PMFBY Scheme: Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana Objectives, Key Features & Benefits

PMFBY Scheme: A large proportion of the rural population is dependent on agriculture, and therefore it is well-known as the land of farmers. But farming is not an easy task as it involves a lot of risks and issues. Therefore, to help the farmers, the Government of India has launched Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) to lessen the burden of crop insurance on them.

This new scheme for farmers was unveiled by Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 13th January 2016. The main aim of this scheme is to help in lowering down the burden of repayments on farmers who have taken loans for cultivation. Also, it will safeguard the farmers from the loss caused by extreme weather or natural calamities.

This scheme will help the farmers in settling their insurance claims fast and easily so that they don’t face any kind of trouble regarding their crop insurance plan. It has been implemented in every Indian state, in association with corresponding State Governments. The PMFBY is a One Nation- One Scheme and is administered under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India. With its launch, the scheme has also replaced the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) as well as the Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS).

Objectives Of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

Here is the list of key objectives of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana:

• The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana provides financial support as well as insurance coverage to the farmers in case of any loss or damage to their crops due to natural calamities, pests, and diseases.
• The scheme also aims to stabiles the income of farmers in order to make sure their constant process in farming.
• It also encourages farmers to opt for innovative and latest agricultural practices.
• The PMFBY scheme also aims in making sure the uniform flow of credit to the agriculture sector.

What are the Key Features of PMFBY?

There are many features of PMFBY that are very beneficial for the farmers in India. Here is the list of key features of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana:

1. The PMFBY is specifically launched for helping loanee farmers, who possess crop or institutional loans through Kisan Credit Cards etc. However, the scheme also covers sharecroppers, non-loanee farmers (who possess insurance cover on a voluntary basis), and tenant farmers (who farm on other land and pay rent for the same).
2. Whether it is State or Central Government, the subsidy will be divided equally between them. On government subsidy for actuarial premium, there will be no upper limit.
3. The PMFBY scheme by the Indian Government fixes a uniform 2% premium of the value of the sum insured to be paid by the Kharif crops farmers.
4. For all the rabi crops, there will be 1.5 percent of the sum insured, while 5% of the sum insured will be for yearly commercial and horticultural crops or actuarial rate, any of which is less.
5. The 25% of the probable claim is going to be settled on the farmer’s account directly.
6. For the whole state, there will be one insurance company.
7. The government of India is going to pay the balance premium for providing the whole insured amount to the farmers in case of crop loss due to natural calamities.
8. The PMFBY scheme also provides coverage for the post-harvest losses, and also covers localized crop losses such as hailstones.
9. For reducing the number of crop-cutting experiments, remote sensing is going to be used.
10. In order to reduce the delays in claiming their payments, farmers can use smartphones or related technologies to capture and upload the data related to their crops.

How to Apply For PMFBY?

Here are the instructions through which you can apply for Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) online:

• Step 1. At first, you need to open the official site of PMFBY by visiting http://agri-insurance.gov.infasal
• Step 2. On the homepage, you need to select the farmer button that is available on the left-hand side.
• Step 3. On the right-hand side of the homepage, you have to key in your valid mobile number which is currently active.
• Step 4. After this, you need to click on the “Send” button after which you will get a one-time password (OTP) on your given mobile number.
• Step 5. After you revied it, enter it in the OTP and verification code and then click on the ‘Login’ button.
• Step 6. Now, you must select the link that states ‘Farmer Application’ which you will find at the center of the homepage.
• Step 7. A new page will open, and you need to enter the information in the ‘New Application’ form.
• Step 8. Enter the application form with all the details, including your personal, land, bank data, location, etc. information.
• Step 9. Now, you need to add a nominee before filling in the crop details at the end of that application form.
• Step 10. After this, you have to upload all the required digital documents and at last finish the process by making the final submission.
• Step 11. If you can’t finish the form in one go then you can also save the unfinished one and can complete it afterward by log in later and then uploading documents for final submission.
• Step 12. After you have submitted your form successfully, you can take a printout for future reference.
• Step 13. Make sure to keep the application number safe so that you can track your application status in the future.

Final Words

Overall, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) is a very beneficial scheme launched by the Government of India for the farmers who have taken loans from Financial Institutions, particularly for their seasonal agricultural operations (SAO). However, its main aim is to provide insurance coverage or financial help to the loanee farmers, but this scheme also covers non-loanee farmers, sharecroppers, and tenant farmers as well. One of the other beneficial objectives of PMFBY is to provide more insurance coverage to the eligible farmers from SC, ST, or Female categories. This was all about PMFBY in this article, we hope all your questions regarding the same are now resolved. If you want to ask some other questions related to PMFBY, then you can ask us in our comment section.