PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana: Benefits, Amount and How It Works

What the Scheme Is and Who Runs It

PM Kisan is a Central Sector scheme of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The portal is designed and hosted by NIC. The scheme was launched on 24 February 2019, but it counts from 1 December 2018, so the very first period ran from 1 December 2018 to 31 March 2019.

In the beginning, only small and marginal farmers were covered. A Cabinet decision of 31 May 2019 extended it to all landholding farmer families, subject to exclusions. States and Union Territories identify the farmers from their land records, and the Centre pays the money. The Centre also gives states 0.125% of each installment to meet their administrative costs.

Who exactly is in and who is out is covered in detail on the PM Kisan eligibility page.

Amount and the Three Four-Month Periods

The benefit is ₹6,000 a year per farmer family, split into three equal installments of ₹2,000. Each installment belongs to a fixed four-month period. The government can release the money on any day inside that period, which is why exact dates change every year.

The amount has stayed at ₹6,000 since the start. On 5 August 2025, the Minister of State told the Lok Sabha in a written reply that there was no proposal to raise it. Some states add their own money on top; see CM Kisan top-up schemes. For a release-by-release list, see every PM Kisan installment date.

How a Kist Travels to Your Bank Account

The money moves through a chain of checks. Knowing the chain helps you understand where a delay sits.

1. Registration: the farmer registers on the portal, through a CSC, or through state revenue and agriculture officials.
2. State verification: the state checks the land record and approves the farmer. Beneficiary lists are also shown at village level.
3. Cross-checks: records are matched against Aadhaar, PFMS (the government payment system) and Income Tax data to weed out ineligible names.
4. eKYC and seeding: the farmer's eKYC must be done and the bank account must be Aadhaar-seeded. Since December 2019, payments go only after Aadhaar authentication.
5. Release: on release day the Centre transfers the installment by DBT, usually at a public event.
6. Credit: the bank credits ₹2,000 to the Aadhaar-seeded account. Late approvals in the same period are paid afterwards, which is why final period totals end up higher than release-day figures.

PM Kisan in Numbers (2026)

Women make up over 25% of beneficiaries, according to PIB (November 2025). Uttar Pradesh has the largest number of beneficiaries: 2.34 crore received the 20th installment, followed by Maharashtra with 92.89 lakh.

Milestones Since 2019

• 24 Feb 2019: scheme launched; first period counted from 1 December 2018.
• 31 May 2019: Cabinet extends PM Kisan to all landholding farmers.
• December 2019 onwards: payments only after Aadhaar authentication.
• 2020: PM-KISAN mobile app first launched.
• 22 Jun 2023: face authentication eKYC added to the app.
• September 2023: Kisan-eMitra, a 24x7 AI voice chatbot in 11 languages, launched for farmer queries.
• 1 Jan 2025: Farmer ID required for new applicants in 10 states (reported by GKToday, January 2025), later 14 states (Lok Sabha, 5 August 2025) and 19 states (PIB, 10 March 2026).
• 20 Jun 2026: 23rd kist released from Tarakeswar, West Bengal.

Three Things You Must Keep Ready

Being registered is not enough. The government has said three conditions must be met before any installment is paid:

• Land seeding: your land details verified and seeded by the state.
• Aadhaar bank seeding: your bank account linked with Aadhaar and enabled for DBT. Read the Aadhaar bank seeding guide.
• eKYC: completed by OTP, by fingerprint at a CSC (₹15 fee), or by face authentication in the app. Read the PM Kisan eKYC guide.

If one of these is missing, your kist is held back. The good news: the Agriculture Minister told the Lok Sabha in March 2025 (reported by Outlook Business) that farmers stopped for unmet conditions receive the due installments once they comply. You can see all three items under Know Your Status, explained on the PM Kisan status page.

How to Join PM Kisan

A new farmer can join in three ways: self-registration on the official PM Kisan portal (pmkisan.gov.in) using New Farmer Registration, registration at a Common Service Centre (CSC), or through the state's revenue or agriculture office at block and tehsil level. Farmers without a mobile phone can use CSCs and state offices.

Before you start, check two things. First, your land should have been recorded in your name on or before 1 February 2019, unless you got it by inheritance after the owner's death. Second, find out whether your state is one of the 19 where a Farmer ID is now mandatory for new registrations. The full steps and documents are on the PM Kisan registration page.

PM Kisan and Your Kisan Credit Card

Being a PM Kisan beneficiary also makes it easier to get credit. Banks already hold your PM Kisan data, so a beneficiary can apply for a Kisan Credit Card with a one-page form, giving only the land record copy, the crops sown and a declaration that no other bank has issued a KCC. Under the 2020 KCC saturation drive, banks were asked to act within 14 days. Details are in the Kisan Credit Card guide.