How can satellite remote sensing technologies like YES-TECH improve the efficiency of crop insurance schemes such as PMFBY?

Q. How can satellite remote sensing technologies like YES-TECH improve the efficiency of crop insurance schemes such as PMFBY? (15 marks, 250-350 words)

PMFBY's efficiency has long been limited by manually conducted Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) — labour-intensive, sampling-prone and slow, delaying claim settlement. YES-TECH (Yield Estimation System based on Technology), operational under PMFBY from Kharif 2023, embeds satellite remote sensing into yield assessment and offers a credible route to faster, more objective insurance delivery [1].

Faster, more accurate yield estimation - YES-TECH provides Gram Panchayat-level yield estimates, with a mandatory 30% weightage to satellite-derived yield for paddy and wheat from Kharif 2023; soybean was added from Kharif 2024 [1]. - It was standardised through a manual after piloting across 100 districts, reducing dependence on lakhs of CCEs and shortening the yield-to-claim cycle [1].

Objective loss assessment and fewer disputes - Remote sensing captures crop condition over the whole insured unit rather than a few sample plots, limiting under-reporting and inflated claims. - Complementary technology-based crop damage assessment under PMFBY allows verifiable, image-based evidence of localised losses, cutting insurer–farmer litigation [2]. - The WINDS portal, hosting hyper-local Automatic Weather Station and rain-gauge data, strengthens weather-indexed triggers alongside satellite yield data [1].

Lower administrative cost and better targeting - Linkage with AgriStack — the Farmers Registry (Kisan ki Pehchaan), Crop Sown Registry and Geo-Referenced Village Maps maintained by States/UTs — enables Aadhaar-verified enrolment and leakage-free claim transfer [3]. - The Digital Agriculture Mission (2024, Rs. 2,817 crore outlay) funds this digital public infrastructure, making technology adoption fiscally sustainable [4].

Constraints to address - Cloud cover during monsoon, fragmented and mixed-cropped holdings, and uneven State capacity can dilute accuracy; data-privacy safeguards for farmers' land and financial data remain essential [3].

Satellite technology thus shifts crop insurance from sample-based estimation to evidence-based assessment. Scaling YES-TECH to more crops, ground-truthing satellite outputs, and combining them with digital crop surveys can make PMFBY genuinely timely and trusted — advancing the Mission's goal of farmer-centric, transparent welfare delivery [4].

(~325 words)

Sources: 1. Union Minister unveils manuals for YES-Tech, WINDS and AIDE/Sahayak under PMFBY, PIB — YES-TECH launch from Kharif 2023, 30% mandatory weightage, paddy/wheat and soybean, 100-district piloting, WINDS portal 2. Crop Damage Assessment System for Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, PIB — technology-based crop damage assessment reducing disputes 3. AgriStack's Farmers Registry Crosses 9.20 Crore Farmer IDs Nationwide, PIB — three AgriStack registries, State/UT maintenance, Farmer ID as Kisan ki Pehchaan 4. Cabinet approves the Digital Agriculture Mission with an outlay of Rs. 2817 Crore, PIB — Mission approval and outlay backing agri-DPI