Nuakhai gift: Odisha CM Majhi releases Rs 833 crore CM-KISAN aid

BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday released the fifth instalment under the CM-KISAN scheme, transferring `833 crore directly to the bank accounts of 41.35 lakh small and marginal farmers and 13,949 landless agricultural households.

The assistance was released at a state-level function organised on OUAT, Bhubaneswar campus, ahead of Nuakhai, the major agrarian festival of the state, especially in western Odisha.

Addressing the gathering, the chief minister said the prosperity of farmers is the real foundation of the state’s progress. “CM-KISAN is not merely financial assistance; it is also a recognition of the hard work of farmers,” he said.

Majhi said the government was targeting at least a two-fold increase in the annual income of farm families, noting that more than 60 per cent of the state’s population depended on agriculture. He urged the farmers to move beyond traditional farming and adopt diversification, including livestock rearing, fisheries, millet cultivation and pulses.

Under the Samrudha Krushak Yojana, paddy is being procured at `3,100 per quintal, which includes the Centre’s minimum support price and input assistance of the state. During the 2025-26 kharif season, 77.48 lakh metric tonne of paddy was procured from 18.84 lakh farmers with `5,663.84 crore paid as input subsidy and the money was sent to the farmers’ accounts within 48 hours, the CM said.

As some regions of the state are experiencing flood situation, the state government has extended farmers’ registration for kharif paddy procurement for 2026-27 till September 7.

Majhi said a Rs 1,000 crore special assistance package has been approved for farmers affected by recent floods in Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara and Sundargarh districts. Compensation will be provided based on damage assessment by field officials of the Revenue and Agriculture departments, he said.

Criticising the previous BJD government, the chief minister said the monthly income of the state’s agricultural households was `5,112 in 2022, the second lowest in the country at that time. He said his government is making efforts to improve farm incomes through higher paddy procurement prices and diversified agricultural activities.

Deputy chief minister and Agriculture minister KV Singh Deo said no eligible farmer affected by the floods will be denied assistance, and assured that the process would remain transparent.

Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari said the state had formally recognised unseasonal rain as a disaster to facilitate assistance to affected farmers.

The programme was live-streamed across all 30 districts with more than 750 farmers attending the state-level event.