By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
More than eight lakh farmers in Uttarakhand received over Rs 159 crore under the latest instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) scheme, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Saturday.
Addressing a programme organised on the occasion of Prime Minister Kisan Utsav Diwas at the Himalayan Cultural Centre in Garhi Cantt, Dehradun, Dhami congratulated farmers after the release of the scheme’s latest instalment through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
The Chief Minister said that nearly 10 crore farmers across the country received a total of Rs 18,880 crore under the scheme. He noted that the number of beneficiaries in Uttarakhand has doubled from around four lakh in 2019 to more than eight lakh today. This also means that each farmer gets essentially ₹2,000. Under the scheme, eligible farmers receive ₹6,000 annually in three equal instalments of ₹2,000 each.
Calling farmers the backbone of the country’s prosperity and food security, Dhami said both the Centre and the state government were committed to improving their livelihoods through various welfare initiatives.
Highlighting state government measures, he said irrigation through canals has been made completely free for farmers, while Rs 200 crore has been earmarked in the budget for enhancing farmers’ income. He also pointed to investments of around Rs 115 crore in more than 350 modern polyhouses across the state.
Dhami said the government has approved the Rs 1,000-crore Uttarakhand Climate Responsive Rain-Fed Farming Project to help farmers cope with changing weather patterns. New policies for apple, kiwi and dragon fruit cultivation, along with the State Millet Mission, are also being implemented with subsidies of up to 80 per cent.
The Chief Minister further said that Uttarakhand has emerged as the top-performing state in the country in terms of farmers’ income growth and stressed that farmers would play a crucial role in achieving the vision of a developed Uttarakhand.