PM-KISAN fund allocation likely to be cut by 20%: Report

The fund allocation for the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme will likely be trimmed the next fiscal year, according to a report by The Economic Times.

In FY20, the amount allocated to PM-KISAN was Rs 75,000 crore, but the agriculture ministry has sought Rs 60,000 crore for 2020-21, the report said.

The reason behind the cut in funds allocation for FY21 is that some states have delayed identifying beneficiaries, and several farmers are not yet not verified by Aadhaar, the report said.

The scheme, which came into effect in December 2018, provides Rs 6,000 per year to farmer families across India.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the story.

The government has so far distributed only Rs 44,000 crore under the scheme in 2019-20, Business Standard reported.

The ministry has also revised its budget estimate for the scheme after West Bengal refused to participate and did not identify any beneficiaries.

“We have asked for a more realistic budget based on our existing database and potential beneficiaries,” an official told the publication.

The official added the ministry relies on state governments to identify beneficiaries so that they can disburse instalments accordingly.

“States are not keeping pace with our speed. Therefore, we are lagging a bit,” the official added.