Terming agriculture as “absolutely critical to the country’s economy” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley launched the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and Unified Package Insurance Scheme. The revamped schemes would help farmers insure their crops against natural calamities in an efficient way because insurance companies will reverse bid for higher sum insured and lower premium. FM said that the schemes would be rolled out in a “mission mode” from April 1 to cover kharif crops.
Jaitley said that this is a crop insurance scheme with a difference, and the difference is absolutely critical to the Indian farmer. 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% for Kharif foodgrains and oil seeds crops and 1.5% for rabi crops. In this new scheme, farmers will pay less for more coverage and the compensation will be much more in the event of any crop failure or destruction.
The Finance Minister said that the government aims to cover 50 percent of the farmers, mostly those depending upon rain-fed agriculture and help reduce the prevailing distress in the agriculture sector. He also added that these schemes are a part of the government's efforts to convert India into an insured and pensioned society.