A Support Of Six Thousand

 Recently, the Government of India launched a new initiative intended to benefit the farmers of our nation. This scheme is known as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi and is to ensure that the small Indian farmers, especially the ones in the rural areas will be provided with a certain amount of money as financial support given to them by the government every year. Indian agriculture sector makes up for 18 per cent of India's gross domestic product (GDP) and offers employment to 50% of the country's workforce. India is a largely agrarian country and even though it is developing, farmers still remain a very important part of our nation. Many of them continue to live below the poverty line, trying their best to make ends meet. With the help of this initiative, about one hundred and twenty million small and marginal Indian farmers  will be benefited. These farmers, who have less than 2 hectares, which is equal to 4.9 acres of land holding, will obtain up to six thousand rupees (which is approximately US $83) per year as minimum income support directly from the government.

 The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme was announced by the current finance minister Piyush Goyal during the 2019 Interim Union Budget of India which took place on the 1st of February 2019. The scheme, which was established during the office of prime minister Narendra Modi, will cost seventy five thousand crore (approximately US $10 billion) per annum and has come into effect from December 2018.

Six thousand rupees per year will be paid to each eligible farmer with the help of three separate instalments of two thousand rupees each. This will be transferred and deposited directly to their bank accounts from the government.

The eligibility criteria for attaining this benefit is as follows: the name and the gender of the land owner should be given in the database along with their social classification, in order to check whether they are a part of the scheduled tribes or scheduled castes. They must also give their Aadhaar number, their bank account number and mobile number as well.

The Janshan Bank Account Number, Aadhaar number and mobile number will help in identifying eligible beneficiaries and distinguishing them from all the fake claimants. The farmers having cultivated land of two hectare or less will be considered as being eligible for this scheme.

This initiative by the government was met with mixed responses and reviews from the opposition and the general public. While some people appreciated that the government was offering some sort of financial aid to the small farmers, many thought the amount provided by the government to them wasn't enough to support their livelihood. Rahul Gandhi opposed by saying that giving farmers Rs.17 per day is an insult to everything they stand and work for. Some farmers say that the aid was too little and too late, instead wanting the government to provide them with minimum support price for their crops.

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