Sharp 52 per cent decline in number of PM-Kisan beneficiaries in Tamil Nadu

A steep decline has been observed in the number of beneficiaries of the Central Government's PM-Kisan scheme in the state of Tamil Nadu. According to a response provided by the state's Agriculture Department under the RTI Act, there has been a 52 per cent drop in the number of beneficiaries compared to the peak level recorded in 2020. Due to this decline, a total of 23.37 lakh beneficiaries have fallen out of the scheme.

Statistical details reveal that the number of beneficiaries was 44.94 lakh during August-November 2020, which has dropped to 21.57 lakh by the April-July 2026 instalment. This decline has had a direct impact on the funds released under the scheme. During the August-November 2020 period, funds amounting to ₹898.74 crore were allocated, which decreased to ₹427.12 crore by April-July 2026. Thus, there has been a reduction of ₹471.62 crore in the allocated funds, representing a decline of approximately 52.5 per cent.

According to records, the decline in the number of beneficiaries began during the AIADMK government led by Edappadi K. Palaniswami, prior to the DMK government coming to power in May 2021. There were 44.94 lakh beneficiaries in August-November 2020, which decreased to 38.23 lakh during the December 2020-March 2021 period while the AIADMK government was in power.

Subsequently, this number was recorded at 37.34 lakh during the December 2021-March 2022 period. However, the most significant decline was observed in 2022 under the DMK government led by M.K. Stalin. By December 2022-March 2023, the number of beneficiaries dropped to 20.52 lakh, a decline of nearly 45 per cent compared to the previous period.

A notable decrease occurred during a single instalment in 2022. Between April-July 2022 and August-November 2022, the number of beneficiaries fell from 32.28 lakh to 22.27 lakh, meaning nearly 10 lakh beneficiaries were reduced in just one payment cycle.

In subsequent instalments, there was a slight improvement in the number of beneficiaries, but it remained far below the 2020 peak. The figure for April-July 2026 was 21.57 lakh, which is only 5.1 per cent higher than the 20.52 lakh recorded in December 2022-March 2023. Furthermore, this number is 21.6 per cent lower than the 27.52 lakh beneficiaries recorded in the first instalment of December 2018-March 2019.

Figures from the last two instalments show that there has not been a major change in the number of beneficiaries, which has moved from 21,57,000 to 21,56,777. This indicates that the number of beneficiaries has now stabilised, albeit at a very low level. According to the Agriculture Department, a total of ₹13,611.84 crore in funds were released during the 23 instalments covered in the RTI response. Notably, no specific reason for this decline was provided in the RTI response.

According to a report by India Today, the reasons for the decline cannot be clarified through figures alone.