An increase in the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi amount to ₹9,000 would be a very legitimate ask for the farmers, said Dr. KV Subramanian, Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and former Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India. His comments come with just two days left for the interim budget by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2024.
Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Subramanian highlighted that the government had announced ₹6,000 as the minimum income support for farmers five years ago. The former CEA suggested an increase of 30–40% in the income support price for the farmers, taking into account the 5-6% average inflation in these five years.
Subramanian said, "If we take an average inflation of about 5 to 6%, then you know, over a five-year period, it is a 30–40% increase, which will translate into about ₹2,000 to ₹3000. So, ₹9,000 in real terms will be similar to ₹6,000 five years ago. So that's a very legitimate ask."
"I mentioned that because the PM KISAN takes care of some of the tail risks, it will bring in investment, and that has happened," Subramanian added.
He further added that the government should increase agricultural insurance to prevent tail risks for farmers. This will increase the investment and hence improve the productivity of farmers, which is critical.
Moreover, praising India’s public digital infrastructure, Subramanian said that the world admires it because it provides the opportunity to create inclusive growth through targeted interventions in welfare programs.
In FY2023–24, as many as 8,56,62,473 farmers have received the benefits under the scheme until July 31, 2023. The number of beneficiaries stood at 10,71,63,605 in the fiscal ended March 2023, as a total amount of ₹58,201.85 crores was disbursed to eligible beneficiaries.
The government is likely to release the 16th instalment of the PM-KISAN scheme between February 2024 and March 2024. However, there is no official announcement regarding this.
The central government released the 15th instalment of the scheme on November 15, 2023.
(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)
First Published: Jan 29, 2024 9:09 PM IST
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