PMFBY: Government Stresses on Subsidy Releases for Timely Claim Settlement under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday (13^th July 2020) asked officials to follow up with the states where subsidy releases are still pending, mainly in those states who have not implemented government’s Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) in kharif 2020.

Last month, the agriculture ministry had written to the states to invoke the penalty clause on insurance firms that have defaulted on settling the claims made by cultivators as insurers are yet clear as much as a third of more than Rs 15,000 crore claimed by farmers as crop insurance for 2019-Kharif season, even as the new summer season commenced on 1 July, according to FE report.

Sitharaman during a review meeting of implementation of PMFBY highlighted the need of conducting awareness activities to ensure dissemination of information among the growers in view of scheme becoming voluntary for all farmers from this kharif season. The meeting also discussed challenges & status of implementation of PMFBY for the current season.

The Government is now focusing on adoption of technology in Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and is working towards migrating to technology valuation of yield by 2023. Officials said a survey will be conducted after 2020-21 rabi season to determine the impact of the revamped PMFBY.  Under this crop insurance scheme, farmers pay a fixed 1.5 percent of sum insured for rabi crops, 2 percent for kharif and 5 percent for cash crops. The remaining premium is paid by Central and state government in a 50:50 ratio.

The premium is fixed through a bidding procedure every year. However, effective from this season the Government has allowed states to decide premium for three years.

To know more about the crop insurance scheme visit - https://pmfby.gov.in/