The Centre has flagged 31.01 lakh beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) scheme as “suspected” cases to states and Union Territories, where both husband and wife were receiving cash benefits simultaneously. This was revealed during a massive scrutiny drive undertaken by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. According to sources, of the 31.01 lakh cases, verification of 19.02 lakh beneficiaries is complete. Of these, 17.87 lakh or 93.98 per cent have been confirmed as husband and wife, sources added. The agriculture ministry has now sent letters to states, asking them to complete the verification exercise by October 15. Under the PM-Kisan scheme aimed at supplementing the financial needs of all landholding farmers’ families, an amount of Rs 6,000 per year is released online in three instalments (Rs 2,000 each) by the central government, directly into the bank accounts of the eligible farmers under the direct benefit transfer mode, subject to certain exclusions. The operational guidelines define a landholder farmer’s family as a family comprising “husband, wife and minor children” who owns cultivable land as per the land records of the state/UT concerned. Only one member—husband, wife, or minor children—can avail the PM-Kisan benefit, sources said. The ministry has reportedly identified 1.76 lakh cases where minors and other family members from the same household were receiving the PM-Kisan benefits, The Indian Express has learnt. The ministry has also identified 33.34 lakh suspected cases where previous landowners’ details have been found “invalid or blank”, according to sources. For registered farmers with land transfer after February 1, 2019, the previous landowner’s details must be provided during registration, as per the PM-Kisan norms. The previous landowner should not receive the benefits of the scheme, sources said. However, 8.11 lakh of suspected cases of both previous and current land owners receiving the PM-Kisan benefits have been identified, they added. While mutation through inheritance is allowed under the PM-Kisan, during the scrutiny, 8.83 lakh cases were found, in which the reason of mutation was recorded other than inheritance, as per sources. In recent years, the Centre has taken multiple measures to ensure that the scheme’s benefits reach its intended beneficiaries. For instance, the Centre made Farmer ID mandatory for enrolment of new PM-Kisan beneficiaries from January 1, 2025. Money transferred to more than 9 crore farmers The PM-Kisan scheme was launched on February 24, 2019, just before the Lok Sabha elections. It is a central sector scheme with 100 per cent funding from the Centre. The fund is directly transferred to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the 20th instalment of the PM-KISAN scheme from Varanasi on August 2, 2025. In this round, the PM-Kisan amount was transferred to over 9.7 crore farmers across the country. The government has allocated Rs 63,500 crore for PM-Kisan in the Union budget 2025-26. Recently, a parliamentary panel had recommended doubling the yearly payouts under the PM-Kisan to Rs 12,000 per annum from the present Rs 6,000.
