Guwahati, Oct 6: A total of 18.87 lakh farmers in Assam received a total of Rs. 403 crore (including arrears) under the 18th instalment of PM-Kisan which was ceremoniously released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Kisan Sammelan in Maharashtra on Saturday.

Although 19.13 lakh farmers were eligible for the 18th instalment, 18.87 lakh beneficiaries were cleared by the Centre from all levels of verification.

The PM-Kisan project provides a farmer with Rs 6,000 yearly in three instalments of Rs 2,000 each.

Sources in the agriculture department said that Assam had a total of 27.36 lakh farmers (as per the agriculture census 2015-16), with 23.50 lakh of those registered as active farmers in the PM- Kisan portal.

State Agriculture Minister Atul Bora, while participating in the ceremonial distribution virtually, said that the beneficiary farmers of the State had received a boost from the PM-Kisan project.

“This has monetarily benefitted our farmers who are now increasingly taking to modern methods of cultivation by using technological interventions,” he said.

-By Staff Reporter