Centre launches three initiatives to improve agri credit and crop insurance
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The Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar addressing at the launch of Ghar Ghar KCC Abhiyan, Kisan Rin Portal and Weather Information Network Data Systems (WINDS) manual, in New Delhi on September 19, 2023.
New Delhi, 19 Sep 2023 | ANN
On Tuesday, Centre launched three initiatives for agriculture focussing on agri-credit and crop insurance with an aim to enhance financial inclusion, optimize data utilization, and improve the lives of farmers across the nation.
The three initiatives are Kisan Rin Portal (KRP), KCC Ghar Ghar Abhiyaan, an ambitious campaign aiming to extend the benefits of the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme to every farmer across the nation and a manual on Weather Information Network Data Systems (WINDS).
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar unveiled the initiatives.
Finance Minister assured full cooperation of banks and called for full automation of regional rural banks and cooperative banks and directed Department of Financial services to study the gap between loan sanction and loan disbursement for these banks.
Talking about WINDS, Agriculture Minister said the aim is to ensure real time weather information so that farmers can take right precaution for their crops at the right time.
“The use of technology and transparency is important for agriculture and this government has taken necessary steps in this regard”, he added.
The Ghar Ghar KCC Abhiyan will begin from 1st October 2023 and end on 31st December 2023.
However, many farmers have cited difficulties in getting crop insurance. Farmers have protested in recent months for compensation and crop insurance for the destruction of crops caused by rainfall and floods in Punjab and Haryana.
Farmers have alleged that crop insurance is for the benefit of insurance companies, not farmers.
Citing a case of a farmer, Ramanjit Singh Mann said on X, “A farmer pays his crop insurance premium on time; sadly, he suffers crop loss due to erratic weather; he waits 8 months for crop loss claim but now, the insurance company says that it is not liable as they had refunded the premium. This is how insurance companies loot farmers!”
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