Flaws in farm insurance

Response to PMFBY remains underwhelming

The government’s flagship crop insurance scheme — the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) — launched five years ago to hedge farmers’ crop production-related risks, remains in the doldrums despite its major revamp last year. This scheme has failed to win the confidence of most stakeholders, including the farmers, insurance companies and state governments. The fact that many states have opted out of it and some others are reported to be considering to do so bears this out. While the key agricultural state Punjab did not join it, others like Bihar and West Bengal have evolved their own systems of