Port Blair, June 22: The Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, launched the PM-Kisan mobile app, which incorporates the face authentication feature, as part of the ambitious ‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi’ scheme to provide income assistance to farmers. The app exemplifies the implementation of cutting-edge technology, where farmers can conveniently complete their e-KYC remotely, from the comfort of their homes, without the need for OTP or fingerprints. Moreover, it enables farmers to assist up to 100 other farmers in completing their e-KYC process at their respective homes. Acknowledging the significance of mandatory e-KYC completion, the Government of India has expanded the capability to State Government officials to carry out e-KYC for 500 farmers each.
The event held at the Agriculture Building in New Delhi witnessed the virtual participation of thousands of farmers from agricultural science centers across the country, as well as officials from central and State Governments, and representatives from various Government agencies and agricultural organizations. On this occasion, Union Minister, Shri Tomar stated that the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi is an extensive and ambitious scheme of the Government of India, and the State Governments have diligently fulfilled their roles in its implementation. As a result, we have been able to provide installment payments of the scheme to nearly 8 crore farmers after the completion of the KYC process. The more refined this platform becomes, the more it will contribute to the PM-Kisan's work, and whenever there is a need to provide benefits to farmers, both the central and State Governments will have access to complete data, which will prevent any difficulties from arising.
Shri Tomar stated that PM-Kisan is a revolutionary scheme that allows the central government to provide benefits to farmers without any intermediaries. Today, it has become possible to provide benefits to farmers in such a large number through the use of technology. No questions can be raised about the implementation of this entire scheme, which is a significant achievement. The Indian Government has simplified the process through the app it has created using technology. The Government has made all the necessary facilities available to the States, and now if the States work faster, we will reach all the beneficiaries and achieve the set targets.
Union Minister, Shri Tomar said that Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has consistently appealed that if sufficient funds are available for the scheme, we should reach the saturation point. Work is underway in various States in this direction, including Uttar Pradesh, and once it is completed quickly, a maximum number of eligible farmers will receive the 14th installment of the scheme. Shri Tomar requested all State Governments to actively participate in this matter.
In the program, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, Shri Kailash Chaudhary, stated that the agriculture sector is benefiting from technology, and the new feature of this app will also provide great convenience to farmers. The Secretary of Agriculture, Shri Manoj Ahuja, also shared his thoughts. Additional Secretary, Shri Pramod Kumar Meharda, explained the features of the app. The program was conducted by the Departments’ Advisor, Shri Manoj Kumar Gupta. On this occasion, some officials from State Governments also shared their experiences related to the benefits of the scheme and the app. Through the participation of youth, efforts will be made to connect more and more farmers to the app and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare will provide certificates based on predefined criteria, to the assisting youth in this regard.
PM-Kisan is one of the largest direct benefit transfer (DBT) schemes in the world, in which farmers receive an annual amount of Rs. 6,000 directly transferred to their bank accounts in three installments linked to their Aadhaar. Over Rs. 2.42 lakh crore has been disbursed to the bank accounts of more than 11 crore farmers, including over 3 crore women. Even during the COVID lockdown, the PM-Kisan scheme proved to be a strong companion for farmers. The scheme has provided direct financial assistance to farmers, ensured essential facilities, and instilled confidence during challenging times. Now, the difficulties related to the Aadhaar authentication and bank account details update on the PM-Kisan portal processes have been resolved with the effective use of digital public goods.
For the first time, it has been observed that payment of the 13th installment of PM-Kisan has been successfully made directly into the bank accounts of more than 8.1 crore farmers through Aadhaar-enabled payment, which is a remarkable achievement in itself. The new app is user-friendly and easily available for download on the Google Play Store. The app will also provide farmers with crucial information related to the scheme and PM-Kisan accounts. It includes a "Know Your Status" module, which allows farmers to access their land records, Aadhaar linking with bank accounts, and e-KYC status. The department has also included India Post Payment Bank (IPPB) for opening bank accounts linked to Aadhaar at the doorsteps of the beneficiaries and has instructed CSC to organize Village-level e-KYC camps with the help of States/UTs.