PM hails crop insurance scheme on five year completion

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana was an important initiative to secure the farmers, as the state-run crop insurance scheme completed five years.

Congratulating the beneficiaries of the scheme, the PM tweeted, “An important initiative to secure hardworking farmers from the vagaries of nature, PM Fasal Bima Yojana completes 5 years today. The Yojana has increased coverage, mitigated risk & benefitted crores of farmers. I congratulate all beneficiaries of the scheme.”

On Wednesday, Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar reviewed the scheme, calling it a “milestone” to protect farm incomes. “The scheme is a milestone crop insurance scheme covering full crop cycle against the losses occurring due to non-preventable natural risk. A total of ₹90,000 crore has been paid as claims to farmers till now,” the minister said, addressing stakeholders through video conferencing.

He cited disbursements of claims during drought in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, aside from hailstorms in Haryana and locust attacks in Rajasthan, in 2019, as some notable examples when the scheme safeguarded the interests of the farmers. He called for greater awareness about the scheme “so that many more farmers can take advantage of the scheme”, an official statement said.

Under the scheme, farmers pay between 1% and 2% of the total premium. The rest is shared between the Centre and states on a 50-50 basis.