15th installment of PM Kisan to be released on November 15, Opposition questions timing

The Opposition has alleged that the instalment was deliberately delayed to coincide with the ongoing Assembly elections to five States and it was a violation of the model code of conduct

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release the 15th instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme at a function to be held in Jharkhand on Wednesday. The Opposition has alleged that the instalment was deliberately delayed to coincide with the ongoing Assembly elections to five States and it was a violation of the model code of conduct.

The Union Agriculture Ministry said in a release on Tuesday that Mr. Modi would release the money during the ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas’ to recognise the efforts of the tribals in the preservation of cultural heritage and promotion of Indian values of national pride, valour, and hospitality. Over eight crore farmers will receive an amount of more than ₹18,000 crore — ₹2000 each — in this installment of the BJP’s pet scheme.

Also read: Budget 2023 | Changes in allocation for key schemes including MGNREGS, PM-Kisan, Ayushman Bharat

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh told The Hindu that the Prime Minister may argue that this was an ongoing scheme but it definitely violated the spirit of the model code of conduct. He pointed out that instalments of similar quarters in 2022, 2021 and 2020 were released on October 17, August 9 and August 1 respectively. “The date of release of 15th instalment was deliberately delayed to coincide with the elections,” he claimed.

According to the Centre, as of July this year, 83,70,263 beneficiaries from Madhya Pradesh, 63,98,381 farmers from Rajasthan, 21,70,541 from Chhattisgarh, 31,15,499 beneficiaries from Telangana and 92,520 were registered under the scheme. A senior Ministry official said since it was an ongoing scheme, there were no restrictions on distributing PM Kisan Nidhi among farmers in poll-bound States.

The Ministry added in the release that the total amount transferred to the beneficiaries since the inception of the scheme was expected to cross well over ₹2.80 lakh crore. “This financial assistance will support farmers in meeting their agricultural and other incidental needs,” the release said, adding that PM Kisan was one of the world’s largest Direct Benefit Transfer schemes.

“A flagship scheme of the Government of India, it exemplifies the continued commitment of the Government of India to initiate policy actions for an inclusive and productive agricultural sector,” the Ministry said. “Financial benefit of ₹6,000 per year in three equal instalments, every four months, is transferred into the bank accounts of farmers’ families across the country through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode,” it added.