More than 9.34 crore farmer families woke up to fresh funds in their bank accounts as the 24th instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme moved ₹18,690 crore directly into beneficiary accounts via Direct Benefit Transfer — a single-day disbursal that underlines just how far India's rural welfare plumbing has come. Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat took to X on Friday, 30 October 2026, to flag the milestone, pointing specifically to Rajasthan's share of the bounty.

Rajasthan's ₹1,335 crore slice

Shekhawat highlighted that 66.59 lakh farmer families in Rajasthan received a combined ₹1,335 crore from this instalment alone — a figure that lands with particular weight coming from a sitting Lok Sabha MP from Jodhpur, a constituency deep in the agrarian heartland of the state. Writing in Hindi, he described farmers as 'annadata' — the providers of food — and framed the transfer as the government's commitment to their 'arthik sambal aur swabhiman' (economic support and self-respect).

What PM-KISAN is and how it works

Launched in 2019, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi is a central sector scheme that delivers ₹6,000 per year to eligible landholding farmer families in three equal instalments of ₹2,000 each, transferred directly into bank accounts with no intermediary. The DBT model was designed specifically to cut leakages that plagued older welfare delivery systems, ensuring the money reaches the intended recipient rather than being siphoned along the way. The 24th instalment marks more than five years of continuous quarterly releases since the scheme's inception.

The larger pattern of direct farmer support

PM-KISAN sits within a broader government push to make farming financially viable through income supplements rather than relying solely on procurement price interventions. Each instalment release is typically accompanied by a high-visibility communication drive, with ministers and MPs across party-governed states amplifying the numbers on social media — part of a deliberate effort to make beneficiaries aware of what has landed in their accounts. Shekhawat credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the scheme's continuity, expressing gratitude for the 'uninterrupted' commitment to farmer welfare.

With the 24th cycle now complete, attention turns to when the 25th instalment will be scheduled — and whether upcoming Union Budget deliberations will revisit the per-instalment amount, which has remained at ₹2,000 since the scheme's launch.