PM-KISAN

Story hook

It is 18 June 2024. PM Modi sits in Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, surrounded by 12 farmers from across India — each representing a state. With a click of a button, ₹20,000 crore is transferred — directly + simultaneously — to the bank accounts of 9.26 crore farmers. This is the 17th installment of PM-KISAN — the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi — the world's largest cash-transfer scheme to farmers.

In the audience, a small farmer from Yavatmal, Maharashtra, Sahebrao Karbhari, checks his Jan Dhan account on his Reliance JioPhone. ₹2,000 credited from PFMS (Public Financial Management System). He has six acres of cotton + soybean; this is his 17th such transfer since December 2018. Over six years, he has received ₹34,000 — modest but reliable. In 2024, he also has a Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loan of ₹1.85 lakh at effective 4% per annum thanks to the Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS) — Centre subsidises the bank to lend at 4% instead of the commercial 9%.

PM-KISAN + MISS + KCC together form the "income + credit triumvirate" of Indian agricultural support — alongside MSP procurement, crop insurance, irrigation. Cumulatively, since their launch:

• PM-KISAN: ₹3.24 lakh crore disbursed across 17 installments to ~11 crore farmers.
• KCC: 7.4 crore active accounts; cumulative credit limit ~₹10 lakh crore.
• MISS: ₹16,000-17,000 crore annual outlay subsidising agricultural credit to 90%+ of cardholders.

What does it cost to keep an Indian farmer financially afloat — and is the price worth the politics?

Why this matters for UPSC

PM-KISAN + KCC + MISS are standard GS-III topics — UPSC Prelims has tested PM-KISAN (2019, 2022, 2024), KCC (2017, 2020, 2023), interest subvention (2014, 2018, 2024). Mains questions on agricultural credit + farmer income support appear regularly. The 2024 election cycle + farmer protest + MSP Committee Report have made this a Mains + Interview-heavy area.