PM Kisan Samman Nidhi is the Government of India’s flagship direct income support scheme for farmers. Launched on 24 February 2019 with retrospective effect from 1 December 2018, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi transfers ₹6,000 per year directly to the bank accounts of eligible farming families in three equal instalments of ₹2,000. PM Kisan Samman Nidhi is the world’s largest agricultural Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) programme by beneficiary count and the most cited example of universal-style farm welfare in India’s policy architecture.
PM Kisan Samman Nidhi was conceived to plug an income gap that price-support schemes and input subsidies could not address — small and marginal farmers who sell little marketable surplus and benefit little from MSP. The scheme has disbursed over ₹3.7 lakh crore since launch and reaches roughly 9.5 crore landholding farmer families as of the 19th instalment in February 2026. This explainer covers the design of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, eligibility and exclusions, the DBT mechanism, latest disbursement data, the delisting controversy, and how it fits into India’s farm-policy mix.
Origin and Launch
The political economy backdrop is important. In late 2018, three state governments — Telangana with Rythu Bandhu, Odisha with KALIA, and Jharkhand with Mukhyamantri Krishi Aashirwad — had rolled out farmer income transfer schemes that broke from input subsidies. Telangana’s Rythu Bandhu, launched in May 2018, paid ₹4,000 per acre per season directly to landholding farmers and proved electorally popular.
The Union Interim Budget on 1 February 2019 announced PM-KISAN with effect from 1 December 2018. The first instalment of ₹2,000 was released on 24 February 2019 from Gorakhpur. The original design covered only small and marginal farmers (less than 2 hectares of cultivable land). On 1 June 2019, after the general election, the scheme was made universal — covering all landholding farmers regardless of holding size, subject to specified exclusions.
How Much, How Often: The Core Design
PM Kisan Samman Nidhi pays a flat ₹6,000 per year in three equal instalments of ₹2,000 each. The instalment cycles are April-July, August-November, and December-March. The funds are released by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare via the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) directly to the farmer’s Aadhaar-linked bank account.
It is fully Centrally Sponsored — 100 per cent funded by the Union government, with no state share. State governments and Union Territory administrations are responsible for identifying eligible beneficiaries, uploading data on the PM-KISAN portal, and verifying bank accounts.
Eligibility Under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi
Eligibility for PM Kisan Samman Nidhi is anchored to land ownership records as on 1 February 2019 (with subsequent updates). Any landholding farmer family — defined as a husband, wife, and minor children who collectively own cultivable land — registered in the land records of the concerned state or Union Territory is eligible, subject to the exclusion list.
The “family” definition is the unit of benefit. Two adult brothers with separate land records but living in one household get one PM-KISAN benefit each, while a joint family with land in one head’s name gets only one benefit.
Who Is Excluded
The exclusion list under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi removes high-income and high-status categories. Excluded persons include: institutional landholders; former and present holders of constitutional posts; former and present ministers, MLAs, MLCs, MPs, mayors, and zila panchayat chairpersons; serving or retired officers and employees of Central or State Government with monthly pension of ₹10,000 or more (excluding Multi-Tasking Staff Group-D); income tax payers in the last assessment year; professionals like doctors, engineers, lawyers, chartered accountants, and architects registered with professional bodies and carrying out the profession by undertaking practices.
The exclusion of income tax payers became politically sensitive. Between 2020 and 2023, more than 80 lakh recipients were delisted after cross-verification with the Income Tax database — see the delisting section below.
The DBT Mechanism
PM Kisan Samman Nidhi uses a direct benefit transfer architecture that has become the template for many later schemes. State and UT governments collect beneficiary data through Common Service Centres and Patwari/Talathi records, upload it to the PM-KISAN portal, and trigger validation through three external systems.
First, the Aadhaar database verifies the farmer’s identity. Second, the NPCI mapper verifies that the Aadhaar number is seeded to a working bank account. Third, the PFMS releases the instalment to that account. Since 2023, e-KYC has been compulsory — beneficiaries must complete biometric or OTP-based e-KYC every year to keep receiving the instalment.
The PM-KISAN mobile app, launched in 2020, lets farmers self-register, check status, link Aadhaar, and update bank details. As of February 2026, more than 5.8 crore farmers have used the app at least once.
Latest Disbursement Data
The 19th instalment of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi was released on 24 February 2026 from Bhagalpur, Bihar, by the Prime Minister. About ₹22,000 crore reached 9.5 crore beneficiaries in a single tranche, taking total disbursement since launch to over ₹3.7 lakh crore.
State-wise, Uttar Pradesh has the largest number of PM-KISAN beneficiaries (about 2.1 crore), followed by Maharashtra (1.1 crore), Madhya Pradesh (88 lakh), Rajasthan (76 lakh), and Bihar (75 lakh). Beneficiary numbers fell from a peak of 11.5 crore in 2021 to 9.5 crore by 2026, mainly because of e-KYC failure, exclusion-criteria delisting, and consolidation of duplicate records.
Coverage by Holding Size
NSSO data and the Agricultural Census show that India has about 14.6 crore operational landholdings, of which 86 per cent are small or marginal. PM Kisan Samman Nidhi reaches close to 65 per cent of these landholdings. The major gap is tenants, sharecroppers, and landless agricultural labourers — none of whom are eligible because the scheme is anchored to land records.
Delisting and Recovery
PM Kisan Samman Nidhi attracted controversy in 2022-23 when the Ministry of Agriculture cross-verified beneficiary data with the Income Tax Department and found that around 54 lakh income-tax-paying farmers had received the instalment. State governments were directed to recover the disbursed amounts — total recovery demand of ₹4,352 crore was raised. By March 2025, recoveries of about ₹2,650 crore had been completed.
A second round of cleaning happened through compulsory e-KYC. About 27 lakh farmers who could not complete e-KYC by the third extension deadline were delisted. State-level scrutiny led to further delisting in Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu.
Critics argue that the recovery and delisting drives have shrunk the scheme below its intended coverage, and that bona fide small farmers have been hit by Aadhaar mismatches and rural connectivity gaps. The Standing Committee on Agriculture (2024) recommended that future delistings be preceded by Gram Sabha verification.
Demand to Enhance the Amount
Several proposals to raise the ₹6,000 yearly amount have been tabled. The Standing Committee on Agriculture (2023) recommended raising the amount to ₹12,000 per year. The Ashok Dalwai Committee on Doubling Farmers’ Income earlier suggested ₹15,000 per landholding farmer with a separate transfer for tenants and landless labourers. The Union Budget 2026-27 retained the ₹6,000 figure but expanded coverage to verified tenant farmers in five pilot states.
States have layered their own programmes on top. Odisha’s KALIA, West Bengal’s Krishak Bandhu, Andhra Pradesh’s YSR Rythu Bharosa, and Telangana’s Rythu Bandhu (now Rythu Bharosa) operate alongside PM-KISAN. In states that run their own programmes, eligible farmers can get both — pushing total income transfers in some states to ₹14,000-₹16,000 per year per family.
Place in the Farm Policy Mix
PM Kisan Samman Nidhi complements rather than replaces other farm-support tools. Minimum Support Price (MSP), the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana for crop insurance, the Kisan Credit Card for working capital, and the input subsidies (fertiliser, power, irrigation) all continue. PM-KISAN adds an income floor that is independent of crop, weather, or market conditions.
PM Kisan Samman Nidhi is also one of the few farm schemes that bypasses the procurement and trader intermediation layer — money lands in the farmer’s account before sowing. The Niti Aayog 2024 evaluation found that 38 per cent of beneficiaries used the instalment for seed and input purchase, 31 per cent for household consumption, and 14 per cent for education and health expenses.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme?
PM Kisan Samman Nidhi is a Central Sector scheme that gives ₹6,000 per year as income support to landholding farmer families in three equal instalments of ₹2,000. It is fully funded by the Centre and delivered through Direct Benefit Transfer to the farmer’s Aadhaar-linked bank account.
When was PM-KISAN launched?
The scheme was launched on 24 February 2019 from Gorakhpur with retrospective effect from 1 December 2018. The first instalment was released on the same day.
Who is eligible for PM Kisan Samman Nidhi?
All landholding farmer families with cultivable land in the state or UT land records are eligible, except for institutional landholders, constitutional post holders, ministers and elected representatives, pensioners with over ₹10,000 monthly pension (except MTS Group-D), income tax payers, and certain registered professionals.
How is the ₹6,000 paid?
The amount is paid in three equal instalments of ₹2,000 each, in April-July, August-November, and December-March. Payments go directly to the Aadhaar-seeded bank account through the Public Financial Management System (PFMS).
What is e-KYC under PM-KISAN and is it compulsory?
e-KYC is the annual identity verification of a PM-KISAN beneficiary through biometric or OTP. Yes, it is mandatory since 2023 — instalments are blocked if e-KYC is not completed for the year. Farmers can do e-KYC on the PM-KISAN portal, the app, or through Common Service Centres.
Are tenant farmers and landless labourers eligible for PM-KISAN?
No, the scheme is anchored to land ownership records. Tenant farmers, sharecroppers, and landless agricultural labourers are excluded under the original design. A pilot to cover verified tenants in five states began in 2026-27.
Why are some beneficiaries being delisted?
Beneficiaries are delisted for three reasons — being income tax payers in the last assessment year, failing the annual e-KYC, or being found ineligible under the exclusion list during state-level verification. About 81 lakh beneficiaries have been delisted between 2022 and 2026.
How is PM-KISAN different from MSP?
PM Kisan Samman Nidhi is a fixed income transfer not linked to any crop or market price. MSP is a procurement price for specific crops at harvest time. PM-KISAN benefits even farmers who do not sell their produce; MSP benefits only those who sell to procurement agencies.
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