About 40% of the claims, totalling Rs. 12, 867 crore, under the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) scheme for the Kharif season which ended in December 2018 remains unpaid by the insurance companies as of May 10 this year, says a right to information (RTI) response from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. According to data obtained by The Wire through RTI requests, the pending insurance claims worth Rs 5,171 crore which had been certified by the state governments have not been sanctioned by the insurance companies. Under the PMFBY guidelines, the dues were supposed to be paid by February this year. PMFBY scheme itself is facing challenges in its implementation. there was a sharp decline in the number of farmers who have enrolled in the scheme from Kharif season 2016 to Kharif 2017. For Kharif 2016, as many as 4,02,58,737 farmers had enrolled. While for Kharif 2017, a total of only 3,47,76,055 farmers had enrolled which is about 14% less than the previous season.
— source newsclick.in | 12 Jun 2019