Tumakuru: In what comes as a much-needed succour to the Indian farmers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday released the third instalment of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi of Rs 2,000 for the period December 2019 to March 2020.

This will benefit approximately six crore beneficiaries.

Not just that, the Prime Minister also handed over certificates to beneficiaries under PM Kisan from eight states and Union Territories (UTs).
Modi also distributed the Krishi Karman Awards and Commendation Awards to states at a public meeting. He will also give away Agriculture Minister's Krishi Karman Awards for Progressive Farmers.

“At the same event, Prime Minister also handed over the keys of deep-sea fishing vessels and fishing vessel transponders to select farmers of Tamil Nadu. He also distributed Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) to select farmers of Karnataka," an official release said.

"Today, under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, money has been deposited in the account of the eight crore farmers. Also, today in this programme, a total of Rs 12,000 crore has been deposited in the account of six crore farmer families across the country," Modi said.

The Prime Minister also recalled how middlemen used to play a role in siphoning of money meant for the actual beneficiaries. 

"There was a time in this country when a major part of the money sent for the poor people by the government was eaten up by the middlemen. Today, all the money is being directly transferred to the bank accounts of the poor and farmers," he added. 

PM Modi also mentioned how his government had increased the minimum support price. 

"Irrigation schemes stuck for decades, soil health cards and all other schemes were taken keeping the welfare of farmers in mind. Our government also increased the Minimum Support Price (MSP) 1.5 times, in line with the demands of the farmers of the country," he said.