PM Modi to release 11th PM-Kisan instalment worth Rs 20,000 cr even as 51.2 % farmers remain unauthenticated

The Union Agriculture Ministry has stated that out of the 11.28 crore farmers enrolled for PM-Kisan, only 5.51 crore (48.8%) have completed the mandatory e-KYC authentication by May 30, 2022.

Around 5.77 crore farmers, translating to 51.2% of those enrolled, are yet to be authenticated.

Currently, Rs 3,305.4 crore has to be recovered from ineligible farmers across the country.

The last date for the mandatory e-KYC was May 31,2022, but it has been extended to July 31, 2022. Aadhaar and bank account details are required to complete the necessary e-KYC authentication. This information has come to light in responses to queries sought under the Right to Information Act by rights activist Avinandan Jana.

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to release the 11th instalment worth Rs 20,000 crore under the PM-Kisan scheme to over 11 crore farmers on May 31, according to an Agriculture Ministry statement released on Sunday, May 29, 2022. The government has transferred Rs 1.82 lakh crore to farmers under the scheme since 2018 until January 2022.

According to PM-Kisan rules, all landholding farmers' families would be eligible for Rs 6,000 per year per family, payable in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 each quarterly, only if the mandatory e-KYC has been completed. Aadhaar is mandatory to avail benefits under this scheme. However, relaxation has been given for the transfer of the first instalment on the basis of alternate documents for identification.

Earlier this month, Aadhaar-based e-KYC through OTP Authentication was temporarily suspended, but it has been restarted again and the PM-Kisan eligible beneficiaries can update the KYC online through the PM-Kisan website.

According to the latest RTI response, BJP-ruled Assam continues to have the highest number of ineligible farmers, which is currently at 12.39 lakh from whom a whopping Rs 1,033.9 crore has to be recovered. In February 2022, it was reported that in Assam, which has 13.35 lakh ineligible farmers, Rs 768.3 crore had to be recovered.

This is followed by Tamil Nadu with 6.82 lakh ineligible farmers from whom Rs 322.2 crore has to be recovered. In February 2022, Tamil Nadu had 8.3 lakh ineligible farmers, from whom Rs 85 crore had to be recovered. Punjab has 5.83 lakh ineligible farmers from whom Rs 495 crore has to be recovered.

In Uttar Pradesh, the issue is slightly different. The RTI response shows that there are only 79,072 ineligible farmers from whom Rs 98 crore has to be recovered. However, there are 2.07 lakh farmers who are paying income tax from whom Rs 187 crore has to be recovered. Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of income tax payee farmers, followed by Maharashtra at 2.6 lakh income tax payee farmers from whom Rs 222 crore has to be recovered.

The PM-Kisan website states that institutional landholders and farmer families, where at least one member is an income tax payer, are ineligible to become a beneficiary under the PM-Kisan scheme.

This irregularity has been seen in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Telangana too, where the number of income tax payee farmers who have received benefits is higher than the total number of ineligible farmers on the list.