PIB TrackerPM-KISAN extended to 2031 with ₹3.15 lakh crore
The Cabinet approved continuing the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi from 2026-27 to 2030-31 with a ₹3.15-lakh-crore outlay — the ₹6,000-a-year income-support transfer that has already moved over ₹4.47 lakh crore to farmers across 23 instalments.
What happened
- The Cabinet approved PM-KISAN's continuation from 2026-27 to 2030-31.
- The outlay is ₹3.15 lakh crore for the period.
- The scheme (launched February 2019) gives ₹6,000 per year in three instalments.
- Over ₹4.47 lakh crore has been transferred through 23 instalments.
- It runs on Aadhaar authentication, digital verification and DBT.
For Prelims
- PM-KISAN: Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, launched February 2019 — a Central Sector Scheme (100% central funding).
- Benefit: ₹6,000/year per eligible landholding farmer family, in three ₹2,000 instalments.
- Continuation: 2026-27 to 2030-31 with an outlay of ₹3.15 lakh crore.
- Achievement: over ₹4.47 lakh crore transferred via 23 instalments.
- Delivery rails: Aadhaar authentication, e-KYC, land-record linkage and DBT (now with the Digital Farmer ID).
- Gap: the landholding criterion excludes many tenant farmers and landless agricultural labourers.
For UPSC: A core agriculture-and-welfare item. Use it for direct income support versus input subsidies, DBT and leakage reduction, the exclusion of tenant and landless farmers, and the fiscal arithmetic of farm welfare.
What it is NOT: This is continuation of an existing income-support scheme at the same ₹6,000 annual benefit — not an increase in the per-farmer amount or a new scheme.
For Mains
Syllabus: GS3.4 · GS2.10 · Linkage L2
Anchor
A predictable income floor for the farm household, extended for another five years.
Substantiation (data)
₹3.15 lakh crore for 2026-31; ₹6,000 a year in three instalments; over ₹4.47 lakh crore already transferred across 23 instalments.
Exemplification
Aadhaar authentication, e-KYC and DBT made PM-KISAN a template for leak-resistant welfare transfer.
Problematisation
The landholding criterion leaves out tenant farmers and landless labourers, and a flat ₹6,000 has eroded in real terms since 2019.
Way-forward
Explore inclusion of tenants via land-record and Agri Stack reform, and periodically index the transfer to inflation.
Position
Direct income support is efficient and dignity-preserving — but it must reach the cultivator, not only the landowner.
Deploys into: Agriculture + government policies (GS3.4, GS2.10) · direct income support versus subsidies, DBT and Aadhaar-based delivery, and the tenant-farmer exclusion problem.
Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare · 2026-07-31 · PRID 2292437 · PIB source ↗