- By Deeksha Gour
- Tue, 18 Nov 2025 10:49 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana: Farmers across the country will soon receive insurance cover for crop loss caused by wild animals, as the Centre has approved major changes to the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). The Agriculture Ministry announced that the revised framework will come into effect from the Kharif 2026 season, offering relief to farmers who regularly face such damage.
Wild Animal Damage Now Covered Under PMFBY
The ministry said many farmers living near forests, wildlife corridors and hilly regions often suffer losses due to animals like elephants, wild boars, nilgai, deer and monkeys. Until now, these losses were not included in crop insurance, leaving affected farmers without compensation. The revised plan fixes this gap. “Under the revised framework, crop damage due to wild animal attacks will now be recognised as a fifth additional cover under the localised risk category,” the ministry said.
How Farmers Will Report Crop Loss
States will prepare a list of animals responsible for crop damage and identify vulnerable districts using past records. Farmers will have to report damage within 72 hours and upload geotagged photographs through the crop insurance app for claim processing. The ministry said many states had been requesting such coverage for years.
Paddy Flooding Coverage Restored After Six Years
Along with this, the government has also approved insurance cover for paddy crops damaged due to flooding and submergence. The ministry noted that farmers in flood-prone and coastal areas face repeated losses during heavy rain and overflowing rivers. Paddy flooding was removed from insurance coverage in 2018 because of assessment challenges, but its exclusion left farmers without protection. The Agriculture Department then formed an expert committee, and its recommendations have now been accepted by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
The ministry said the modalities for covering both wild animal attacks and paddy flooding have been approved. “With this important decision, farmers suffering from crop damage at the local level will now receive timely and technology-based claim settlement under the PMFBY,” it said.
THESE States Likely To Benefit The Most
The updated scheme is expected to benefit states that frequently report human–wildlife conflict, including Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand. Farmers in the Himalayan and northeastern states such as Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh will also gain from the new coverage.