Summary of this article
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana provides financial protection to farmers.
Farmers are protected in case of crop loss
PMFBY is available to all farmers, including tenant farmers and sharecroppers
The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) is a flagship crop insurance scheme of the Govt of India that aims to provide financial protection to farmers against crop loss caused by natural calamities (drought, floods, hailstorms, and cyclones), as well as losses from pests and diseases. It was launched by the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers' Welfare under the Ministry of Agriculture on February 18, 2016.
The number of farmers enrolled under the scheme has grown from 31.70 million in 2022-23 to 41.90 million in 2024-25, up nearly 32 per cent, according to data released by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) on August 11, 2025.
More than 784 million farmer applications have been insured under PMFBY since the implementation of the scheme. Of this, 226.67 million farmers have received a claim settlement of Rs 1.83 lakh crore. Participation by non-loanee farmers also increased from 2 million in 2014-15 to 52.20 million in 2024-25.
Eligibility Criteria
PMFBY is available to all farmers, including tenant farmers and sharecroppers, who grow notified crops. Notified crops are those varieties of the crop that are registered with a government board and officially approved for cultivation and commercial sale.
Farmers who have an insurable interest in the crop are eligible for insurance. Farmers should have a valid and authenticated land ownership certificate or a valid land tenure agreement. Both cultivators and sharecroppers of the insured land are eligible.
Automatic coverage under the scheme, unless an undertaking in writing to that effect is given by the farmer, is provided to loanee farmers who have taken agricultural loans. However, non-loanee farmers have to apply voluntarily along with valid land records or tenancy agreements for verification.
Applications must be submitted within the enrolment window prescribed, usually a fortnight from the commencement of the sowing season.
What Is Excluded
While wide coverage is provided under PMFBY, certain situations are excluded from the purview of the scheme. Since this applies only to notified areas, any loss in non-notified areas is not covered under it. Losses outside of the defined crop cycle are also exempted, as are losses not directly related to the crop season.
Farmers who incur losses through negligence, for instance, not following recommended practices, are also outside of the ambit of compensation. A farmer is also unlikely to be covered if he is in arrears in paying the insurance premium and does not adhere to the due date for payment.
This scheme protects genuine losses due to natural or uncontrollable causes, rather than those caused through human error or mismanagement.
Required Documents
Farmers applying for PMFBY need to furnish some documents for verification purposes. These are:
Passport-sized photograph
Bank passbook copy
Valid identity proof: such as Aadhaar card, PAN card, voter ID, Kisan photo book, or NREGA job card
Proof of address
Land ownership certificate or land possession certificate (LPC) based on the State Records of Right (RoR)
Lease or tenancy agreements, wherever applicable
Crop declaration-specifying the crop sown or intended to be sown
These documents are necessary to validate the farmer's identity, ownership or usage rights of the farmland, and the type of crop to be insured.
Enrolment Process
Farmers can enrol themselves for PMFBY through three different modes: online, offline, and via CSCs. Each of them is designed to facilitate easier registration such that the farmers in both rural and semi-urban areas can easily access the scheme.
1. Online Mode
Visit the official website (pmfby.gov.in) and click on the "Farmer Corner" tab. Click on "Guest Farmer" for new registrations. The applicant has to provide basic information, such as name, Aadhaar number, mobile number, and bank account details.
Farmers can log in and fill in the details of their crops, land information, and also upload the required documents. When these details are verified, the system calculates the payable premium. The payment is made digitally via the portal.
Upon successful payment, the farmers receive an application reference number that can be used at any time to check their enrolment and claim status.
2. Offline Mode
Farmers can enrol offline by visiting the nearest bank branch, insurance company office, or other authorised intermediaries dealing with PMFBY applications. They have to collect the printed application form, fill in personal details, land, and crop information, and attach all the relevant documents.
The filled form then has to be submitted at the same office before the enrolment deadline for the relevant crop season. The premium payment can be directly made at the bank or the intermediary office. Farmers are then given an acknowledgement slip to prove the submission.
3. Common Service Centre (CSC) Mode
People with limited access to the Internet will be able to enrol through the Common Service Centres. Farmers can visit the nearest CSC at their convenience, where a village level entrepreneur (VLE) will help them complete the registration on the Digital Seva Portal.
The VLE fills in the farmer's details, uploads the required documents, and enables Aadhar-based authentication. The farmer pays the premium amount, if any, at the CSC counter and gets an acknowledgement slip with a unique reference number.
