New Delhi, NFAPost: Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ramnath Thakur in a written reply in Lok Sabha stated that via the PM-KISAN scheme, the Central government has disbursed over Rs 4.27 lakh crore in 22 instalments since its inception.
The PM-KISAN scheme is a central sector scheme launched in February 2019 by the Prime Minister to supplement the financial needs of cultivable land-holding farmers.
“Under the scheme, a financial benefit of ₹ 6,000/- per year is transferred in three equal instalments, into the Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts of farmers through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode. During the release of 21st instalment of the PM-Kisan scheme on 19th November, 2025, more than 9.35 crore farmers received the benefit,” said Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ramnath Thakur.
The Minister also pointed out that there have been multiple impact evaluation assessments of the PM-KISAN scheme that highlight its impact on farmers’ income and the rural economy. Their findings are as follows:
(i) An independent study conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in 2019 analysed that the funds provided under PM-KISAN have significantly contributed to rural economic growth, alleviated credit constraints, and increased investments in agricultural inputs. Additionally, the funds have improved farmers’ risk-taking capacity, enabling them to make productive yet riskier investments.
(ii) The Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has also implemented a comprehensive feedback mechanism using Kisan Call Centres (KCC) and its surveys show that more than 93% of the farmers utilising the benefits for agricultural activities.
(iii) The Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO) of NITI Aayog conducted an impact evaluation study on the PM-KISAN scheme. The study’s findings demonstrate that the scheme is successfully fulfilling its primary function of providing direct financial assistance to farmers holding agricultural land, thereby enhancing their economic stability and agricultural productivity.
The study also shows that over 92% of beneficiary farmers utilized the financial assistance for essential agricultural inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides, which are particularly important in the face of rising input costs and weather-related uncertainties.
Additionally, approximately 85% of beneficiary farmers reported an increase in agricultural income, and a significant reduction in reliance on informal credit during crop failures or medical emergencies. This study demonstrates the scheme’s contribution to India’s progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals related to poverty reduction, food security, gender equity, and institutional transparency.
A dedicated ‘Farmers Corner’ has been provided on the PM-KISAN portal where a number of facilities have been provided to farmers, including checking their beneficiary status and instalment payment details. There is an additional functionality i.e. Know Your Status, provided on the portal for the farmers to check their eligibility and payment status. Farmers can also visit their local Common Service Center where they can get their beneficiary status and instalment payment details.
Further, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ramnath Thakur said considering the large beneficiary base of the scheme, to promptly address the general queries and grievances raised by the beneficiaries, a voice-based PM-KISAN AI Chatbot (Kisan e-Mitra) was developed.
“This Chatbot provides quick, accurate, and clear responses to farmers’ queries round the clock in their native languages, making the system more accessible and user-friendly. It is accessible on all platforms such as web, mobile, etc,” said Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ramnath Thakur.
The Kisan eMitra Chatbot currently operates in 11 languages—English, Hindi, Odia, Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kannada, Telugu, and Marathi. So far, over 95 lakh queries of more than 53 lakh farmers have been addressed. This chatbot also provides information about farmers’ beneficiary status and payment details.
Aadhaar Number is mandatory for registration under the PM-Kisan Scheme and all beneficiaries under PM-KISAN are Aadhaar authenticated. Further, all the payments are made through Aadhaar Based Payment System mode directly into the bank account seeded with the beneficiaries’ Aadhaar. The Department regularly conducts focused saturation drives in coordination with States/UTs, Common Service Centres (CSCs) and India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) to facilitate Aadhaar seeding of bank accounts.
