Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off his third term in office on Monday morning, a day after taking oath at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. In a video, Modi is seen being greeted by Prime Minister’s Office staffers as he returns to Delhi’s South Block.
In a video posted by news agency ANI, several officials of the PMO are seen lined up at the office and applauding Modi as he walks towards it. The prime minister also greets the staffers with folded hands.
In the first decision of the new National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government sworn in on Sunday, Modi signed his first file authorising the next instalment of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) cash transfer for farmers – the 17th instalment of PM Kisan Nidhi for 93 million eligible farmers worth ₹20,000 crore.
After signing the file, Modi asserted that his government was fully committed to farmers.
“Ours is a government fully committed to Kisan Kalyan (farmers’ welfare). It is, therefore, fitting that the first file signed on taking charge is related to farmer welfare. We want to keep working even more for the farmers and the agriculture sector in the times to come,” he said.
The PM-Kisan is a central sector scheme that provides financial assistance to cultivable landholding farmer families across the country, subject to certain exclusion criteria, to enable them to cover expenses related to agriculture and allied activities as well as domestic needs.
Under the scheme, the government provides income support of ₹6,000 a year to farmers with valid enrolment. It is paid in three equal cash transfers of ₹2,000, one every four months. However, the scheme is applicable only to landholding farmers.
The welfare programme was launched on February 24, 2019.
Reportedly, over 2.42 lakh crore has already been disbursed to more than 11 crore beneficiary farmer families through various instalments.
On Sunday evening, President Droupadi Murmu administered oaths to PM Modi and his 71 members of the council of ministers during a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The ceremony was attended by over 8,000 guests, including seven heads of state as part of India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy – Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe, President of Maldives Mohamed Muizzu, Vice-President of Seychelles Ahmed Afif, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and Prime Minister of Bhutan Tshering Tobgay.
Meanwhile, the allocation of portfolios to the newly sworn cabinet ministers is likely to be announced later in the day.
(With inputs from ANI)