Given the vulnerability of Indian agriculture to vagaries of nature, discuss the need for crop insurance and bring out the salient features of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
Approach · directive: “discuss / bring out”
What it asks · Explain why Indian farmers need insurance against crop loss, and list the main features of PMFBY that address the weaknesses of older schemes.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Discuss the need for crop insurance, given the vulnerability of Indian agriculture to the vagaries of nature
- Bring out the salient features of PMFBY
Open with · Rainfed farming covers nearly 60 per cent of India's net sown area and gives about 40 per cent of its food (2025); one failed monsoon, flood or hailstorm can wipe out a season's income, so crop insurance pools that risk.
Cover
- Need: sudden income loss with thin savings turns into debt; insurance keeps credit flowing and encourages better inputs; it is more predictable than ad hoc relief and loan waivers.
- Launch: approved by the Cabinet in January 2016, implemented from kharif 2016 in place of NAIS and MNAIS.
- Premium: farmers pay 2% (kharif), 1.5% (rabi) and 5% (commercial and horticultural crops); governments bear the balance without cap, so the full sum insured is covered.
- Coverage: prevented sowing, standing crop loss, specified post-harvest losses and localised calamities such as hailstorm, inundation and landslide, assessed at farm level.
- Technology: YES-TECH remote-sensing yield estimates (paddy and wheat from kharif 2023, up to 50% weight in some States) and WINDS weather stations; claims by DBT.
- Scale: 92.46 crore farmer applications insured and claims above Rs 2.06 lakh crore paid on 26.33 crore applications, kharif 2016 to rabi 2025-26; voluntary for all farmers since 2020.
- Issues: delayed claims, weak yield data, low awareness and insurers' losses; Rs 12,200 crore allocated for 2026-27.
Close with · With Rs 12,200 crore allocated for 2026-27, PMFBY's test is settlement speed, not enrolment numbers: paid in time, it becomes the climate shield Indian farming needs.
Add value (verified)
- PIB (Ministry of Agriculture, 2025): rainfed agriculture is nearly 60% of net sown area and gives about 40% of total food production. ↗“Rainfed agriculture in India, which constitutes nearly 60 percent of the net sown area, remains a cornerstone of the country’s agrarian economy , contributing approximately 40 percent of total food productio”
- PIB (January 2016), Cabinet approval of PMFBY: uniform farmer premium of 2% for kharif, 1.5% for rabi and 5% for annual commercial and horticultural crops. ↗“There will be a uniform premium of only 2% to be paid by farmers for all Kharif crops and 1.5% for all Rabi crops. In case of annual commercial and horticultural crops, the premium to be paid by farmers will be only 5%”
- PIB (August 2026): from kharif 2016 to rabi 2025-26, over 92.46 crore farmer applications insured and claims above Rs 2.06 lakh crore paid on 26.33 crore applications. ↗“since the inception of the scheme in Kharif 2016 till Rabi 2025-26, more than 92.46 crore farmer applications have been insured, and over 26.33 crore farmer applications have been paid claims exceeding ₹2.06 lakh crore”
- PIB (August 2026): YES-TECH launched for paddy and wheat in kharif 2023 and soybean in kharif 2024, with its yields weighted up to 50% in certain States; WINDS uses automatic weather stations and rain gauges at block and gram panchayat level. ↗“It was launched for paddy and wheat in Kharif 2023, and soybean in Kharif 2024. It started with at least 30% weightage assigned to YES-TECH-derived yields and has now increased up to 50% across certain states”
- PIB (August 2026): Rs 12,200 crore allocated to PMFBY for 2026-27. ↗“With ₹12,200 crore allocated for 2026–27, PMFBY continues strengthening farmer resilience, protecting livelihoods, stabilizing incomes”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2016, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 294words · Minimalist IAS
Rainfed farming covers nearly 60 per cent of India's net sown area and gives about 40 per cent of its food (Ministry of Agriculture, 2025); one failed monsoon can wipe out a season's income. Crop insurance pools that risk.
Need for crop insurance
- Income shock: thin savings turn a crop loss into debt and distress.
- Credit and technology: banks lend more readily to insured farmers, who adopt better inputs.
- Fiscal discipline: more predictable than ad hoc relief and loan waivers.
Salient features of PMFBY
- Launch: approved by the Cabinet in January 2016 and implemented from kharif 2016 in place of NAIS and MNAIS.
- Low uniform premium: farmers pay 2 per cent (kharif), 1.5 per cent (rabi) and 5 per cent (commercial and horticultural crops); governments bear the balance without cap, so the full sum insured is covered.
- Comprehensive cover: prevented sowing, standing-crop loss, post-harvest losses and localised calamities (hailstorm, inundation, landslide) assessed at farm level.
- Technology: YES-TECH remote-sensing yield estimates (paddy and wheat from kharif 2023; up to 50 per cent weight in some States) and WINDS block-level weather stations speed claims, paid by DBT.
- Scale: since kharif 2016, 92.46 crore farmer applications insured and claims above Rs 2.06 lakh crore paid (till rabi 2025-26, PIB).
- Enrolment: compulsory for loanee farmers, voluntary for others (voluntary for all from 2020).
| Aspect | NAIS/MNAIS | PMFBY |
|---|---|---|
| Farmer premium | higher, varied | 2% / 1.5% / 5% |
| Sum insured | capped | full, no cap |
| Localised loss | area-based | farm-level assessment |
Concerns and way forward
- Delays and trust: late claims, weak yield data, low awareness and insurer losses; faster settlement on WINDS and YES-TECH data is the fix.
With Rs 12,200 crore allocated for 2026-27, PMFBY's test is settlement speed, not enrolment: paid in time, it is the climate shield Indian farming needs.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
