·       Over seven lakh farmers in Punjab are bereft of the financial assistance provided under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) Yojana. This is because the state government is still trying to figure out the process to verify those who have self-registered for this assistance are genuine land-owning farmers.

·       Till date, over 24 lakh farmers in the state have registered to get the minimum income support from the Government of India under the scheme. While the 17.50 lakh farmers, who had signed up for the scheme through the cooperative societies have been getting the benefit and have received seven instalments of the assistance (Rs 2,000 in each one), the remaining seven lakhs are still waiting to avail the benefit.

·       The scheme provides income assistance of Rs 6,000 per annum to farmers. This assistance is given in three instalments in a year, and registered farmers have already received seven.

·       Punjab has a high suicide rate among debt-ridden small and marginal farmers. If provided an assured financial assistance, this section of farmers could be prevented from taking any extreme step.

Officials in the state Agriculture Department said they were trying to integrate the details of the seven lakh self-registered applicants under the scheme with their land records.