State to go ahead with PM Fasal Bima Yojana

Karnataka has temporarily dropped the plan to come out with its own crop insurance scheme as the State Cabinet on Friday approved continuation of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) this year.

"The Cabinet has approved spending Rs 546 crore as the state’s share of insurance premium under PMFBY,” Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said, briefing reporters. The Centre and the state share the premium amount equally, whereas farmers have to pay a nominal amount ranging between 1.5-5%, depending upon the crop.

The state has been divided into 10 clusters. Tenders have been finalised to choose insurance firms for all the clusters, Gowda said.

Karnataka had plans to dump the PMFBY amid complaints of tardy implementation. The government was keen on emulating Bihar’s crop insurance scheme. However, a team of officials that studied the Bihar model concluded that it was not a worthy example to follow.

The Cabinet also approved a comprehensive crop survey covering Kharif and Rabi seasons this year. "This will be an app-based survey that will cover 2.20 crore farm plots," Gowda said. The government will spend Rs 90 crore for the crop survey.

The first app-based crop survey, anchored by the e-Governance department, happened in 2017 to address the absence of genuine crop data that resulted in shortcomings during assessment of drought and price variation. "We hope the crop survey becomes an annual fixture," Gowda said.

PG med course

The Cabinet has approved extending the post graduate medical training for Doctor of Medicine (MD)/Master of Science (MD/MS) under Diplomate of National Board (DNB) to 10 more government hospitals at a cost of Rs 16 crore. These courses, offered only in government hospitals, will help overcome the shortage of specialists, Gowda said.

"The extension means 72 PG seats will get added. Admissions will be through NEET scores and 50% will be reserved for in-service doctors,” he added.