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India Expands Crop Insurance to Cover Wild-Animal Damage and Paddy Inundation From Kharif 2026

Rollout hinges on state mapping, with 72-hour app-based, geotagged claims enabling faster settlement.

Overview

  • Wild-animal damage is added as the fifth add-on under PMFBY’s Localised Risk, to be activated in areas designated by states as vulnerable.
  • States will notify the species responsible for crop loss and identify vulnerable districts or insurance units using historical data.
  • Farmers must report incidents within 72 hours via the Crop Insurance App by uploading geotagged photographs for verification.
  • Paddy inundation returns under Localised Calamity cover, reversing a 2018 removal that had left flood-prone paddy growers exposed.
  • An expert committee’s proposals were approved by Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, with benefits expected in conflict-prone and coastal states including Odisha, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and others.