The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) has been the focus of farmer protests in Punjab and Haryana over the past year. A parliamentary panel has recommended doubling the yearly payouts under the program from the current Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000 annually and providing farmers with a legal guarantee of the Minimum Support Price (MSP).

The First Report (Eighteenth Lok Sabha) on "Demands for Grants (2024-25)" of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, presented to the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, contains the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and Food Processing, which is led by Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi. Additionally, the committee has suggested that the Department of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare be renamed as the "Department of Agriculture, Farmers & Farm Labourers Welfare." 

“The support given under PM-KISAN scheme may be increased to Rs 12,000/- p.a. from Rs 6,000/- at present. The committee is of the view that seasonal incentives given to farmers may also be extended to tenant farmers and farm labourers. The committee strongly recommends for the name change as stated above which would be vital to a larger effort to streamline agricultural governance and address the diverse needs of those working in agriculture, thereby fostering a more inclusive approach to agricultural development in India,” the committee said. “The committee strongly recommends that the department needs to declare a roadmap for implementation of MSP to farmers as a legal guarantee at the earliest,” it added. 

“The committee is of the view that farmers suffer due to changing international import-export policy on agricultural produce. The committee strongly recommends that a permanent body/institution on the lines of CACP [Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices] may be created and the representatives of farmers along with agricultural experts may invariably be included in the same,” the committee stated, before declaring trade policies pertaining to agriculture, talks should be undertaken with farmers' representatives. The committee has suggested that the government waive the debts of farmers and farm labourers. It also recommended the creation of a National Commission for Minimum Living Wages for Farm Labourers to ensure they receive their rightful benefits. 

Additionally, the committee proposed that the government consider providing mandatory Universal Crop Insurance for small farmers with land holdings of up to 2 hectares, similar to the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) health insurance scheme for all citizens. The committee stated that seasonal incentives offered to farmers might potentially be extended to tenant farmers and farm labourers, even as it recommended raising the support under the PM-Kisan plan from Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000 annually.