“Guarantee of both income and security for farmers”: Union Agriculture Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan tells in Lok Sabha
Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare informed the Lok Sabha that the government has accorded highest priority to farmers' income and security t...
What Happened
- Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare informed the Lok Sabha that the government has accorded highest priority to farmers' income and security through a multi-pronged approach.
- The 22nd instalment of PM-KISAN was released on March 13, 2026, disbursing over ₹18,640 crore directly into the bank accounts of more than 9.32 crore farmer families via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loan limit will be raised from ₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakh, with RBI releasing draft guidelines for expanded scope of the KCC scheme.
- The government cited PM-KISAN, KCC, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), and Pradhan Mantri Kisan MaanDhan Yojana (PM-KMY) as the four pillars of its farmer welfare framework.
Static Topic Bridges
PM-KISAN: Direct Benefit Transfer for Agricultural Income Support
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) was launched on February 24, 2019, and provides income support of ₹6,000 per year to all landholding farmer families, paid in three equal instalments of ₹2,000 each directly into bank accounts via DBT. The scheme covers husband, wife, and minor children owning cultivable land as identified through state/UT land records. Excluded categories include institutional landholders, income-tax payers, government officials, and high-income pensioners.
- Launch: February 24, 2019, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh
- Total disbursed since inception: over ₹3.69 lakh crore across 22 instalments (as of March 2026)
- 22nd instalment (March 13, 2026): ₹18,640 crore to 9.32 crore families
- Delivery mechanism: Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) — eliminates intermediaries
- Eligibility: All landholding farmer families per state land records; income-tax filers excluded
Connection to this news: The Agriculture Minister's Lok Sabha statement was in the context of PM-KISAN's 22nd instalment release, underscoring DBT as a core delivery mechanism for farmer income security.
Kisan Credit Card (KCC): Short-Term Agricultural Credit
The Kisan Credit Card scheme, introduced in 1998–99 on the recommendation of the Nayak Committee, provides farmers with flexible, revolving credit for agricultural inputs, post-harvest expenses, and allied activities. The scheme is implemented through commercial banks, regional rural banks (RRBs), and cooperative banks. The Union Budget 2025–26 proposed raising the KCC limit from ₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakh to account for rising input costs; RBI has released draft guidelines to modernise and expand KCC scope.
- Introduced: 1998–99 (Nayak Committee recommendation)
- Current limit (pre-revision): ₹3 lakh; proposed revised limit: ₹5 lakh
- Coverage: Short-term credit needs for crop cultivation, post-harvest, allied activities, and consumption
- Interest subvention: Government provides 2% subvention on KCC loans up to ₹3 lakh; additional 3% incentive for prompt repayment (effective rate: 4%)
- Expanded to fishermen and animal husbandry farmers in recent years
Connection to this news: The KCC limit hike announced by Finance Minister Sitharaman forms a direct part of the "income security" measures cited by the Agriculture Minister in Lok Sabha.
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY): Crop Insurance Architecture
PMFBY, launched in 2016 replacing the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme, provides comprehensive crop insurance against yield losses due to non-preventable natural risks. The premium structure places a ceiling on farmer contribution — maximum 2% for kharif crops, 1.5% for rabi crops, and 5% for commercial/horticultural crops — with the balance shared between Centre and states. Actuarial-based premiums ensure scheme financial sustainability. The Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) runs in parallel for weather-linked payouts.
- Launched: 2016 (replaced NAIS and Modified NAIS)
- Premium caps: 2% (kharif), 1.5% (rabi), 5% (commercial crops)
- Claims settled: Over ₹1.55 lakh crore to farmers since inception
- Technology integration: Remote sensing, drone-based crop cutting experiments, WINDS portal
- Voluntary for non-loanee farmers since 2020 (was mandatory for KCC/crop loan borrowers earlier)
Connection to this news: PMFBY constitutes the "security" dimension of the government's twin objective of income and security for farmers, referenced alongside PM-KISAN and KCC in the ministerial statement.
Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT): Leakage Elimination in Welfare
DBT is a reform architecture introduced in 2013 that routes government scheme benefits directly into beneficiaries' Aadhaar-linked bank accounts, eliminating intermediaries and reducing leakage. The JAM trinity — Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar, Mobile — provides the underlying infrastructure. PM-KISAN is one of the flagship DBT schemes and has become a model for direct income transfer globally.
- DBT Mission established under Cabinet Secretariat (2013)
- JAM Trinity: Jan Dhan (57.78 crore accounts as of 2026), Aadhaar (universal coverage), Mobile (UPI-linked)
- Estimated savings: DBT saved over ₹3.48 lakh crore in leakage across all schemes since 2014
- PM-KISAN uses e-KYC + Aadhaar seeding for beneficiary verification
Connection to this news: The minister's emphasis on DBT-based delivery of PM-KISAN is central to the government's argument that welfare reaches farmers without diversion.
Key Facts & Data
- PM-KISAN 22nd instalment: ₹18,640 crore to 9.32 crore farmers (March 13, 2026)
- Total PM-KISAN disbursement since 2019: over ₹3.69 lakh crore
- KCC loan limit to be raised: ₹3 lakh → ₹5 lakh
- PMFBY claims paid since inception: over ₹1.55 lakh crore
- PM-KISAN annual support: ₹6,000 per farmer family in three instalments of ₹2,000
- Excluded from PM-KISAN: income-tax payers, government employees, institutional landholders