-The Tribune Pocket more than Rs 8,000 cr in two years; Rs 11 cr a day on average Chandigarh: Rs 11 crore in a day! That was the average of profit of the Private Insurance Companies from Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana in the past two financial years. There were 18 companies that got contracts under the crop insurance scheme. Out of them just five are in public and 13 in the private...

-Livemint.com The government did not visualize there were problems in the way it was designed, the methodology itself was faulty Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), the flagship programme launched with much fanfare in 2016, has run into rough weather. With both the area covered and the number of enrolled farmers declining, the country’s premium crop insurance scheme is certainly in need of an overhaul. While Parliament’s committee on estimates, chaired by senior...

-The Indian Express Insecurity, more than poverty or indebtedness, is the key economic issue that politicians must address If social inequality is the most acutely felt social problem in India, insecurity, more than poverty, is the most acutely felt economic problem. While most measures suggest that only around one-fifth of the population today is under the official poverty line, large sections of those even much above that line are subject to...

-The Telegraph The scheme has consumed thrice as much money as earlier schemes without increasing the number of beneficiaries The new farm insurance scheme, introduced in 2016, the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, has reportedly consumed thrice as much money as earlier schemes without either increasing the number of beneficiaries or giving farmers a fair claim. The PMFBY allows states to choose insurance companies through competitive bidding. Companies which propose to collect...

-Economic and Political Weekly The cultivating millions need a responsive nation; they have decided not to flee or desert it. In the last few months, the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), consisting of nearly 200 farmers’ organisations, has been mobilising farmers for a march towards Delhi (Dilli Chalo). They plan to reach the capital city on 29 and 30 November. The AIKSCC’s main agenda is the demand for a special...