Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday released the eighth installment of over Rs 19,000 crore to more than 9.5 crore farmer beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme via video-conferencing.
While speaking at the occasion of transferring of the eighth installment under the PM-KISAN, the Prime Minister said that farmers from West Bengal will benefit from the scheme for the first time. "On this auspicious day of Akshaya Tritya, around Rs 19,000 crores have directly been transferred to the banks of farmers. It would benefit close to 10 crore farmers. For the first time, farmers from West Bengal will be benefitted from this scheme," PM Modi said.
PM Modi further lauded the efforts of the country's farmers who, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, created records in agriculture and gardening.
He added that the government had purchased 10 per cent more wheat on minimum support price (MSP) this year.
"Amid the difficult challenges of COVID-19, farmers have made records in agriculture and gardening while the government is also setting new records on procurement on MSP every year. In comparison to last year, 10 per cent more wheat has been purchased on MSP this year," he said.
"The government is constantly striving to provide new solutions, new options in farming. Such efforts are to promote organic farming. The cost of such crops is also low, they are beneficial for the soil, are healthy, and can fetch a higher price," he added.
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who was present on the occasion, said West bengal has joined the scheme with more than 7 lakh farmers of the state getting the benefit today.
Under the PM-KISAN scheme, a financial benefit of Rs. 6,000- per year is provided to the eligible beneficiary farmer families, payable in three equal 4-monthly installments of Rs.2000 each.
The fund is transferred directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. In this scheme, Samman Rashi of over Rs. 1.15 lakh crores has been transferred to farmer families so far.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
