Maharashtra's crop insurance registrations reached 81.4 lakh after a ten-day extension. This increase followed initial lower enrollment due to past scheme dissatisfaction. Banks have until August end to submit borrower farmer details and premiums. The total sum insured under the scheme now stands at Rs 30,281 crore. Nanded district recorded the highest number of farmer registrations this season.

The number of farmers registering for crop insurance in Maharashtra has risen to 81.4 lakh following a 10-day extension granted by the state government.

"The response has improved satisfactorily after the 10-day extension. A total of 81,40,913 farmers have registered as of August 10," an official from the state cooperation department told PTI.

The registration deadline for non-borrower farmers (those who have not taken crop loans) has ended, while the banks have been given time until the end of August to submit details of borrower farmers and pay their insurance premiums to the concerned crop insurance companies.

Of the total registrations, 77,16,246 are non-borrowers. The total sum insured under the scheme stands at Rs 30,281 crore.
The state had initially set July-end as the deadline for registration. By then, only 61,82,218 farmers had enrolled, compared with around 95 lakh farmers who had registered under the scheme last year.

The lower response this year was attributed to farmers not receiving expected benefits from the crop insurance scheme last year and the tighter eligibility criteria introduced for the current season. The government subsequently extended the registration period by 10 days.
 

Banks have been allowed to complete the registration of borrower farmers and remit their insurance premiums by the end of August. They will deduct the insurance premium from the loan amount and pay it to the crop insurance company, while the remaining amount will be disbursed to the farmer as a loan.

Around 31 lakh farmers in Maharashtra had taken crop loans by July-end last year, of whom nearly 16 lakh had borrowed for sugarcane cultivation. Sugarcane is not covered under the crop insurance scheme.

Considering the remaining borrower farmers, the total number of such farmers registering for crop insurance could rise to around 10 lakh this year.

Nanded recorded the highest number of registrations at 9,48,736, followed by Beed (9,34,802), Latur (6,21,776), Parbhani (5,23,392) and Ahilyanagar (5,00,232).

The lowest registrations were recorded in Ratnagiri (10,426), Kolhapur (11,182), Raigad (16,034), Sindhudurg (24,225) and Gadchiroli (25,182). 

Source - https://bfsi.economictimes.indiatimes.com