Crop insurance claims at Rs 9,570 crore for 2020-21 lower by over 60 percent from previous year

There has been more than 60 per cent decline in the crop insurance claims of farmers at Rs 9,570 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) for the 2020-21 crop year from the previous year as there were no major crop losses, according to official data.

However, much of the crop insurance claims reported for 2020-21 and 2019-20 crop years have been cleared by the government. Crop insurance claims stood at Rs 27,398 crore in the 2019-20 crop year (July-June).

PMFBY was launched in 2016-17 with many improvements over the erstwhile crop insurance schemes. The operational guidelines of the scheme were revised with effect from Rabi 2018 and kharif 2020, respectively, to ensure the benefits reached farmers adequate and timely. According to the data, about 445 lakh hectares of farm land was insured by 612 lakh farmers under the PMFBY with a total sum insured amount of Rs 1,93,767 crore during 2020-21. However, total claims reported were of Rs 9,570 crore for 2020-21. Out of which, claims reported from the Kharif season were Rs 6,779 crore, while from Rabi season Rs 2,792 crore.

''The claims at Rs 9,570 crore for 2020-21 were significantly lower as there were no major losses unlike previous year,'' an Agriculture Ministry official told PTI.

Maximum crop insurance claims were reported from Rajasthan at Rs 3,602 crore, followed by Maharashtra at Rs 1,232 crore and Haryana at Rs 1,112.8 crore during 2020-21. During the 2019-20 crop year, about 501 lakh hectare was insured by 613 lakh farmers under the PMFBY with a total sum of Rs 2,19,226 crore. The claims reported from Kharif season remained higher at Rs 21,496 crore, while from Rabi season at Rs 5,902 crore of the 2019-20 crop year.

Maximum crop insurance claims were reported from Maharashtra at Rs 6,757 crore, followed by Madhya Pradesh at Rs 5,992 crore and Rajasthan at Rs 4,921 crore during 2020-21. The official said the crop insurance claims of farmers for 2019-20 has almost been cleared. The outstanding claims of Rs 1,200 crore will be cleared soon.

About Rs 6,845 crore crop insurance claims of farmers for 2020-21 has also been cleared, the official added.