-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 Hindu For state-sponsored insurance, governments should avoid insurance companies World Bank data, in 2015, showed that nearly 65% of health-care expenditure in India is “Out of Pocket” (OoP). A report by the World Health Organisation has shown that around 3.2% of Indians would fall below the poverty line because of high OoP health expenditure. Thus, a national health insurance scheme like the Ayushman Bharat is welcome. While the principle of insuring a...

-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...

-The Tribune Need to readjust premium to favour farmers Insurance firms, both in the public and private sectors, have reportedly made a killing by offering crop insurance to farmers in about two dozen states. The Tribune reported abnormal gains by a dozen insurance firms through the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY). Insurers reportedly received a gross premium of Rs 22,362 crore under the scheme in 2016-17 and saved huge sums even...

-Tribune News Service RTI reply indicates 1.5 times jump in profit of insurers in a year Hisar: Insurance companies across the country earned a whopping Rs 15,795 crore as profit in two years from the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), according to a reply received under the Right to Information Act. While the farmers’ wait for increase in income continues, the profit of insurance firms increased by one-and-a-half times in just one...