Lok Sabha Question No. 1859 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-01
Subject: Training Session for Digiclaim Module
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Sangamlal Kadedin Gupta, Anurag Sharma, Suresh Kumar Kashyap, Ramapati Ram Tripathi, Mahendra Singh Solanky, Pradeep Kumar Singh, P.P. Chaudhary, Parbatbhai Savabhai Patel, Pratap Chandra Sarangi

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1859

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 1 st  AUGUST, 2023

## TRAINING SESSION FOR DIGICLAIM MODULE

1859.   SHRI SANGAM LAL GUPTA: SHRI ANURAG SHARMA: SHRI SURESH KUMAR KASHYAP: DR. RAMAPATI RAM TRIPATHI: SHRI MAHENDRA SINGH SOLANKY: SHRI PRADEEP KUMAR SINGH: SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY: SHRI PARBATBHAI SAVABHAI PATEL: SHRI PRATAP CHANDRA SARANGI:

Will  the  Minister  of  AGRICULTURE  AND  FARMERS  WELFARE कृ षि एवं ककसान कल्याण मंत्री be pleased to state:

(a) whether 'Digiclaim' module has been launched by the Government recently to bring innovation and transparency in the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and if so, the details and its objectives thereof;

(b) whether the Government has planned training sessions for farmers belonging to remote areas on the working of the digitized claim settlement module 'Digiclaim' under the ambit of PMFBY and if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether any new mechanism is involved in the digitized claim settlement module which will deal with the issue of delay in claim settlement present in the existing system;

(d) the percentage of farmers which have used the digital means for the claim settlement under the said yojana;

(e) the details of the claim amount that has been disbursed to the insured farmers in the States of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and specifically from the Jhansi, Pratapgarh, Deoria, Shimla, Dewas & Balasore Parliamentary Constituencies respectively under PMFBY; and

(f)  the  various  measures being taken by the Government so that maximum number of farmers can get benefited under the said yojana in the country particularly in Bihar and Gujarat?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ षि एवं ककसान कल्याण मंत्री

(SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

(a) to (d)  : For transparent calculation and settlement of claims by insurance companies, claims module  namely,  DigiClaim  has  been  developed  and  implemented  w.e.f.  Kharif  2022  season wherein all the claims are worked out through National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP) instead of by insurance company and  paid to farmers accounts using Public Finance Management System (PFMS).  It is an internal system of settlement of claims wherein claims are settled through NCIP and  PFMS  for  monitoring  the  settlement  of  claims  by  Central  and  State  Government.    Under digital  claim module claims would automatically be worked out through NCIP and settled using

PFMS.  Farmers do not operate the DigiClaim module and only GoI & State Govt. functionaries will  get  access  to  it.  However, on settlement of claims, a SMS with a link is sent to the farmer from which farmer can track the status of payment of claims.   Therefore, there is no need for training of farmers for the module.

(e) : Details of claims disbursed for during 2022-23 to the following States is given below :

| States           |   Claims Paid (Rs. in crore) |
|------------------|------------------------------|
| Uttar Pradesh    |                       595.98 |
| Himachal Pradesh |                         2.67 |
| Madhya Pradesh   |                       177.22 |

Constituency-wise data of claims is not maintained.

(f) : The Government has taken several steps to create substantial awareness about the scheme amongst  beneficiaries  so  that  they  can  enroll  themselves  voluntarily  under  the  scheme  to increase  the  coverage  in  terms  of  different  crops  and  areas.  The  Government  has  made provisions  to  ensure  availability  of  adequate  funds  for  awareness  of  PMFBY.  The  revised Operational Guidelines for PMFBY which came into effect from 1 st  October 2018 have inter-alia provided that the insurance companies should compulsorily spend atleast 0.5% of the total gross premium collected by them for Information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities.

The Government has actively supported the awareness activities being carried out by the States, implementing Insurance Companies, financial institutions, and Common Service Centres (CSCs)  network  to  disseminate  key  features  of  PMFBY  amongst  farmers  and  members  of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs).

Further, a structured awareness campaign 'Crop Insurance Week/Fasal Bima Saptah' has been  initiated  by  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture  and  Farmers  Welfare  since  Kharif  2021  season onwards.  The  core  focus  of  the  campaign  is  to  increase  the  awareness  about  benefits  of  the scheme, sensitize the stakeholders and to increase overall enrolment of farmers, thereby helping them  to  reap  the  benefits  of  crop  insurance  with  special  focus  on  identified  aspirational/tribal districts.

Along with this, 'Fasal Bima Pathshalas' are also being organized at village/GP level for knowledge building of farmers on various aspects of scheme implementation.

Apart  from  this,  other  activities  for  awareness  generation  involve  the  publicity  of  key features  and  benefits  of  the  scheme  through  advertisements  in  leading  National  and  local newspapers, airing of audio-visual spots on regional / local channels, distribution of IEC material in local languages, dissemination of SMS through Kisan / National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP) portal  and  organisation  of  online  workshops  of  all  stakeholders  including  farmers,  Panchayat Members, and other key stakeholders.

Government  had  also  organized  a  nationwide  Doorstep  Crop  Insurance  Policy/receipt Distribution mega drive - 'Meri Policy Mere Haath'. Hard copies of crop insurance policy receipts are distributed to farmers enrolled under PMFBY through special camps at gram Panchayat/village level. All implementing State/UT Governments along with respective insurance companies have been organizing Gram Panchayat level mega policy distribution drive.

This  Department  is  regularly  monitoring  the  implementation  of  PMFBY  through  weekly video  conference  of  stakeholders,  one  to  one  meetings  with  insurance  companies/States  etc. Various innovative technologies are also adopted to increase the timeliness for flow of requisite information/data amongst stakeholders.

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