Farmers in some villages of Maharashtra's Akola district claimed to have received as little as Rs 3 and Rs 21 as compensation under a central insurance scheme for the crop losses they suffered due to heavy rains, and called the aid as 'insulting' and 'mockery' of their plight.
Those without Aadhaar can still avail of the scheme after producing proof of applying for Aadhaar
The SC agrees with the government's request for a year to show effective results of its pro-farmer schemes like Fasal Bima Yojana.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India will never compromise the interests of its farmers, fishermen and dairy farmers, asserting that he would be ready to pay any price.
Farmer representatives and agricultural stakeholders urged the government to provide cheaper long-term credit, implement lower taxes, and double the PM-KISAN income support during a comprehensive pre-budget consultation with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday. The two-hour meeting saw a detailed discussion of proposals, aimed at addressing multiple challenges in the agricultural sector, with key demands focusing on financial relief, market reforms, and strategic investments.
The government, they said, will launch a mega drive, Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, across all 2.7 lakh panchayats in the country to reach out to beneficiaries and enrol them.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday pledged to make 30 million 'Lakhpati Didis', up from the 10 million rural women who have already achieved the feat. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday released the BJP's manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The manifesto says the ruling party will continue the quarterly financial disbursements under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM KISAN) yojana.
Bharat Krishak Samaj demanded that the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana should be replaced with a new crop insurance and compensation scheme.
Here are the key highlights of the BJP's 'Sankalp Patra' for the 2024 parliamentary polls.
'Marathwada is the suicide capital of Maharashtra.' 'To stop such man-made disasters, the government should immediately come up with a rightful package, not this charitable approach to compensation.'
According to BJP strategists, PMJAY and the PM Ujjwala Yojana will form the nucleus of the Modi government's re-election campaign.
"People ask me why I am wearing this white T-shirt, don't I feel cold. I will tell you the reason. When the yatra began... in Kerala, it was hot and humid. But when we entered Madhya Pradesh, it was slightly cold.
The government will formulate a strategy to make India self-reliant in edible oils by boosting domestic output of oilseeds and launch a comprehensive programme to support dairy farmers, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Thursday. India imports a large quantity of edible oils to meet the domestic demand. During the 2022-23 marketing year (November-October), the country imported nearly 165 lakh tonnes of cooking oils, valuing a whopping Rs 1.38 lakh crore.
Modi said, "The Karnataka government was indifferent...it did not care about the benefits that a farmer can get from the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana."
More funds are expected to be allocated for the new crop insurance scheme, PMSKY and RKVY.
The change in policy for the three companies, from listing to merger, shows the level of discomfort within the government about their ability to take on the expanded load for insurance coverage with their current financial strength, including the massive premium and claim settlement cover under the proposed universal health coverage plan announced in Budget 2018.
The government will take special efforts to ensure adequate credit flow to underserved areas -- the eastern states and Jammu-Kashmir, he added.
A Madhya Pradesh farmer has claimed that he lost his crop because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposed rally in the state on February 18.
The best option to reduce farm distress in the state is that when the rains fail, the state -- the central and the state government -- provide a financial cushion for the farmer
The idea is to monitor centrally sponsored schemes, partly funded schemes, loans, programmes and any other endeavour into which funds are pumped.
In her first address to the joint sitting of Parliament as the Budget session began, she said 'Amrit Kaal', described by the government as the 25-year period culminating in the centenary of India's independence, is the time to build an India which is 'aatmanirbhar' (self reliant) and also fulfils its humanitarian obligations.
Motor insurance is expected to generate largest claims for the companies whereas for crop insurance, the Agriculture Insurance Company is expecting claims of about Rs 15-16 crore
'Where is the spirit of Team India?' asks Chandrababu Naidu.
'I hope the anger that Gujarat farmers have demonstrated is also reflected in other parts of the country in ensuing elections.' 'Only then will the ruling parties accept that something is terribly going wrong in the hinterland.'
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com lists 11 Modi flagship schemes that may have been gamechangers in the Lok Sabha election.
Almost 30% or a third of the agriculture ministry's budget, is spent on premium for the PMFBY every year
India needs to spread irrigation and do so against a backdrop of rising water scarcity and depleting groundwater resources
That apart, farmers will get loans for post-harvest storage of their produce at a subsidised interest rate of 7 per cent for six months.
Government's objective is to bring down the cost of cultivation through efficient use of fertilisers and agro chemicals, and increase in realisation. It is, thus, planning to connect 200 agricultural mandis with electronic National Agricultural Mandis this year and 225 next year, to enable farmers to sell their produce hassle-free online.
Swarms of immature pink locusts and adult yellow locusts are currrently active. Not only are fresh locusts swarms expected to arrive in the coming weeks, but even those already present in India have mated and are breeding new offspring.
It will carry out most banking operations like accepting deposits but can't advance loans or issue credit cards.
The focus is likely to be on consolidation and improvement of existing rural-centric programmes to ensure their completion ahead of the next general elections in 2019, rather than announcement of new schemes. Sanjeeb Mukherjee and Arup Roychoudhury report.
The government has made its flagship crop insurance schemes voluntary for farmers with existing crop loans or those willing to take new ones, as it seeks to address the concerns raised by farmers' body and states in implementation of these programmes. "The Union Cabinet has approved the revamping of 'Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)' and 'Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS)' to address the existing challenges in implementation of crop insurance schemes," an official statement said.
Evidently, households see a brighter future after the Budget, reveals Mahesh Vyas.
Critics argue that much more could have been done and that the government was slow to react to many events.
Whether it was the MGNREGS or the NFSA or the Aadhaar-based DBT scheme for cash transfer, the Modi government has built on the basic architecture created by the Singh government. Policy makers in the Modi government, instead of discarding them as products of the previous political regime, worked on them, expanded their scope and reach, and used new tools to improve their performance, explains A K Bhattacharya.
An ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh will be given per person to the next of kin of those killed in the floods.
Vote bank politics cannot be above protecting the sanctity of girls and women, he said virtually launching the campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha election at Chaibasa, about 150 km from in Chaibasa.
The area-based income compensation scheme says that farmers should be paid the difference between the actual price they get and the state-mandated MSP. The compensation will be determined on a per acre basis by using district-level estimates of marketable surplus and prices in the harvest season.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances