SRINAGAR: As many as 8,69,495 farmers in Jammu and Kashmir received Rs 174 crore under the 23rd instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), according to data tabled in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
The Union Agriculture Ministry said the amount was disbursed directly into beneficiaries’ Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). The 23rd instalment covered the period from April to July 2026.
The figures place JK among the Union Territories and states covered under the latest instalment, with the assistance aimed at providing direct financial support to eligible agricultural landholding farmers.
The government said an independent impact evaluation of PM-KISAN was conducted by the Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO) of NITI Aayog, covering the country including Rajasthan. The study found that the scheme was helping provide direct financial assistance to farmers and contributing to economic stability and agricultural productivity.
According to the evaluation, more than 92 per cent of beneficiary farmers used the assistance for essential agricultural inputs, including seeds, fertilisers and pesticides, while around 85 per cent reported an increase in agricultural income.
The study also found that the scheme had helped reduce financial distress among farmers and their dependence on informal credit. Beneficiaries who primarily used the assistance for agricultural purposes reported significantly higher agricultural incomes, particularly among small and marginal farmers, the ministry said.
For effective targeting, land-record seeding, Aadhaar linkage with bank accounts and e-KYC have been made mandatory under the scheme. States and Union Territories are responsible for verifying and approving beneficiary data after validation.
The government said linking of land records, eligibility verification, grievance redressal and periodic re-verification through e-KYC are carried out routinely and monitored through State review meetings.
At the national level, 9.52 crore farmers received Rs 19,069.03 crore under the 23rd instalment. Uttar Pradesh accounted for the largest number of beneficiaries at over 2.20 crore, followed by Maharashtra with 90.97 lakh and Madhya Pradesh with 82.42 lakh.
The Centre has also undertaken multiple saturation drives to expand PM-KISAN coverage. A nationwide drive launched during the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra in November 2023 added more than one crore farmers, while over 25 lakh eligible farmers were added under the Government’s 100-day initiative in 2024.
A special drive in September 2024 to clear pending self-registration cases added more than 30 lakh farmers, while a nationwide saturation drive launched on June 1, 2026, alongside the Khet Bachao Abhiyaan, resulted in the addition of about 17 lakh new farmers, the ministry said.
