Centre Flags 31 Lakh ‘Suspect’ PM-Kisan Beneficiaries Where Husband–Wife Claimed Benefits Together

Last Updated:October 13, 2025, 17:10 IST

The Centre flagged 31.01 lakh suspected PM-Kisan cases where both husband and wife got benefits. Verification is ongoing as PM-Kisan funds reach over 9.7 crore farmers nationwide.

Cabinet hikes MSP on wheat.

The Centre has identified 31.01 lakh beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) scheme as “suspected cases" in which both husband and wife were found receiving benefits simultaneously.

The revelation came following an extensive verification drive conducted by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.

Launched on February 24, 2019, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the PM-Kisan scheme is a centrally funded initiative with 100% financial support from the Union government. Under the scheme, funds are transferred directly to beneficiaries’ bank accounts.

According to the Indian Express sources, of the 31.01 lakh cases, verification of 19.02 lakh beneficiaries is complete. Of these, 17.87 lakh or 93.98 per cent have been confirmed as husband and wife, sources added.

The Agriculture Ministry has issued letters to all states, directing them to complete the verification process by October 15.

Under the PM-Kisan scheme aimed at supplementing the financial needs of all landholding farmers’ families, an amount of Rs 6,000 per year is released online in three instalments (Rs 2,000 each) by the central government, directly into the bank accounts of the eligible farmers under the direct benefit transfer mode, subject to certain exclusions.

The operational guidelines define a landholder farmer’s family as a family comprising “husband, wife and minor children" who owns cultivable land as per the land records of the state/UT concerned. Only one member—husband, wife, or minor children—can avail the PM-Kisan benefit, sources said.

According to The Indian Express, the ministry has also identified 1.76 lakh cases in which minors or multiple members of the same household were receiving PM-Kisan benefits.

The ministry has also identified 33.34 lakh suspected cases where previous landowners’ details have been found “invalid or blank", according to sources.

As per PM-Kisan guidelines, registered farmers whose land was transferred after February 1, 2019, are required to provide details of the previous landowner during registration. The benefits of the scheme are meant only for the current landowner, sources said. However, they added that 8.11 lakh suspected cases have been identified where both the previous and current landowners were receiving PM-Kisan benefits.

While mutation through inheritance is allowed under the PM-Kisan, during the scrutiny, 8.83 lakh cases were found, in which the reason of mutation was recorded other than inheritance, as per sources.

Recently, the Centre has taken multiple measures to ensure that the scheme’s benefits reach its intended beneficiaries. For instance, the Centre made Farmer ID mandatory for enrolment of new PM-Kisan beneficiaries from January 1, 2025.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the 20th instalment of the PM-KISAN scheme from Varanasi on August 2, 2025. In this round, the PM-Kisan amount was transferred to over 9.7 crore farmers across the country. The government has allocated Rs 63,500 crore for PM-Kisan in the Union budget 2025-26.

News india Centre Flags 31 Lakh ‘Suspect’ PM-Kisan Beneficiaries Where Husband, Wife Claimed Benefits Together

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