calendar.
