New Crop Insurance Scheme (NCIS) is expected to be approved by the Cabinet next week. Drones being deployed to assess crop damage figures.

The feed sent by drones will be collated with satellite imaging and remote sensing technology to assist insurance companies in adequate disbursals calculated on the basis of actual damage to crops in a particular area. Smart phones and online transmission of data will also be used in cutting down time taken to finalise the yield data.

In the new scheme the average premium rate for farmers has been kept at 5.5%. The agriculture ministry in its Cabinet note proposes maximum premium up to 1.5% for wheat, 2.5% for paddy, 2% for oilseeds and 2-2.5% for other crops.

For the horticultural crop premium of 5% is proposed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, may even further lower the proposed premiums for all types of crops.

"We have identified discrepancies in the existing scheme of Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS) and will come out with a new crop insurance scheme, set to be implemented from 2016-17," agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh said.

Along with MNAIS, another scheme -Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS) -has also been in operation in many parts of the country since 2007.

The government has been providing premium subsidy up of 75% and 50% under the MNAIS and the WBCIS respectively on actuarial premium rate. It was observed that the "premium paid by the farmers is quite high as the actuarial (exchanging risk with certainty) premium may exceed even 60%".

In the new scheme, the farmers will also get damages of their "post-harvest product" destroyed by cyclone or unseasonal rains up to a maximum of two weeks on "individual loss assessment basis".

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/