3 February 2026·PIB

PMFBY Provides Comprehensive Crop Insurance; States Allowed Add-On Cover for Wild Animal Damage

In this note

1. At a Glance

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) is India's flagship crop insurance scheme launched in 2016-17 by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, covering non-preventable natural risks from pre-sowing to post-harvest [1][3].
States have now been permitted to notify losses by wild animals as an add-on cover on individual assessment, with the premium subsidy borne entirely by the State Government [1][2].
Marks a policy shift — wild-animal damage was earlier excluded as a "preventable" risk; inclusion reflects rising human-wildlife conflict concerns flagged by MoEFCC [1][2].
UPSC relevance: GS-III (agriculture, insurance, disaster mgmt) + GS-III (biodiversity/HWC).

3 February 2026 PIB release confirming States can notify wild-animal crop losses as add-on cover under PMFBY, with protocol embedded in Operational Guidelines [1].
Builds on the Kharif 2026 decision recognising wild-animal attacks as the 5th Add-on Cover under the Localised Risk category [2].

2016 (Kharif): PMFBY launched, replacing NAIS and MNAIS [3].
Kharif 2020: Scheme made voluntary for all farmers (earlier compulsory for loanees); Centre-State premium subsidy ratio set at 90:10 for NE States, 50:50 elsewhere [3].
2023: MoEFCC and States flag rising crop losses from wild animals; demand for inclusion [1].
Kharif 2026: Wild-animal damage added as 5th localised-risk add-on cover; States to notify list of animals + vulnerable insurance units using historical data [2].

Implementing Ministry: Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Dept. of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare [1].
Farmer premium share (capped): 2% Kharif, 1.5% Rabi, 5% commercial/horticultural crops [3].
Balance premium subsidy: Centre-State 50:50 (90:10 for NE States from Kharif 2020) [3].
Risks covered: non-preventable natural risks — drought, dry spell, flood, inundation, pest/disease, landslide, fire, storm, hailstorm, cyclone — pre-sowing to post-harvest [1].
Wild animal cover: add-on, individual assessment basis, premium fully borne by State Govt [1].
Localised Risk add-ons (post-Kharif 2026): hailstorm, landslide, inundation, cloudburst — and now wild animal attack as the 5th [2].
Likely beneficiary States: Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, MP, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Sikkim, HP [2].

Economic

Shifts fiscal burden of wild-animal cover to States, preserving Centre's actuarial subsidy frame [1].
Protects smallholder incomes in HWC hotspots where elephant/wild-boar/nilgai damage can wipe out single plots.

Environmental / Ecological

Indirect tool for human-wildlife conflict mitigation; reduces retaliatory killing incentive by compensating losses [2].
Complements Project Elephant, Project Tiger corridor management.

Administrative / Federal

States must notify animals and vulnerable units — operationalises cooperative federalism; loss assessment is individual (not area-based like main PMFBY) [1][2].
Add-on premium wholly state-funded, so uptake will depend on State fiscal will.

Legal / Governance

Operationalised via PMFBY Operational Guidelines (executive, not statutory) [1].
Sits alongside Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 ex-gratia regimes administered by MoEFCC.

3 Feb 2026 — PIB confirms add-on cover for wild animal damage at State cost [1].
Kharif 2026 — Wild animal attack notified as 5th localised-risk add-on; paddy and other crops eligible [2].
PMFBY marked 9 years of operation in 2025 [per PIB release "PMFBY turns Nine"] [4].

PMFBY launched in 2016-17 by Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare [1][3].
Farmer premium: 2% Kharif / 1.5% Rabi / 5% commercial-horticultural [3].
Centre-State subsidy split: 50:50, but 90:10 for North-Eastern States from Kharif 2020 [3].
PMFBY made voluntary for loanee farmers from Kharif 2020 [3].
Wild-animal damage cover is an add-on, not part of base cover [1].
Premium for wild-animal add-on borne by State Government, not Centre [1].
Loss assessment under wild-animal cover is on individual basis (not area-approach) [1].
Request to include wild animal cover came from MoEFCC + State Govts [1].
Wild animal attack added as 5th Add-on under Localised Risk category, effective Kharif 2026 [2].
Localised risks under PMFBY include hailstorm, landslide, inundation, cloudburst, wild animal attack [2].
Protocol contained in PMFBY Operational Guidelines [1].

GS-III: Agriculture — issues of buffer stocks, MSP, crop insurance; e-technology for farmers.
GS-III: Disaster Management & Environment — human-wildlife conflict.
GS-II: Government policies & federal implementation.

Plausible stems:

"Discuss how PMFBY's add-on cover for wild-animal damage addresses both agrarian distress and human-wildlife conflict. Examine implementation challenges."
"Critically evaluate the design of PMFBY in addressing non-preventable agricultural risks. (250 words)"
"Cooperative federalism is visible in the customisation of central schemes by States. Illustrate with PMFBY add-on covers."

Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) — sister scheme using weather indices.
YES-TECH & WINDS — tech platforms (yield estimation, weather data) underpinning PMFBY.
Human-Wildlife Conflict & Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 — MoEFCC ex-gratia.
Project Elephant / Project Tiger — corridor & conflict management.
MSP, PM-KISAN, KCC — farmer support architecture.
National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) / SDRF norms for crop loss compensation.
Agriculture Insurance Company of India (AIC) — implementing insurer.
Doubling Farmers' Income (Dalwai Committee).

Wrong ministry: PMFBY is under MoA&FW, not MoEFCC; the wild-animal add-on request came from MoEFCC.
Premium split: 90:10 applies only to NE States, not all hill states — Himachal/Uttarakhand are 50:50.
Voluntary, not compulsory: post-Kharif 2020, even loanee farmers can opt out.
Wild-animal cover is add-on at State cost, not Centrally subsidised — easy MCQ trap.
Loss assessment for wild-animal damage is individual, contrasting with PMFBY's default area-based assessment.
PMFBY is governed by Operational Guidelines (executive), not a dedicated Act.