Over 73 lakh farmer families in Bihar received a combined transfer of ₹1,476 crore on Friday, 30 October 2026 — the 24th instalment of the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the PM Kisan Utsav Diwas programme. Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary participated in the event via video-conferencing from Gyan Bhawan, Patna, anchoring the state's presence at a ceremony marking one of India's largest recurring direct-benefit transfers.

A ₹1,476 Crore Transfer, Delivered Directly to Bihar's Fields

The PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, launched in February 2019, provides eligible landholding farmer families a fixed annual support of ₹6,000 — paid in three instalments of ₹2,000 each every four months via direct benefit transfer. The programme was designed to bypass intermediaries entirely, crediting money straight into farmers' bank accounts. Bihar, with its dense concentration of small and marginal landholdings, has consistently ranked among the top recipient states in every release cycle.

The 24th instalment marks more than six years of uninterrupted quarterly releases since the scheme's first disbursement in December 2018. Each release is a logistical exercise — beneficiary lists verified, Aadhaar-linked bank accounts confirmed, and funds routed through the central DBT architecture before state administrations coordinate local awareness.

CM Choudhary's Gyan Bhawan Presence and the NDA Farmer Pledge

Chief Minister Choudhary, attending from Gyan Bhawan — Bihar's premier administrative convention centre in Patna — framed the disbursement as evidence of the NDA government's resolve to raise farmer incomes and make agriculture economically viable. 'Kisanon ki aay badhana aur kheti ko labhakaari banana NDA sarkar ka sankalp hai' ('Raising farmers' incomes and making farming profitable is the NDA government's commitment'), he posted on X, echoing the political messaging that has accompanied every instalment release.

The event format — a central PM-anchored broadcast with simultaneous state-level gatherings — has itself become a template for how the Union government converts a routine fund release into a political touchpoint with the agrarian electorate. Bihar's weight in that calculus is considerable: it is home to one of India's largest pools of small-farm households, making the state's 73-lakh-plus beneficiary count a figure that resonates far beyond the treasury ledger.

What the 24th Instalment Signals for Bihar's Agrarian Economy

PM-KISAN's strength as a welfare instrument lies in its predictability. Farmers can anticipate the transfer, plan input purchases around it, and — increasingly — access it as collateral context when approaching credit institutions. The scheme does not replace deeper structural support like crop insurance or MSP reform, but its unbroken cadence across six-plus years has embedded it as a baseline income floor for millions of rural households.

Bihar's agriculture remains dominated by smallholders, and the state's consistent beneficiary numbers reflect both the density of that population and the ongoing work of beneficiary verification — a process that state and central governments must continually manage to prevent exclusions and duplications. The next watch-point will be whether this cycle's release is followed by any fresh beneficiary-list audit or expansion in Bihar.

Seventy-three lakh families. One transfer. One morning in Patna. The arithmetic of Indian farm welfare, delivered again.