Despite the government talking so much about the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana benefiting India’s farmers, most of them have not even heard of any crop insurance scheme by the Centre.
About 67% of the 6,000 farmers surveyed by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) had absolutely no idea about government-run crop insurance schemes.
CAG’s report dealt with crop insurance schemes from 2011 to 2015, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious and much-publicised Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), though it started in January 2016.
Even the coverage of farmers, particularly small and marginal ones, under the insurance schemes was very low compared to the population of farmers as per Census 2011, the report said.
The CAG also pointed out that the state-owned Agricultural Insurance Company of India failed to exercise due diligence in verification of claims by private insurance companies before releasing funds.
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