PMFBY (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Government Schemes)

Context: The government recently announced its intention to allocate ₹30,000 crore to modernize the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) portal, transforming it into a comprehensive platform that expands insurance coverage to encompass assets like ponds, tractors, livestock, and even palm trees.

• This initiative will be driven by the AIDE app, launched to ensure door-to-door enrolment, making crop insurance more accessible and convenient for farmers.
• Through this app, insurance intermediaries will not only enrol farmers for crop insurance, but also extend coverage to farmers for non-subsidized schemes.

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)

• Launched: On 18th February 2016 by the Prime Minister.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Agriculture.
• Aim: to provide financial support to farmers suffering crop loss/damage arising out of natural calamities.
• Objective: It provides a comprehensive insurance cover against failure of the crop thus helping in stabilising the income of the farmers. 

o o encourage farmers to adopt innovative and modern agricultural practices.

o To ensure flow of credit to the agriculture sector.

• Coverage: All Food & Oilseeds crops and Annual Commercial/Horticultural Crops for which past yield data is available and for which requisite number of Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) are conducted under General Crop Estimation Survey (GCES). 
• Eligibility: Sharecroppers and tenant farmers growing notified crops in the notified areas are eligible for coverage.
• Implemented by: empanelled general insurance companies. 
• Selection of Implementing Agency (IA) is done by the concerned State Government through bidding.