Major Expansion for India's Farmers: PMFBY to Cover New Risks
In a significant move aimed at strengthening the financial safety net for millions of farmers, the Government of India has announced a major expansion of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). From the Kharif season of 2026, the crop insurance scheme will officially cover losses caused by wild animal attacks and paddy inundation.
Addressing Long-Standing Farmer Grievances
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare made the landmark announcement on Tuesday, November 19, 2025. This decision directly responds to the long-standing requests from several states and is designed to protect farmers from sudden, localized, and severe crop damage that has historically gone uncompensated.
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan approved the recommendations of an expert committee constituted by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare to address these emerging risks. The new modalities have been prepared in line with the PMFBY Operational Guidelines to ensure a scientific, transparent, and operationally feasible framework for nationwide implementation.
How the New Coverage Will Work
The revised framework introduces a structured approach to handling these specific perils.
For Wild Animal Attacks:
- This will be recognized as the fifth add-on cover under the localized risk category.
- State governments will notify the list of wild animals responsible for crop damage, such as elephants, wild boars, nilgai, deer, and monkeys.
- Vulnerable districts or insurance units will be identified based on historical data.
- Farmers must report losses within 72 hours by uploading geotagged photographs via the official crop insurance app.
For Paddy Inundation:
Paddy inundation, which was removed from the localized calamity category in 2018 due to assessment challenges, is being reintroduced. This will close a significant protection gap for farmers in regions prone to seasonal flooding and heavy rains.
Widespread Impact Across Key States
The expansion is expected to bring substantial relief to farmers in states with high human-wildlife conflict and those in flood-prone zones.
Wild Animal Attack Coverage will greatly benefit farmers in:Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, and the Himalayan and North-Eastern States like Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Sikkim, and Himachal Pradesh.
Paddy Inundation Cover will be a boon for farmers in coastal and flood-prone states, including:Odisha, Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Uttarakhand.
A Scheme of Immense Scale and Impact
The PMFBY, launched in the Kharif 2016 season, was created to support agricultural production by providing an affordable insurance product that offers comprehensive risk cover from pre-sowing to post-harvest stages.
The scheme's success is underscored by its massive reach. Since its inception, over 36 crore (360 million) farmer applications have been processed, with claims worth Rs 1.82 lakh crore disbursed to beneficiaries. This demonstrates the scheme's pivotal role in agricultural risk management and farmer welfare in India.
This proactive enhancement of the PMFBY marks a critical step towards building a more resilient agricultural sector, ensuring that farmers are better equipped to face the growing challenges of climate and human-wildlife conflict.
