On February 18, 2025, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana marks its nine-year anniversary, celebrating close to a decade of empowering the farmers of India. Launched in 2016 by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the scheme offers a comprehensive shield against crop losses caused by unpredictable natural hazards. This protection not only stabilizes farmers’ income but also encourages them to adopt innovative practices.
Crop insurance is an important risk mitigation tool to protect farmers from natural calamities. It aims at providing financial support to farmers suffering crop loss/damage arising out of natural calamities like hailstorm, drought, floods, cyclones, heavy and unseasonal rains, attack of disease and pests etc.
Witnessing the success and potential of the scheme, the Union Cabinet in January 2025 approved the continuation of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme till 2025-26 with a total budget of ₹69,515.71 crore. Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) is a weather index-based scheme, which was introduced along with PMFBY. The basic difference between the PMFBY and RWBCIS is in its methodology for calculation of admissible claims to the farmers.
