Deadline for crop insurance proposal extended till Aug 10

The Centre on Wednesday extended deadline for submitting crop insurance proposals under the PMFBY and weather-based crop insurance scheme (WBCIS) in the ongoing kharif season till August 10.

The cut-off date was July 31 earlier. But the state governments sought extension citing delay in notifying the new scheme Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojan (PMFBY).

Under the PMFBY launched this year, farmers' premium has been kept lower between 1.5-2% for foodgrains and oilseed crops and up to 5% for horticultural and cotton crops. There is no cap on the premium.

"With the approval of competent authority, it has now been decided to extend the cut-off date for submission of insurance proposals up to and including August 10," said Ashish Kumar Bhutani, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, in a letter written to states and insurance companies.

All cut-off dates for subsequent activities should be accordingly be extended. This extension is valid only for crops where cut off date earlier was July 31, he said.

This is one-time extension only. The state governments should take appropriate action and inform all stakeholders regarding the extension.

"A number of requests have been received from various states for extension of cut-off date on account of various reasons including delay in carrying out the requisite preliminaries and consequential delay in notification, this being the first season for implementation of PMFBY," he added.

As of now 19 states/UTs such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and West Bengal have notified the PMFBY.

The Agriculture Ministry has empanelled 11 private sector companies and state-owned Agriculture Insurance Company (AIC) to implement the scheme. It has also empanelled four state-run general insurance companies.

PMFBY replaces the existing two schemes NAIS and Modified NAIS, which have had some inherent drawbacks.