India undertakes major 'clean up' of PM-Kisan database, 1.72 crore beneficiaries found ineligible

Furthermore, a lack of Aadhaar-verified bank accounts for PM-Kisan fund transfers is a prevalent issue. Sources indicate that the potential number of PM-Kisan beneficiaries could be as high as 9.5 crore, which is 75 lakh more than the current count.

These individuals possess authentic land details and verified Aadhaar information but have not linked their Aadhaar with their bank accounts, meaning they lack an Aadhaar-verified bank account for subsidy transfers. The government intends to include them in the beneficiary list as soon as this gap is addressed.

Sources explain that the PM-Kisan scheme was initially implemented on a “trust based model” wherein individuals were included on self declarations of their land holdings and income status. (As per the eligibility guidelines, all farmer families must have land ownership and Aadhar seeded bank accounts among other important income related guidelines).

However, as the government began verifying the database, it found numerous beneficiaries who did not meet the eligibility guidelines. These discrepancies included incorrect land details, false land declarations, discrepancies in bank account details, and the inclusion of ineligible categories such as pensioners and tax payees.

Meanwhile, states, responsible for identifying farmer families under PM-Kisan, have been asked to recover the transferred money from ineligible beneficiaries. The Centre estimates that out of the total payment of 2.59 lakh crore since PM-Kisan's launch, approximately 6,000 crore, or around 2.3% of the amount, needs to be recovered. States like Bihar and Telangana are among the states that are actively pursuing this recovery effort.