Nizamabad district has been selected on experimental basis for implementation of Unified Package Insurance Scheme (UPIS) as part of Prime Minister Fasal Bheema Yojana (PMFBY) which will come into force from the ensuing kharif.

The farmers enrolling under PMFBY are initially mandated in Nizamabad to opt at least two out of six sections of UPIS – personal accidents, life insurance, student safety insurance, dwelling/household insurance, agricultural pumpset insurance and tractor insurance, a government order today said.

The government also notified the crops and districts to implement the villages and mandals as insurance unit schemes under the PMFBY. Soyabean in Adilabad, rice in Khammam, Karimnagar, Nalgonda, Warangal and Nizamabad and maize in Medak, Mahbubnagar and Ranga Reddy will be the predominant crops to be covered with villages as units of insurance.

Other crops like jowar, red gram, green gram, black gram, chillies, turmeric and groundnut will be covered with mandal as unit.

However, soyabean, rice and maize will also be covered in mandal as unit where they are not listed as predominant crops. For instance, rice is not a predominant crop in Adilabad, Medak, Mahbubnagar and Ranga Reddy. Similarly, soyabean is not a predominant crop in all districts except Adilabad and maize not in districts other than Medak, Mahbubnagar and Ranga Reddy.

Besides, the government notified cotton, red chillies, oil palm and sweet lime in various districts for weather based crop insurance scheme (WBCIS) as part of PMFBY. The PMFBY aimed to support sustainable production in agriculture with financial assistance, stabilising income of farmers, encouraging them to adopt innovative and modern agricultural practices and ensuring credit flow. The WBCIS was meant to address the financial loss suffered by farmers on account of adverse weather conditions.

Source - http://www.thehindu.com