The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) is a central-sector scheme—fully funded by the Union Government with 100% financing from the Government of India—launched on 24 February 2019 at Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, with effect retrospectively from 1 December 2018. It provides income support of ₹6,000 per annum to all landholding farmer families, disbursed in three equal four-monthly instalments of ₹2,000 each, credited directly to beneficiaries' bank accounts through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) architecture. The scheme is administered by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. At inception the benefit was confined to small and marginal farmers holding up to 2 hectares, but on 1 June 2019 the Union Cabinet extended coverage to all landholding farmer families irrespective of the size of holding, subject to exclusion criteria.
The operational unit is the "family," defined as husband, wife and minor children, and eligibility is determined on the basis of land records. The identification of beneficiaries is the responsibility of State and Union Territory governments, with Aadhaar seeding made mandatory for the release of funds—a feature that links the scheme to the JAM (Jan Dhan–Aadhaar–Mobile) trinity for plugging leakages. Several exclusion categories apply: institutional landholders; constitutional post-holders; serving or retired officers and employees of government and PSUs; income-tax payers in the last assessment year; and professionals such as doctors, engineers, lawyers and chartered accountants who are practising. The scheme is monitored through the PM-KISAN portal, and e-KYC (including face-authentication and OTP-based verification) has been made compulsory to weed out ineligible and fraudulent beneficiaries; large numbers of ineligible recipients were de-registered and recovery initiated.
PM-KISAN is the world's largest DBT-based income-support programme, covering over 11 crore farmers, and is frequently cited as a model of quasi-universal basic income for agriculture. It complements—but is distinct from—rythu-style state schemes such as Telangana's Rythu Bandhu and Odisha's KALIA, which inspired its design. The scheme is linked to the PM Kisan Maandhan Yojana (a pension scheme for farmers) and to the Kisan Credit Card saturation drive. As of 2026, instalments continue to be released periodically by the Prime Minister, often through video-conferencing events, with successive instalments (the 19th and 20th tranches having been disbursed in 2025) reflecting the scheme's continuity. Budgetary allocation hovers around ₹60,000 crore annually.
For the examinations, PM-KISAN is tested in UPSC GS Paper III (agriculture, government schemes, DBT) and the Indian Economy paper, as well as in current-affairs sections of CSS, BCS and Guokao-equivalent papers. Typical question angles include: distinguishing a "central-sector" scheme (100% Union-funded) from a "centrally sponsored" scheme (shared funding); the exclusion criteria; the role of Aadhaar and e-KYC; the quantum and instalment structure; and comparison with state income-transfer schemes. Prelims-style questions probe the year of launch, the per-annum amount, and the implementing ministry, while Mains questions assess its efficacy as income support versus input subsidies.
Example
On 24 February 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched PM-KISAN at Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, releasing the first ₹2,000 instalment to over one crore farmers via Direct Benefit Transfer.
Frequently asked questions
PM-KISAN is a central-sector scheme, meaning it is funded 100% by the Government of India with no state contribution. This distinguishes it from centrally sponsored schemes, where costs are shared between the Centre and the states in fixed ratios.