Indian agriculture is not merely an economic activity, it is the foundation of the country’s food security and the livelihood of millions of families. Yet, farming remains deeply vulnerable to forces beyond the farmer’s control. Droughts, floods, cyclones, hailstorms, pests, diseases and unseasonal rainfall can destroy months of hard work within hours. Against this backdrop, the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) represents an important effort by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to provide farmers with financial security and greater confidence in the face of agricultural risks.
Launched in February 2016, PMFBY was conceived with a clear objective- to ensure that farmers do not have to bear the entire financial burden of crop losses caused by natural and climatic risks. Over the past decade, the scheme has grown into one of India’s important agricultural risk-management mechanisms. Since its inception, more than 92.46 crore farmer applications have been insured, while more than 26.33 crore farmer applications have received claims amounting to over ₹2.06 lakh crore. These numbers demonstrate the enormous scale of the government’s effort to protect agricultural livelihoods.
The strength of PMFBY lies particularly in its affordability. Farmers pay a maximum premium of only 2 percent for Kharif foodgrain and oilseed crops, 1.5 percent for Rabi foodgrain and oilseed crops, and 5 percent for commercial and horticultural crops. The remaining premium is subsidised by the central and state governments. For the north-eastern and Himalayan states and union territories, the government subsidy follows a 90:10 sharing pattern. This structure makes crop insurance accessible even to farmers with limited financial resources.
The Modi government’s approach has also gone beyond simply providing financial compensation. It has increasingly sought to bring technology into agricultural insurance so that assessment and settlement become faster, more transparent and more accurate. Digital platforms such as the National Crop Insurance Portal and DigiClaim, along with the Crop Cutting Experiment Agri App, have reduced manual intervention and strengthened monitoring of claims.
Technology-based initiatives such as YES-TECH (Yield Estimation System Based on Technology) and WINDS (Weather Information Network and Data System) are particularly significant. They use remote sensing, weather information and digital tools to improve crop yield estimation and risk assessment. Such innovations are important because the credibility of any insurance system depends not only on coverage but also on the speed and fairness with which genuine claims are assessed and settled.
The human impact of the scheme is perhaps best illustrated by the experience of small farmer Anwar Hussain of Assam’s Nagaon district. After heavy rains damaged his crop, a premium of just ₹100 under PMFBY helped him receive compensation of ₹50,600. The assistance enabled him to manage his financial obligations and invest in the next cropping season. Such examples show that crop insurance is not simply a government statistic, for a vulnerable farmer, it can mean the difference between continuing cultivation with confidence and falling into a cycle of debt and distress.
The scheme’s inclusive character is equally important. PMFBY covers both loanee and non-loanee farmers and provides for the inclusion of eligible tenant farmers and sharecroppers. Significantly, around 50 percent of farmers enrolling under the scheme have on average, been non-loanee farmers over the past decade. This suggests that crop insurance is increasingly being viewed as a voluntary instrument of financial protection rather than merely an extension of agricultural credit.
The growing participation of states also provides an encouraging indication of confidence in the framework. Andhra Pradesh rejoined the scheme in Kharif 2022, Jharkhand in Kharif 2024, and West Bengal in Kharif 2026, while Bihar has decided to implement PMFBY from the Rabi 2026-27 season. At present, the scheme is being implemented in 25 states and union territories for Kharif 2026.
The latest figures underline the continuing reach of the programme. As of August 27, 2026, 241.38 lakh farmers had been insured under Kharif 2026, covering 278.12 lakh hectares. The government has allocated ₹12,200 crore for PMFBY in the union budget 2026-27, reaffirming its commitment to strengthening the agricultural safety net.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on farmer welfare has increasingly been linked with a broader vision of resilient and technology-enabled agriculture. PMFBY fits naturally into that vision. By combining affordable insurance, public subsidy, digital infrastructure, modern assessment technologies and grievance redressal mechanisms, the scheme seeks to ensure that a natural disaster does not automatically become a financial disaster for a farming family.
The challenges, however, should not be underestimated. Climate change is increasing the frequency and unpredictability of extreme weather events, making agricultural risk management more important than ever. Faster claim settlement, greater awareness among farmers, effective grievance redressal and wider participation must therefore remain continuous priorities.
India’s agricultural future will depend not only on increasing productivity but also on protecting farmers from risks that they cannot control. PMFBY is an important step in that direction. Its decade long journey reflects the Modi government’s effort to place the farmer at the centre of agricultural policy and to combine welfare with technology, financial inclusion and resilience.
A secure farmer is a confident farmer and a confident farming community is essential for a strong and self-reliant India. By building a financial safety net around the cultivator, PMFBY contributes not only to farmer welfare but also to the larger national objective of strengthening India’s food security and building a more resilient agricultural economy.
