Boost for farm sector in year's first Cabinet meet

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that his government's first decisions in the new year were dedicated to farmers, as the Union cabinet extended a technology-driven flagship farm-insurance scheme amid increasing shocks to agriculture due to the climate crisis and cleared a fresh tranche of fertiliser subsidy to cushion higher global prices due to geopolitical uncertainties.

- Zia Haq

The Union cabinet, chaired by Modi, approved an extension to the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme till 2025-26 with an overall outlay of ₹69,515.71 crore.

It also signed off on a proposal to top up the subsidy allocation for di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), a widely used fertiliser, with an additional outlay of ₹3,850 crore, an official statement said.

PMFBY is the country's main subsidised crop insurance scheme, where farmers pay between 1.5% and 5% of the premiums depending on crop cycles.

The remaining premium is shared 50:50 between the Centre and state governments. In case of northeastern states, the Centre pays 90% of the premium subsidy.

The council of top ministers approved a larger subsidy on DAP over and above the so-called nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) regime, at 23,500 per tonne as a one-time special package. Under the NBS policy, the government offers, on an annual basis, a fixed rate of subsidy on a per kg basis for crop nutrients containing nitrogen (N), phosphate (P), potash (K) and sulphur (S) to shield farmers from high market prices.

"The first Cabinet of 2025 is dedicated to enhancing prosperity for our farmers. I am glad that key decisions have been taken in this regard," Modi said in a post on X.

"We have approved an increase in the allocation for crop insurance scheme. This will provide more security to farmers' crops and will also mitigate their concerns about any damage." The farmer-friendly decisions come in the backdrop of ongoing protests by agriculturists in Punjab, who are demanding legally guaranteed minimum support prices or MSPs. MSPs are federally determined floor prices for 23 key crops aimed at avoiding distress sales.