UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Centre to brief MPs on crop insurance scheme

Q1. In the context of the revamped Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), what does the 'WINDS' initiative refer to?

  • A. A blockchain-based digital platform for direct claim disbursal to farmers' Aadhaar-linked accounts
  • B. An expanded network of Automatic Weather Stations and Automatic Rain Gauges to generate hyperlocal weather data
  • C. A satellite-based remote-sensing system that assigns a 30% weightage to yield estimation of paddy and wheat
  • D. A dedicated fund corpus established to finance technology research in agricultural insurance

Q2. As per the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, how many States had come on board the mandatory ESCROW account mechanism notified under the revised PMFBY guidelines for Kharif 2025?

  • A. 12
  • B. 16
  • C. 20
  • D. 28

Q3. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) is implemented as a Central Sector Scheme under which of the following Union Ministries?

  • A. Ministry of Finance
  • B. Ministry of Rural Development
  • C. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare
  • D. Ministry of Cooperation

Q4. Consider the following statements distinguishing the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) from its predecessor crop insurance schemes such as the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) and Modified NAIS (MNAIS): 1. Unlike its predecessors, PMFBY caps the farmer's premium at 2% for Kharif food and oilseed crops, 1.5% for Rabi food and oilseed crops, and 5% for annual commercial/horticultural crops. 2. Whereas NAIS was compulsory for loanee farmers availing crop loans for notified crops, PMFBY was made voluntary for all farmers following the 2020 restructuring. 3. Under PMFBY, the share of Central premium subsidy is uniformly fixed at 90% for all States other than those in the North-Eastern Region. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Unlike its predecessors, PMFBY caps the farmer's premium at 2% for Kharif food and oilseed crops, 1.5% for Rabi food and oilseed crops, and 5% for annual commercial/horticultural crops.
  2. Whereas NAIS was compulsory for loanee farmers availing crop loans for notified crops, PMFBY was made voluntary for all farmers following the 2020 restructuring.
  3. Under PMFBY, the share of Central premium subsidy is uniformly fixed at 90% for all States other than those in the North-Eastern Region.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3