Lok Sabha Question No. 265 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-05
Subject: Kisan e-Mitra
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Bhola Singh, Vinod Kumar Sonkar, Sukanta Majumdar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 265

TO BE ANSWERED ON 5 th  DECEMBER, 2023

## KISAN E-MITRA

265.   SHRI BHOLA SINGH:

SHRI VINOD KUMAR SONKAR:

DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR:

Will the Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare क ृ िष एवं िकसान कʞाण मंũी be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  recently  launched  AI  Chatbot  (Kisan  e-Mitra)  for enhancing the efficiency and reach of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme and also providing farmers prompt, clear and accurate responses to their queries;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the AI Chatbot has been developed in all 22 languages of the country;
- (d) if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether the Government has also developed a mobile app for face authenticationbased e-KYC under PM-KISAN Scheme;
- (f) if so, whether the farmer can complete his e-KYC sitting at home without any OTP or fingerprint, just by scanning his face; and
- (g) if so, the details thereof along with other steps being taken by the Government under PMKISAN Scheme and progress made thereunder so far?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ िष एवं िकसान कʞाण मंũी (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

- (a) & (b): The PM-KISAN scheme is a central sector scheme launched in February 2019 to supplement the financial needs of land-holding farmers. Under this scheme, the

financial benefit of Rs 6,000/- per year in three equal instalments every four months is transferred into the bank accounts of farmers' families across the country through Direct Benefit  Transfer  (DBT)  mode.  A  farmer-centric  digital  infrastructure  has  ensured  the benefits of the scheme reach all the farmers across the country without any involvement of  the  middlemen.  Maintaining  absolute  transparency  in  registering  and  verifying beneficiaries, the Government of India has disbursed over Rs 2.80 lakh Cr to more than 11 Cr farmers.

Under the PM-KISAN scheme, a robust grievance redressal system is in place. The farmers can lodge their grievances on the PM-KISAN portal and 24x7 IVRS facility for effective and timely resolution. Further, the farmers also have the facility to register their grievances,  if  any  through  Public  Grievances  portal.  In  addition  to  the  above,  the Government  of  India  has  developed  Kisan  e-Mitra  (AI  Chatbot)  -  Farmers'  digital assistance  to  address  their  queries  in  their  own  languages,  thereby  empowering  the farmers through technological interventions. The Kisan e-Mitra is removing the existing technological and language barriers of the farmers.

(c) & (d): The Kisan-eMitra, AI Chatbot is initially available in 5 languages i.e. English, Hindi, Odiya, Tamil and Bangla.

(e) to (g): The Government of India has developed the PM-KISAN mobile app with the feature of face authentication-based e-KYC. This app is first mobile app which uses face authentication-based  e-KYC  feature  in  any  benefit  scheme  of  the  Government.  This Mobile App is very easy to use and is easily available for download on Google Playstore. It empowers the farmers to complete their eKYC sitting at home even in remote areas of the country without any OTP or fingerprint, just by scanning their face. This removes the need for farmers to visit CSC for biometric based eKYC or mandatory requirement of having  mobile  linked  in  their  Aadhaar.    Once  the  farmer  downloads  the  mobile  app, he/she can do his/her eKYC. They can also assist 100 other farmers in their neighborhood to complete e-KYC at their doorstep. In addition to this, the Government of India, has also made provisions in the application which allows any State/UT Government officials registered to do e-KYC of up to 500 farmers.

Since the launch of the application, about 20 lakh farmer have successfully completed their e-KYC.

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