PM Modi releases 15th instalment of PM-KISAN, hits out at previous govts

Prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday released the 15th instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme at the ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas’ event in Jharkhand’s Khumti and hit out at the previous regime saying that the basic needs of deprived people were ignored before his government took charge in 2014.

Under the 15th instalment of PM-KISAN, over eight crore farmers will receive an amount of more than ₹18,000 crore, i.e ₹2,000 each.

Modi said, “Before 2014, a large chunk of our population was left devoid of basic facilities and crores of poor people had given up hopes of bettering their lives. The government back then also had a parent like mentality towards people, but we (BJP) acted as people’s servant and worked accordingly….Modi gave such deprived people priority because I have lived in such situations and that is why I have come to the land of Birsa Munda today to pay my debt.”

“We (BJP) stood by them (deprived people) and although the bureaucracy, people, files and laws remained the same, we (BJP) changed the mentality and the outcomes also changed,” he added.

The Congress has questioned the timing of the release of the 15th instalment, linking it with the assembly elections in five state.

“The 6th installment of PM-Kisan was released on August 1, 2020. The 9th instalment of PM-Kisan was released on August 9, 2021. The 12th instalment of PM-Kisan was released on October 17, 2022. The 15th instalment under PM-Kisan is coming today i.e. on November 15, 2023. Now when elections are to be held in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh in 2 days, in Rajasthan in 10 days and in Telangana in 15 days, the 15th instalment is being released today. Is this delay not intentional?” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh asked in a post on X.

The PM on Tuesday also launched the ‘Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra’ and Pradhan Mantri Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups Development Mission at the same event.

“Today ‘Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra’ has been flagged off, on the birth anniversary of Birsa Munda. This yatra will continue till 26 January 2024. During this yatra, several schemes will reach all the eligible. Preparations will be done for this,” Modi said.

“It is a matter of disappointment that post-Independence tribal reformers were not given equal justice but we (Centre/BJP) celebrated and remembered them under the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, while commemorating the 75th year of Independence,” he added.

PM also emphasised on the need to develop the nation in the next 25 years and strengthen its four “immortal pillars” (Amrit Stambh. “The four ‘Amrit Stambha’ of developed India are women of the country, farmers of the country, youths of the country and neo-middle class and poor people of the country. The nation will be developed when all these four pillars are developed. The amount of work which has been done in the past 10 years to develop these ‘Amrit Stambha’ was never done before,” he said.

PM-KISAN, a flagship scheme of the central government is also one of the world’s largest Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes under the Agriculture & Farmers Welfare ministry. It was launched on February 24, 2019, to supplement the financial needs of all land-holding farmers subject to certain exclusion criteria of higher income status. Under the scheme, the government provides income support of ₹6,000 a year to farmers with a valid enrolment, paid in three equal cash transfers of ₹2,000—one every four months

For the release of the 15th instalment, eKYC and seeding of Aadhaar with active bank accounts are mandatory to ensure that the benefit is released to the genuine beneficiaries directly into their Aadhaar linked bank accounts without any involvement of middlemen.