PM-KISAN: Income Support and Agricultural Welfare

TOPIC CLASSIFICATION

Subject: Governance | Topic: Agriculture Welfare Schemes Sub-topic: PM-KISAN, Direct Income Support, DBT in Agriculture Prelims Focus: Scheme details — launch year, financial outlay, beneficiary criteria, nodal ministry Mains Focus: Impact on farmer incomes, shortcomings, interlinkage with MSP and PM-AASHA

EXAMINER REASONING

PM-KISAN (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi) is a flagship direct income support scheme for farmers. UPSC tests its design features in Prelims and evaluative aspects in Mains — whether income support is more effective than price support (MSP), fiscal sustainability, and its role in agricultural distress mitigation.

Core Concept

PM-KISAN was launched in February 2019 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare. It provides income support of ₹6,000 per year to all landholder farmer families, paid in three equal instalments of ₹2,000 every four months via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

Eligibility Criteria

Implementation Mechanism

• DBT Pipeline: Funds transferred via PFMS (Public Financial Management System) directly to Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts.