Prime Minister's Crop Insurance Scheme: Providing Financial Security and Prosperity to Farmers, Eligibility, and Application Process

On February 18, 2025, the Prime Minister's Crop Insurance Scheme (PMFBY) celebrates its ninth anniversary, empowering India's farmers for nearly a decade. Launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in 2016, this scheme has provided a robust safety net for farmers against crop losses due to natural calamities. Not only does it stabilize farmers' incomes, but it also encourages them to adopt innovative practices.

Approval of the Crop Insurance Scheme till 2025-26:

The primary objective of the Crop Insurance Scheme is to provide financial support to farmers suffering from crop losses caused by natural calamities such as hailstorms, droughts, floods, cyclones, heavy and unseasonal rains, as well as pest and disease attacks. Given the success and impact of the scheme, the Union Cabinet approved the continuation of the Prime Minister's Crop Insurance Scheme and the Restructured Weather-Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) until the financial year 2025-26. For this extension, the government has sanctioned a budget of ₹69,515.71 crore.

Restructured Weather-Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS):

RWBCIS is a weather index-based insurance scheme introduced alongside PMFBY. The main difference between PMFBY and RWBCIS is the method of calculating claims; PMFBY directly assesses crop loss, while RWBCIS uses weather-based data to calculate claims.

Technological Innovations for Increased Transparency:

The Prime Minister's Crop Insurance Scheme is enhancing transparency and speeding up the claims process by utilizing modern technologies. Satellite imagery, drones, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), and remote sensing technologies are used for crop area estimation, resolving yield disputes, loss assessments, and ensuring accurate insurance claims and timely payments. The CCE-Agri App captures crop cutting experiment (CCE) data directly on the National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP). State land records are also integrated with the NCIP, simplifying the claims process for farmers.

YES-TECH: Swift Claim Settlement through Technology:

Since Kharif 2023, YES-TECH (Yield Estimation System Based on Technology) has been introduced, promoting the adoption of technology-based yield estimation. Its primary goal is to reduce dependence on manual systems and gradually increase technology-based yield assessments for insurance claims.

Key Benefits of PMFBY:

1. Affordable Premium Rates: 
2. 2% for Kharif food and oilseed crops
3. 1.5% for Rabi food and oilseed crops
4. 5% for annual commercial or horticultural crops (the remaining premium is borne by the government)
5. More Accurate and Transparent Loss Assessment
6. Timely Payment of Claims to Ensure Farmers' Economic Stability

Eligibility for Prime Minister's Crop Insurance Scheme:

1. All farmers growing notified crops in notified areas
2. Farmers with insurable interest in the insured crops
3. Valid and authenticated land ownership certificate or a valid land tenure agreement is required
4. The farmer must be a cultivator or sharecropper on the insured land
5. Applications for insurance must be made within the prescribed time frame—within 2 weeks of the start of the sowing season
6. Farmers should not have received compensation for the same crop loss from any other medium or source

Although the scheme is voluntary for farmers, the coverage for non-loan farmers has increased to 55% of the total coverage in 2023-24, indicating its growing popularity and acceptance.

Application Process:

1. Visit the official website of the Prime Minister's Crop Insurance Scheme: 1.   (https://www.pmfby.gov.in/)
2. Click on the "Farmer Corner" to access the online registration form
3. Fill in the mandatory details
4. After registration, go to the "Farmer Corner" again and click on "Apply for Crop Insurance Yourself"
5. Login and enter necessary details, request OTP, and click submit
6. Complete all mandatory fields in the application form and upload all necessary documents
7. Make the payment for the insurance premium
8. Track the status of your application on the PMFBY website via the "Application Status" option

The Prime Minister Crop Insurance Scheme is an effective initiative that provides financial security to farmers. By applying on time, farmers can maximize the benefits of this scheme.