New insurance to cover 50 percent of farmers

February 20, 2016 Hot from the Oven Valli Sarvani No comments

The government is making plants to cover 50% of all farmers under a new crop insurance policy. This policy aims at providing help to farmers in case of weather-related risks according to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The new scheme is named Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). The scheme was approved by the cabinet on 13 January. The aim is to help solve issues in various areas of back-to-back droughts in parts of the country in 2014 and 2015.

The NDA government made a plan to address the issues related to the weather problems. This scheme is the main idea of their plans to help the farmers. 80 percent of Indian monsoons occur between June-September, so the government wants to take precautions.

Modi stated that the cap for premiums to be paid has been set and their crops will be fully covered now.

Modi gave a speech to farmers in Sehore, Madhya Pradesh. He announced the operational guidelines of the new scheme.

He said that every single farmer’s crop damage in a village will be covered with the benefits of the insurance. In previous schemes, each sub-district was taken as a unit of assessment and individual farmers got paid when crops were damaged across a wide area.

However, the new scheme considers either a village panchayat or individual farmer’s field in case of localized calamities such as hailstorms as the unit of assessment.

Modi stated that under PMFBY, farmers who are unable to sow their crops because of lack of rainfall will get covered by the policy. The policy also covers risk of damage to crops after harvest. Furthermore, the scheme also allows an immediate payment of 25 percent of the claim amount. Modi also stated that payments delays will be cut down with the help of technology. The new scheme is expected to start in April.

Image Credit: Image by Nandalal Sarkar from Pixabay (Free for commercial use)