Lucknow: On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will formally kick off the implementation of Rs 75,000-crore Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme and distribute the first installment of Rs 2,000 to over one crore farmers during his visit to Gorakhpur and Prayagraj.

However, during his visit to Gorakhpur, the hometown of UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Modi will also be attending the Kisan Sammelan apart from launching the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, announced in this year’s Union Budget. The Kisan scheme, launched to address farm distress, guarantees Rs 6,000 annually to farmers with less than 2 hectares of land, in three installments. The first installment of Rs 2,000 will be handed over to the farmers by Modi. The PM will also be laying the foundation stone for several development projects in Gorakhpur before flying to Prayagraj at 1:30pm.

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It is worth mentioning here that after reaching Prayagraj at 2.50pm, Modi is expected to take stock of arrangements besides other programmes at the Kumbh before flying back to Delhi at around 4:40pm. Since the scheme was launched retrospectively from December 1, 2018, the first installment of Rs 2,000 is due within the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2019, few weeks before the Lok Sabha polls.

Chief secretary Anup Chandra Pandey has also reviewed the preparations for the proposed launch in Gorakhpur and has directed officials to upload the names of beneficiaries on the designated PM Kisan portal and Aadhaar seeding of their bank accounts so that they could get their money instantly at the inaugural ceremony. 

PM Modi was also scheduled to visit Amethi, the parliamentary constituency of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on February 27 but the programme has now been postponed.

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