Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)
In India there have been a lot of crop damage insurance scheme introduced but none of them have really lived up to their expectation and have not been able to reach out to all the farmers of the country. So to cater to the needs of the farmers, in a better manner, the government of India launched the Fasal Bima Yojana in the month of April 2016.
| Scheme Name | Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana ( |
| What’s the scheme is about? | Its Upgraded Crop Insurance Scheme |
| When did this upgraded crop insurance scheme launched | 13th January of 2016 |
| Estimated number of crop insurance handled under this scheme | Around Rs. 9000 Crore |
| Insurance claim can be assisted by | Smart phones and satellite technology |
This scheme has replaced the previously existing two crop insurance schemes – National Agricultural Insurance Scheme and Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme. The objective of the Fasal Bima Yojana is to provide insurance coverage to the farmers for their crops in case of crop failure.
Details about the scheme
- Under this scheme the rabi crops, kharif crops and the annual commercial crops a horticulture crops are all covered. The premium that is charged would depend on the type of crop. For Kharif crops the premium is 2% of the total sum insured, for commercial and horticultural crops the premium is 5% and for the rabi crops the premium is 1.5%.
- This much premium will have to be paid by the farmers. The rest of the premium will be paid by the central and state government.
- This scheme will be provided to the farmers of a state by one particular insurance company only. Overall the insurance will be taken care by the Agriculture Insurance Company of India Limited.
- Under this scheme the farmers and the tenant farmers will be covered for their losses. Along with this the non-loaned farmers will also be covered under this scheme. But for doing so the farmer has to submit proper documents.
- This scheme will cover yield losses of the standing crops. The failure of crops may be cased due to storm, flood, fire, drought, etc. Apart from this the famers will be covered in a situation when the farmer is not able to plant any crop due to a certain reason. The scheme will also cover the post-harvest losses.
- The objective of the scheme is to bring together almost 50% of the farmers of the country within the coming 2 years.
- Keeping in mind that the scheme has been launched for the betterment of the farmers and to encourage them to continue farming the farmers have been exempted of any tax under this scheme.
Crop Insurance Portal
The government of India recently launched the Crop Insurance Portal for the better management of the Fasal Bima Yojana. This portal will be a common portal for all the information relating to the scheme so that all the stakeholders can refer to it.
The portal will have all the information relating to the kharif, rabi and seasonal and horticultural crops. All these information will be made accessible to the famers, insurance companies and the government agencies that are associated with the scheme.
The insurance companies and the government agencies have been ordered to put up all the information on the portal. Now the portal has been launched with the basic services but then with time the portal will be also used for the online form submission by the famers for the scheme.
Overall this scheme is a beneficial scheme and stands as a better option for the famers when compared to the previous farmers insurance scheme. The main challenge that the government is and would face would be to implement the scheme. So, one has to wait until the scheme has reached all the regions of the country and has been implemented fully.
The government seems to be working quite hard to make this scheme a successful one and actually benefit the farmers of the country. Being at its initial stage, the upgraded crop insurance scheme attained warm welcome by the nation’s farmers and it is expected to be expanded all over the nation soon.
Conclusion
As the Indian nation fully depends upon the agricultural activities, launching such effective crop insurance scheme for farmers would be helpful during the natural and unexpected calamities. However, experts suggest that the implementation of the scheme must be carried away properly under the governance of respective authority in such a way to provide benefits for the affected farmers.
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