Govt of India paid Rs 1,400 crore to rich farmers 'violating' PM-Kisan rule: RTI reply

By Rajiv Shah
On December 25, 2020 Prime Minister of India, speaking on the occasion of the birthday of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said, the Central government had deposited Rs 18,000 crore in the bank accounts of more than 9 crore farmer households under the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana (PM-Kisan Yojana).
However, data obtained under The Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 by Venkatesh Nayak, programme head, Access to Information Programme, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, New Delhi, indicates, since the commencement of PM-Kisan Yojana in 2019, Rs 1,364.13 crore has been paid to two category of farmers – “ineligible persons” and "income tax payees", who should not have been paid.
When launched in 2019, the PM-Kisan Yojana was to cover only small and marginal farmers owning less than two hectares of land. Later, the scheme was expanded to include all farmers irrespective of the size of their landholdings, though revised guideline excluded several categories such as institutional landholder; farmer families in which a has held a constitutional position in India, state or district panchayat; those who have served in government, ,except for Class IV employees; and pensioners receiving monthly pension of Rs 10,000 or more; income tax payees; and professionals such as doctors, engineers, chartered accountants and architects.
Nayak’s analysis suggests, a total of 20,48,634 undeserving persons across the country had received PM-Kisan payouts until July 31, 2020. More than half (55.58%) of these undeserving persons belong to the "income tax payee category." The remaining 44.41% belong to the "ineligible farmers” category.
In an email alert, he says, Punjab tops the list accounting for 23.16% (4.74 lakh) of the total number of undeserving persons who received payouts followed by Assam with 16.87% (3.45 lakh) and Maharashtra with 13.99% (2.86 lakh). These three States account for more than half (54.03%) of the number of undeserving persons who received payouts. Gujarat takes the fourth position with 8.05% (1.65 lakh).
According to Nayak, Maharashtra tops the list of states in terms of the number of "IT payee farmers" who received PM-Kisan payouts with 2.18 lakh farmers. Uttar Pradesh follows with 1.63 lakh IT payee farmers, and Gujarat takes the third position with 1.62 lakh "IT payee farmers" receiving payouts.

Pointing out that of the whopping Rs 1,364.13 crore paid out to undeserving recipients belonging to the two categories, Nayak says, of this, Rs 985.09 crore was payouts to "IT payee farmers", constituting 72.28% of the total, while the payouts to "ineligible farmers" at Rs 379.03 crore amounted to 27.78% of the total.

He continues, with Rs 323.85 crore Punjab topped the list of States and UTs where undeserving farmers (both category of farmers) received the largest amount of payouts (23.74% of the total). Maharashtra with Rs 216.90 crore takes second position (15.90%), followed by Gujarat with Rs 162.34 crore (11.90%), UP with Rs 146.01 crore (10.70%) and Karnataka with Rs 77.44 crore (5.67%).
Together, these five states account for more than two thirds of the total payouts (Rs 926.54 crore) made to "ineligible" and “IT payee farmers", he adds.
A further analysis of the two categories shows shows that while Punjab received the biggest chunk of payouts made to "ineligible farmers" at Rs 291.35 crore (29.58%). On the other hand, while Maharashtra cornered the maximum payouts made to "IT payee farmers" at Rs 194.18 crore (51.23%), with Gujarat following closely at second place with payouts of Rs 161.32 crore.
Comments Nayak, “According to media reports, proceedings have already been launched in some districts of Maharashtra to recover payments made to undeserving recipients. Recovering more than Rs 1,300 crore from the ineligible and IT payee farmers will be a herculean task given their geographical spread. The financial adversity suffered by members of the farming community due to the nation-wide lockdown in 2020 makes this task even more daunting.”

Comments

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai* The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Modi’s Israel visit strengthened Pakistan’s hand in US–Iran truce: Ex-Indian diplomat

By Jag Jivan M. K. Bhadrakumar , a career diplomat with three decades of service in postings across the former Soviet Union, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey, has warned that the current truce in the US–Iran war is “fragile and ridden with contradictions.” Writing in his blog India Punchline , Bhadrakumar argues that while Pakistan has emerged as a surprising broker of dialogue, the durability of the ceasefire remains uncertain.

Lata Mangeshkar, a Dalit from Devdasi family, 'refused to sing a song' about Ambedkar

By Pramod Ranjan* An artist is known and respected for her art. But she is equally, or even more so known and respected for her social concerns. An artist's social concerns or in other words, her worldview, give a direction and purpose to her art. History remembers only such artists whose social concerns are deep, reasoned and of durable importance. Lata Mangeshkar (28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was a celebrated playback singer of the Hindi film industry. She was the uncrowned queen of Indian music for over seven decades. Her popularity was unmatched. Her songs were heard and admired not only in India but also in Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other South Asian countries. In this article, we will focus on her social concerns. Lata lived for 92 long years. Music ran in her blood. Her father also belonged to the world of music. Her two sisters, Asha Bhonsle and Usha Mangeshkar, are well-known singers. Lata might have been born in Indore but the blood of a famous Devdasi family...

'Batteries now cheap enough for solar to meet India's 90% demand': Expert quotes Ember study

By A Representative Shankar Sharma, Power & Climate Policy Analyst, has urged India’s top policymakers to reconsider the financial and ecological implications of the country’s energy transition strategy in light of recent global developments. In a letter dated April 10, 2026, addressed to the Union Ministers of Finance, Power, New & Renewable Energy, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, and the Vice Chair of NITI Aayog, with a copy to the Prime Minister, Sharma highlighted concerns over India’s ambitious plans for coal gasification and the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR).

Labour unrest in Manesar trigger tensions: Recently enacted labour codes blamed

By A Representative A civil rights coalition has expressed concern over recent developments in the industrial hub of Manesar in Haryana, where a series of labour actions and police responses have drawn attention. A statement, released by the Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), said it stood in solidarity with workers in IMT Manesar and other parts of the country, while also alleging instances of police excess during ongoing unrest.

Search This Blog