Modi's Crop Insurance Scheme | Who gets what | Report Card
Narendra Modi's election
campaign in 2014 drew strength from his robust promise of doubling farm income
and ensuring protection of farmers against crop failure. Four years later, the
Modi government is in the last lap of its run and farmers may again play a key
role in deciding the next ruling power at the Centre in 2019.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi launched an ambitious crop insurance scheme in February 2016, Pradhan
Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
Modi's Crop Insurance Scheme
The PMFBY is a
comprehensive crop insurance scheme that provides coverage to crops from
pre-sowing to post harvest against non-preventable natural hazards. The premium
for insurance coverage has been kept at 2 per cent for Kharif and 1.5 per cent
for Rabi crops.
In the case of commercial
and horticultural crops, the farmers are required to pay an enhanced premium of
5 per cent. Rest of the premium (98.5 per cent for Rabi crops to 95 per cent
for commercial crops) is shared by the Centre and state government.
Who Gets What?
The Modi government's
crop insurance scheme has recently come under fire from the Opposition parties
in the wake of reports that farmers have been handed over cheques of Rs 5 and
Rs 18 as crop insurance claims by insurance companies.
Senior Congress leader
Sachin Pilot today said, "Crop insurance companies withdrew premium
several times more than the compensation provided by the companies to the
farmers for losses in Kharif and Rabi crop recently." He accused the Modi
government of "looting farmers" in the name of crop insurance.
Pilot's claim is
supported by the official data. According to agriculture ministry's figures,
insurance companies received a gross premium of Rs 22,180 crore in 2016-17 - Rs
4,383 crore from farmers and Rs 17,796 crore from Centre and state governments
as subsidy.
Out of the gross premium,
the insurance companies paid out Rs 12,949 crore as claims to the 1.2 crore
farmers. The average crop insurance claim to farmers for 2016-17 was Rs
10,790.83.
The Modi government
recently told the Rajya Sabha that the gross premium collected by the insurance
companies for 2017-18 was estimated at Rs24,352 crore - nearly 10 per cent
increase from last fiscal's Rs 22,180 crore gross premium.
However, poor payment
record as claims to farmers has a telling effect on the cropping pattern. The
PMFBY data show that the year PM Modi launched the insurance scheme, area
coverage of crop insurance saw a jump - from 5.24 crore hectares in 2015-16 to 5.71
crore hectares in 2016-17.
But on the back of poor
insurance claim, the area coverage dropped by about 17 per cent to 4.75 crore
hectares in 2017-18. Meanwhile, the budgetary allocation (read provision for
crop insurance premiums) for PMFBY was increased from Rs 10,698 for 2017-18 to
Rs 13,000 crore for 2018-19.
Slip and fall accidents are often far more dangerous than they sound, and some of the most dangerous slip and falls happen on the job. If a slip and fall accident at work leaves you injured, don’t delay consulting with an experienced Los Angeles personal injury attorney.
ReplyDeleteWorkplace Hazards
The National Safety Council (NSC) shares some illuminating statistics related to falls on the job, including all of the following:
Falls are the third most common cause of fatal accidents overall. They are the leading cause of death in specific industries.
Nearly 700 workers died in falls from higher to lower levels (such as off ladders, stairs, or scaffolding), and more than 130 workers were killed in falls that occurred on the same level in 2016.
In 2016, more than 48,000 workers were injured seriously enough in slip and fall accidents on the job to require taking time off from work.
Construction is the most at-risk industry for fatal falls from heights (by a factor of seven). Still, even desk jobs can lead to dangerous slip and fall accidents.