-PTI "At the ground level, PMFBY and the Guidelines will make no difference to the farmer-as is prevalent now, the insurance premium will be deducted without the farmers' knowledge, consent and information and when there is crop loss, the same yield based assessment arbitrarily decided by patwaris will apply," Abhiyan added. Criticising the new crop insurance scheme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Swaraj Abhiyan said it will make no difference to...

-Frontline The new crop insurance scheme introduced by the NDA government in an election year does not provide for a comprehensive coverage of all crops, against all forms of damage and at all stages of the crop cycle. IN AN election year, it is but natural that incumbent governments will introduce welfare policies and schemes. But the problem is that distribution of such largesse in a neoliberal dispensation can only be...

-DNA Widespread damage and loss of the Kharif crop in 2015 due to drought served to highlight the insecurity of the Indian farmers in the face of various challenges beyond their control: drought, hailstorms, unseasonal rains, cyclones, wild animals, epidemics and seed or technological failures, among others. Farm rights movements across the country have rubbished the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY) calling it “a dressed up version of existing crop insurance...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Heavy losses in rural areas in recent elections have pushed the Narendra Modi government to re-launch its crop insurance scheme with changes to make it more farmer-friendly. The BJP has been asked to go all out to sell the scheme, renamed the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (Prime Minister Crop Insurance Scheme) to emphasise Modi's central role in conceptualising it. Three senior ministers, Rajnath Singh, M. Venkaiah Naidu and...

-Livemint.com The move is an attempt by the government to stem rural distress as farmers are facing three successive crop failures due to inclement weather conditions New Delhi: The central government is expected to launch a new crop insurance scheme for which the rate of premium paid by farmers will be about a tenth of existing rates. The move is an attempt by the government to stem rural distress as farmers are...