RISKS AND CALAMITIES COVERED UNDER PMFBY

1. At a Glance

• PMFBY (Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana) provides comprehensive risk insurance to farmers against crop damage from non-preventable natural risks, spanning the entire crop cycle — pre-sowing to post-harvest [1].
• Scheme is voluntary for both States and farmers — a key exam distinction from earlier compulsory-linkage schemes [1].
• Recently, coverage was extended to wild animal attack damage, previously excluded as a "preventable" risk — tests aspirants on the preventable vs. non-preventable risk distinction [1].
• High-yield topic for GS-III (agriculture, insurance) and current-affairs Prelims (recent addition/expansion of covered risks).

2. Why in the News

• On 4 August 2026, Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Shri Ramnath Thakur clarified, via written Parliamentary reply, the risks and calamities covered under PMFBY, including the wild-animal-damage add-on [1].
• The clarification followed requests from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and State Governments to cover wildlife-caused crop losses [1].
• The Ministry has also recognised modalities for covering crop loss due to wild animal attacks and paddy inundation under PMFBY [2].

3. Background & Evolution

• PMFBY launched 2016-17, replacing earlier crop insurance schemes (National Agricultural Insurance Scheme/NAIS, Modified NAIS) [1].
• Cabinet approved revamping of PMFBY and Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) in 2020 to address implementation challenges, including making the scheme voluntary for states [3].
• 13 January 2021 — PMFBY completed 5 years of operation [4].
• Cabinet subsequently approved further modifications/additions to PMFBY/RWBCIS features for continued implementation [5].
• Wild animal damage add-on cover: introduced at the joint request of MoEFCC and State Governments; detailed protocol laid out in the scheme's Operational Guidelines [1].

4. Core Static Facts

Aspect	Detail
Launch year	2016-17 [1]
Nodal Ministry	Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare [1]
Coordinating Ministry (wild animal add-on)	Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change [1]
Nature of scheme	Voluntary for States and farmers [1]
Coverage period	Pre-sowing to post-harvest (entire crop cycle) [1]
Standard risks covered	Natural Fire & Lightning, Storm, Hailstorm, Tornado, Flood, Inundation, Landslide, Drought, Pests/Diseases [2]
Localized calamities (individual farm assessment)	Hailstorm, Landslide, Inundation, Cloud Burst, Natural Fire [2]
Post-harvest losses covered	Cyclone, cyclonic/unseasonal rains, hailstorm — crops kept in field for drying, up to 14 days, pan-India [2]
Prevented sowing / mid-season adversity	Claims up to 25% of Sum Insured as "on-account payment" [6]
Inundation exception	Localized inundation claims excluded for water-loving crops — paddy, jute, mesta, sugarcane (only wide-area inundation counted) [1]
Wild animal damage cover	Add-on, optional, individual loss assessment, cost borne entirely by State Government, not automatic/default [1]
Recently added risks	Wild animal attacks, paddy inundation [2]

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

• Economic: Shifts crop-loss risk from farmer to insurer/state; prevented-sowing claims exceeded ₹500 crore in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka during the Kharif 2019 dry spell, showing scheme's fiscal significance [6].
• Administrative/Federalism: Wild animal add-on cost is fully state-borne — illustrates PMFBY's evolving Centre-State cost-sharing architecture, unlike core scheme's shared premium subsidy [1].
• Environmental: Recognizing wild-animal crop damage links agricultural insurance policy with human-wildlife conflict management, a MoEFCC concern amid rising conflict incidents near forest fringes [1].
• Governance: Distinction between "preventable" (fencing, deterrents feasible) and "non-preventable" (natural calamity) risks underpins what the Centre-funded core scheme will or won't cover — a recurring design principle [1].
• Social: Mid-season adversity and post-harvest cover protect vulnerable smallholders from indebtedness after localized shocks (e.g., Rajasthan locust attack, Rabi 2019-20, ~₹30 crore settled) [6].

6. Recent Developments (last 12-18 months)

• 4 August 2026: Parliamentary written reply detailing risks/calamities under PMFBY and reaffirming wild-animal-damage add-on framework [1].
• Ministry recognised modalities for wild animal attack and paddy inundation coverage under PMFBY as newly notifiable risks [2].
• States given continued flexibility to notify wild-animal-damage add-on cover under Operational Guidelines, funded solely by State Governments [1].

7. Prelims Hooks

• PMFBY introduced from 2016-17 [1].
• PMFBY is voluntary for both States and farmers [1].
• Wild animal crop damage was originally excluded because it is "preventable in nature" [1].
• Wild-animal-damage add-on cover cost is borne entirely by the State Government [1].
• Wild-animal add-on requested by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) [1].
• Standard risks: Natural Fire & Lightning, Storm, Hailstorm, Tornado, Flood, Inundation, Landslide, Pests/Diseases, Drought [2].
• Post-harvest cover applies to crops left to dry in field for up to 14 days [2].
• On-account payment for prevented sowing/mid-season adversity: up to 25% of Sum Insured [6].
• Localized inundation claims excluded for water-loving crops: paddy, jute, mesta, sugarcane [1].
• PMFBY completed 5 years of operation on 13 January 2021 [4].
• Recently notifiable risks added: wild animal attacks and paddy inundation [2].
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (not MoEFCC, which only requested the add-on) [1].

8. Mains Relevance

• GS-III: Agriculture — issues related to farm insurance, crop insurance schemes, farmer welfare.
• GS-II: Governance — federal cost-sharing in centrally sponsored schemes; inter-ministerial coordination (Agriculture–Environment).
• Possible question stems: 1. "Critically examine the scope and limitations of risk coverage under PMFBY. How does the recent inclusion of wild-animal-damage cover reflect a shift in scheme design?" 2. "Discuss the Centre-State financial architecture of crop insurance schemes in India with reference to PMFBY's add-on covers." 3. "Human-wildlife conflict is increasingly an agricultural economic issue as much as a conservation one. Discuss with reference to PMFBY's wild-animal-damage add-on."

9. Related Topics to Study Next

• Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) — parallel weather-index-based scheme, often clubbed with PMFBY in Cabinet decisions.
• National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS)/Modified NAIS — PMFBY's predecessors, for comparative evolution questions.
• Human-Wildlife Conflict Management — links MoEFCC's role in the wild-animal add-on cover.
• Minimum Support Price (MSP) and agricultural income support — complementary farmer income-protection mechanisms.
• Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in agriculture — subsidy delivery mechanism relevant to premium subsidies.
• Disaster Management Act, 2005 / NDRF-SDRF framework — overlapping calamity relief architecture.
• Digital agriculture / Krishi-DSS and satellite-based yield estimation — technology used for PMFBY claim assessment.

10. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• Assuming PMFBY is mandatory — it is voluntary for both states and farmers since the 2020 revamp [3].
• Confusing the nodal ministry (Agriculture & Farmers Welfare) with the requesting ministry for wild-animal cover (MoEFCC) [1].
• Assuming wild-animal-damage cover is Centrally funded — it is entirely State-funded as an optional add-on [1].
• Mixing up prevented sowing (pre-sowing stage) with mid-season adversity (standing crop stage) — both get up to 25% on-account payment but at different crop stages [6].
• Believing all inundation losses are covered — localized inundation is excluded for water-loving crops like paddy and sugarcane [1].