Centre to unilaterally release its share of crop insurance premium

Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today said that the Central government has decided to release its share of the premium subsidy under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) without waiting for the state to release the same.

Replying to a Parliament question, Chouhan said that earlier farmers had to wait for their claims unless both the Centre and states released their share of the premium subsidy.

But, now, it has been decided that the Centre would release its share without waiting for the state to do so, which would ensure farmers get their claims settled under PMFBY quickly.

Under PMFBY, both the Centre and states equally share the premium subsidy.

He said another reform that has been done in PMFBY is that if there is a delay in claim settlement, insurance companies will have to pay a penalty of 12 per cent, which would be transferred directly into the bank accounts of farmers.

He said that technology would be used for 30 per cent of claim settlements under PMFBY mandatorily.