Executive Summary:
This document addresses pending crop insurance claims under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) as of June 30, 2025, particularly concerning delays in state subsidy releases and claim settlement issues. It outlines steps taken by the government to improve claim disbursement, including technological interventions and grievance redressal mechanisms. The document also references a Cabinet-approved technological funding of Rs. 824.77 crore to expedite claim settlements.
Key Points / Main Content:
PMFBY Overview:
* PMFBY was introduced in Kharif 2016 and is voluntary for states and farmers.
* States/Joint Committees handle insurance model selection, insurance company selection, farmer enrollment, and crop loss assessment.
* Operational Guidelines define stakeholder roles.
Claim Settlement Issues:
* Claims are ideally settled within 21 days of receiving required yield data from states.
* Past complaints include delayed/non-payment of state subsidies, incorrect/delayed insurance proposals from banks, and yield data discrepancies.
* Pending claims are settled after issue resolution as per scheme provisions.
* Annexure I provides state-wise details of pending Kharif 2024 claims due to pending state subsidies. Annexure II provides district-wise details of pending claims for Rajasthan from 2018-19 to 2024-25.
Government Measures for Improvement:
* National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP) was developed for data management, subsidy payment, coordination, transparency, and direct online enrollment.
* DigiClaim module operationalized from Kharif 2022 for claim payments, integrating NCIP with PFMS.
* Penalty of 12% is auto-calculated via NCIP for delayed payments by insurance companies from Kharif 2024.
* Central government subsidy delinked from state subsidies.
* Opening of ESCROW Accounts by states for advance premium share deposit is mandatory from Kharif 2025.
* Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) data captured via CCEAgri App and uploaded to NCIP.
Technology Implementation:
* YESTECH (Yield Estimation System Based on Technology) implemented for remote-sensing based yield estimation, assigning 30% weightage to YESTECH derived yield for paddy and wheat crops from Kharif 2023 (Soybean added from Kharif 2024).
* WINDS (Weather Information Network and Data System) implemented for hyperlocal weather data collection at GP/Block level using AWS/ARG network.
Grievance Redressal:
* Stratified Grievance Redressal Mechanism (District and State Level Grievance Redressal Committees) established.
* Krishi Rakshak Portal and Helpline (KRPH) with toll-free number 14447 deployed.
Technological Funding (FIAT):
* Union Cabinet approved Rs. 824.77 Cr for FIAT on January 1, 2025.
* Funding to be used for technological innovations (YESTECH, WINDS, CROPIC), subsidizing technologies (drones, IoT, Remote Sensing), new insurance solutions, data building, and grants to R&D institutions.
Impact Analysis:
State Governments:
* Impact: Required to ensure timely release of premium subsidies, resolve yield data discrepancies, and implement scheme provisions effectively.
* Action Required: Open ESCROW accounts, ensure accurate and timely data submission, and participate in grievance redressal.
Farmers:
* Impact: Await timely settlement of claims and benefit from improved transparency and grievance redressal mechanisms.
* Action Required: Utilize Krishi Rakshak Portal and Helpline for grievances, enroll in the scheme, and provide accurate information.
Insurance Companies:
* Impact: Subject to penalties for delayed claim payments and required to integrate with NCIP and PFMS.
* Action Required: Ensure timely claim settlement, participate in weekly video conferences, and integrate with government portals.
Central Government:
* Impact: Responsible for monitoring implementation, providing financial support, and revising operational guidelines for PMFBY.
* Action Required: Continue to monitor the functioning of insurance companies and make improvements to the crop insurance schemes.
Key Entities Referenced
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana PMFBY: A crop insurance scheme implemented in India.
Kharif 2024: Refers to the Kharif cropping season of the year 2024.
Rajasthan: A state in India where crop insurance claims are pending.
National Crop Insurance Portal NCIP: A single source of data ensuring subsidy payment, coordination, transparency, dissemination of information and delivery of services.
Digiclaim Module: A dedicated module operationalized for payment of claims from Kharif 2022 onwards involving integration of National Crop Insurance Portal NCIP with Public Finance Management System PFMS.
YESTECH Yield Estimation System Based on Technology: A technology used for yield estimation, launched for paddy wheat crops from Kharif 2023.
WINDS Weather Information Network and Data System: A system for setting up a network of Automatic Weather Stations and Automatic Rain Gauges for collecting hyperlocal weather data.
FIAT: An approved proposal for creation of an entity with an allocation of Rs. 824.77 Cr for funding of technological innovations.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 232
TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 22ND JULY, 2025
PENDING CLAIMS OF PMFBY
232. SHRI RAHUL KASWAN
Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ िष एवं िकसान क(cid:670)ाण मं(cid:361)ी
be pleased to state:
(a) whether it is a fact that Kharif-2024 crop insurance claims under Pradhan Mantri Fasal
Bima Yojana (PMFBY) remain pending in several States, including Rajasthan, due to
delayed State premium subsidy releases, if so, the details thereof;
(b) the current status of pending claims and average claim settlement time in
Rajasthan,including Churu, Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Bikaner, Shri Ganganagar and
Hanumangarh;
(c) whether any grievances have been raised by Rajasthan farmers, especially from
remote districts, regarding claim denials due to satellite-only assessments, if so, the
details thereof;
(d) the measures taken/being taken to mandate timely release of State subsidy and
ground-level crop damage;
(e) whether the Cabinet-approved technological funding (Rs. 824.77 crore) will be utilised
to expedite claim settlements; and
(f) if so, the details of projected implementation plan and expected resolution timeline?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
कृ िष एवं िकसान क(cid:670)ाण रा(cid:475) मं(cid:361)ी (SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR)
(a) to (d) : The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY) was introduced in the
country from Kharif 2016 season. The scheme is voluntary for the States and farmers.
All the major work like selection of insurance model, selection of Insurance
Companies through transparent bidding process, enrollment of farmers, assessment of
crop yield/crop loss for calculation of admissible claims are being performed by the
concerned State Government or Joint Committee of State Government officials and
concerned insurance company. The roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder are
defined in the Operational Guidelines of the scheme for the proper execution of the scheme.
Majority of the claims are settled within the stipulated timelines under the
Operational Guidelines of the scheme i.e within 21 days of the receipt requisite yield data
from the concerned State Government, by the insurance companies. However, during
the implementation of PMFBY, some complaints/grievances were received in the past
about payment of claims which are primarily on account of (a) delay in providing StateGovernment share of subsidy (b) non-payment/delayed payment or under payment
of claims on account of incorrect/delayed submission of insurance proposals by
banks (c) discrepancy in yield data & consequent disputes between State
Government and insurance companies etc. The pending claims on account of these
issue are settled after their resolution as per provisions of the scheme.
State-wise details of Kharif 2024 pending claims on account of pending State
subsidy under PMFBY are given in Annexure-I. Details of pending claims for Rajasthan,
district-wise during 2018-19 to 2024-25, as on 30.06.2025 under PMFBY are given in
Annexure-II.
Government has taken various steps to strengthen implementation of this scheme,
bring transparency and ensure timely settlement of claims :
Government has undertaken development of National Crop Insurance Portal
(NCIP) as a single source of data ensuring subsidy payment, co-ordination,
transparency, dissemination of information and delivery of services including
direct online enrollment of farmers, uploading/obtaining individual insured famer’s
details for better monitoring and to ensure transfer of claim amount electronically
to the individual farmer’s Bank Account.
In order to rigorously monitor claim disbursal process, a dedicated module namely
‘Digiclaim Module’ has been operationalized for payment of claims from Kharif
2022 onwards. It involves integration of National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP)
with Public Finance Management System (PFMS) and accounting system of
Insurance Companies to provide timely & transparent processing of all claims
w.e.f. Kharif 2024, in case payment is not made timely by Insurance Company,
penalty of 12% is auto-calculated and levied through NCIP.
Delinking of Central Government share of premium subsidy from that of State
Governments has been implemented so that farmers can get proportionate claims
relating to the Central Government share.
Opening of ESCROW Account by the State Government concerned for deposit
of their premium share in advance as per provisions of the scheme has been
made mandatory w.e.f. Kharif 2025 season.
Also, towards leveraging technology in implementation of the scheme, various
steps like capturing of yield data/Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) data through
CCE-Agri App & uploading it on the NCIP, allowing insurance companies to
witness the conduct of CCEs, integration of State land records with NCIP etc.
have already been taken to improve timely settlement of the claims to farmers.
Provision of 12% penalty on delay in payment of claims by insurance company is
auto calculated on National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP).
Following technologies for Objective Crop Damage & Loss Assessment and
transparency have also been implemented recently w.e.f. 2023-24 under the scheme:
i. YES-TECH (Yield Estimation System Based on Technology) for gradual
migration to Remote-Sensing based yield estimation to help assess yields as well
as fair and accurate Crop Yield Estimation. This initiative has been launched for
paddy & wheat crops from Kharif 2023 wherein 30% weightage to yield estimation
will mandatorily be assigned to YES-TECH derived yield. Soybean crop has been
added from Kharif 2024 season.
ii. WINDS (Weather Information Network and Data System) for setting up of
Network of Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) & Automatic Rain-Gauges (ARG) to
the tune of 5 times of existing network for collecting hyper-local weather data at GP
& Block level. This will be fed into a National database with interoperability & sharing
of data in coordination with India Meteorological Department (IMD). WINDS
provides data not only for YES-TECH but also for effective drought & disaster
management, accurate weather prediction and offering better parametric insurance
products.Since the scheme is implemented by the State Government, therefore, in order to
resolve the grievances/complaints including those related to claims of insured farmers,
provision of Stratified Grievance Redressal Mechanism viz. District Level Grievance
Redressal Committee (DGRC), State Level Grievance Redressal Committee (SGRC) has
been made in the Revised Operational Guidelines of the Scheme. These committees
have been given the detailed mandate as outlined in the Operational Guidelines for hearing
the complaints/ grievances and to dispose them as per the stipulated procedure.
To further improve the grievance redressal mechanism, Krishi Rakshak Portal and
Helpline (KRPH) has been developed. A single Pan-India toll free number 14447 has been
deployed and linked to the insurance companies database, where farmers can raise their
grievances/issues. Timelines to resolve these grievances/issues has also been fixed.
Department is regularly monitoring the functioning of insurance companies,
including timely settlement of claims through weekly video conferences of all stakeholders,
one to one meeting as well as National Review Conferences.
The review/revisions / rationalization / improvements in the crop insurance schemes
is a continuous process and decision on suggestion/ representations/ recommendations of
the stakeholders/studies are taken from time to time. Based on the experience gained,
views of various stakeholders and with a view to ensure better transparency, accountability,
timely payment of claims to the farmers and to make the scheme more farmer friendly,
Government has periodically revised the Operational Guidelines of the PMFBY
comprehensively to ensure that the eligible benefits under the scheme reach the farmers
timely and transparently.
(e) & (f) : The Union Cabinet in its meeting held on 1st January 2025 has inter-alia
approved the proposal for creation of FIAT with an allocation of Rs. 824.77 Cr. For funding
of the following activities :
i. Technological innovations viz. YESTECH, WINDS and CROPIC.
ii. To finance and subsidise technology (like drones, IoT, Remote Sensing etc.);
iii. To finance innovation and development of new insurance and risk protection
solutions under the product Sandbox approach;
iv. Facilitating building and capturing of trustful data of farmers and crops for efficient &
transparent implementation of PMFBY ; and
v. For giving grants to Academic, Research and Development institutions for carrying
out research, design and development initiatives, risk protection products and
technology solutions for crop damage and yield loss estimation, crop identification &
digitization etc.Annexure-I
PMFBY & RWBCIS: State Wise details of Claims Pending on account of
pending State Subsidy for Kharif 2024 season as on 30th June, 2025
Pending Claims
State/UT
(Rs. in Crore)
A & N Islands
0.00
Andhra Pradesh
224.9
Assam
1.6
Chhattisgarh
3.5
Goa
0.00
Haryana
20.3
Himachal Pradesh
6.4
Jammu & Kashmir
0.2
Jharkhand
20.6
Karnataka
0
Kerala
0
Madhya Pradesh
1,101.1
Maharashtra
148.6
Manipur
0
Meghalaya
0.01
Odisha
5.9
Puducherry
1.5
Rajasthan
701.8
Sikkim
0
Tamil Nadu
0.8
Tripura
0.00
Uttar Pradesh
8.00
Uttarakhand
0.01
Total
2245Annexure-II
PMFBY & RWBCIS: District Wise details of Pending Claims in Rajasthan from
2018-19 to 2024-25 as on 30th June 2025 (Due to all reasons including on
account of pending State subsidy)
Pending Claims
District (Rajasthan)
(Rs. in Crore)
Ajmer 121.21
Alwar 7.30
Banswara 1.66
Baran 2.29
Barmer 18.75
Bharatpur 13.57
Bhilwara 36.58
Bikaner 31.97
Bundi 12.26
Chittorgarh 13.35
Churu 21.06
Dausa 4.15
Dholpur 1.02
Dungarpur 0.89
Hanumangarh 44.31
Jaipur 121.84
Jaisalmer 43.14
Jalore 34.08
Jhalawar 15.87
Jhunjhunu 18.55
Jodhpur 146.05
Karauli 0.82
Kota 16.11
Nagaur 146.87
Pali 47.18
Pratapgarh 8.93
Rajsamand 0.74
Sawai Madhopur 24.68
Sikar 29.48
Sirohi 6.68
Sri Ganganagar 60.83
Tonk 70.24
Udaipur 1.32
Total 1,123.76
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