CLIMATE RISK AND CROP INSURANCE

The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare explained that the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and the Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) operate mainly on an ‘area‑approach’ basis, with claims calculated from state‑submitted Crop Cutting Experiments (CCE) and, where applicable, YES‑TECH yield estimates. For localized hazards such as hailstorms, landslides, inundation, cloud‑burst, natural fire and post‑harvest cyclone‑related losses, claims are settled on an individual‑farm basis by a joint committee of the state government and the insurer. The government has launched the National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP) and a ‘Digiclaim’ module integrated with PFMS to enable electronic enrolment, data sharing, and timely claim transfers. From Kharif 2024, a 12 % penalty is auto‑imposed on insurers for delayed payments, and from Kharif 2025 similar penalties apply to states for delayed subsidy releases. Additional measures include mandatory escrow accounts for state premium shares, the Crop Loss Assessment App (CLAP) for localized calamities, and integration of land‑records and remote‑sensing data to improve claim settlement speed.