"Cabinet extends PM-KISAN farm income support scheme through 2030-31"
Central Sector Scheme
100% Union Government-funded scheme, with no mandatory state cost-sharing
Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)
mechanism routing welfare payments directly to Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts, eliminating intermediaries
India's agrarian economy has historically been characterised by structural vulnerabilities — fragmented landholdings, dependence on monsoons, volatile commodity prices, and deep indebtedness to informal moneylenders. Policy responses to these challenges evolved from input subsidies (fertiliser, power, irrigation) and price-support mechanisms (Minimum Support Price) to, more recently, direct income transfers. The conceptual shift from input-linked subsidies to direct income support gained traction following the Economic Survey 2016-17, which advocated for a Universal Basic Income model, and was piloted at the state level by Telangana's Rythu Bandhu scheme before being adopted at the national scale.
The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) was launched in February 2019 as a Central Sector Scheme — meaning it is fully funded by the Union Government, unlike Centrally Sponsored Schemes where states share costs. It provides a fixed income supplement of ₹6,000 per year to eligible farmer families, disbursed in three equal instalments of ₹2,000 directly into beneficiaries' bank accounts through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mechanism. The scheme was initially limited to small and marginal farmers (landholding up to 2 hectares) but was subsequently expanded to cover all farmer families irrespective of landholding size.
The scheme operates within a broader architecture of agricultural welfare that includes the PM Fasal Bima Yojana (crop insurance), PM Krishi Sinchai Yojana (irrigation), and the e-NAM platform (electronic national agriculture market). PM-KISAN's income-support component is designed to complement, not replace, these structural interventions.
PM-KISAN functions as a Central Sector Scheme, which has significant fiscal and administrative implications. Since the Union Government bears 100% of the cost, there is no state-level cost-sharing, but states are responsible for identifying and verifying beneficiary lists. This division of responsibility has created implementation gaps — ineligible beneficiaries (income-tax payers, institutional landholders, government employees) were initially included, necessitating periodic data-cleansing exercises.
The DBT mechanism is central to PM-KISAN's design philosophy. By routing transfers directly to Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts, the scheme aims to eliminate intermediaries, reduce leakage, and ensure timely delivery. The PFMS (Public Financial Management System) tracks fund flows in real time. …
'Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana' has been launched for
With reference to the sectors of the Indian economy, consider the following pairs:
Economic activity | Sector
1.Storage of agricultural produce | Secondary
2.Dairy farm | Primary
3.Mineral exploration | Tertiary
4.Weaving cloth | Secondary
How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
The Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO), which conducted an independent evaluation of PM-KISAN, functions under which of the following bodies?
Which of the following categories of persons are EXCLUDED from eligibility under PM-KISAN?
1.Farmers with landholding above 5 hectares
2.Serving and retired government employees
3.Persons who paid income tax in the previous assessment year
4.Women farmers who hold land in their own name
Select the correct answer using the code below:
Consider the following statements about the distinction between Central Sector Schemes and Centrally Sponsored Schemes in India:
1.Central Sector Schemes are 100% funded by the Union Government and implemented directly by Central agencies or through states without mandatory state contribution.
2.Centrally Sponsored Schemes require mandatory financial participation from state governments.
3.PM-KISAN is classified as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
4.The MGNREGS is an example of a Central Sector Scheme.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
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