PMFBY scheme: Cabinet makes crop cover optional for loanee farmers

The share of non-loanee farmers, for whom the scheme is voluntary, has been steadily rising, which shows that there a vast section of growers are in favour of the scheme.

Over three years after it was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday decided to make the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) optional for loanee farmers and also incorporated a host of changes in an attempt to make it farmer-friendly.
 
Since the scheme’s inception, the central government has spent about Rs 50,000 crore as its share of premium subsidy.
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that according to its estimates currently 58 per cent of total farmers are loanees. The scheme would be voluntary for loanee farmers from the kharif season of 2020.