The Centre on Thursday said it is open to taking “pro-farmer changes” in the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) to meet the challenges of recent climate crisis and rapid technological advances. Manoj Ahuja, Secretary of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, said the Centre has taken major revamp measures in the scheme after 2016 to address new challenges.
Mr. Ahuja said the demand for crop insurance is likely to increase due to climatic changes and therefore the country needs to emphasise on crop and other forms of rural/agricultural insurance products. He said the PMFBY brought in comprehensive coverage of all the crops and perils and new fundamental features were added to it in 2018, such as increasing the crop loss intimation period for farmers from 48 hours to 72 hours. “Similarly, post its revamp in 2020, the scheme added voluntary enrollment and inclusion of add on cover for wildlife attack, to make the scheme even more farmer friendly,” he said.