**Executive Summary**
This document answers Unstarred Question No. 401 in Lok Sabha concerning the operational guidelines of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). It specifies the criteria and timelines for policy cancellation, procedures for re-approval of wrongly cancelled policies, and mechanisms for handling complaints, as of December 2nd, 2025. The guidelines require insurance companies to adhere to quality checks and validation, and provides grievance redressal systems for farmers.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Policy Cancellation Criteria and Timelines:**
* Applications enrolled in NCIP undergo Quality Check and Validation for compliance with PMFBY operational guidelines.
* Non-compliant applications (e.g., incorrect land details, mismatched crop information, missing documents) are liable for rejection by insurance companies.
* Maximum timeline for rejection is 60 days from the premium/enrollment cut-off date (generally July 31st for Kharif and December 31st for Rabi).
* **Handling of Deficient Applications:**
* Insurance companies revert deficient applications to enrollment channels (CSC, intermediaries, banks) for document rectification.
* Approved if rectified; rejected if missing documents not provided.
* Farmers can report rejection objections through the Krishi Rakshak Portal & Helpline, Agriculture Department officers, or the District Level Grievance Redressal Committee (DGRC).
* **Penalties and Rejection Review:**
* Operational Guidelines allow for delayed claim payment penalties beyond set timelines.
* No mechanism to impose penalty on application rejection.
* District and State Governments reconcile and review rejections. Insurance companies can reject applications approved by State Govt. through National Crop Insurance Portal.
* **Complaint and Grievance Redressal:**
* District and State Level Monitoring Committees monitor scheme implementation.
* Krishi Rakshak Portal & Helpline (KRPH, toll-free 14447) provides initial grievance redressal, available 24/7.
* Appellate grievance redressal mechanisms available through District Grievance Redressal Committee (DGRC) and State Grievance Redressal Committee (SGRC).
**Impact Analysis**
**Farmers:**
* **Impact:** Directly affected by the policy application process, potential for rejection based on guidelines, and recourse through grievance mechanisms.
* **Action Required:** Ensure accurate application details and documentation, utilize KRPH or DGRC/SGRC to report grievances related to policy cancellation.
**Insurance Companies:**
* **Impact:** Responsible for verifying application compliance and processing claims based on PMFBY guidelines; subject to review and reconciliation by government bodies.
* **Action Required:** Adhere to the 60-day timeline for processing applications; implement rejection review mechanisms by District and State Governments to ensure fair application processing.
**State and District Governments:**
* **Impact:** Responsible for reconciling and reviewing application rejections by insurance companies; oversee monitoring committees; and grievance redressal.
* **Action Required:** Establish District and State Level Monitoring Committees, and review rejections of applications by insurance companies. Ensure proper implementation of PMFBY.
**Enrollment Channels (CSC, Intermediaries, Banks):**
* **Impact:** Responsible for assisting farmers with application enrollment and ensuring accurate documentation.
* **Action Required:** Ensure farmers provide accurate and complete application details and documentation to minimize rejections. Upload and submit missing documents as requested by the insurance companies.
Key Entities Referenced
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY): A government scheme that provides crop insurance to farmers.
Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare: The central government ministry responsible for agriculture and farmer welfare in India; the primary entity responsible for PMFBY.
Operational Guidelines of PMFBY: The documented set of rules and procedures that govern the implementation of the PMFBY scheme. Answers refer specifically to provisions within these guidelines.
Krishi Rakshak Portal & Helpline (KRPH): A grievance redressal mechanism for farmers insured under the PMFBY scheme.
District Grievance Redressal Committee (DGRC): A committee at the district level responsible for reviewing and reconsidering rejected applications under the PMFBY.
O.I.H
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 401
TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 02ND DECEMBER, 2025
OPERATIONAL GUIDELINES OF PMFBY
401. SHRI HANUMAN BENIWAL:
Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ(cid:874)ष एवं (cid:873)कसान क(cid:227)याण मं(cid:287)ी
be pleased to state:
(a) the criteria and time limit for cancellation of policy as per the operational guidelines of
PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and the details thereof;
(b) whether the Government is aware that farmers are not able to get their claims due to
insurance companies cancelling their policies without any valid reason or at the time of
harvesting;
(c) if so, the details of procedure for re-approval of policies wrongly considered cancelled;
(d) whether there is any provision for imposing any penalty or financial liability on insurance
companies in the cases of wrongly cancelled policies and if so, the details thereof; and
(e) whether the Government has fixed any standard time limit and monitoring mechanism
for complaints regarding cancellation of policies of farmers by insurance companies and
if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
कृ(cid:874)ष एवं (cid:873)कसान क(cid:227)याण रा(cid:207)य मं(cid:287)ी (SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR)
(a) : All the applications enrolled in NCIP are subjected to Quality Check and Validation to
ensure compliance with the provisions of Operational Guidelines of PMFBY such as having
Insurable Interest in the crop being insured, ownership of land or proof of being a tenant
or share cropper, insured land area being eual to or less than the actual land area of the
land parcel, insured crop to be same as that of sown crop and farmer name to be same as
per the Aadhaar Name etc. The Applications which do not comply with these basic pre-
requisites and provisions of the Operational Guidelines or have been created without
providing correct details, incomplete details or without the required documents are liable
to be rejected by the Insurance Companies. The Maximum timeline provided as per the
Operational Guidelines for the same is 60 days from the cut-off date for debit of
premium/enrollment of farmers in the scheme, which generally is 31st July for Kharif
season and 31st Dec for Rabi season.(b) & (c): The applications deficient in documents are reverted back by the Insurance
Companies to the enrollment channel (CSC, Insurance Intermediary/Banks) for
providing/uploading the missing documents. In case the desired documents are provided,
the applications are approved by the Insurance Companies else are rejected. In case the
concerned farmer have objection against the rejection of the applications, the same can
be reported through Krishi Rakshak Portal & Helpline to the Insurance Company or can
approach the Talik/tehsil/District level officers of Agriculture Department or through the
District Level Grievance Redressal Committee (DGRC) with desired documents for
reviewing the applications and reconsider the same for approval by the Insurance
Companies.
(d) : The Operational Guidelines has a provision for delayed claim payment on account of
delay in settlement of claims beyond given timelines however, there is no mechanism to
impose penalty on rejection of applications as the concerned District and State Govt. are
required to reconcile and review rejection of applications. Only those applications can be
rejected by the Insurance Companies, which are approved for rejection by the concerned
State Govt. through National Crop Insurance Portal.
(e) : The Operational Guidelines of PMFBY has a provision for constitution of District level
Monitoring Committee and State Level Monitoring Committee under the chairmanship of
District Magistrate and Principal Secretary of Agriculture Department, respectively, as a
mechanism for monitoring the overall implementation of the scheme. For redressal of
Grievances of the insured/applicant farmers, first level of Grievance Redressal for the
insured farmers under the scheme is provided through Krishi Rakshak Portal & Helpline
(KRPH) available through single toll-free number 14447. KRPH is available 24 X 7 all days
in a year through web-portal and voice calls catered through more than 500 KRPH
Executives located across 10 locations in the country.
Further, the appellate level of Grievance Redressal mechanism through various
grievance redressal committees is also available under the scheme such as District
Grievance Redressal Committee (DGRC) & State Grievance Redressal Committee
(SGRC).
******