Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 14 released the eighth installment of over Rs 20,000 crore to more than 9.5 crore farmer-beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme in a video-conferencing.

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who was present on the occasion, said West Bengal has joined the scheme with more than 7 lakh farmers of the state obtaining the benefit today. Under the PM-KISAN scheme, the government is providing Rs 6,000 in three equal installments to 14 crore farmers annually. The amount is directly transferred into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode.

A total of Rs 1.15 lakh crore has been transferred to farmer-beneficiaries so far under the PM-KISAN scheme, launched on February 24, 2019. PM Modi will also meet five farmers from the states Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya, Jammu and Kashmir, and Andaman and Nicobar on the occasion.