Agriculture & FoodImportant2025-10-15

PM Kisan 21st Installment Early Release

In News

What Happened

On October 15, 2025, the Union government released the 21st installment of the PM-KISAN scheme, transferring approximately Rs 18,000 crore to nearly 9 crore farmers. In a strategic policy shift, farmers in states recently hit by floods and landslides, including Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Uttarakhand, received early disbursements. This was executed to provide immediate financial liquidity following the natural calamities.

Why It Matters

This represents a significant evolution in India's targeted welfare delivery, demonstrating how existing digital infrastructure can be adapted for disaster response. By leveraging Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for early releases, the government ensures leak-proof, immediate financial relief for vulnerable agricultural households during crises without waiting for separate disaster fund approvals.

Background

History & Context

The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) is a Central Sector Scheme launched in February 2019 (effective from December 2018) to supplement the financial needs of landholding farmers. Under the scheme, a financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per year is provided in three equal installments. Over the years, the government has mandated Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts and e-KYC verification to eliminate ghost beneficiaries and streamline the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) architecture.

What Changed

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BEFORE: PM-KISAN installments were strictly released on a uniform national schedule for all eligible farmers. NOW: The disbursement timeline is flexible, allowing for early, targeted release of funds to specific regions affected by natural disasters.
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BEFORE: Immediate disaster relief for farmers relied heavily on State Disaster Response Funds (SDRF), which often involved lengthy damage assessment surveys and administrative delays. NOW: Existing DBT frameworks like PM-KISAN are utilized to front-load scheduled welfare payments, providing instant crisis liquidity.
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BEFORE: During the scheme's initial rollout, Aadhaar-seeding was optional to ensure maximum enrollment. NOW: Mandatory Aadhaar-seeded accounts and e-KYC are strictly enforced, enabling precise, instant, and intermediary-free emergency disbursements to verified individuals.

Prelims Angle

NCERT Connection

This connects to Class 11 Economics (Indian Economic Development), Chapter 6: Rural Development. The chapter highlights the critical role of timely agricultural credit and state support for rural livelihoods, which is practically applied here through PM-KISAN's direct income support acting as an adaptive crisis relief mechanism.

Practice Questions

Q1

Correct Statement(s)

Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme? 1. It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme where the funding is shared between the Centre and the States. 2. The financial benefit is transferred directly into the Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts of eligible farmers.

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