Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) is a central government crop insurance scheme, in force since Kharif 2016, that protects a notified crop across its whole cycle — prevented sowing, standing-crop damage and post-harvest losses — against drought, flood, pest attack, hailstorm, cyclone and other natural perils.

Any farmer — owner-cultivator, tenant farmer or sharecropper — growing a crop that is notified for their area/district that season. This applies whether or not the farmer has a crop loan.

No. Since Kharif 2020, enrolment is voluntary for every farmer. Loanee farmers with a seasonal crop loan or KCC for a notified crop are enrolled by default, but they can opt out by giving a written declaration to their bank at least 7 days before the state-notified cut-off date.

A fixed, capped share of the sum insured: 2% for kharif crops, 1.5% for rabi crops, and 5% for commercial or horticultural crops. The rest of the actuarial premium is shared by the Central and State governments, 50:50 (90:10 for North-Eastern and Himalayan states).

Prevented sowing due to adverse conditions, standing-crop losses from drought, flood, pest and disease attack, landslide, natural fire, lightning, storm, hailstorm and cyclone, post-harvest losses (crop left to dry in the field, for up to 14 days, damaged by cyclone or unseasonal rain), and localized calamities — hailstorm, landslide, inundation and cloudburst — assessed farm by farm.

For localized damage and post-harvest losses, the farmer must intimate the loss within 72 hours of the event — through the Crop Insurance app, pmfby.gov.in, the 14447 toll-free helpline, or the bank/insurance company. Missing this window is grounds for the claim to be rejected, regardless of the actual damage.

Loanee farmers are enrolled automatically by their bank for the notified crop. Non-loanee farmers can enrol at a bank branch, a Common Service Centre, the insurance company’s office, or directly on pmfby.gov.in through the Farmer Corner — before the state’s cut-off date for that crop and season.

Aadhaar card, land records (or tenancy/crop-sharing proof for tenant farmers), a bank passbook with an Aadhaar-linked account, a mobile number, and a sowing certificate where the state requires one. A passport-size photo is needed when enrolling through a bank or CSC.

Go to pmfby.gov.in, open Application Status under Farmer Corner, and search with your receipt/acknowledgement number, Aadhaar number or registered mobile number.

It is not a fixed payout. For standing-crop yield loss, the claim is based on the area yield fixed by the state’s Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) against the notified threshold yield. For localized damage and post-harvest loss, the insurance company surveys the individual field and assesses the loss against the sum insured.

The insurance company releases the admissible claim once the relevant yield or survey data is finalised — CCE-based yield data for standing-crop claims, or the individual loss survey for localized and post-harvest claims — directly into the farmer’s linked bank account.

Yes. PMFBY covers owner-cultivators, tenant farmers and sharecroppers alike, as long as they have an insurable interest in a notified crop grown in a notified area, and can produce the tenancy or crop-sharing proof their state requires.

Yes, but it is set by each state government separately for every crop and season, and published closer to the sowing period. There is no single all-India date — check pmfby.gov.in or your state agriculture department for the exact date for your crop.

The Krishi Rakshak Portal & Helpline (KRPH) toll-free number is 14447, available for crop-loss reporting and grievance redressal. You can also report crop loss or raise a grievance directly on pmfby.gov.in.

A localized-calamity or post-harvest-loss claim not intimated within 72 hours of the event can be rejected on that ground alone, even if the crop damage itself is genuine. Standing-crop yield-loss claims, assessed through the state’s Crop Cutting Experiments, are not subject to this 72-hour intimation requirement.