Rs 1537 crore has been disbursed to 9.68 lakh eligible farmers of Himachal Pradesh under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme till 31 December 2021, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said on Saturday.
He made these remarks after virtually participating in an event under which Prime Minister Narendra Modi today released the 10th installment of minimum financial benefit under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme from New Delhi. Under this installment, Rs. 20,946 crore was disbursed to more than 10.09 crore farmer families of the country.
Thakur said during the programme, the Prime Minister also released an equity grant of more than Rs 14.04 crore to about 351 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), which had benefited more than 1.24 lakh farmers.
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24 February, 2019 to provide income support of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal installments of Rs 2000 to small and marginal farmers.
Thakur stated that agriculture in the State contributes about 13.62 per cent of the total State Gross Domestic Product. There were 88 per cent small and marginal farmers in the state and an amount of Rs. 1537 crore have been disbursed to about 9.68 lakh eligible farmers of the State under this ambitious scheme upto 31st December, 2021, the CM said.
Thakur further stated that there were 107 FPOs with about 15,000 members in Himachal Pradesh and these FPOs were working in different agricultural and allied activities in the state. Prime Minister has released an equity grant of Rs 16.72 lakh to 7 FPOs of the state today, he added.
He said the PM also urged the farmers on the occasion to adopt natural farming and lauded the role of the state in promoting the technique.