Over 8 lakh farmers in Uttarakhand woke up on Friday, October 30, 2026 to a direct credit in their bank accounts — the 24th instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) Yojana, worth ₹161.96 crore — as Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami joined a national celebration of the scheme at Hathibarkala, Dehradun.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the event from Banaskantha, Gujarat, initiated the nationwide transfer of ₹18,690 crore to the accounts of more than 9.34 crore farmer families across India via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). For Uttarakhand, the number of beneficiaries under the scheme has more than doubled since its launch — from roughly 4 lakh farmers when the first instalment was disbursed in 2019 to over 8.08 lakh farmers today.

From 4 lakh to 8 lakh: Uttarakhand's expanding farm safety net

CM Dhami credited the growth in beneficiary numbers to sustained outreach and registration drives, conveying gratitude to PM Modi and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for the scheme's continuity. 'Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana kisan bhaion ke liye ek mahatvapurn arthik sanbal hai' ('PM-Kisan is a vital financial backbone for our farmer brothers'), he said, calling farmers the twin pillars of food security and national prosperity alongside the armed forces.

The PM-Kisan scheme, launched in February 2019, provides ₹6,000 per year in three equal instalments directly to landholding farm families through DBT, bypassing intermediaries entirely. The 24th instalment marks seven years of uninterrupted cash transfers — a logistics feat across India's most dispersed rural demographics.

Uttarakhand's layered farm strategy: polyhouses, aroma valleys, and climate resilience

Beyond the central transfer, CM Dhami used the occasion to outline a state-specific agricultural architecture designed for Uttarakhand's mountainous terrain. The state has built more than 350 modern polyhouses with an investment of approximately ₹115 crore, promoting protected cultivation where open-field farming is constrained by altitude and erratic weather.

On climate adaptation, the government has approved the Uttarakhand Climate Responsive Rain-fed Farming Project at a cost of ₹1,000 crore — a direct acknowledgement that rainfed agriculture in hill districts faces mounting pressure from shifting monsoon patterns. The project aims to make farming in these zones more resilient and sustainable under changing conditions.

Canal irrigation across the state has been made completely free, and the budget carries a ₹200 crore provision specifically to raise farmer incomes. A supplementary budget allocation of ₹1,100 crore has been earmarked for procurement of wheat and paddy — a procurement buffer that directly supports price stability for growers.

Apple, kiwi, dragon fruit, and the scent of a 'Mahak Kranti'

CM Dhami announced that Uttarakhand is pushing high-value horticulture through dedicated policies — a new Apple Policy, a Kiwi Policy, and a Dragon Fruit Policy — each offering eligible farmers up to 80 per cent subsidy on qualifying activities. A State Millet Mission runs alongside these, reflecting the national push to revive coarse grains as nutritional and commercial crops.

On aromatic farming, the Mahak Kranti (Fragrance Revolution) policy is fostering seven Aroma Valleys across the state and extending cultivation of fragrant plants to 23,000 hectares. The state's House of Himalayas brand is serving as the market-facing vehicle to place Uttarakhand's millets and local agri-products on national and international shelves — converting geographic identity into commercial value.

Complementing production, the state is investing in cold-chain infrastructure, cold storage, controlled-atmosphere warehousing, and food-processing facilities so that perishable produce reaches buyers without losses that erode farmer margins.

The numbers tell one story; the architecture tells another. Uttarakhand is no longer simply a pass-through for central transfers — it is building a hill-specific farm economy, bet by bet, crop by crop. Whether the ₹1,000-crore climate project and the Mahak Kranti valleys deliver returns will be the real scorecard in the seasons ahead.