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Informist, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025

 

NEW DELHI – The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare has approved new modalities under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana to provide wider insurance coverage to farmers facing sudden and localised crop losses, the ministry said in a statement. The ministry has formally recognised wild animal attacks and paddy inundation as eligible risks under the central crop insurance scheme.

 

Under the revised framework, crop loss due to wild animal attacks will now be treated as the fifth add-on cover within the scheme's localised risk category. States will be responsible for notifying the specific wild animals that commonly damage crops and for identifying vulnerable districts based on historical patterns. Farmers affected by such incidents must report losses within 72 hours through the crop insurance application by submitting geotagged photographs, the ministry said.

 

The decision addresses a long-pending demand from several states and aims to strengthen insurance support for farmers regularly affected by sudden, severe, and localised crop damage. The modalities have been designed in line with the scheme's operational guidelines to ensure scientific verification, transparency, and ease of implementation nationwide, the statement said. The expanded coverage will be rolled out from crop year 2026 (Jul-Jun).

 

The new provision is expected to particularly benefit farmers in regions with high human–wildlife conflict, including Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand, along with several Himalayan and northeastern states such as Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh, the statement said.

 

The government has also reintroduced paddy inundation crop damage caused by prolonged submergence, as a localised calamity cover. This will offer relief to paddy-growing farmers in coastal and flood-prone states, including Odisha, Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand, where seasonal flooding frequently destroys standing crops, the ministry said.  End

 

Reported by Pallavi Singhal

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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