• Out of ?1,400 crore earmarked annually for the north-eastern States under the Centre’s flagship Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, only ?8 crore — or just over half a per cent — was actually spent last year.
• Four north-eastern States — Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram — are not covered under the scheme at all.

About PMFBY:

The PMFBY was launched in 2016 and replaces all the prevailing yield insurance schemes in India. The scheme has been launched with an aim to give an impetus to the rural sector. The scheme has extended coverage under localized risks, post-harvest losses etc. and aims at adoption of technology for the purpose of yield estimation. Through increased farmer awareness and low farmer premium rates the scheme aims at increasing the crop insurance penetration in India.

• Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) aims at supporting sustainable production in agriculture sector by way of –
• Providing financial support to farmers suffering crop loss/damage arising out of unforeseen events
• Stabilizing the income of farmers to ensure their continuance in farming
• Encouraging farmers to adopt innovative and modern agricultural practices
• Ensuring flow of credit to the agriculture sector; which will contribute to food security, crop diversification and enhancing growth and competitiveness of agriculture sector besides protecting farmers from production risks.

Component

• All farmers availing Seasonal Agricultural Operations (SAO) loans from Financial Institutions (i.e. loanee farmers) for the notified crop(s) would be covered compulsorily.
• The Scheme would be optional for the non-loanee farmers.