Minister of State for Agriculture Mr.
Mohanbhai Kundariya on Tuesday emphasized the need to spread
information of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) to all the farmers of
the country for which he invites all the stakeholders such as PHD Chamber and private
insurance players to organize kisan melas in all the villages of the country so
that farmers may avail the scheme of the government in better ways.
Inaugurating the 2nd National Seminar
on Agri Insurance: Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana under aegis of PHD Chamber
of Commerce and Industry here today, the Minister said that the information of
the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana should spread by organizing kisan melas in
all small villages of the country so that the farmers may get maximum benefits of
the scheme of the government.
He underlined that not only
non-loanee farmers have been covered under the scheme but also the scheme is
focusing on introducing cap on the premium and added that the full benefit of
the sum assured would be utilized with the major aim of maximizing the coverage
under the scheme. He stated that before framing the scheme Prime Minister of
India wanted that the scheme must not only exist on paper but must be
implemented effectively with this objective the scheme has been framed and the
farmers’ welfare has been targeted at wider arena.
According to the Minister, to make
the agriculture insurance attractive among the farmers, there is a need to
educate farmers by organizing such events for which the government has been
initiating such steps and organizing awareness campaign across the country.
Joint Secretary, Ministry of
Agriculture Dr. Ashish Kumar Bhutani in his address mentioned that the
government of India is slowly moving towards farm level assessment of losses
and local calamities such as unseasonal rains etc. and also underlined that the
scheme can be a game changer. He also asserted that further scope for making
the policy more flexible including experts from various states of the country.
In his welcome remarks, President, PHD
Chamber, Dr. Mahesh Gupta said that agriculture insurance penetration amongst
India’s farming community is abysmal. Out of the gross cropped area of 195.26
million hectares in the country, only 42.82 million hectares or 22 per cent was
covered under crop insurance in 2014. While the coverage was higher in some
states — especially Rajasthan and also Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar and
Karnataka — it was hardly a tenth or less for the likes of Gujarat, West Bengal
and Uttar Pradesh.
The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana
(PMFBY) will come into force from the Kharif season starting in June this year.
The scheme covers kharif, rabi crops as well as annual commercial and
horticultural crops. For Kharif crops, the premium charged would be up to 2% of
the sum insured. For Rabi crops, the premium would be up to 1.5% of the
sum assured. For annual commercial and horticultural crops, premium would be 5
per cent.
Earlier only those farmers who have
taken loans for their cultivation, were eligible for insurance of their crops.
However as per the new scheme, all farmers are eligible for the new crop
insurance scheme irrespective of the condition of taking loan or not. The
insurance plan will be handled under a single insurance company, AIC and entire
insurance process; right from joining of farmers to disbursement of claim is to
be made electronically to make it a fraud free and effective scheme.
Subjects experts from the sector of
weather and risk management, insurance companies etc. added more inputs and
floor participation from farmers, brokers in insurance and the academia added
their pertinent inputs. The Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Dr.
Ashish Kumar Bhutani elaborated and addressed all queries raised.
The Seminar was a major eye opener for
the farming fraternity of the country. PHD Chamber has been encouraged to
take this broad based dissemination and facilitation endeavor towards across
other state of India.
Among other who
participated in the Seminar comprised Chairman & Co-Chairman, Insurance
Committee, PHD Chamber, Mr. Yogesh Lohiya and Mr. S K Sethi and its senior
member of the Chamber Mr. Sunil Goyal.
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