The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) has successfully entered its 7th year of implementation with the upcoming Kharif 2022 season, completing 6 years of its implementation since its launch announcement on 18th February 2016 by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at Sehore, Madhya Pradesh.

A flagship scheme of the Government of India, PMFBY aims to provide financial support to farmers suffering crop loss/damage arising out of natural calamities. Over 36 crore farmer applications have been insured under PMFBY, with over INR 1,07,059 crores of claims have already been paid under the scheme as of 4th February, 2022.

Launched 6 years ago, the scheme was revamped in 2020 enabling voluntary participation of the farmers. It also made it convenient for the farmer to report crop loss within 72 hours of the occurrence of any event - through Crop Insurance App, CSC Centre or the nearest agriculture officer, with claim benefit transferred electronically into the bank accounts of the eligible farmer.

Integration of land records with the PMFBY’s National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP), Crop Insurance mobile app for easy enrollment of farmers, remittance of farmer premium through NCIP, a subsidy release module and a claim release module through NCIP are some of the key features of the scheme.

Through its State/District Level Grievance Committee’s, the scheme also enables farmers to submit their grievances at the grassroots level. This also includes acknowledging and resolving farmer grievances through IEC activities such as Crop Insurance Week which is celebrated twice bi-yearly, PMFBY Paathshaala, social media campaigns, a toll-free helpline and email communication.

The scheme has been able to provide financial assistance to the most vulnerable farmers, as around 85% of the farmers enrolled with the scheme are small and marginal farmers. The recent announcement by Finance Minister of India Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman during her 2022-23 budget speech on the use of drones for crop insurance will further strengthen the integration of technology for smooth implementation of the scheme on the ground.

It is to be noted that the scheme will be launching a doorstep distribution drive to deliver crop insurance policies to the farmers ‘Meri Policy Mere Hath’ in all implementing States. The campaign aims to ensure all farmers are well aware and equipped with all information on their policies, land records, the process of claim and grievance redressal under PMFBY.

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APS/JK