Punjab CM launches “Kissan card”

HAFIZABAD: Punjab Chief Minster (CM), Maryam Nawaz, launched the “Kissan Card”, designed to provide financial assistance to small-scale farmers and reduce the influence of third-parties.  

The launch event took place in Hafizabad and was attended by several members of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

During her speech, the Punjab CM announced an increase in the programme’s budget, from 500,000 to 750,000.

Read more: Green Tractor Scheme draws massive interest with over 1.5m applications

The Kissan Card will help farmers secure interest-free loans of up to Rs150,000 per crop season. It can be used to buy seeds, fertilisers, and pesticides.

Maryam stated that the Punjab government was ‘dedicated’ to creating policies that ‘prioritized’ the welfare of farmers

Maryam also talked about the “Green Tractor Scheme”, which is excepted to attract 1.5 million applications.

Under the Green Tractor Scheme, the government offers subsidies of up to Rs1 million on tractors priced around Rs4 million or above.

The scheme will also offer an investment of Rs35-40 billion, which will be allocated to establish rental machinery outlets across the country’s most populated and fertile province.

The Punjab CM talked of plans to solarise 7,000 tube wells currently being powered by diesel and petrol.

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Register for Kissan Card

To register for the Kissan Card, farmers should text their national identity card numbers (CNIC) to 8070 from registered mobile number.