The Union budget for 2023-24 could come up with a cattle insurance scheme on the lines of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), the world’s largest crop insurance scheme in terms of farmer enrolment, according to official statements and statements by the agriculture minister in parliament.
The cattle insurance scheme could broadly work on the PMFBY architecture, wherein cattle owners may be asked to pay a minimal premium, with the remaining amount being shared equally by the Central and state governments, according to media reports.
As for PMFBY, the budgetary allocation is unlikely to see any significant increase in 2023-24.
PMFBY has been operational since 2016 and official data show that on average, 55 million applications are received for enrolment in the scheme each year. PMFBY ensures minimal financial burden on the farmer as she is obligated to pay only 1.5 percent and 2 percent of total premium for the Rabi and Kharif seasons respectively.
The Centre and state governments bear the remaining premium burden in a 50:50 ratio (except for northeastern states where the ratio is 90:10). In six years of implementation of PMFBY, farmers have paid a collective premium of Rs 25,186 crore but filed claims amounting to Rs 1,25,662 crore as of October 31, 2022.
In an official statement, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare said recently that after the introduction of PMFBY in 2016, there has been comprehensive coverage of all the crops and perils, from the pre-sowing to post-harvest period.
And after the scheme’s revision in 2018, the crop loss intimation period for farmers has been increased from 48 hours to 72 hours, keeping in mind that damage signs disappear or are lost in case of localized calamities after 72 hours. Similarly, post its revamp in 2020, the scheme added voluntary enrolment and inclusion of add-on cover for wildlife attacks to make the scheme even more farmer-friendly.
But despite all its noteworthy features, PMFBY is not being implemented in several states including Bihar, West Bengal, Gujarat and Punjab. Some of these states are planning to join while others have cited cost considerations to keep away.
The latter cannot afford to share the premium burden under the scheme. Yet another problem with the scheme, apart from it not being implemented across the country till now, is the ridiculously low amounts of money paid against claims that are credited to farmers’ bank accounts. Recently, in Rajasthan, farmers of one district that was severely impacted by drought complained of getting insurance amounts of less than a rupee for some crops.
