Lok Sabha Question No. 3938 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-17
Subject: Decline in PM-KISAN Benificiaries in Punjab
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3938

TO BE ANSWERED ON 17 TH  MARCH, 2026

## DECLINE IN PM-KISAN BENEFICIARIES IN PUNJAB

3938.  SMT. HARSIMRAT KAUR BADAL:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ͪष एवं ͩकसान कãयाण मंğी be pleased to state:

- (a) Whether it is a fact that in Punjab the number of PM-KISAN beneficiaries has fallen by  about  49  percent  over  the  last  five  years,  from  around  23  lakh  farmers  in  2019-20  to about 11.3 lakh by the 20 th instalment in 2025.
- (b) If so, the reasons therefore.
- (c) The  number  of  farmers  in  Punjab  whose  instalments  are  shown  as  'pending'  or 'rejected' due to e-KYC, bank or land record issues, district-wise; and
- (d) The steps being taken to promptly rectify genuine cases so that no eligible farmer in Punjab is de facto deprived of the Rupees 6,000 annual benefit?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ͪष एवं ͩकसान कãयाण राÏय मंğी (SHRI BHAGIRATH CHOUDHARY)

(a) & (b): The PM-KISAN scheme is a central sector scheme launched in February 2019 to supplement the financial needs of farmers with cultivable landholding. Under the scheme, a  financial  benefit  of  ₹  6,000/-  per  year  is  transferred  in  three  equal  instalments,  into  the Aadhaar  seeded  bank  accounts  of  farmers  through  Direct  Benefit  Transfer  (DBT)  mode. Under the PM-KISAN Scheme, cultivable landholding is primary eligibility criteria to receive benefit of the scheme subject to some certain exclusions relating to higher income status.

To  ensure  that  the  benefits  are  provided  only  to  the  eligible  beneficiaries,  land seeding, Aadhaar-based payment and e-KYC have been made mandatory under the PMKISAN  scheme.  Land  seeding  was  made  mandatory  from  the  12 th instalment  period (August-November 2022) to verify and authenticate  whether  the  beneficiary is the  actual cultivable  landholder  as  per  the  State  land  records.  Aadhaar-based  payment  became mandatory  from  the  13 th instalment  period  (December  2022-March  2023)  to  ensure  that benefits are transferred directly to the intended beneficiary's Aadhaar-linked bank account, eliminating errors and mis-directed payments. Subsequently, e-KYC was made compulsory from the 15 th instalment period (August-November 2023) to confirm the identification and alive status of the beneficiary.

It is the mandate of the State Governments to ensure completion of these mandatory requirements for all eligible beneficiaries. The benefits of the scheme are provided on the basis  of  data  uploaded  by  State/UT  on  PM-Kisan  portal.  In  Punjab  under  the  PM-KISAN

scheme, 23.01 lakh farmers received the benefit of 4 th instalment (December, 2019 - March, 2020) and, 11.34 lakh farmers received the benefit of 20 th instalment (April - July 2025), as per the number of beneficiaries verified and approved by the State for payment before the instalment release.

The  registration  and  verification  of  farmers  under  the  scheme  is  a  continuous process. The list of eligible beneficiaries is uploaded by the respective State/UT Governments on PM-Kisan portal, at the time of each instalment. The verification process is conducted  by  the  field  level  officials  of  respective  States/UTs  to  re-verify  the  status  of beneficiary as per guidelines of the scheme and mark them eligible accordingly. The names of  the  beneficiaries  who  are  not  found  eligible  are  removed  from  the  list  which  is  due  to various reasons including non fulfilment of mandatory requirements (land seeding, eKYC, Aadhaar  seeded  bank  account),  deceased  beneficiary,  change  in  status  of  cultivable landownership, members of same family receiving benefits and NRIs. Once the application is  approved  by  the  State  Government,  the  same  is  processed  by  this  Department immediately and benefit is released in next instalment.

(c): The  district  wise  number  of  farmers  in  Punjab  who  have  not  completed/fulfilled mandatory requirements of e-KYC, Aadhaar seeding with bank account or land seeding is given as Annexure I.

- (d): The  Government  has  undertaken  various  steps  to  include  all  eligible  and  genuine farmers under the scheme, across the country including Punjab.  These steps include:
-  e-KYC saturation campaigns were conducted with the support of CSCs. Over 5 lakh Common Service  Centers  (CSCs)  have  been  onboarded  to  facilitate  registrations and meet mandatory requirements, including e-KYC.
-  Face Authentication-based e-KYC facility was added to the PM-KISAN mobile app, in June 2023 enabling beneficiaries to complete their e-KYC from home as well as perform e-KYC for up to 100 other farmers. This facility has specially helped old age beneficiaries and also the beneficiaries who live in remote areas, to complete their e-KYC.
-  Under the scheme, through regular review meetings with States/UTs have also been pursued to ensure completion of mandatory requirements by beneficiaries i.e. land seeding,  Aadhaar-linked  bank  accounts,  and  e-KYC  in  coordination  with  CSCs, IPPB and banks.
-  Village Nodal Officers are appointed by the respective State/UTs to address farmers' issues  and  around  1.0  Lakhs  VNOs  covering  over  4.0  lakhs  villages,  have  been designated  at  village  level  to  assist  the  farmers  in  completing  their  mandatory formalities.  They  can  verify  the  land  details  of  farmers  and  complete  e-KYC  of farmers.
-  A  voice-based  PM-KISAN  AI  Chatbot  (Kisan  e-Mitra)  was  developed  by  the Government. This Chatbot provides quick, accurate, and clear responses to farmers' queries  round  the  clock  in  their  native  languages,  making  the  system  more accessible and user friendly. It is accessible on all platforms such as web, mobile, etc.  The Kisan eMitra Chatbot currently operates in 11 languages-English, Hindi, Odia, Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kannada, Telugu, and Marathi. This  Chatbot  also  provides  information  to  farmers  for  completing  their  mandatory

requirements  and  has  successfully  resolved  over  95  lakh  queries  from  53  lakh farmers.

-  A major nationwide saturation drive was undertaken from 15 th November 2023 under the  Viksit  Bharat  Sankalp  Yatra  (VBSY),  during  which,  more  than  1.0  Cr.  eligible farmers were included under PM-KISAN. Further, under the new Government's 100 days  initiative,  over  25  lakh  eligible  farmers  were  added  under  the  PM-KISAN scheme. Additionally, a special drive was conducted in September 2024 to clear the pending self-registration cases, which resulted in the addition of over 30 lakh new farmers.

Annexure I District-wise number of farmers in Punjab with pending status due to e-KYC, bank or

## land record issues under PM-Kisan Scheme (as on 11/03/26)

| S. No.   | District                  | No. of farmers who have not fulfilled mandatory requirement of   | No. of farmers who have not fulfilled mandatory requirement of   | No. of farmers who have not fulfilled mandatory requirement of   |
|----------|---------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------|
| S. No.   | District                  | Land seeding                                                     | Aadhaar seeding with bank account                                | e-KYC                                                            |
| 1        | Amritsar                  | 8,735                                                            | 2,640                                                            | 7,488                                                            |
| 2        | Barnala                   | 3,138                                                            | 879                                                              | 2,485                                                            |
| 3        | Bathinda                  | 7,395                                                            | 3,178                                                            | 10,383                                                           |
| 4        | Faridkot                  | 4,078                                                            | 1,041                                                            | 2,636                                                            |
| 5        | Fatehgarh Sahib           | 2,462                                                            | 1,209                                                            | 1,614                                                            |
| 6        | Fazilka                   | 17,258                                                           | 2,593                                                            | 11,316                                                           |
| 7        | Ferozepur                 | 11,751                                                           | 1,985                                                            | 9,384                                                            |
| 8        | Gurdaspur                 | 9,665                                                            | 3,801                                                            | 8,279                                                            |
| 9        | Hoshiarpur                | 9,809                                                            | 4,781                                                            | 6,818                                                            |
| 10       | Jalandhar                 | 3,820                                                            | 1,704                                                            | 4,432                                                            |
| 11       | Kapurthala                | 1,252                                                            | 820                                                              | 841                                                              |
| 12       | Ludhiana                  | 5,450                                                            | 3,697                                                            | 8,394                                                            |
| 13       | Malerkotla                | 1,098                                                            | 487                                                              | 1,135                                                            |
| 14       | Mansa                     | 4,044                                                            | 1,816                                                            | 8,552                                                            |
| 15       | Moga                      | 7,999                                                            | 1,786                                                            | 4,297                                                            |
| 16       | Pathankot                 | 1,803                                                            | 700                                                              | 1,661                                                            |
| 17       | Patiala                   | 8,135                                                            | 3,206                                                            | 11,741                                                           |
| 18       | Rupnagar                  | 5,623                                                            | 1,574                                                            | 4,587                                                            |
| 19       | S.A.S Nagar               | 2,289                                                            | 939                                                              | 2,844                                                            |
| 20       | Sangrur                   | 9,307                                                            | 2,615                                                            | 9,936                                                            |
| 21       | Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar | 1,904                                                            | 1,090                                                            | 3,446                                                            |
| 22       | Sri Muktsar Sahib         | 7,286                                                            | 1,441                                                            | 6,107                                                            |
| 23       | Tarn Taran                | 11,936                                                           | 2,124                                                            | 5,884                                                            |
|          | Total                     | 1,46,237                                                         | 46,106                                                           | 1,34,260                                                         |

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