Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Monday release the 19th instalment of PM-KISAN scheme, transferring around Rs 22,000 crore directly to bank accounts of 9.8 crore farmers, as part of the government's effort to enhance income of the farming community.
Under this scheme, each beneficiary gets an annual benefit of Rs 6,000, in three equal installments of Rs 2,000 every four months.
Addressing a press conference, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday said, "Prime Minister will release the 19th instalment of PM-KISAN on February 24 at a function in Bhagalpur, Bihar. The amount will be directly credited to bank accounts of eligible farmers." He said a total amount of Rs 22,000 crore will be disbursed to 9.8 crore farmers.
Chouhan said the number of beneficiaries has increased from 9.6 crore in the 18th instalment.
The minister said that the government has disbursed total Rs 3.46 lakh crore so far under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) and the number will rise to Rs 3.68 lakh crore after the release of 19th instalment next week.
The PM-KISAN, launched in February 2019, is the world's largest DBT (direct benefit transfer) scheme and has helped farmers meet their expenses towards purchase of seeds and fertilisers.
Asked about the talks with protesting farmers in Punjab, Chouhan said the government has been holding talks with the farming community and will continue to do so.
He said the government is committed to increasing production, reduce input cost, enhance farmers' income from their produce and encourage natural farming.
Chouhan said the Congress party talks a lot about farmers welfare but it never gave any direct financial assistance to farmers when they were in power.
Elaborating on the event at Bhagalpur, Chouhan said around 2.5 crore farmers are expected to participate physically and virtually.
He said Bihar Governor, Chief Minister and the central ministers belonging to the state will also attend the event.
Chouhan informed that the Prime Minister will also inaugurate a dairy processing unit being established at Barauni and a centre of excellence under Gokul Mission, besides a couple of rail projects in the state.
The minister said the release of 19th instalment from Bhagalpur should not be linked to upcoming assembly election in Bihar. He added that the Prime Minister has been releasing the instalments from different states.
Chouhan said that he will be meeting Makhana farmers at Darbhanga on February 23 to understand the problems faced by them. He said the Makhana Board proposed in this year's Budget will be soon established.
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