Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh on Monday, 22 June 2026, shared that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had released the latest installment under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) scheme, with more than 2.17 crore farmers in Uttar Pradesh receiving a combined ₹4,352 crore in direct benefit transfers.

Context

Singh's post, shared via the NaMo App, highlighted the scale of the disbursement in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state and the single largest pool of PM-Kisan beneficiaries nationally. The minister noted the transfer in a message that read: 'पीएम मोदी ने PM-Kisan की किस्त जारी की, UP के 2.17 करोड़ से अधिक किसानों को मिले ₹4,352 करोड़' ['PM Modi released the PM-Kisan installment; more than 2.17 crore UP farmers received ₹4,352 crore']. As a senior BJP leader and Lok Sabha MP from Begusarai, Bihar, Singh frequently amplifies central welfare scheme deliveries on social media.

Policy Backdrop

The PM-Kisan scheme was formally launched on 24 February 2019 to provide landholding farmer families with an annual income support of ₹6,000, disbursed in three equal installments of ₹2,000 every four months through direct bank transfers. The programme was designed to reduce leakages inherent in older subsidy mechanisms and deliver timely cash support to small and marginal cultivators. Successive installment releases since December 2019 have been publicised as evidence of scheme delivery at scale.

Uttar Pradesh consistently accounts for the largest share of beneficiaries in any given installment cycle, owing to its vast rural population and the predominance of small landholdings across the state's agrarian economy. The ₹4,352 crore figure cited for UP alone underscores the state's outsized weight in national agricultural welfare expenditure.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of this disbursement are small and marginal farmers across Uttar Pradesh — households that depend on agriculture as their principal livelihood and for whom the periodic cash transfer provides a meaningful supplement to farm income, particularly ahead of the kharif sowing season. Direct benefit transfer architecture ensures funds reach registered bank accounts without intermediary deductions. For the BJP, timely releases ahead of election cycles or budget sessions also carry political salience, reinforcing the party's farmer-welfare messaging.

What's Next

The next scheduled PM-Kisan installment cycle will fall approximately four months from the current release, likely around October 2026. Policy watchers will also track whether the forthcoming Union Budget proposes any revision to the annual quantum of ₹6,000 per family — a figure that has remained unchanged since the scheme's inception — or any expansion of the eligibility criteria to cover tenant farmers and sharecroppers currently excluded from the programme. Any such revision would significantly alter the total outlay and beneficiary count in states like Uttar Pradesh.