Bharti AXA General Insurance, a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises, one of India’s leading business groups, and AXA, one of the world’s largest insurance companies, today said the company has received Rs 800 crore worth crop insurance mandate from the Governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka to insure their farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). The company has secured authorization for a period of three years from both the state governments to implement the PMFBY in six districts of Maharashtra and three districts of Karnataka. Farmers in the districts of Ahmednagar, Nashik, Chandrapur, Solapur, Jalgaon and Satara in Maharashtra and Dharwad, Mysuru and Kodagu in Karnataka can insure their Kharif crops till July 31 through their respective banks or authorized representatives of the company. Commenting on the development, Mr. Sanjeev Srinivasan, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Bharti AXA General Insurance, said,  ‘’It is our pleasure and privilege to have been chosen to provide crop insurance cover to farmers in some districts of Maharashtra and Karnataka under the PMFBY which protects them from the uncertainties and vagaries of nature.As a responsible insurer, we aim to provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the failure of any of the notified crop as a result of natural calamities. Apart from implementing crop insurance for farmers in both the states, we will also capitalize on innovative technologies and digital capabilities for sharing relevant information about the PMFBY and ensure speedy and hassle-free claim assessments in the respective districts.’’ The PMFBY offers insurance cover to farmers against losses of crops during the entire cycle from preparation of sowing to harvesting and post-harvest, due to poor yield. ‘’The PMFBY aims at supporting sustainable production in the agriculture sector by way of providing financial support to farmers suffering crop loss/damage arising out of unforeseen events. Our farmers face economic strain due to the variability in agriculture production and crop insurance protects them against financial loss arising out of adverse weather conditions.The crop insurance cover would help stabilize the income of farmers particularly in disaster times and ensure their continuance in farming,’’ said Mr. Alok Shukla, Senior Vice President & Head, Agriculture and Rural Business & Claims, Bharti AXA General Insurance. The crop insurance would cover the farmers in these districts of Maharashtra and Karnataka against any losses in crop yields on area approach basis arising out of a wide range of external risks such as flood, dry spells, drought, landslides, cyclones, hurricane, pest and diseases and localized calamities among others. It offers insurance cover for all stages of the crop cycle including pre-sowing to harvesting and post-harvest risks. Mr. Srinivasan said all farmers including sharecroppers and tenant farmers growing thenotified crops in the notified districts are eligible for crop insurance coverage. Theycan avail detailed information about the scheme from the agriculture offices, banks, Common Service Centres and the company’s registered offices in Maharashtra and Karnataka and obtain the insurance cover under the PMFBY. ‘’We will also conduct an integrated awareness drives in these districts through mass media, including radio, television, hoardings and local announcements and educate the farming communities about the relevance and significance of the scheme,’’ he added. Bharti AXA General Insurance has been participating in the government sponsored crop insurance scheme for the past many years and insured 28.44 lakh farmers from different states Bihar, Karnataka, Gujarat, Jharkhand and Maharashtra. It secured 8.83 lakh farmers from Gujarat, Jharkhand and Maharashtra in the financial year 2019-20.Under this scheme, the company has offered crop insurance benefits to more than 3.8 lakh farmers. Source - https://www.indiainfoline.com