Tomar launches DigiClaim for claim disbursal through National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP)

New Delhi, March 23, 2023 

Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar today launched DigiClaim, the  National Crop Insurance Portal’s digitized claim settlement module. 

With the launch of the module under the ambit of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) claims will be disbursed electronically to benefit the farmers of six states. 

The automated claim settlement process will be an ongoing activity to provide them with  sustainable financial flow and support.

Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Kailash Choudhary, Uttar Pradesh Agriculture Minister, Union Agriculture Secretary Manoj Ahuja and CEO, PMFBY Ritesh Chauhan were present at the ceremony. 

Speaking on the occasion, Tomar said it was a matter of pride for the Ministry to have taken a revolutionary step in ensuring that farmers can receive claim amounts digitally in a timebound and automated manner.

With the launch of a DigiClaim Module, insurance claims totalling Rs 1260.35 crore have been disbursed on March 23, 2023, to insured farmers in the states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Haryana with the click of a button. The process will continue as and when the claims are released. 

To date, Rs 1.32 lakh crore claim amount has been disbursed to the insured farmers under PMFBY. The ongoing ‘Meri Policy, Mere Haath’ campaign has helped in enhancing the awareness around PMFBY at the grassroots level, he added.

The Union Government was closely working with all states that had exited from the scheme. Following discussions with senior officials, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab were making a comeback to the scheme.  Telangana, Gujarat, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand have also been approached to rejoin PMFBY. Out of these states, Telangana and Jharkhand have indicated their willingness to return.

In the current system, there have been several instances of insured farmers' claims being delayed due to a variety of factors. Taking cognizance of farmers’ welfare and expediting the claim disbursal process of valid crop loss claims, the Ministry has come up with the DigiClaim Module. With this, now farmers’ claims will be processed directly to their respective bank accounts in a transparent and accountable manner. This technology has been enabled through the integration of the National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP) and the Public Finance Management System (PFMS).

This would directly impact the claim reversal ratio, which is expected to go down with DigiClaim. Another feature of this digital advancement is that farmers would be able to track the claim settlement process on their mobile phones in real time and avail the scheme’s benefits.

NNN