Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday, 30 October 2026, pledged full government support to farmers across the state whose crops have been damaged by incessant rainfall, floods, and post-cyclone downpours, assuring that damage assessments will be conducted and compensation released at the earliest under prescribed norms. The announcement came during a state-level event in Bhubaneswar marking the disbursement of the 24th instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme.

Chief Minister's Assurance to Farmers

Addressing farmers at the Krushi Shiksha Sadan of the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), Chief Minister Majhi said his government would stand by farmers through every natural calamity. He referred to the farming community as 'Annadatas', describing their progress and economic well-being as central to Odisha's overall development.

'No matter what disaster strikes, your government and the Chief Minister always stand by you through thick and thin. An assessment of the damaged crops will be conducted, and appropriate compensation will be provided to the farmers as per the rules as soon as possible,' Majhi said.

He also urged farmers yet to register on the AgriStack portal to do so at the earliest through their nearest revenue or agriculture office, warning that unregistered beneficiaries risk being excluded from welfare payouts.

PM-KISAN 24th Instalment: ₹707.60 Crore to Odisha Farmers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually released the 24th instalment of PM-KISAN from a national-level programme at Banaskantha, Gujarat, with more than 9.34 crore farmers nationwide receiving a combined ₹18,690 crore directly into their bank accounts via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

In Odisha, more than 35.38 lakh eligible farmers received ₹707.60 crore, with each beneficiary credited ₹2,000. Parallel programmes were organised across districts, blocks, gram panchayats, Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS), and mandis under the Agriculture and Farmers' Empowerment Department.

State Schemes: CM-KISAN and Krushi Vidya Nidhi

Chief Minister Majhi also highlighted the state's own CM-KISAN scheme, which supplements the central PM-KISAN support for Odisha's farming households. He drew attention to the Krushi Vidya Nidhi scholarship, which covers children of CM-KISAN beneficiaries pursuing professional and technical courses — a measure aimed at breaking the intergenerational cycle of agrarian distress.

Notably, the dual-scheme architecture — central and state support running in parallel — positions Odisha's agricultural welfare framework as among the more layered in eastern India, though critics have previously argued that last-mile delivery gaps continue to exclude marginal cultivators.

Key Attendees and Political Significance

The programme was attended by Deputy Chief Minister and Agriculture and Farmers' Empowerment and Energy Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, Law, Works and Excise Minister Prithviraj Harichandan, Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi, Ekamra-Bhubaneswar MLA Babu Singh, and Khurda MLA Prashant Kumar Jagdev, among others.

The high-profile attendance underscores the political weight the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Odisha is placing on agrarian outreach, particularly as the state recovers from successive weather events. With crop loss assessments still pending, the pace and scale of eventual compensation payouts will be closely watched by farming communities across the affected districts.