Despite being a Congress ruled state, Karnataka has taken the lead in the successful implementation of the Narendra Modi government's flagship crop insurance scheme. The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) was launched last year amid much fanfare. PMFBY, which has been renamed Karnataka Raita Suraksha Pradhana Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, has covered about 16 per cent of state's farmers so far, according to agriculture department officials. This, they say, is significant considering it seeks to benefit 50 per cent of India's farmers in three years. "Karnataka and Gujarat have achieved vast coverage in less than a year of the launch," said a senior agriculture department official. In Karnataka, 10.12 lakh farmers have opted for crop insurance for the kharif season under PMFBY, which is higher than the 8.72 lakh farmers in the corresponding period in the previous year. In the rabi season, the coverage improved hugely with 4-5 lakh farmers signing up for the scheme. "Due to severe drought conditions they faced last year, more farmers are opting for crop insurance. We expect to get at least 20-22 lakh farmers on board by this year," said a senior official. PMFBY, which replaced the older National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) and the modified NAIS, seeks to provide comprehensive insurance to farmers against the vagaries of nature at a very low premium of 2 per cent of the insured value for the kharif crop and 1.5 per cent for the rabi crop. The Centre and state share the burden of the difference between the premium charged by the insurance company and that paid by the farmer. The state government has been actively promoting the scheme by earmarking Rs 675.38 crore in the budget for this fiscal (2016-17) so that farmers don't suffer due to floods, drought and unseasonal rain. Giving the scheme a shot in the arm, the government rolled out a one-of-its-kind software in June 2016 to enable farmers to register online. The Samrakshane software, linked to the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre data, collects real-time weather data, understands the needs of each farmer at different stages of crop growth and ensures quick payment of compensation. L K Atheeq, principal secretary to the chief minister, said: "Using the software, we can settle claims in just two months instead of 8-10 months." Linked to Aadhaar database Samrakshane software for end-to-end automation of the crop insurance process provides an efficient and transparent system for the speedy delivery of benefits and risk cover to the farming community. It generates a unique number for each farmer to keep track of agricultural activities to insure the crop against loss or damage. "The system is linked to the Aadhaar database of farmers for direct payment into their bank accounts; they are informed of the status through SMS and via a dedicated portal," Atheeq said. It includes a mobile application will enables farmers to report crop loss to the authority concerned. Most advanced system We have seen problems of overlap and wrong claims during the previous years. People who did not grow the crops had filed applications and paid premiums. Bank managers could have filed applications after a crop failure. The app was created to plug these loopholes. Now, all banks and cooperatives are connected, the information of all loanee and non-loanee farmers has been keyed in, and all farmers are Aadhaar-linked. Even databases like bhoomi and bank accounts are linked. This is the most advanced system in the country. Additional principal secretary to the PM, P K Misra, wants to encourage all states to replicate it L K Atheeq, principal secretary to CM