Odisha has identified seven crops to be covered under the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) for 2015-16 Rabi farming season after the standing crops were affected in Kharif 2015 due to drought. The crops to be insured under the NAIS include paddy, mustard, potato, groundnut, green gram, black gram and sugar cane. The green gram, black gram and sugarcane are newly included in the list. "Due to wide spread drought, the state government is encouraging cultivation of non paddy crops especially the pulses. Pulses can grow in the moisture remaining in the field after harvesting the paddy. The state level technical committee has finalized the list of crops to be insured which has been approved by the State Level Coordination Committee on Crop Insurance headed by chief secretary. The notification in this regard is likely to come out by next week", said Dasarathi Singh, deputy general manager, Agriculture Insurance Company of India Limited (AICIL). In Odisha, the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) (Rashtriya Krishi Bima Yojana) is being implemented by the AICL. Gram panchayats have been taken as the unit area for insurance of paddy. For rest of the crops, blocks are considered as the unit area for assessment of crop loss. As per reports, 173 blocks in 25 districts have been hit by drought. Around 882,000 hectares of land have sustained crop loss of over 33 per cent. The drought has affected cultivation in 20484 villages, comprising a population of 15.1 million. Over 90 farmers have committed suicides due to the drought. In Rabi 2014-15, as many as 117582 farmers were covered with a sum assured of Rs 480 crore. The state government has given the target to double the number of farmers to be brought under the insurance coverage during the 2015-16 Rabi season taking the total to about 234000 farmers. Maximum emphasis will be given to cover the non loanee farmers, Singh added. Odisha has directed the banks to extend normal agricultural finance for Rabi crops during 2015-16 depending on the irrigation potential. The banks are asked to extend loans to the tune of Rs 4500 crore in the ensuing Rabi season. Source - http://www.business-standard.com/