Analysis: PM-KISAN Yojana

Introduction

Farmers are prioritized by governments around the world. In India, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan
Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), a central sector scheme, has been approved by the government
to provide financial support to Small and Marginal landholding farmer families having
cultivable land.

The scheme aims to supplement monetary desires of the farmers in getting different inputs
related to agriculture and allied activities as well as domestic needs to ensure crop health and
correct yields proportionate to the expected financial gain of the farm. With 100% central
funding, an income of Rs. 6000/annum is provided to farmers in three equal instalments of
Rs. 2000 each under this scheme.

Purpose of introducing the scheme

The objective of the scheme is to augment the income of Small and Marginal Farmers
(SMFs). Any farmer who cultivates a land less than 2.0 hectares falls within the ambit of
SMF. It aims to supplement financial needs in procurement of inputs which will help the
farmers in growing healthy crops and attain appropriate yield. In addition to this, the scheme
aims to save the farmers from the clutches of money lenders and ensures that they are able to
farm without any dependence on them. The direct benefit transfer, which is a new concept
introduced by the government, is being furthered by this scheme.

This programme is completely funded by Government of India. Around 8 crore beneficiaries

have been registered for the scheme. The programme was made effective from 1st December
2018 and the first instalment for the period up to 31st March 2019 was paid during this year
itself. This programme entails an annual expenditure of Rs.75, 000 crore. PM-KISAN does
not solely provide assured supplemental monetary benefit to the most vulnerable farmer
families, but tries to also meet their emerging wants particularly before the harvest season.

The scheme is being counted on to pave the way for the farmers to earn and live a respectable
living. Unlike the one time loan waivers, PM KISAN is truly an empowering project
designed for ensuring dignified life for small scale farmers. The scheme in long run will
address the issues such as farmer migration and improve crop intensity.
Salient Features of the Scheme

 The scheme has been given a retrospective application; it has been given effect from
1st December 2018, whereas the cut-off date for determining the eligibility of
beneficiaries under the scheme is 1st February 2019. The benefit is transferred on
account of change in ownership of land.
 Several categories of beneficiaries with higher economic status are not eligible to take
benefit under the scheme. These include all institutional land holders, farmer families
in which one or more members have held or are holding constitutional posts; have
been or are Ministers/State Ministers etc.
 Family for the purpose of the scheme means a family comprising of husband, wife
and minor children. Thus, the number of beneficiaries estimated on the basis of
Agricultural Census 2015-16 data for 2018-19 stands at 12.5 crores after exclusion of
certain higher economic strata.
 For the financial year 2018-19 a total amount of Rs.20,000 crore has been sanctioned
and a vision of Rs. 75,000 crore has been estimated for financial year 2019-20.
 Aadhar is mandatory for availing benefits under the scheme, however there was
exemption and beneficiaries were allowed use alternative document for the first
instalment of FY 2018-19. Additionally, states of Assam, Meghalaya and J&K were
given exemption till 31st March 2020 from mandatory Aadhar.
 The implementation task, except the identification of families, stays with the Centre
for the most part. There is a provision for central level Project Monitoring Unit
(PMUs) and a Monitoring Committee headed by cabinet secretary.
 In case there are land parcels possessed by family members distributed across various
revenue records in the same or different villages, then in such cases land is pooled to
determine the benefits under the scheme. In case of joint holding the profit is
transferred to the bank account of the person in the family with highest quantum of
landholding. If the quantum of arable land held by 2 or more individual members of
the family is the same, then the benefit is transferred to the bank account of the elder
or the eldest, as the case may be, in that particular farmer family
 In few of the North Eastern States, the land proprietorship rights are community based
and it might not be possible to assess the number of Land holder farmers. In such
States an alternate implementation mechanism for eligibility of the farmers has been
developed and approved by the Committee of Union Ministers of Ministry of
 Development of North East Region (DoNER), Ministry of Land Resources, Union
Agriculture Minister and concerned State Chief Ministers or their Ministerial
representative, based on the proposal by the concerned North Eastern States.
 There exists a stratified review/monitoring mechanism at National, State and District
Level. At the National level, the Review Committee is headed by Cabinet Secretary.
The States advise the State and District Level Review/Monitoring Committee. The
States additionally notify State and District Level Grievance Redressal Monitoring
Committees to take a look into all the grievances associated with implementation of
the scheme. Any grievances or complaints that are received are disposed of on merit
ideally within a period of two weeks.
 A Project Monitoring Unit (PMU) at Central level has been installed in DAC&FW.
This PMU has been tasked with the responsibility of overall observation of the
scheme and is headed by Chief Executive Officer (CEO). PMU shall additionally
undertake promotion campaign (Information, Education and Communication-IEC).

Critical Analysis of the Scheme

PM-KISAN Yojana is the first step towards universal basic income(UBI), UBI is safety
measure against sudden job losses. UBI is a medium which will benefit farmer and boost
productivity which in turn will increase their earning. This will benefit the overall economy
in long run. However, there is another side to the coin too. People getting UBI might use it
for some other purposes rather than using it for the land. For example, UBI may be used for
buying gadgets or some other household stuff and it is highly likely that it will be used for
alcohol consumption.

There are implementation issues as well. There are three period in a year for instalments after
every four months; if a farmer enrols in the middle he will lose out on other instalments. Data
on record shows that people are not aware about the scheme, and that is why this process is
time-consuming. The total enrolment at the end of October, 2019, as per Union Ministry of
Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoAFW), stands at 7.62 crore, whereas the vision was for
12.5 crore farmers. In addition to this, the benefit of the scheme is only available to farmers
who cultivate land up to 2 hectares; the government has missed out on other farmers which
include tenant farmers and landless labours.

Aadhar is yet another boon and bane for the implementation of any direct benefit transfer
scheme in India. Compulsory linking of Aadhar was relaxed till November period of the
scheme, but now the government is pushing hard for its implementation. This means that only
those farmers will be able to avail the benefits of the scheme who have bank accounts and
have linked those accounts with their Aadhar. Though government has made many efforts to
link Aadhar with bank accounts, it is too early to impose such stringent conditions for
farmers, who, we don’t expect to be educated enough to go through the process.

There is a lot PM-KISAN Yojana can borrow from KALIA (Krushak Assistance for
Livelihood and Income augmentation), the scheme launched by Odisha government which
provides Rs 5,000 per SMF, twice a year, that is Rs 10,000 a year, and build on it.

Conclusion

PM KISAN Yojana is undoubtedly a great step in the right direction but it will need
refinement every now and then as any scheme depends more on the authority who
implements it rather than the one who drafts it. The accrual of benefits could be made easier
for the time being i.e. certain documents can be mandatory only after having requisite
infrastructure. The amount of income can be increased slightly – there were talks of
increasing it to Rs. 8,000 but nothing substantial came out of it. Moreover, the mechanism for
registering farmers should be much easier. It has been a year and by this time almost 10 crore
farmers should have been enrolled as opposed to the current 7.62. Lastly, the state
governments should implement it keeping aside the political rivalries, which is a big reason
for the delay in implementation of any scheme.