(a) whether any test audit or survey has been done to ensure that the benefits of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Yojana reaches the intended beneficiaries;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the steps being taken by the Government for providing benefits of the Yojana to all farmers in the country?
MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
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(a) to (c): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT TO BE MADE IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 234 RAISED BY SHRI A. GANESHAMURTHI AND SHRI RAJ KUMAR CHAHAR, DUE FOR REPLY ON 14.12.2021.
(a) & (b): The structure of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Yojana inherently comprises of mechanism for exclusion of errors on the basis of continuous verification and validation of data of beneficiaries by various authorities like Aadhaar/PFMS/Income Tax to ensure that the benefit reaches to the intended beneficiaries . Further, States/UTs Governments have been mandated to mark beneficiaries as ineligible on the ground of income tax payees, pensioner etc. Also, a physical verification module has been developed on PM-KISAN Portal. As per the approved norms of PM- KISAN scheme, States/UTs are required to undertake physical verification of about 5-10% of the beneficiaries for determining their eligibility. In addition, following special measures have been taken up by the Government to ensure that the scheme is properly implemented in order to benefit intended farmers:
(i) Standard Operational Guidelines have been issued for recovering money from ineligible beneficiaries.
(ii) Standard Operational Guidelines for identification of Income Tax payees have been prepared and circulated to the States.
(iii) Caution Advisory has been issued to the States to adopt measures during the registration and verification of farmers under the PM-KISAN Scheme.
(iv) Standard Operational Guidelines for Physical Verification of PM-KISAN beneficiaries have been circulated to the State Governments.
(v) States/UTs have been instructed to carry out Social audit of the beneficiaries in the Gram Sabha meeting.
(c): The PM-KISAN Scheme is a continuous and ongoing Scheme. Under the Scheme, the responsibility to identify the beneficiaries and uploading their correct and verified data on PM-KISAN portal lies with the respective State/UT Governments. On the basis of receipt of correct and verified data of beneficiaries, and its subsequent validation through Aadhar/PFMS/Income Tax database, benefits of the Scheme are transferred directly into the bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries through direct benefit transfer mode.
As on 08.12.2021, more than 11.61 crore beneficiaries have been given the financial benefits of approximately Rs. 1.61 lakh crore through various instalments Under the Scheme.
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