The Union Cabinet approved continuation of the PM-KISAN scheme beyond its current phase ending in 2026. Under PM-KISAN, eligible farmer families receive ₹6,000 per year in three equal instalments of ₹2,000 directly into their bank accounts. The scheme, launched in February 2019, uses Direct Benefit Transfer to reach small and marginal landholding farmers. Its extension signals the government's commitment to income support as a distinct pillar of agricultural policy alongside price and input subsidies.

PM-KISAN (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi) is a Central Sector Scheme — meaning it is 100% funded by the Government of India with no state share required. This is an important distinction from Centrally Sponsored Schemes where states co-fund. The scheme was launched on 24 February 2019 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, with an initial retrospective effective date of 1 December 2018.

The core mechanism is Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT): ₹6,000 per year is paid in three instalments of ₹2,000 each, credited directly to the Aadhaar-linked bank accounts of eligible farmer families. The implementing ministry is the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Eligibility was originally limited to small and marginal farmers (landholding up to 2 hectares), but was later universalised to all farmer families irrespective of land size, with certain exclusions (income taxpayers, government employees, institutional landholders, etc.).

For RBI and NABARD aspirants, the DBT mechanism is the key angle: it bypasses intermediaries, reduces leakage, and is linked to financial inclusion goals — every beneficiary must have a bank account, reinforcing the Jan Dhan ecosystem. For NABARD, PM-KISAN intersects with agricultural credit flow data and rural household income stabilisation. For UPSC, the scheme illustrates the shift from price-support-centric to income-support-centric agricultural policy, reflecting the recommendation of the Dalwai Committee on doubling farmers' income.