The PM Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Yojana, a Central Sector Scheme launched on February 24, 2019, provides annual financial assistance of Rs. 6000/- per eligible farmer family. So far, more than Rs. 3.70 lakh crores have been disbursed to over 11 crore farmer families in the country through 20 instalments.  The benefits of the scheme are being provided to those farmers whose land details are seeded in PM KISAN portal, have bank accounts seeded with Aadhaar and eKYC is completed. This scheme stands out as one of the largest Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) initiative globally, underscoring its monumental impact on facilitating financial support directly to the beneficiaries. With a commitment to inclusivity, it dedicates over 25% of its benefits to women beneficiaries.

The scheme leverages technological & process advancements so that the maximum number of beneficiaries can be benefited without any hassle. A farmer-centric digital infrastructure ensures widespread accessibility, ensuring that eligible farmers across the country can seamlessly avail the scheme's benefits. The strategic incorporation of digital public goods has not only eliminated middlemen but has also paved the way for a streamlined delivery system reaching the remotest corners. The scheme's effectiveness is further bolstered by the utilization of the Aadhaar and Aadhaar-based payment ecosystem, ensuring secure and efficient transactions.

Aadhaar is an important pillar in PM-KISAN for establishing the identity of the beneficiaries by completing their e-KYC. Now farmers can complete their e-KYC by using any following option:

1. OTP based e-KYC
2. Bio Metric based e-KYC
3. Face authentication-based e-KYC

A farmer-centric digital infrastructure has ensured the benefits of the scheme reach all the farmers across the country without any involvement of the middlemen.

To strengthen its core, the Scheme has gone through many technological interventions. 

Empowerment of farmers is happening through digitalization. Farmers are getting help in every village of the country. "Technology is reaching the farmers' doorstep.", one such example is PM-KISAN Mobile App - PM-KISAN Mobile App has been launched to provide direct services to the beneficiaries. Further, the use of Facial Authentication feature via Aadhaar for eKYC verification of the farmers, by which a farmer can complete his and other fellow farmers eKYC via facial authentication just by sitting at his/her room.

Further for more ease, farmers can visit the dedicated portal pmkisan.gov.in. Under the "Farmers Corner" section, those receiving benefits from PM KISAN can easily check their status using the new "Know Your Status" feature. The portal also offers a quick and easy self-registration process for farmers. To ensure accessibility, registrations can also be done at nearby Common Service Centers (CSC) and farmers can also open Aadhaar-based bank accounts at their doorstep with the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB),

Given the significance of the PM Kisan Scheme, the Grievance Redressal system has been provided on the PM Kisan portal and the Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS). Farmers can raise their concerns directly on the PM-KISAN portal, and for quick and timely information.

Further, to facilitate the grievances in the real-time, Kisan-eMitra chatbot has also been made available to the farmers. It addresses the technological and language barriers and facilitates the farmers to address their issues in their own language.

This chatbot, powered by Large Language technology, offers several benefits to farmers such as:Key Features & Services of Kisan-eMitra:

• 24/7 access in preferred languages: Overcomes technological and language barriers by supporting 11 major regional languages, including Hindi, English, Tamil, Bengali, Odia, Malayalam, Gujarati, Punjabi, Telugu, Marathi, and Kannada.
• They can check the status of their application, get details about their payments, and interact in their preferred language.
• Automatic Language Detection (ALD): The chatbot can automatically detect 11 major languages based on voice input. For other languages, users will initially need to select their preference, with future updates expanding full ALD coverage.
• Automatic Scheme Detection (ASD): Based on the user’s first query, the system will automatically identify the relevant scheme, simplifying the process for farmers.
• Touch-Free System: Enables interaction without physical contact for ease of use.
• Operates based on the farmer's intent (Even a rough idea or query helps farmers receive precise information).
• Voice Interaction Choice: Allows farmers to choose between male or female voices, offering a personalized experience.
• Powered by Large Language Models (LLM): Enhances the chatbot’s ability to provide accurate, context-sensitive responses.
• Working on URL (kisanemitra.gov.in) – Giving an independent identity

Further, The Government of India has also undertaken various village-level special Saturation campaigns from time to time to identify, verify and include all the cultivable land-owning farmers under the PM KISAN Scheme.

Further a study has also been conducted by the International Food and Policy Research Institute in 2019 to study the impact of the PM-KISAN scheme on the lives of the farmers. The study strongly suggests that the funds disbursed under the PM-KISAN scheme have acted as a catalyst in rural economic growth, aided in alleviating the credit constraints for farmers, and increased investments in agricultural inputs. The scheme has enhanced farmers' risk-taking capacity, leading them to undertake riskier but comparatively productive investments. The funds received by recipients under PM KISAN are helping them with their agricultural needs and catering to other expenses such as education, medical, marriage, etc.

Under the PM Kisan scheme, ensuring last-mile coverage for farmers is of paramount importance. Digital and transparent delivery of benefits has always been a key objective. In line with this, the Agriculture Ministry has launched a new initiative to create a Farmer Registry. This well-organized and meticulously scrutinized database will eliminate the need for farmers to go through cumbersome processes to access social welfare benefits.

This significant development has been realized under the visionary leadership of our Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi ji, and his unwavering commitment to the farming community. Before the establishment of the Farmer Registry, accessing social welfare schemes was a time-consuming process for farmers. Now, with the registry in place, farmers will be able to avail themselves of these benefits seamlessly and without hassle.

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RC/AR