Question: Recently where the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi did unveil the operational guidelines for the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana?
(a) Sehore, Madhya Pradesh
(b) Panipat, Haryana
(c) Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
(d) Ludhiana, Punjab
Ans (a)
Related facts:
- On 18 February the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi unveiled the operational guidelines for the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana at a massive farmers’ rally in Sehore in Madhya Pradesh.
- It may be recalled that Cabinet had approved Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana on 13 January 2016.
- This scheme will come into effect from April 1, 2016 and Farmers would be benefited by the scheme from the Kharif crop (2016).
- The main objectives of this scheme are:
- To provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the
- event of failure of any of the notified crop as a result of natural calamities,
- pests & diseases.
- To stabilize the income of farmers to ensure their continuance in farming.
- To encourage farmers to adopt innovative and modern agricultural practices.
- To ensure flow of credit to the agriculture sector
- According to this scheme there will be a uniform premium of only 2% to be paid by farmers for all Kharif crops and 1.5% for all Rabi crops and In case of annual commercial and horticultural crops, the premium to be paid by farmers will be only 5%.
- In the new Plan there is no upper limit on Government subsidy. Even if balance premium is 90%, it will be borne by the Government.
- Earlier, there was a provision of capping the premium rate which resulted in low claims being paid to farmers.
- The capping has now been removed and farmers will get claim against full sum insured without any reduction.
- For the farmers who took loans for them it is mandatory and for others it is voluntary.
- For crop insurance in addition to Agriculture Insurance Company of India (AIC) several private companies have also been included.
- It has provision of compensation to insured farmers if they have to skip sowing due to natural calamities like floods, unseasonal rains, hailstorm and cyclones.
- The new Crop Insurance Scheme is in line with One Nation – One Scheme theme.
- The use of technology will be encouraged to a great extent.
- Smart phones will be used to capture and upload data of crop cutting to reduce the delays in claim payment to farmers.
- It provides post harvest coverage.
- It also covers the localized risks such as hailstorm, landslide, inundation etc.
- According to the new insurance plan 25 percent of crop losses will be immediately paid and the remaining 75 per cent will be paid in 30-40 days.
- Risks and Losses arising out of War & kindred perils, nuclear risks, riots, malicious damage, theft, act of enmity, grazed and/or destroyed by domestic and/or wild animals shall be excluded.
- The Ministry of Agriculture aims to extent this facility to 50 percent of the country’s 14 million farmers in the next 3 years.
- In first year, 2016-17 30 per cent farmers will be included in new crop insurance scheme.
- It would cost the government around Rs 5,700 crore.
- In second year, 2017-18 it will be extended to 40 per cent farmers which will cost the government around Rs7,400 crore.
- In the last year, 2018-19 government will extend this facility to 50 percent of the country’s farmers and would cost 8,800 crore to the government.
- Currently about 23 percent of farmers Insure their crops.
Reference:
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=136545
http://agricoop.nic.in/imagedefault/whatsnew/sch_eng.pdf
http://www.narendramodi.in/pm-modi-addresses-kisan-kalyan-mela-at-sehore-release-guidelines-for-pmfby-414262
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Cheaper-crop-insurance-scheme-gets-Cabinet-nod/articleshow/50566942.cms