In Budget 2024, Nirmala Sitharaman keeps PM-Kisan outlay unchanged at Rs 60,000 crore

In her Budget 2024 speech, Nirmala Sitharaman said direct financial assistance is provided to 11.8 crore farmers under the PM-Kisan Samman Yojana.

The Finance Minister has kept the allocation of the PM-Kisan at Rs 60,000 crore for the financial year 2024-25, which is equal to the budgetary allocation and revised estimates for the current year (2023-24).

Presenting the interim budget for the financial year 2024-25, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday kept unchanged the outlay of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan), its flagship cash transfer scheme, by allocating Rs 60,000 crore for the financial year 2024-25.

Nirmala Sitharaman said direct financial assistance is provided to 11.8 crore farmers under the PM-Kisan. “Farmers are our ‘annadata’. Every year, under PM-Kisan Samman Yojana, direct financial assistance is provided to 11.8 crore farmers, including marginal and small farmers,” she said in her Budget 2024 speech.

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However, the Finance Minister has kept the allocation of the PM-Kisan at Rs 60,000 crore for the financial year 2024-25, which is equal to the budgetary allocation and revised estimates for the current year (2023-24). This is in contrast to her last budget when she had cut the allocation of the PM-Kisan by 13 per cent.

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In the Union Budget 2023-24, an allocation of Rs 60,000 crore was made for the PM-Kisan, which was 13.33 per cent lower than the Budget Estimates (BE) of Rs 68,000 for the financial year 2022-23. In fact, the PM-Kisan allocation was cut to Rs 60,000 crore at the Revived Estimates (RE) stage for the financial year 2022-23. In the financial year 2022-23, the actual expenditure was recorded at Rs 58,254 crore, which was lower as compared to the actual expenditure of Rs 66,825 crore in 2021-22.

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In the latest round of the PM-Kisan, 8.12-crore farmers received their instalments for the four months of August-November 2023. So far, 15 instalments have been released under the PM-Kisan. The instalment for the period December-March, 2023-24 is due from December 1, 2022. Sources say that the amount can be transferred soon.

Under the PM-Kisan scheme, the government provides Rs 6,000 to eligible beneficiary farmer families in a year and the amount is transferred to their bank accounts in three equal four-monthly instalments of Rs 2,000 each.

The NDA government had launched the PM-Kisan from the December-March, 2018-19 period, just ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Harikishan Sharma

Harikishan Sharma, Senior Assistant Editor at The Indian Express' National Bureau, specializes in reporting on governance, policy, and data. He covers the Prime Minister’s Office and pivotal central ministries, such as the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Ministry of Cooperation, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Rural Development, and Ministry of Jal Shakti. His work primarily revolves around reporting and policy analysis. In addition to this, he authors a weekly column titled "STATE-ISTICALLY SPEAKING," which is prominently featured on The Indian Express website. In this column, he immerses readers in narratives deeply rooted in socio-economic, political, and electoral data, providing insightful perspectives on these critical aspects of governance and society. ... Read More

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