(ET)
The Centre will start paying farmers the first instalment of Rs 2,000 on February 24 at a high-profile event where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to formally kick off the implementation of the PM-KISAN scheme. The second instalment of the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, which BJP hopes will cheer rural voters on the eve of the general elections, will be due on April 1, immediately after all beneficiaries get the first payment by March 31.
“The second instalment shall immediately follow the first one, in April itself, giving the beneficiaries at least Rs 4,000 of the total Rs 6,000 to be distributed in three equal instalments. So, a farmer receiving the first payment on March 30 may well get the second part within a week,” said a senior government official involved in the scheme. About 5 million farmers are expected to be paid on the first day.
