"Unconditional income support like PM-KISAN is a more efficient instrument than input subsidies for Indian agriculture." Critically examine.

PM-KISAN transfers ₹6,000 a year to landholding farmer families in three instalments of ₹2,000 [1]. Its 24th instalment sends more than ₹18,690 crore to 9.34 crore farmers [2]. Input subsidies work differently: they lower the price of fertiliser, power or water. Income support delivers money more efficiently, but it is efficient only within limits.

Why income support is more efficient

• Lower leakage: DBT into Aadhaar-seeded accounts removes intermediaries [2]. Matching beneficiaries against Income Tax and UIDAI data has recovered about ₹416.75 crore from ineligible payees [3].
• Crop-neutral: Cash does not reward overuse of any single input. Input subsidies tend to push farmers towards whatever is subsidised.
• Farmer autonomy: The family decides whether to spend on seed, diesel or debt. Money goes where the farmer needs it most.
• Progressive per head: A flat ₹2,000 per instalment [2] gives a marginal farmer the same amount as a large one. Input subsidies grow with land size and consumption.

Where the claim weakens

• Excludes the actual cultivator: Eligibility follows land records. Landless agricultural labourers, about 55% of agricultural workers in 2011, are left out [1]. The Centre has no proposal to add tenants [4], even though the Kisan Credit Card already lends to tenant farmers [5].
• Inclusion errors: In Bihar, the CAG found that 48,366 income-tax payers received ₹39.05 crore. Only about 8% had been recovered at the time of audit [6].
• Falling real value: The benefit has stayed at ₹6,000 since 2019. The 2026-27 allocation is ₹63,500 crore [7], spread thinly at about ₹500 a month per family.
• No asset creation: ₹2,000 cannot build a warehouse. That is why the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund has had to mobilise about ₹1.75 lakh crore across more than 2.28 lakh projects [2].

Income support is the better channel for getting money to farmers. However, efficient delivery does not guarantee better outcomes for farmers. Steps that would help:

• extend coverage to tenants through State tenancy records, as the Standing Committee on Agriculture (2020) urged [7]
• review the ₹6,000 amount regularly
• run eligibility checks before every instalment, not only after payment
• pair the cash with rationalised input subsidies and AIF-backed infrastructure.

PM-KISAN works best as a complement to input subsidies, not a replacement. Used that way, it advances inclusive farm growth and SDG 2.