Proposal for new crop insurance scheme by Agriculture Ministry

Agriculture Ministry will give new crop insurance scheme under which farmers will pay less premium of up to three per cent.

The total premium fixed by the insurers under the existing crop insurance schemes NAIS is up to 3.5 percent and MNAIS is 8 percent. And on an average, insurance firms are charging an overall premium in the range of 1-20 per cent for agricultural crops.

Sources added that the Ministry has proposed a premium of three per cent required to be paid by farmers. And for the benefit of farmers in vulnerable and disaster-prone areas, the ministry has recommended premiums without any cap unlike the existing scheme MNAIS. The ministry is aiming to roll out the scheme in the forthcoming rabi season starting October.

As per government data currently, about 20 per cent (40.27 million hectare) of the total farm land is insured under the existing schemes. Maximum area insured has been in Rajasthan at 12.26 million hectare, followed by Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh and Major crops insured are oilseeds, rice, wheat, pulses and coarse grains.

Source: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/