MUMBAI, Mar 22:
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today launched the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and the Unified Package Insurance Scheme here. Earlier, Mr Jaitley launched the NABARD Agri Credit Monitoring portal, which will help financial institutions to monitor the status of agricultural loans given to farmers.
He also unveiled Roadmap of E-Shakti Expansion Programme of digitisation of Self-Help Groups.
Agriculture will have to grow faster for the country to get rid of poverty and push the overall GDP expansion. He said agriculture was absolutely critical to the economy, he said.
The revamped insurance schemes being launched by the government have the potential to reduce distress in the farm sector. He also stated thet they would be rolled out in a ‘mission mode’ from April1, 2016 to cover Kharif crops. Though the country had crop insurance schemes in the past, those were mainly linked to the crop loans and therefore met with a modest level of success, he added.
‘’This is a crop insurance scheme with a difference, and the difference is absolutely critical to the Indian farmer,’’ Mr Jaitley said. He added that since the new scheme was dependent on large volume, it would cover much larger risks at a very low premium. The farmers premium would be 2 per cent for Kharif foodgrains and oilseeds crops and 1.5 per cent for rabi crops.
In the event of a crop failure a farmer will be paid more. The aim of the government is to cover 50 per cent of the farmers, mostly those depending upon rain-fed agriculture.
Mr Jaitley said with two successive deficit monsoons behind us, a poor rainfall this year would put the systems to test. He said the entire strength of the Indian banking, insurance and financial system would be mobilised to ensure its success.
The scheme has the potential to reduce distress in the farm sector and end the scar of farmer suicides affecting parts of our country. He also said it was a significant step towards making India an ‘insured and pensioned society. Simple technology through phones and remote sensors would be used for quick estimation and early settlement of claims. (UNI)
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