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The union government today has finally given nod to the much awaited New Crop Insurance Scheme for the farmers to ensure that they pay less premium and get early benefits for their claims if crops get damaged. This move thus indicates the new elected government’s maiden move towards addressing the agrarian problem.
Sources privy this new scheme revealed that it will be more farmer friendly as the government plans to use technologies like drones and satellites to identify the damages happen to crops. The usual delay in clearing pay for the crop losses materializes in farmer destruction. This new scheme intends to ensure that compensation for the crop losses is paid on time.
Crop insurance in India at present is so high that only about a 10th of an estimated 263 million farmers only opt for this. The main aim of this scheme is to lower the premium rates that the farmers have to pay for crop insurance up to 40%. At the same time it plans to extend scope and coverage of crops.
The developed countries like the USA use extensive digital technology to evaluate crop losses during disasters but India still opts for more traditional methods which include officials from land record offices travelling to villages to examine the damages. But this new scheme can solve this problem as well as it plans to let farmers get the immediate benefit of a minimum 25% in case of crop losses due to any natural disaster.
Agricultural Minister Mr. Radha Mohan Singh said that this new crop insurance scheme will finally come into force from April 1st and will replace the existing two schemes- National Agricultural Insurance Scheme and Modified NAIS. He also revealed that the new scheme will be implemented from the kharif season this year. Premium on subsidy will be shared by both central and state governments on a 50:50 basis.
(With inputs from ET)
