Lok Sabha Question No. 2139 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-15
Subject: Functioning of PMFBY
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Kripanath Mallah, Vincent H Pala

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2139

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 15 TH  MARCH, 2022

## FUNCTIONING OF PMFBY

2139. SHRI KRIPANATH MALLAH: SHRI VINCENT H. PALA:

Will  the  Minister  of  AGRICULTURE  AND  FARMERS  WELFARE कृ िष एवं कसान कयाण मंी be pleased to state:

- (a) the salient features of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY);
- (b) the number of farmers who have been regular with the premium amount under PMFBY;
- (c)  the  details  of  farmers  who  have been able to redeem insurance money in the event of bad crop;
- (d) the number of farmers who have faced delay in receiving insurance payments by due date, State-wise; and
- (e)  whether  the  Government  has  any  plan  to  revamp  the  scheme  so  that  actual benefits reach the farmers?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ िष एवं कसान कयाण मंी

(SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

- (a) : The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) has been approved for its implementation  from  Kharif  2016  and  further  revised  and  revamped  from  Rabi 2018-19 and Kharif 2020 season respectively.  The main features of PMFBY are annexed.
- (b)  to  (e)  :  Details  of  number  of  farmer  applications  enrolled,  premium  paid  by farmers, claims paid and number of farmer applications who got claims due to crop failure since inception of the scheme in 2016-17 are given as under :

| Year    |   No. of Farmer Applications Enrolled (in lakhs) |   Premium paid by farmers (Rs. in crore) |   Claims Paid (Rs. in crore) |   No. of Farmer Applications got claims (in lakh) |
|---------|--------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|
| 2016-17 |                                            583.7 |                                     4085 |                        16808 |                                             156.5 |
| 2017-18 |                                            532.7 |                                     4203 |                        22149 |                                             177.1 |
| 2018-19 |                                            577.8 |                                     4690 |                        28171 |                                             224.2 |
| 2019-20 |                                            622.4 |                                     4532 |                        26155 |                                             229   |
| 2020-21 |                                            615.9 |                                     4020 |                        17783 |                                             159.7 |

The  admissible  claims  under  the  PMFBY  are  generally  paid  by  the concerned insurance companies within two months of completion of Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs)/harvesting period and one month of notification for invoking the risks/perils of prevented sowing, mid-season adversity and post harvest losses subject to receipt of total share of premium subsidy from concerned Government within time.  However, settlement of few claims in some States got delayed due to reasons  like  delayed  transmission  of  yield  data;  late  release  of  State  share  in premium subsidy, yield related disputes between insurance companies and States, non-receipt of account details  of  some farmers for transfer of claims to the bank account of eligible farmers and National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) related issues,  erroneous/incomplete  entry  of  individual  farmers  data  on  National  Crop Insurance  Portal  (NCIP),  delay  in  remittance  of  farmers  share  of  premium/nonremittance of farmers share of premium to concerned insurance company etc.

This  Department  is  regularly  monitoring  the  implementation  of  PMFBY including timely settlement of claims through weekly video conference of stakeholders, one to one meetings with insurance companies/States etc. Insurance companies have to pay penal interest @12% per annum to the farmers for the period beyond the stipulated period in the PMFBY Guidelines from the date of  receipt  of  final  yield  data  from  the  State  Government  and  completion  of  crop damage survey.

The rationalization/revisions/improvements in the crop insurance schemes is a continuous process and decisions on suggestions/ representations/ recommendations  of  the  stakeholders  /studies  are  taken  from  time  to  time  after consultation with various stakeholders.

## Salient Features of PMFBY

- i) Provides comprehensive insurance coverage against crop loss on account of non-preventable natural risks, thus helping in stabilizing the income of the farmers and encourage them for adoption of innovative practices.
2. ii) Increased risk coverage of Crop cycle - pre-sowing to post-harvest losses.
3. iii) Area approach for settlement of claims for widespread damage. Notified Insurance unit has been reduced to Village/Village Panchayat  for major crops.
4. iv) Actuarial/bidded premium but uniform maximum premium of only 2%, 1.5% and 5% to be paid  by  farmers  for  all  Kharif  crops,  Rabi  Crops  and  Commercial/  horticultural  crops respectively.      Premium  over  and  above  these  limits  is  shared  by  the  Central  and  State Governments on 50 : 50 basis except in North Eastern Region where it is 90 : 10.
- v) The difference between premium and the rate of Insurance charges payable by farmers is provided as subsidy and shared equally by the Centre and State.
6. vi) Uniform seasonality discipline & Sum Insured  for both loanee & non-loanee farmers
7. vii) Removal of the provision of capping on premium which led to reduction in sum insured to facilitate farmers to get claim against full sum insured without any reduction.
8. viii) Individual  farm  level  assessment  and  settlement  of  claims  for  localized  calamities  of hailstorm, landslide, Inundation, Cloud Burst and Natural Fire and post harvest losses due to cyclone, cyclonic/unseasonal rains and hailstorm for the crops kept in the field for drying upto a period of 14 days, throughout the country.
9. ix) Provision of claims upto 25% of sum insured for prevented sowing.
- x) 'On-Account  payment'  upto  25%  of  sum  insured  for  mid  season  adversity,  if  the  crop damage is reported more than 50% in the insurance unit.  Remaining claims based on Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) data.
11. xi) Use of Remote Sensing Technology, Smartphones & Drones for quick estimation of crop losses to ensure early settlement of claims.
12. xii) Crop Insurance Portal has been developed for ensuring better administration, co-ordination, transparency, dissemination of information and delivery of services including  crediting the claim amount electronically to the individual farmer's Bank Account.
13. xiii) Focused attention on increasing awareness about the schemes among all stakeholders and appropriate provisioning of resources for the same.
14. xiv) Making the scheme voluntary for all farmers instead of compulsory for loanee farmers.

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