PM-KISAN scheme: Aadhaar linking required, says TN govt

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday stated that Aadhaar linking is necessary to get the 13th installment amount for the beneficiaries of the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana scheme.

In a press release issued by the State government, "In Tamil Nadu, the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana scheme has been implemented since February 2019. Under this scheme, all landholding farmers' families shall be provided the financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per annum per family payable in three equal installments of Rs 2,000 each, every four months. So far, 12 installments have been given to the beneficiaries, who have joined under this scheme."

"At present, the Union government has directed the State governments to undertake preparatory work for the release of the 13th installment for the period from December 2022 to March 2023 by the end of January. Accordingly, the Union government has confirmed that only those beneficiaries who have confirmed their Aadhaar number (e-KYC) and linked their Aadhaar number with their bank account number on the PM-KISAN website will be given this installment amount."

"Out of the beneficiaries under this scheme in Tamil Nadu, 8,84,120 beneficiaries are yet to do Aadhaar linking. Therefore, keeping in mind that beneficiaries who have not verified their Aadhaar continue to benefit under this scheme, the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has conducted special village-wise camps from October 2022 in collaboration with the Department of Posts and Public Service Center for door-to-door verification of Aadhaar (e-KYC) and advised on this regard. Also, regular notices were published in newspapers asking the beneficiaries of the scheme to confirm their Aadhaar number (e-KYC).

"As a result of the systematic steps taken by the Tamil Nadu government, so far, Aadhaar numbers of 5,27,934 eligible beneficiaries have been confirmed. The remaining 3,56,186 eligible beneficiaries are still under the Aadhar verification process (e-KYC) by Agriculture-Farmer Welfare Department officers. Beneficiaries, who have not verified their Aadhaar number (e-KYC) on the PM-KISAN website can verify their Aadhaar number twice."

"You can verify your Aadhaar either by visiting the nearest public service center and enrolling your fingerprint or by visiting the PM-KISAN website and entering the four-digit number (OTP) received on the mobile phone linked to the Aadhaar number, depending on their location."

"Further, all the eligible beneficiaries under the scheme are requested to visit the concerned bank branch and ensure that their Aadhaar number is linked with their bank account. In case of any doubt in this regard, you may approach your Assistant Director of Agriculture (ADA)"

The Tamil Nadu government also requested the beneficiaries of the scheme to give their full cooperation to the initiative taken by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare so that more farmers of Tamil Nadu can benefit from the Kisan scheme.