About Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY):
- Launched on 18th February 2016, PMFBY is a crop insurance scheme by the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation, and Farmers’ Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture.
- It aims to provide financial protection to farmers against crop loss due to natural disasters (hail, drought, famine), pests, and diseases.
- It provides crop insurance at a cost-effective premium to all Indian farmers.
- It is implemented through a network of insurance companies and banks.
- Objectives:
- To provide financial assistance and support to farmers suffering from crop damage or loss arising out of unforeseen events
- To stabilise the income of farmers and ensure continuance in farming
- To encourage the farmers to adopt modern and innovative agricultural practices
- To ensure crop diversification, and creditworthiness of the farmers, enhance growth, and competitiveness of the agriculture sector and protect the farmers from production risks
- Eligibility:
- All farmers, including sharecroppers and tenant farmers, growing the notified crops in the notified areas are eligible for coverage.
- Compulsory Component: All farmers availing Seasonal Agricultural Operations (SAO) loans from Financial Institutions (i.e. loanee farmers) for the notified crops would be covered compulsorily.
- Voluntary Component: The Scheme would be optional for the non-loanee farmers.
- Farmers must have an insurable interest in the insured crops.
- Farmers must possess a valid and authenticated land ownership certificate or a valid land tenure agreement.
- Farmers must not have received compensation for the same crop loss from any other medium or source.
- Special efforts shall be made to ensure maximum coverage of SC/ST/Women farmers under the scheme.
- Budget allocation and utilization under this scheme should be in proportion to land holdings of SC/ ST/ General along with women in the respective State cluster.
Benefits of the Scheme:
- Affordable Premiums:
- The maximum premium payable by the farmer will be 2% for the Kharif food and oilseed crops.
- For rabi food and oilseed crops, it is 1.5% and for yearly commercial or horticultural crops it will be 5%.
- The remaining premium is subsidized by the government.
- For the farmers in the North-Eastern States, Jammu, Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh, the government also pays the entire premium.
- Comprehensive Coverage:
- The scheme covers natural disasters (droughts, floods), pests, and diseases.
- Post-harvest losses due to local risks like hailstorms and landslides are also included.
- Loss or damage to notified insured crops due to war, nuclear risks, malicious damage and other preventable risks is excluded from the scope of coverage.
- Timely Compensation: PMFBY aims to process claims within two months of the harvest to ensure that farmers get the compensation quickly, preventing them from falling into debt traps.
- Technology-Driven Implementation:
- PMFBY integrates advanced technologies like satellite imaging, drones, and mobile apps for precise estimation of crop loss, ensuring accurate claim settlements.
- The National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP) digitizes processes for seamless farmer-insurer-bank interaction. YES-TECH (Yield Estimation System Based on Technology) ensures remote sensing based accurate yield estimation, while CROPIC (Collection of Real-time photos and Observations of Crops) uses geotagged photos to verify crops for precise damage assessment.
