The Union Government has decided to cover damages done to crops in case of wild animal attacks under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna in select districts on an experimental basis.
The information was shared by Union Agricultural Minister Radha Mohan Singh. The minister said that the government also brought certain horticultural crops under the ambit of Fasal Bima Yojna ambit on an experimental basis.
Key Highlights
• The Government’s Fasal Bima Yojna did not previously cover damages incurred to an individual or a limited number of cultivators during unprecedented localised events such as waterlogging, landslide and hailstorms.
• However, now under its new provisions, the protection scheme will cover all these events.
• The provisions of the crop insurance scheme were amended in consultation with various stakeholders and the amendments have been implemented from this month.
• The amended provisions also stipulate penalties in cases of delay in clearing the insurance claims for crop damages.
Provision of Penalties
• The Government has decided to incorporate the provision of penalties for States and Insurance Companies for the delay in settlement of insurance claims under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
• Under the new provisions, the farmers will be paid 12 per cent interest by insurance companies for the delay in settlement claims beyond two months of prescribed cut-off date.
• The state governments will be required to pay 12 per cent interest for the delay in the release of the state share of subsidy beyond three months of prescribed cut-off date submission of requisition by insurance companies.
• The new provisions come at the onset of the rabi season, which starts from October 1.
• Besides, the new guidelines also detail a Standard Operating Procedure for evaluation of insurance companies and remove them from the scheme if found ineffective in providing services.
Significance
The new operational guidelines address the current challenges faced while implementing the scheme by putting forth effective solutions.
• The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna was launched on February 18, 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. • The scheme provides a comprehensive insurance cover to the farmers against the failure of the crop. Thus, it helps in stabilising the income of the farmers. • The scheme covers all food & oilseeds crops and annual commercial and horticultural crops for which past yield data is available and for which requisite number of Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) are being conducted under General Crop Estimation Survey (GCES). • The scheme is implemented by empanelled general insurance companies. The selection of Implementing Agency (IA) is done by the concerned state government through bidding. • The scheme is compulsory for loanee farmers availing Crop Loan /KCC account for notified crops and voluntary for other others. The scheme is being administered by the Ministry of Agriculture. |
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