Farmers who receive benefits under the PM Kisan scheme must have their bank accounts e-KYC verified by February 10, said an official, according to news agency PTI. A nodal officer of the scheme said it has been made essential for beneficiaries of PM Kisan to complete e-KYC, connect their bank accounts with Aadhaar, and transfer benefits directly to bank accounts by February 10, 2023.
The nodal officer, Meghraj Singh Ratnu, said that the central government had issued directives in this regard, PTI reported.
Ratnu said that by January 2023, 67 per cent of e-KYC and 88 per cent of bank accounts have been linked to Aadhaar by the beneficiaries of this scheme in his state, Rajasthan. He said about 24.45 lakh beneficiaries were yet to get e-KYC done and 1.94 lakh beneficiaries were yet to link their bank accounts with Aadhaar in the state.
He stated that the PM Kisan beneficiary must complete their e-KYC and link their bank accounts with their Aadhaar before February 10. India Post Payments Bank has been authorized for this purpose.
In Budget 2023, the PM Kisan scheme's allotment was reduced from Rs 68,000 crore to Rs 60,000 crore. This year's budget for the programme is the lowest of the previous five years.
According to a report by Mint, there were only 8.42 crore beneficiaries in the most recent 12-installment (Aug.-Nov. 2022) of the scheme compared to the 10.45 crore recipients in the 11th installment, this was a significant decrease (Apr-July 2022).
Launched in 2018, the programme gives eligible farmers Rs 6,000 in three installments of 2,000 each. PM Kisan is a central sector programme that is entirely funded by the Indian government.
On Tuesday, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar informed Parliament that the number of beneficiaries under Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) has increased to 10.45 crore in mid-2022 from 3.16 crore in early 2019, about a 230 per cent rise in the number of beneficiaries.