Missing the Target

Context: Given the uncertainty over the reach of PM- KISAN and its targeting, the relevance of the scheme needs to be carefully evaluated during the lockdown period.

Findings of the Survey: Conducted by the NCAER National Data Innovation Centre in the Delhi-NCR region provides useful insights.

• Lower level of economic distress among farmers compared to other groups: 

• Continued Cultivation: 

• 97% of them continued to harvest rabi crops and prepared for the Kharif season.
• 75% of the cultivators who usually hire labourers for agricultural activities continued to do so.

• Lower Economic losses: 

• Large incomes losses were reported by only 32% of farmers as compared to casual wage workers (73%) and business households (70%).
• Only 7% of farm households suffered from occasional unavailability of food during the lockdown lower as compared to casual workers (24%) and business households (14%).
• About 35% of rural PM-KISAN recipients suffered income losses to a large extent in comparison to more than half of the non-recipients.

Challenges to the PM-KISAN during lockdown: 

• Exclusion Errors:  

• Only 21 % of the cultivators interviewed reported receiving the benefits.
• The exclusion is greater in UP than in Haryana and Rajasthan.

• The Scheme is not pro-poor: Since recipients of PM-KISAN seemed to be better off than the general rural population even before the lockdown.

• About 33% of PM-KISAN recipients borrowed money during this period as against 48 % of non-recipients.