Flat in 20 days

Global climatic anomalies allied with local weather conditions produced the most freakish hailstorms in central and north India in February and …

Are crop insurance schemes working? CAG report reveals

Multiple gaps in implementation of crop insurance schemes may have compromised their purpose of benefitting farmers

India’s facade of agricultural insurance

Since its launch in 2016, India’s flagship crop insurance scheme has seen a consistent fall in acreage and number of farmers covered

Interview: Radha Mohan Singh, Union Minister of Agriculture

Radha Mohan Singh, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare talks about a contingency plan to tackle the current drought and new crop …

Crop insurance claims over Rs 3,300 crore pending due to payment failure, delay in state subsidy

Farmers belonging Jharkhand, Karnataka, Telangana, and Maharashtra have the highest amounts pending under insurance claims

New support scheme for water-stressed districts as crop insurance becomes voluntary

Changes to PM Fasal Bima Yojana leave famers without effective support for crop losses in time of climate emergency  

Few takers for ambitious crop insurance scheme

Only four percent more farmers have opted for crop insurance despite  government’s targets for Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

Crop insurance scheme hits premium hurdle

Farmers may not benefit from the new scheme, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, in the current season, as states are reluctant to implement it. …

Centre’s crop insurance scheme not good enough; Bihar launches its own plan for farmers

Bihar State Crop Assistance Scheme will ensure that farmers have enough money for next crop cycle if their current crop is destroyed by natural …

How is Centre making skewed projections to show success of agri-insurance scheme?

The non-loanee farmers from Maharashtra, Kerala and Telangana are shown in loanee category to project the insurance scheme as a success

Insurance companies have not paid 83% of farmers' claims

As farmers' protests demanding loan waiver pick up across the country, there are other people who owe them huge amount of money: the insurance …

Farmers protest forceful insurance premium deduction in Haryana

Farmers are confronting bank officials against premium deduction without their consent for the current Rabi season under Pradhan Mantri Fasal …

Centre admits challenges in implementing PMFBY, seeks robust system to assess crop loss

Failure to forecast rainfall and other weather events hinders assessment of crop loss and delays payment of insurance claims

Is government manipulating agriculture data?

Government’s policy decisions and ground reports are in conflict with official data on sowing, production and agriculture insurance

Insure farmers to ensure future

Let’s leave for the moment the questions why these extreme weather events are happening in our world with greater frequency and intensity. …

Latest in farmer woes: Heavy unseasonal rain, pending payouts from Centre’s crop insurance scheme

523,000 hectares in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh affected by untimely rains in March, April

Punctured cover: India's crop insurance scheme loses sheen

Insurers withdraw from Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana as extreme weather events spike claim rates resulting in heavy losses

Farmers on hunger strike in Sambalpur due to non-payment of crop insurance

Insurance claims were to be paid nine months ago but insurer Reliance General Insurance Company did not accept the government report on crop loss

Official data exposes Centre’s inflated claims on success of agriculture insurance scheme

The number of non-loanee farmers opting for insurance reached 9.7 million in kharif season of 2016 as against 9.8 million in the same period in …

Fall Armyworm attack: The damage done

The deadly but little understood crop pest, poses a threat to food security and livelihoods of millions as it ravages crops in Africa and …

Hailstones ‘as big as berries’: Farmers in MP’s Niwari district suffer immense crop losses

Cold weather in Madhya Pradesh due to western disturbances expected to last till January 12

State-run insurance firms headless; PMFBY implementation suffers

Performances of private insurance companies were also not encouraging, though they had been opted for those states where risk was less

Central American farmers create funds to tackle climate disasters

Apart from acting as safety nets for disasters, the funds encourage good agricultural practices and income-generating activities among vulnerable …

Farmers demand law for guaranteed income

Participants voice concern on drought, farmers' suicide and water conservation, among other issues

In the Parliament on March 11, 2016

Here’s a round-up of today’s debates and reports on environmental and developmental issues