Lok Sabha Question No. 247 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-22
Subject: Fish Workers
Ministry: FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING
Asked by: Shri Bapi Haldar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 247 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22 nd  JULY, 2025

## Fish Workers

## 247. Shri Bapi Haldar:

Will the Minister of FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING be pleased to state:

- (a)   whether the Government has any data on access to subsidized credit, insurance and microfinance for  small-scale  fish  workers  in  Lok  Sabha  Constituency  Mathurapur and Sundarbans in West Bengal;
- (b)  the number of fishers covered under National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) credit schemes during the last three years;

(c)  whether traditional coastal fishers are being excluded from bank linked like Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) or Kisan Credit Card (KCC); (d)   whether the Government proposes to include these vulnerable communities under targeted financial inclusion measures; and (e)  the status of insurance coverage for fishers operating in disaster prone regions like

- Sundarbans?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING (SHRI GEORGE KURIAN)

(a)  The  Government  does  not  maintain  specific  data  on  access  to  subsidized  credit, insurance,  and  microfinance  at  the  Parliamentary  Constituency  or  sub-regional  level, including Mathurapur and the Sundarbans in West Bengal. However, fish workers in these regions  are  eligible  beneficiaries  under  Government  of  India  schemes  such  as  the Pradhan  Mantri  Matsya  Sampada  Yojana  (PMMSY),  Fisheries  and  Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF), and Kisan Credit Card (KCC).

(b) The National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) does not implement direct credit schemes.  However,  it  facilitates  credit-linked  interventions  under  the  Pradhan  Mantri Matsya  Sampada  Yojana  (PMMSY)  and the  Fisheries  and  Aquaculture  Infrastructure Development  Fund  (FIDF),  which  operate  through  interest  subvention  and  credit guarantee mechanisms. These interventions, which inter alia support deep sea fishing vessels, hatcheries, biofloc units, and cold chain infrastructure, are executed by State Governments and Nodal Loaning Entities (NLEs) with support from NFDB. The Board does not maintain disaggregated year-wise data on individual beneficiaries availing credit through these facilitated mechanisms.

(c) and (d): Traditional coastal fishers are not excluded from schemes such as PMMSY or  KCC.  In  fact,  these  schemes  are  specifically  designed  to  support  small-scale  and traditional fishers-including vulnerable communities-through targeted financial inclusion  measures. These include prioritized  access  to  institutional  credit,  insurance, livelihood assistance, and capacity-building initiatives, alongside infrastructure support and  value  chain  development.  Guidelines  have  been  issued  to  States  and  banks  to promote equitable inclusion.

(e) The Group Accident Insurance Scheme (GAIS) , implemented through the National Fisheries  Development  Board  (NFDB),  provides  insurance  coverage  for  registered fishers,  including  those  in  disaster-prone  areas  like  the  Sundarbans.  West  Bengal participated in the scheme during the second year of implementation (26 July 2022 to 25 July 2023), during which 8,499 fishers were covered .

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