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HomeNewsIndiaCOVID-19 lockdown: Crop insurance claims worth Rs 2,424 crore disbursed to farmers
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COVID-19 lockdown: Crop insurance claims worth Rs 2,424 crore disbursed to farmers

The Kisan Credit Card (KCC) saturation drive has been initiated by the ministry in collaboration with the Department of Financial Services to cover all PM-KISAN beneficiaries.

April 15, 2020 / 22:02 IST
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The government on Wednesday said that crop insurance claims worth Rs 2,424 crore have been disbursed to farmers across 12 states during the lockdown period. The Union Agriculture Ministry said it has taken several other measures to facilitate farmers and farming activities at field level during the lockdown period.

Highlighting these measures, the ministry said that "under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), insurance claims amounting to Rs 2,424 crore have been disbursed to the beneficiary farmers in 12 states in the country."

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The Kisan Credit Card (KCC) saturation drive has been initiated by the ministry in collaboration with the Department of Financial Services to cover all PM-KISAN beneficiaries.

"So far 83 lakh applications received out of which 18.26 lakh applications have been sanctioned for loan amount of Rs 17,800 crore," an official statement said.

COVID-19 Vaccine
Frequently Asked Questions

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A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

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What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.
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