The Indian government has successfully recovered ₹335 crore from non-farmers and ineligible individuals who wrongfully availed benefits under the PM-Kisan scheme. The announcement was made in Parliament on Wednesday, following an extensive verification process of beneficiary data.
About the PM-KISAN Scheme
The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) is a scheme providing financial assistance to farmers across India. Launched on February 24, 2019, the scheme provides ₹6,000 annual income benefit to eligible farming families. The amount is payable in three equal installments of ₹2,000 every four months.
The eligibility criteria for the scheme state that any land-owning farming household can register itself, subject to fulfilling the guidelines. However, some exclusions apply in the form of income-tax payers, government employees, elected representatives, and pensioners receiving ₹10,000 or more per month.
Ensuring Transparency in Beneficiary Selection in PM-Kisan Scheme
Union Minister of State for Agriculture Bhagirath Chaudhary, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, emphasized that the government is committed to keeping all processes absolutely transparent in the registering and verifying of beneficiaries.
“Maintaining absolute transparency in registering and verifying beneficiaries, the Government of India has disbursed over ₹3.46 lakh crore in 18 instalments so far,” he said.
The system was initially based on trust, where states registered beneficiaries based on self-certification, but the process has since evolved with the incorporation of technologically advanced systems to minimize discrepancies.
Technological Upgrades and Verification
Over time, the government introduced several technological measures to ensure the accuracy of beneficiary data. These include:
- Integration with public financial management systems: This helped streamline the disbursal process.
- Linking land records and income tax data: This step ensured that individuals who did not meet the eligibility criteria were flagged.
- Mandatory Aadhaar seeding and e-KYC: Beneficiaries were required to link their Aadhaar, a 12-digit biometric ID, to their accounts.
Initially, some states were given relaxation in linking Aadhaar due to local challenges. However, as the scheme matured, mandatory Aadhaar integration became a critical step. Land seeding with Aadhaar-based payments further strengthened the verification process.
Recovery of ₹335 Crore
This brought in recoveries amounting to ₹335 crore due to the identification of ineligible beneficiaries. The recoveries were made through collaborative efforts between the central government and various state governments.
These were funds recovered from those individuals who did not qualify for the scheme under strict eligibility criteria, such as non-farmers and those excluded on income or employment conditions.
