The Crop Insurance Claims to Touch Rs 13,000 Crore

In spite of good monsoon, the crop insurance claims are likely to touch Rs 13,000 crore in the 2016-17 crop year ending next month, indicating other risks weighing heavy on the farm sector.

More farmers applied for the upgraded crop insurance policy ‘Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)’ launched in the 2016-17 crop year (July-June) with better features like lower premium, early and full payment of claims.

As per the agriculture ministry data, about Rs 15,891 crore premium is estimated to have been collected by the 11 empanelled insurance companies who sold crop insurance policy to the farmers in both kharif (summer) and rabi (winter) season during the 2016-17 crop year.

Under the PMFBY, farmers pay very low premium, while the rest is paid equally by the Centre and states.Of the total premium collected in 2016-17, farmers’ share was Rs 2,685 crore.

Total insurance claims during the year are expected to be around Rs 13,000 crore, more than 80 per cent of the total premium collected.

The claim amount is high also because states such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra faced severe drought, the official said. The farm sector faces several other risks such as pest attack, post harvesting losses and natural calamities.

Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/