Indian Political CompassGovernment Scheme · Active
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi
Provides Rs 6,000 per year in direct income support to farmer families, paid in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 directly to bank accounts.
What it does
PM-KISAN transfers Rs 2,000 every four months to the bank account of a farmer family. Eligibility is determined by land records. No work or crop condition is attached — it is unconditional income support. The scheme was announced in the 2019 interim budget ahead of general elections and expanded from small and marginal farmers to all farmer families.
Who it covers
All landholding farmer families (with cultivable land), subject to exclusions: income-tax payers, institutional landholders, constitutional post-holders, and current or former government servants earning above Rs 10,000 per month.
Funding
Fully funded by the Central Government. Annual outlay is approximately Rs 60,000 crore. Payments are made via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to Aadhaar-linked bank accounts.
Scale
Over 110 million farmer families registered. Roughly Rs 2.6 lakh crore has been transferred since inception through 2024.
Criticism and debate
Rs 500 per month is considered insufficient given rising input costs. Land record inaccuracies have excluded genuine farmers while including ineligible beneficiaries. State governments have argued the Centre should increase the amount or share funding; several state governments have added top-up schemes (e.g., Telangana's Rythu Bandhu pays Rs 10,000 per acre). The scheme does not cover tenant farmers or sharecroppers who have no land records.
Related schemes
Content is editorial draft pending verification against official scheme guidelines, ministry press releases, and independent evaluations. Last reviewed: 2026-07-02.