Effectiveness of cash transfer under the PM-Kisan scheme of Government of India in benefitting the small and marginal farmers by providing income support

Among all societal ills that exist in the world, poverty is the most pervasive. Most low- and middle-income countries depend on agriculture as their primary source of income, making them subject to a variety of risks that make it difficult for them to continue their livelihood over the long term. With risks including crop failure, natural disasters, disease, accidents, and job loss, poor and near-poor households in low- and middle-income countries find it challenging, if not impossible, to raise and maintain their standard of living over time. For more than 50 years, cash transfers have been a crucial part of reducing poverty in developed nations, but until the past ten years, poorer nations were thought to be too expensive or unable to execute them. Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) is a central sector scheme run by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare (MoAFW) where all farmer households receive a direct annual cash transfer of Rs. 6,000, divided into three equal instalments of Rs. 2000 each. An ex post facto research design was used in the study. The present paper presents data gathered in a the Indo-gangetic belts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The 120 respondents, 60 each from two states comprising four districts i.e. Bahraich, Bulandshahr, Bhojpur and Muzaffarpur were selected using stratified disproportionate simple random sampling of small and marginal farmers for the study. The majority of respondents in Uttar Pradesh, or 63.33 per cent, felt that the PM-KISAN scheme was only moderately effective in addressing their needs, while 21.67 per cent of respondents believed it to be highly effective. In the instance of Bihar, almost 50 per cent of respondents, or half, thought that the PM-KISAN programme was medium successful in terms of the benefits they received to meet their needs, while 25 per cent of respondents thought that the plan is highly effective.