Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav on Saturday, 20 June 2026, shared a live broadcast of Prime Minister Narendra Modi transferring the 23rd instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, with the event held in Hooghly district, West Bengal.

Context

Dr. Yadav posted the update in Hindi, noting the live transfer with the words 'किसान सम्मान निधि की 23वीं किस्त का अंतरण' ('transfer of the 23rd instalment of Kisan Samman Nidhi'). The post linked to a live broadcast of the event, underscoring the BJP-led central government's continued emphasis on direct farmer outreach. Hooghly, a district in West Bengal, was chosen as the venue, signalling the event's pan-India character beyond BJP-governed states.

Policy Backdrop

PM-KISAN was launched in February 2019 as a central sector scheme providing eligible landholding farmer families with Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 each, transferred directly into beneficiaries' bank accounts via the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mechanism. The scheme is administered entirely by the central government and operates alongside — but does not replace — state-level farmer support programmes. Over successive instalments, the release events have been organised across different states, serving both an administrative and a political outreach purpose.

Madhya Pradesh has consistently been among the states with a large number of PM-KISAN beneficiaries, given its significant agrarian population. Chief Minister Yadav's decision to amplify the live broadcast reflects the state BJP leadership's alignment with the Centre's farmer welfare messaging.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of PM-KISAN are small and marginal farmers across India who hold cultivable land. The direct cash transfer model is designed to supplement farm income and reduce dependence on informal credit. Each instalment cycle reaches crores of farmer families, making the scheme one of the largest direct benefit transfer programmes in the country by reach.

The choice of West Bengal as the host state for the 23rd instalment event carries political significance, as the state has seen sustained competition between the BJP and the ruling Trinamool Congress over farmer welfare narratives. Holding a high-profile PM-KISAN disbursement event in Hooghly puts the central scheme in direct public view in a key opposition-governed state.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to the scale of the 23rd instalment disbursement — specifically the total number of beneficiaries reached and the aggregate amount transferred — details typically announced by the central government following such events. Analysts and farmer groups will also watch whether the Union Budget proposes any revision to the annual Rs 6,000 support amount, which has remained unchanged since the scheme's launch in 2019. The timing and venue of the 24th instalment will similarly be tracked as an indicator of the government's outreach calendar.