Claims of ₹1,50,589 crore have been paid to farmers against their premium share of ₹30,800 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) since kharif 2016 to Rabi 2022-23, according to the Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
Replying to a query in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, he said PMFBY was introduced in the country from kharif 2016 and is voluntary for states and farmers. Comprehensive risk coverage for crop of farmers against all non-preventable natural risks from pre-sowing to post-harvest stages of the crops at very minimum premium for the farmers is provided under the scheme.
The number of applications from farmers has grown from 6.22 crore in 2020-21 to 11.69 crore in 2022-23. The area insured under the scheme has increased from 469.23 lakh hectares (lh) in 2020-21 to 498.91 lh in 2022-23.
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“Since inception of the scheme till rabi 2022-23, against farmers share of premium of ₹30,800 crore claims of ₹1,50,589 crore have been paid to the farmers, which is about five times of the farmers’ share,” he said.
Payment of premium share as per the provisions of the scheme is the committed liability of the Government and sufficient budget provision is made accordingly. In fact, the budget of the scheme has been increased to ₹15,000 crore at revised estimates stage in the current financial year as compared to ₹12,375.76 crore in revised estimates of 2022-23, he said.
Based on the experience gained, views of various stakeholders and with a view to ensure better transparency, accountability, timely payment of claims to the farmers and to make the scheme more farmer friendly, the Government has periodically revised the operational guidelines of the PMFBY comprehensively to ensure that the eligible benefits under the scheme reach the farmers timely and transparently, he said.
Digitalisation system
To another query on whether the Government has implemented digitalisation system to streamline the administration and disbursement of benefits under the PMFBY, the Minister said DigiClaim module has been developed and implemented with effect from kharif 2022 season for transparent calculation and settlement of claims by insurance companies. Under this, 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), which can be monitored by the Central and State governments.
On settlement of claims, an SMS with a link is sent to the farmer from which farmer can track the status of payment of claims, he said.
At present, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Odisha, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have implemented PMFBY.
To another question, the minister said though the scheme is voluntary for the farmers, more than 30 per cent of the gross cropped area and non-loanee farmers of implementing states are covered under the scheme. This shows the acceptance of the scheme among farmers, he added.