The Indian government has launched an aquaculture insurance initiative under PM-MKSSY, offering incentives to farmers for purchasing insurance policies through DBT, aiming to protect them from financial distress due to crop failures.
India's aquaculture sector is one of sustained growth, contributing significantly to the global fish production. However, it is also exposed to various risks such as diseases, floods, and climatic variability that can cause severe financial stress for farmers.
To address this issue, the Indian government has launched a new initiative under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Kisan Samridhi Sah-Yojana (PM-MKSSY) to encourage aquaculture insurance adoption. This move aims to provide financial protection to farmers, enhancing their resilience against risks that could potentially disrupt the sector.
Under PM-MKSSY, aquaculture insurance addresses the core barrier of affordability by offering a one-time monetary incentive for purchasing an aquaculture insurance policy through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for one crop cycle. Eligible beneficiaries can receive up to 40% of the insurance premium cost.
The programme covers various aquaculture activities, including pond-based aquaculture and advanced systems such as Cage Culture, Recirculatory Aquaculture Systems (RAS), Bio floc, Raceways, and similar technologies. Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and women beneficiaries are eligible for an additional incentive.
The implementation of the One-Time Incentive (OTI) component under the scheme has shown encouraging progress, with a total of 316 OTI applications received so far, covering an area of 730.61 hectares.
Source:
Press Information Bureau
