PM Fasal Bima Yojana 2026: Premium, Eligibility, Crop Coverage, Claim and Apply

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) is the Government of India’s crop-insurance programme for protecting farmers against specified crop losses caused by natural risks. The scheme does not work like a fixed compensation payment. A farmer insures a notified crop for a particular season and area, pays the prescribed farmer share of premium, and becomes eligible for claim assessment under the notified insurance terms when an insured loss occurs.

For 2026, the most important point is that PMFBY continues to operate through season-wise State/UT notifications and the National Crop Insurance Portal. Participation is voluntary for farmers, including crop-loan borrowers. The farmer premium is capped at a small percentage of the sum insured, while the remaining actuarial premium is subsidised by government. Crop, district, insurer, cut-off date and covered risks can differ from one State and season to another.

PM Fasal Bima Yojana Quick Overview

What Is PM Fasal Bima Yojana?

PMFBY was introduced to reduce the financial shock when an insured crop suffers loss from notified risks. The scheme combines farmer premium, government premium subsidy, digital enrolment, crop-cutting/yield assessment and direct settlement of admissible claims. It is not a blanket guarantee against every fall in farm income or market price.

The State or Union Territory decides whether to implement the scheme for a season and issues the notification containing the crops, insurance units, districts, cut-off dates, implementing insurance company and other season-specific details. A farmer should therefore check the notification for the exact crop and location rather than relying only on a general national deadline.

Farmer Premium Rates

• Kharif food and oilseed crops: farmer share is capped at 2% of the sum insured.
• Rabi food and oilseed crops: farmer share is capped at 1.5% of the sum insured.
• Annual commercial and horticultural crops: farmer share is capped at 5% of the sum insured.
• Where the actuarial premium is higher, the balance is borne through government subsidy according to the applicable sharing rules.
• The exact premium in rupees depends on the notified crop, sum insured, area and season. Farmers can use the premium calculator on the PMFBY portal before enrolment.

Who Can Apply?

• Owners cultivating a notified crop in a notified area.
• Eligible tenant farmers and sharecroppers where the State notification and land/cultivation documentation permit their enrolment.
• Loanee and non-loanee farmers; participation is voluntary for both categories.
• Farmers must enrol within the season-specific cut-off date and provide correct crop, acreage, land and bank details.
• Insurance is only for crops and areas notified for that season. A crop grown outside the notified area does not automatically become insured.

Risks and Losses Covered

• Prevented sowing/planting in notified circumstances where widespread adverse conditions prevent cultivation.
• Standing-crop yield loss from notified non-preventable risks such as drought, dry spell, flood, inundation, cyclone, storm, pests and diseases, subject to the notification and guidelines.
• Mid-season adversity where severe conditions affect the notified insurance unit and the prescribed trigger is met.
• Localised calamities for eligible insured fields, such as inundation, hailstorm or landslide where notified.
• Specified post-harvest losses for eligible crops kept in the field after harvest for the permitted period.
• From Kharif 2026, crop loss from notified wild-animal attacks can be covered as an add-on localised risk where the State notifies the animal, vulnerable area and operational conditions.

Documents Commonly Required

• Aadhaar or accepted identity details.
• Bank account details in the farmer’s name for premium/claim processing.
• Land record, tenancy/cultivation proof or other State-accepted evidence.
• Crop and acreage details for the insured season.
• Sowing certificate or declaration where required.
• Mobile number for OTP, application updates and loss reporting.
• Kisan Credit Card/loan account details for crop-loan borrowers where applicable.

How to Apply Online

1. Open the official National Crop Insurance Portal and enter the Farmer Corner.
2. Choose the farmer registration/enrolment option and complete Aadhaar/mobile verification.
3. Select the State, district, season, notified crop and insurance details exactly as shown in the current notification.
4. Enter land, survey/plot, acreage and bank details carefully.
5. Upload or provide the required land/cultivation and identity records.
6. Check the premium shown by the system and complete payment through the permitted route.
7. Save the application number, acknowledgement and policy details for later status and claim tracking.

Other Application Routes

Farmers who do not want to complete the online process themselves can use an authorised Common Service Centre, participating bank branch or another channel notified for the season. The important point is that the enrolment must reach the official crop-insurance system before the cut-off date and the insured crop/acreage must match the farmer’s actual cultivation.

How Crop-Loss Claims Work

Large-area yield claims are generally calculated through the notified insurance-unit approach using yield data and the scheme formula. Farmers do not file a separate individual claim for every area-yield loss when the notified unit itself suffers the assessed shortfall.

Individual intimation becomes especially important for localised calamities and eligible post-harvest losses. The farmer should report the event quickly through the Crop Insurance App, helpline, insurer, bank or agriculture authorities as permitted. For relevant events, the scheme uses a 72-hour loss-intimation requirement. Keep photographs, application/policy details and field information ready for verification.

How to Check Application and Claim Status

• Use the PMFBY Application Status facility with the policy/application details.
• Check the implementing insurer shown for the farmer’s district and season.
• Use the Crop Insurance App or official support channel for loss intimation and follow-up.
• For a payment issue, confirm that the bank account is active and the beneficiary name/Aadhaar details match the application.
• For grievances or crop-loss reporting support, use the Krishi Rakshak helpline 14447.

Common Reasons for Problems

• The crop or village was not notified for that season.
• Application was submitted after the State cut-off date.
• Wrong survey number, crop, acreage or bank details were entered.
• Actual crop sown differs from the crop insured and the required change was not reported within the permitted process.
• A localised loss was not reported within the prescribed time.
• Land/cultivation proof is incomplete or does not match portal records.

FAQs

Q. Does taking a crop loan automatically force a farmer to buy PMFBY insurance?

No. PMFBY has been voluntary for all farmers, including loanee farmers, since the revamped framework took effect from Kharif 2020.

Q. Can a tenant farmer take PMFBY cover?

A tenant/sharecropper can be eligible where the State notification permits enrolment and the farmer can provide the cultivation or tenancy evidence required for that season.

Q. Is there one national last date for PMFBY every year?

No. The operative deadline is the cut-off date in the relevant State/UT season notification for the crop and area. Farmers should not rely on an old national date copied from another season.

Q. Will PMFBY pay if crop prices fall after harvest?

PMFBY is crop insurance against notified production and natural risks. A fall in market price by itself is not a crop-loss claim under the scheme.

Q. Are wild-animal attacks covered everywhere in 2026?

Not automatically. The new add-on framework applies where the State notifies the relevant wild animals, vulnerable districts/insurance units and operational conditions. Farmers still need to follow the required loss-reporting process.