Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) is India’s flagship, government-backed crop insurance scheme, launched in February 2016. It protects farmers financially when their crop is damaged by natural calamities, pests, or diseases. A farmer pays only a small, fixed share of the premium — 2% for Kharif crops, 1.5% for Rabi crops, and 5% for commercial/horticultural crops
while the Central and State Governments jointly pay the rest. Enrolment is voluntary and can be done online at pmfby.gov.in, through a bank, or at a Common Service Centre (CSC). Any crop loss from a localised calamity must be reported within 72 hours.
| Particular | Details |
|---|---|
| Scheme Name | Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) |
| Approved / Launched | Approved by Union Cabinet on 13 January 2016; formally launched on 18 February 2016 at Sehore, Madhya Pradesh |
| Launched By | Prime Minister Narendra Modi |
| Nodal Ministry | Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India |
| Who Implements It | Empanelled general insurance companies, selected state-wise through bidding |
| Official Website | pmfby.gov.in |
| Toll-Free Helpline | 14447 (Krishi Rakshak Portal & Helpline) |
| States/UTs Covered (Kharif 2026) | 25 States & Union Territories |
| Farmer’s Premium Share | 2% (Kharif) / 1.5% (Rabi) / 5% (Commercial & Horticultural crops) |
| Enrolment | Voluntary for all farmers (since Kharif 2020) |
| Payout Mode | Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to Aadhaar-linked bank account |
| Claims Paid Till Date | Over ₹2.06 lakh crore (since 2016, up to Rabi 2025-26) |
| Union Budget Allocation, 2026-27 | ₹12,200 crore |
- What Is PM Fasal Bima Yojana?
- Objectives of PMFBY
- Key Features
- Eligibility Criteria
- Documents Required
- Premium Rates & Government Subsidy
- What Is “Sum Insured”?
- Risks Covered vs Exclusions
- Technology Used in PMFBY
- How to Apply — Step by Step
- Enrolment / Cut-off Dates
- How to Check Application/Policy Status
- How to Report Crop Loss & File a Claim
- Claim Settlement Timeline & New Rules
- Common Reasons Claims Get Rejected
- Benefits of PMFBY
- PMFBY Performance in Numbers
- PMFBY vs Older Crop Insurance Schemes
- State-Level Variations
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Sources & Official References
1. What Is PM Fasal Bima Yojana?
Farming in India depends heavily on the weather. A single untimely hailstorm, a delayed monsoon, or a sudden pest outbreak can destroy months of hard work in a matter of days — pushing an already stretched farming household into debt.
To cushion farmers against exactly this kind of shock, the Government of India runs the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) — a crop insurance scheme that pays farmers when their crop yield falls short because of natural calamities, pests, or diseases.
PMFBY replaced two earlier schemes:
- National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS), running since 1999
- Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS), introduced in 2010
Both older schemes suffered from the same problems: capped payouts, high premiums for farmers in some cases, and claim settlements that dragged on for months or years. PMFBY was designed to fix these gaps by combining the best parts of the earlier schemes while removing their shortcomings — built around the simple idea of “One Nation, One Crop, One Premium”, meaning every farmer growing the same notified crop in the same notified area pays the same premium rate, whether or not they have taken a bank loan.
2. Objectives of PMFBY
The scheme is designed to achieve five broad goals:
- Provide financial support to farmers suffering crop loss or damage from unforeseen, non-preventable natural events.
- Stabilise farmers’ income so they can continue farming even after a bad season.
- Encourage farmers to adopt modern, innovative agricultural practices, since crop failure no longer means total financial ruin.
- Ensure a steady flow of credit to the agriculture sector, since insured crops are safer collateral for lenders.
- Support food security, crop diversification, and the overall competitiveness of Indian agriculture.
3. Key Features
- Low, fixed premium for farmers — capped at 2% / 1.5% / 5% depending on the season and crop type.
- No upper limit on the government’s subsidy share — unlike older schemes, the Centre and State together pay whatever is needed to cover the full actuarial premium.
- Covers the entire crop cycle — from prevented sowing, through the standing-crop growing period, to specified post-harvest losses.
- Voluntary for every farmer (loanee and non-loanee alike) since Kharif 2020 — no farmer is auto-enrolled through a crop loan anymore.
- Technology-driven claim assessment — satellite imagery, drones, automatic weather stations, and mobile apps reduce manual error and speed up settlements.
- Open to tenant farmers and sharecroppers, not just landowners.
- Recently expanded coverage (Kharif 2026): several states have added cover for crop damage caused by wild-animal attacks and paddy inundation, addressing a long-standing farmer demand.
4. Eligibility Criteria
| Farmer Category | Eligibility Condition |
|---|---|
| Loanee Farmers | Have a Kisan Credit Card (KCC) or a seasonal crop loan for a notified crop. Enrolment is voluntary since Kharif 2020 — you must actively opt in with your bank. |
| Non-Loanee Farmers | Cultivate a notified crop without a crop loan. Must apply directly via the portal, a bank, or a CSC. |
| Owner-Cultivators | Farmers who own and personally cultivate the land. |
| Tenant Farmers / Sharecroppers | Eligible with a valid tenancy agreement, sharecropping agreement, or cultivation certificate recognised by the state government. |
| Crop & Area Condition | Both the crop you grow and your village/area must appear in that season’s official state notification for PMFBY. |
Note: There is no separate income ceiling or landholding-size limit — any farmer, big or small, who meets the notified crop-and-area condition can enrol.
5. Documents Required
- Aadhaar Card — mandatory for identity verification and for receiving the DBT payout.
- Bank account details — an active, Aadhaar-seeded bank passbook or account.
- Land ownership records — Record of Rights (RoR), Khasra/Khatauni, or Patta.
- Tenancy/cultivation agreement — required for tenant farmers and sharecroppers, as per state rules.
- Sowing certificate / self-declaration of the area sown, sometimes countersigned by the village revenue officer (Patwari).
- Passport-size photograph — usually needed only for offline/paper applications.
- Completed application form — for the offline route (bank/CSC).
6. Premium Rates & Government Subsidy
PMFBY keeps the farmer’s share of the premium fixed and low, no matter which crop or state:
| Crop Season | Crops Covered | Maximum Premium Payable by Farmer |
|---|---|---|
| Kharif | Food crops & oilseeds | 2% of Sum Insured |
| Rabi | Food crops & oilseeds | 1.5% of Sum Insured |
| All Seasons | Annual commercial & horticultural crops | 5% of Sum Insured |
FARMER’S MAXIMUM PREMIUM SHARE (% of Sum Insured)
Kharif (Food/Oilseed) ████████ 2.0%
Rabi (Food/Oilseed) ██████ 1.5%
Commercial/Horticultural ████████████████████ 5.0%
How the subsidy works
- The insurance company calculates a full Actuarial Premium Rate (APR) for each crop, based on its historical risk.
- The farmer pays only the capped percentage shown above.
- The gap between the APR and the farmer’s share — called the premium subsidy — is shared between the Central and State Governments.
| Region | Centre : State Subsidy Split |
|---|---|
| Most States | 50% : 50% |
| North-Eastern & Himalayan States (e.g., J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, NE states) | 90% : 10% |
On average, the combined government subsidy covers roughly 95% to 98.5% of the total premium bill.
Illustrative example (numbers are for understanding only — your actual premium depends on your crop, district, and insurer): If a farmer’s paddy crop is insured for a Sum Insured of ₹40,000 per hectare during Kharif season, the farmer’s 2% share works out to about ₹800 per hectare — the rest of the premium is paid by the government.
7. What Is “Sum Insured”?
The Sum Insured is the maximum amount you can receive as a claim for your insured crop. It is fixed by the District Level Technical Committee based on the “Scale of Finance” for that crop (used for loanee farmers), and the same value applies to non-loanee farmers growing the identical notified crop in the identical notified area. This keeps things fair — a loanee and a non-loanee farmer growing the same crop in the same village get the same cover at the same premium.
8. Risks Covered vs Exclusions
| ✅ Covered Under PMFBY | ❌ Not Covered (Exclusions) |
|---|---|
| Prevented sowing/planting due to adverse weather — claim up to 25% of Sum Insured (area basis) | War, nuclear risk, and similar perils |
| Standing crop losses: drought, dry spells, flood, inundation, pests & diseases, landslide, fire & lightning, storm, hailstorm, cyclone, typhoon, tempest, hurricane, tornado | Riots, malicious damage, and theft |
| Post-harvest losses — up to 14 days after harvest, for crops left to dry in “cut & spread” condition, against cyclone/cyclonic rain or unseasonal rain | Act of enmity |
| Localised calamities on an individual-farm basis: hailstorm, landslide, inundation, cloudburst | Grazing or destruction by domestic/wild animals (except newly notified wild-animal-attack cover in select states from Kharif 2026) |
| Wild-animal attack & paddy inundation — newly added in notified states from Kharif 2026 | Losses from preventable management failure or negligence |
| Harvested crop bundled/heaped before threshing (not treated as a post-harvest loss) |
Crops covered: Food crops (cereals, millets, pulses), oilseeds, and annual commercial/horticultural crops for which reliable past yield data exists. The exact list of notified crops differs by state and season — always check your state’s current notification on pmfby.gov.in.
9. Technology Used in PMFBY
| Technology | What It Does |
|---|---|
| YES-TECH (Yield Estimation System based on Technology) | Uses satellite and remote-sensing data to estimate crop yield more accurately, cutting down manual error |
| WINDS (Weather Information Network & Data System) | A dense network of automatic weather stations/rain gauges providing hyper-local data for fairer, faster claim decisions |
| CCE-Agri App | Used by field officials to record Crop Cutting Experiments and upload results directly to the National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP) |
| National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP) | The digital backbone connecting farmers, banks, insurers, and state governments |
| Crop Insurance Mobile App | Lets farmers enrol, calculate premiums, check status, and report crop loss — all from a smartphone |
| Drones/UAVs & geo-tagged photos | Used for crop-area verification and faster, more transparent loss assessment |
10. How to Apply — Step by Step
- Go to the official portal: pmfby.gov.in.
- Click “Farmer Corner” → “Register” if you’re a new user (enter name, mobile number, Aadhaar number), or “Login” if you already have an account.
- Select “Application for Crop Insurance” and choose the current season (e.g., Kharif 2026).
- Fill in personal details, then your state, district, village, and the notified crop you are growing.
- Enter your land details (Khasra number, sown area) and bank account details.
- Upload the required documents (Aadhaar, land record, sowing certificate, etc.).
- Review your premium amount and pay it online. (Loanee farmers usually have this auto-debited by their bank once they opt in.)
- Submit the form and download/save your acknowledgment receipt — you’ll need the application/receipt number to check status or file a claim later.
Offline (Bank / CSC / Insurance Company / State Kiosk)
- Visit your bank branch, nearest Common Service Centre (CSC), or your state’s agri-service kiosk (e.g., Meeseva, Rythu Bharosa Kendra — names vary by state).
- Ask for the current season’s PMFBY application form.
- Fill in your personal, land, crop, and bank details carefully.
- Attach the required documents.
- Pay your share of the premium — in cash or digitally.
- Submit the form and keep the receipt/reference number safe.
💡 Tip: Apply at least a week before the deadline. Waiting until the last day risks portal slowdowns, technical glitches, or data-entry errors that could cost you your season’s cover.
11. Enrolment / Cut-off Dates
| Season | Typical All-India Cut-off | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Kharif | 31 July | Most states; a few get short extensions — for instance, Odisha’s Kharif 2026 window was extended to 15 August 2026 |
| Rabi | 31 December | Some states allow enrolment into early January |
⚠️ These are general/illustrative windows only. The exact cut-off is fixed state-wise and crop-wise and can shift by days or weeks each season. Always confirm your exact deadline under the “State Notification” section of pmfby.gov.in, or with your bank/local agriculture office, before relying on any date.
12. How to Check Application/Policy Status
- Visit pmfby.gov.in.
- Open the “Farmer Corner” section.
- Click “Application Status.”
- Enter your Receipt Number or Application/Policy ID, your registered mobile number, and the captcha shown.
- Click submit to view your current status.
Status updates can take 7 to 10 days after registration. If it still shows “Pending” after about 15 days, contact your insurance company directly or call the helpline 14447.
13. How to Report Crop Loss & File a Claim
⚠️ The single most important rule in PMFBY: For localised calamities (hailstorm, landslide, inundation, cloudburst) and post-harvest losses, you must report the damage within 72 hours of the event. Missing this window is the most common reason genuine claims get rejected.
How to report a loss
- Crop Insurance mobile app — open the app, select “Report Crop Loss”/”Intimate Claim,” enter your policy number, crop, cause and extent of damage, and upload photos if possible.
- PMFBY portal — use the “Report Crop Loss” option under Farmer Corner at pmfby.gov.in.
- Toll-free helpline 14447 — the Krishi Rakshak Portal & Helpline.
- Your bank branch, the insurer’s local office, or your local agriculture/revenue officer — as a fallback if digital channels aren’t accessible.
What happens after you report
- You submit the loss intimation with your policy number, crop details, and cause of loss.
- The insurer’s assessment team — supported by Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) and satellite/remote-sensing data (YES-TECH) — verifies the extent of the loss.
- For widespread, area-level yield loss, every insured farmer in that notified unit is paid using a standard formula (below) — you don’t need to individually prove damage.
- For localised or post-harvest losses, the loss is assessed on your specific farm.
- Once approved, the claim amount is credited directly to your Aadhaar-linked bank account via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
The claim calculation formula (for area-level yield loss)
Claim per farmer = [ (Threshold Yield − Actual Yield) ÷ Threshold Yield ] × Sum Insured
- Threshold Yield (TY): The expected average yield for that crop and area, based on historical data.
- Actual Yield (AY): The yield actually recorded that season, measured through Crop Cutting Experiments.
- If the Actual Yield equals or exceeds the Threshold Yield, no claim is payable — the crop performed as expected or better.
For prevented sowing, the claim can go up to 25% of the Sum Insured, calculated on an area basis.
14. Claim Settlement Timeline & New Rules
- Claims are typically settled and credited via DBT within about 30 days of yield data being finalised.
- New transparency rule (March 2026): Insurance companies must now settle admissible claims within 21 days, or pay the farmer 12% annual interest on the delayed amount.
- If a state government delays releasing its share of the premium subsidy and this causes a delay in payment, the state must also pay farmers 12% interest on the delayed amount.
- Grievances about delayed, reduced, or rejected claims can be raised through the Krishi Rakshak Portal or by calling 14447.
15. Common Reasons Claims Get Rejected
| Common Mistake | How to Avoid It |
|---|---|
| Reporting crop loss after 72 hours | Report immediately — even a preliminary or estimated report is better than a late one |
| Missing the enrolment cut-off date | Apply at least a week early; set a phone reminder |
| Growing a crop or living in a village not on the state’s notified list | Confirm the notified crop/area list for your season before applying |
| Wrong Khasra/land details or mismatched sown area | Get land records verified with your local Patwari before applying |
| Aadhaar not seeded/linked with your bank account (NPCI) | Visit your bank branch to complete Aadhaar seeding so DBT works |
| Name mismatch across Aadhaar, bank passbook, and land records | Make sure your name is spelled identically across all three |
| Premium not paid before the cut-off | Pay immediately after submitting your application — don’t wait |
16. Benefits of PMFBY
- Very low, capped premium — farmers know their maximum cost upfront (2% / 1.5% / 5%).
- Covers the entire crop cycle — from prevented sowing right through to specified post-harvest losses.
- No cap on the Sum Insured or the government’s subsidy share, unlike older insurance schemes.
- Faster, technology-driven assessment using satellite data, drones, and mobile apps, instead of manual assessment alone.
- Direct, transparent payouts straight into the farmer’s own Aadhaar-linked bank account.
- Open to tenant farmers and sharecroppers, not only landowners.
- Encourages investment in better seeds, inputs, and practices, since a single bad season no longer means total financial ruin.
- Real accountability built in — the 21-day settlement rule with a 12% interest penalty makes insurers and states answerable for delays.
According to Ministry of Agriculture data, over the scheme’s history, farmers have collectively paid close to ₹31,139 crore as their share of premium and received roughly ₹1,55,977 crore in claims in return — meaning that for every ₹100 a farmer has paid in, they have received close to ₹500 back in claims, a strong signal of value for money for enrolled farmers as a group (individual outcomes vary by season and location).
17. PMFBY Performance in Numbers
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Farmer applications insured (Kharif 2016 – Rabi 2025-26) | Over 92.46 crore |
| Farmer applications that received a claim payout | Over 26.33 crore |
| Total claims paid to farmers so far | Over ₹2.06 lakh crore |
| States/UTs implementing PMFBY (Kharif 2026) | 25 |
| Farmers insured, Kharif 2025 | 229.77 lakh, covering 269.38 lakh hectares |
| Claims paid for Kharif 2025 | ₹9,837.61 crore, to 60.89 lakh farmers |
| Farmers insured, Kharif 2026 (as of 27 Aug 2026) | 241.38 lakh, covering 278.12 lakh hectares — already ahead of Kharif 2025 |
| Union Budget allocation, 2026-27 | ₹12,200 crore |
CUMULATIVE CLAIMS PAID TO FARMERS UNDER PMFBY (₹ in lakh crore)
As of Feb 2022 ███████████ ₹1.07 L cr
FY 2024-25 ██████████████████ ₹1.83 L cr
Rabi 2025-26 (2026) █████████████████████ ₹2.06 L cr
Source: PIB, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare
CUMULATIVE FARMER APPLICATIONS INSURED UNDER PMFBY (in crore)
As of Feb 2022 ███████ 36.00 crore
FY 2024-25 ███████████████ 78.40 crore
Rabi 2025-26 (2026) ██████████████████ 92.46 crore
Source: PIB, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare
FARMERS INSURED: KHARIF 2025 vs KHARIF 2026 (in lakh)
Kharif 2025 (full season) ███████████████████████ 229.77 lakh
Kharif 2026 (as of 27 Aug 2026) ████████████████████████ 241.38 lakh
Source: PIB, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (Aug 2026)
A growing vote of confidence: Several major agricultural states that had earlier opted out of PMFBY to run their own state-level crop-relief schemes are now rejoining the central scheme — Jharkhand rejoined from Kharif 2024, West Bengal rejoined from Kharif 2026, and Bihar is set to return from Rabi 2026-27.
Since enrolment became fully voluntary, participation by farmers without a crop loan has jumped sharply — from about 20 lakh applications in 2014-15 (under the older schemes) to over 522 lakh in 2024-25 — suggesting farmers increasingly see real value in opting in on their own.
18. PMFBY vs Older Crop Insurance Schemes
| Feature | NAIS (1999) | MNAIS (2010) | PMFBY (2016–present) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Farmer premium | Low, but payouts were capped | Higher premium than NAIS | Fixed low % (2% / 1.5% / 5%) |
| Cap on Sum Insured | Yes, capped | Uncapped for some crops | No cap — full Sum Insured payable |
| Claim settlement speed | Often delayed by months/years | Somewhat improved, still slow | Time-bound; 21-day rule with interest penalty from 2026 |
| Post-harvest & localised cover | Not available | Limited | Yes — assessed on an individual-farm basis |
| Use of technology | Minimal | Some remote sensing | Satellite (YES-TECH), drones, automatic weather stations (WINDS), mobile apps |
| Enrolment for loanee farmers | Mandatory | Mandatory | Fully voluntary since Kharif 2020 |
19. State-Level Variations
Not every state runs PMFBY every season. From time to time, some states have opted out and run their own state-specific crop-relief programmes instead. Because of this:
- Always check whether PMFBY is currently active in your state and district before assuming you’re covered.
- A farmer in a non-participating state or season cannot enrol in the central scheme for that period, even if they’ve used it before.
- The good news: confidence in PMFBY is rising, with states like Jharkhand, West Bengal, and (soon) Bihar rejoining the scheme after running their own alternatives for a period.
Check your state’s current status and notified crops in the “State Notification” section of pmfby.gov.in.
20. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. Is PMFBY compulsory for farmers who have a crop loan?
No. Since Kharif 2020, enrolment is voluntary for both loanee and non-loanee farmers. You must actively opt in — no farmer is auto-enrolled anymore.
Q2. What is the maximum premium I have to pay? 2
% of the Sum Insured for Kharif crops, 1.5% for Rabi crops, and 5% for commercial/horticultural crops. The government pays the rest.
Q3. How soon must I report crop damage?
Within 72 hours for localised calamities and post-harvest losses, through the mobile app, portal, helpline 14447, or your bank/insurer.
Q4. How will I receive my claim amount?
Directly into your Aadhaar-linked bank account through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) — no middlemen involved.
Q5. Can tenant farmers and sharecroppers apply?
Yes, provided they have a valid tenancy or cultivation agreement/certificate recognised by their state government.
Q6. What if my state doesn’t offer PMFBY this season?
Some states run their own crop-relief scheme instead of PMFBY for a period. Check your state’s current participation status on the PMFBY portal before applying.
Q7. How long does it typically take to receive a claim?
Usually around 30 days after yield data is finalised. Insurers must now settle within 21 days or pay 12% annual interest on the delay.
Q8. What is the PMFBY helpline number?
14447 — the toll-free Krishi Rakshak Portal & Helpline, for enrolment help, status queries, and grievances.
Q9. Is there an age or land-size limit to apply?
No specific landholding-size or income limit is prescribed centrally. Any farmer — owner, tenant, or sharecropper — growing a notified crop in a notified area can apply.
Q10. What crops are covered?
Food crops (cereals, millets, pulses), oilseeds, and annual commercial/horticultural crops for which adequate past-yield data exists. The exact list is notified state-wise each season.
21. Sources & Official References
This guide has been compiled using official and government-verified information, including:
- Press Information Bureau (PIB), Government of India — official press releases on PMFBY performance and rule changes
- Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India
- The official PMFBY portal — pmfby.gov.in
- Parliamentary (Lok Sabha) replies on PMFBY statistics
Disclaimer: This article is intended for general informational purposes only and is not an official publication of the Government of India. Premium rates, subsidy shares, covered risks, cut-off dates, and eligible crops can vary by state and are revised from time to time. Before applying, filing a claim, or making any financial decision, please verify the latest, state-specific details directly on pmfby.gov.in or with your bank/local agriculture department.
Quick Links
| Resource | Link |
|---|---|
| 📝 Apply Now (PMFBY Application Form) | Click Here |
| 🌐 Official PMFBY Website | Click Here |
| 📊 Check Application / Claim Status | Click Here |
| 📞 Toll-Free Helpline | 14447 (Krishi Rakshak Portal & Helpline) |
| 🏛️ Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (Home Page) | Click Here |
| 📋 Other Government Yojanas (myScheme Portal) | Click Here |
| 📰 Official Press Releases (PIB) | Click Here |
| 📱 Crop Insurance Mobile App | Search “Crop Insurance” on Google Play Store |