Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched the ambitious Rs 75,000 crore PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana (PM-Kisan) in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh by digitally transferring the first instalment of Rs 2,000 to the accounts of over 1 crore small and marginal farmers.

“I am told that a total of Rs 2,021 crore has been transferred to the accounts of farmers from different parts of the country. The money has already been transferred to as many as 1.01 crore accounts already,” Modi said while addressing a public meeting attended by a large number of farmers in Gorakhapur.

Those farmers who  haven’t received the first instalment of Rs 2,000 already would receive it over the next few weeks, he said in presence of a number of dignitaries, including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

According to him, farmers from 21 States and Union territories would benefit from the PM-Kisan scheme. As many as 12 crore farmers who have less than 2 hectares of land would be the beneficiaries.

“This is just a beginning. The government from now on would transfer a total of Rs 75,000 crore to their accounts every year under the PM Kisan scheme,” the Prime Minister said.

The scheme was announced during the interim budget presented by stand-in Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on February 1. Beginning with December 2018, farmers would receive a total of Rs 6,000 in three equal instalments. It is expected to supplement the financial needs of the farmers in procuring various inputs to ensure proper crop health and appropriate yields.

The Prime Minister also announced launching of a number of development projects in the spheres of health, road, rail and employment with a total budget of Rs 10,000 crore for eastern Uttar Pradesh region, where Gorakhpur is located.

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